Chapter 56: Self-Motivation
In the following days, Cui Junji continued his double-faced drama.
In the court, he spoke sharply, stating that Wen Youqing was guilty of arson in public, causing vendettas, and endangering the officials' families. He said that the Dali investigation was unfavorable and that he should be handed over to deal with the case severely according to the law. Privately, he stepped up the investigation into the Wang family's illegal activities.
That afternoon, Cui Junji met Wen Youqing for the first time.
The prison was clean. She was injured, and there were several bloodstains on her clothes. She lay there in a state of disarray. Seeing him coming, she simply raised her eyelids and said, "Master Cui, what can I do for you?"
Seeing her expression, Cui Junji was furious. He was out there trying to make peace, and she was just so determined to die. But he still took out the braised lamb, passed it in through the window, and arranged it with good manners before saying, "The Wang family is investigating a batch of documents compiled by the Wen family three years ago, claiming they were written to win over people." Cui Junji got straight to the point.
Wen Youqing's expression remained unchanged: "What does it have to do with me?"
"As long as your last name is Wen, it has something to do with you. This matter must be suppressed."
"Why not just admit it? It's just a small matter. What kind of punishment can the Wen family give you? You can't take all the trivial matters into account. It would annoy anyone."
Before he could finish his words, a sudden commotion erupted outside the interrogation room. Cui Junji immediately suppressed his expression, exited the cell, locked it, slammed the iron door, and shouted, "Wen Youqing! I urge you to tell the truth! Otherwise, you will be severely punished!"
Almost immediately, the door to the interrogation room was pushed open, and the burned-disfigured Wang Ding'an was wheeled in by several officials. His burned eyelids were sunken, and his eyeballs bulged out, as if ready to fall out at any moment. He stared at Wen Youqing with a sinister look, his expression extremely terrifying.
Wang Dingan sneered, his expression like a demon: "Master Cui is so diligent in investigating cases that he doesn't even let go of his lunch break."
Cui Junji hurried forward, half blocking Wen Youqing. "Master, what can I do for you? The prison environment is terrible, and your injuries haven't healed yet. You've been exposed to more dirt here."
"If you don't come now, you won't be able to come." Minister Wang was pushed in, his eyes sweeping across Wen Youqing like a knife. "I heard that the Dali Temple is not doing its job well. I'd like to trouble Lord Cui to interrogate this criminal girl alone. You are my student, so I must come and help."
Wen Youqing was still lying there, covering his ears, but he knew it clearly in his heart - the Wang family was worried about Cui Junji and came to put pressure on and supervise him.
Cui Junji smiled gently, "Thank you, Master, but I don't like torture. The Dali Temple has used torture many times, but to no avail. They are truly reckless."
Wang Ding'an smiled, and this smile looked even more terrifying on his disfigured face. He said, "It's not that we can't beat you, it's that the Dali Temple is really useless and doesn't know how to fight. Lord Cui just needs to watch. Come on! Use the finger torture!" Several strong men with short fingers came out from behind him, just like the Lilliputians tying up a giant. The four of them pinned down Wen Youqing and made him unable to move.
When the torture instruments were brought in, Wen Youqing's face turned really pale.
She looked at Cui Junji, but Cui Junji just looked at her coldly, without any extra emotion.
When the cold forceps were put on her fingers, Wen Youqing closed her eyes. She knew that this play had to go on.
---
That night, in Cui's bedroom.
When Li Wenqin was changing her husband's clothes, she was surprised to find a deep pinch mark on his right wrist. It was purple in color and slowly bled, as if it was caused by someone holding it tightly.
"Husband, this is..." she asked worriedly.
Cui Junji quickly pulled down his sleeve to cover himself up: "It's nothing, I was injured by the prisoner struggling during the trial today."
Li Wenqin's suspicions grew even stronger. Cui Junji was a skilled martial artist, and he interrogated prisoners from a distance. How could an ordinary prisoner possibly hurt him?
She remembered the rumors she had heard during the day - Lord Wang had used severe torture on Madam Shen today. It was said that there were screams in the cell, which made the jailers' hair stand on end.
At that time, she felt pity, but now thinking about the scars on her husband's wrists, an unsettling guess came to her mind: he was also in prison today. Could it be that those scars were inflicted by her husband himself when Wen Youqing was struggling in pain during the torture?
What made her even more uneasy was Cui Junji's indifference. She couldn't sleep at night. Every time she closed her eyes, she would see the scene of blood splattering everywhere that day. But Cui Junji never came to comfort her once.
"Husband," Li Wenqin finally spoke, "You've been busy all day. Let's get settled in tonight."
That night, Li Wenqin tossed and turned in bed.
Cui Junji beside him was also worried and unable to fall asleep.
"Husband," she whispered tentatively, "Then Madam Shen...was the punishment she received today severe?"
Cui Junji was silent for a moment before he said, "The Dali Temple and the Wang family know their limits."
"I heard she would rather die than confess," Li Wenqin continued, "It's rare for a woman to have such a strong character."
Cui Junji turned over and faced her with his back: "Go to sleep, Qin'er, don't think about these things."
Her husband's evasion made Li Wenqin more certain of her suspicions. She suddenly said, "Miss Wang is still at home. My mother has been ill recently. Why not just follow her wishes and marry her off in the next few days? What a happy occasion!"
"Then..." Cui Junji pondered, "Thank you, Madam, for the arrangements."
"For my husband, it's not hard."
It was just a random guess, and maybe it would only cause her more trouble, but as long as it was good for the Cui family, that was all that mattered. But tears still silently slid down her pillow, and Li Wenqin bit her lip tightly to stop herself from crying out loud.
After five years of marriage, she had always thought she was happy. Although her husband was serious, he always respected and loved her. But now, just like at the beginning, she seemed to have never seen through this man.
Cui Junji, his back to her, also lay awake, unable to sleep. All he could think about was how to exploit this concubine to find the Wang family's weak spot, how to save Wen Youqing's life, and how to balance the various forces at court. He was completely unaware that his performance had already caused a rift in the hearts of those closest to him.
Deep inside the Dali Temple prison, Wen Youqing sat alone in a cell, unable to move his hands at all. Fortunately, he had some ointment and a wooden board to tie his hands, so he hoped that he would not be disabled.
The jailer's footsteps echoed in the corridor, getting closer and closer, and finally stopped in front of her cell door.
"Mrs. Shen, someone is visiting."
Wen Youqing raised her eyes but didn't stand. Quite a few people had come to visit the prison these days: old friends of her grandfather, ordinary people, and even the palace had secretly sent people. She refused to see any of them. It would have been pointless, and she didn't want to involve too many people.
"Tell him that Wen Youqing is a criminal and it is inconvenient for us to meet." Her voice was calm and without any waves.
The jailer did not leave as usual, but instead pleaded with someone, as if he was extremely afraid of the visitor: "It's Master Cui."
"Ask him to go back." She said lightly, turning to face the wall, expressing her determination.
The jailer hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Master Cui said... he has something important to tell you, concerning the Wang family."
Wen Youqing slowly stood up and wanted to straighten the wrinkles of his prison uniform, but then he remembered that his hand bones were broken, so he turned to the cell door.
"Please come in, Master Cui."
When Cui Junji stepped into the cell, his heart ached.
I saw her in the morning, but by the afternoon, Wen Youqing had become much more haggard. Her clothes, which once fitted her well, were now loose and loose. Her face was pale, and her hands were bruised. Only her eyes, as clear and sharp as cold stars, remained undiminished.
The cell was small, and Cui Junji looked out of place. He was dressed in a dark purple official robe, and it was obvious that he had just come straight from court, regretting that he hadn't even brought medicine.
The two looked at each other for a moment, speechless.
In the end, it was Wen Youqing who spoke first: "Tell me, what are you doing standing there?"
Cui Junji carefully considered his words: "Don't worry about the Wang family. We have almost collected the evidence. We just need to take the final step."
Wen Youqing looked at him quietly, waiting for him to continue.
Cui Junji lowered his voice, "The Wang family has a close relationship with the former crown prince."
Wen Youqing's lips curled up slightly, as if she had heard something interesting. Which of their several major families was not related to the former crown prince? What was the point of this? Was he really trying to fool a three-year-old? "So?"
Cui Junji looked at her calm face and suddenly felt uncertain. He took a deep breath and said, "To investigate this matter, I need a reason to enter the Wang family."
Wen Youqing remained silent, waiting for his next words.
"I have decided to take Wang Ruoti as my concubine."
The cell was dead silent, the only sound being the flickering light of a dim lamp, which cast flickering shadows on the wall.
Wen Youqing's expression remained unchanged, as if she had just heard a rainy forecast for tomorrow. She even nodded slightly, "Okay, then I'll wait for Mr. Cui's good news."
Looking at that cold face, Cui Junji's hidden expectations were all dashed, and his prepared words were stuck in his throat. He had anticipated every possible reaction from Wen Youqing—loneliness, jealousy, shock—but he had never imagined it would be this calm.
"Ma'am, this is just a temporary solution..." he tried to explain.
Wen Youqing looked at him puzzled and indifferently, "Master Cui, what do people call me?"
"...Mrs. Shen."
"So what you do has anything to do with me?"
"I just want justice. If the court can't give it and you can't give it, I will ask for it myself." Her voice was flat.
Cui Junji stood there, suddenly feeling a tightness in his chest. She couldn't possibly be unaware of his thoughts, yet she was so contemptuous.
"You...know..." he couldn't help but ask.
Wen Youqing frowned and looked at him directly. "I know, but so what? You're trying to blackmail me, saying you took a concubine for me, that the grievances were suffered for me, and that the evidence was found for me?" Wen Youqing stepped forward, staring through the iron bars at Cui Junji. "How long have you, the Cui family, wanted to emulate Xie Lingyun and become a noble family? The illegal mining incident dealt a heavy blow to both the Wang and Xie families, but it was ultimately just a superficial wound. This time, I finally took advantage of my reckless behavior to dig up some dirt, and you're going to let it go? Wang Ruoti, one of the most beautiful women in the capital, took her as a concubine, and you're still feeling wronged? Cui Junji, stop pretending."
These words pierced Cui Junji's heart like an ice spike. Since his thoughts had been seen through, Cui Junji didn't hide them anymore. "Yes! I do want to crush the Wang family, but my feelings for you are also genuine. I took concubines, and the sight of them disgusted me. As long as it wasn't you, I felt disgusted. A gentleman judges by deeds. I did everything I could. I did everything I couldn't do, and I did it for you time and time again. Why are you so harsh and heartless to me?"
"Wow, that's really touching." Wen Youqing smiled and clapped her hands gently. "Master Cui, you must be tired too. Please go back and leave me alone to be moved, okay?"
For the last time, Cui Junji looked deeply at Wen Youqing, his eyes naked and complicated, but he said nothing and turned away in the night.
The jailer locked the cell door again and the footsteps gradually faded away.
Wen Youqing stood there until the sound of footsteps completely disappeared. She raised her hand and looked at her fingertips which were trembling slightly, not sure if it was from anger or pain, and a smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
"Hubby," she whispered to herself, her voice echoing in the empty cell, "You guessed it right. Men understand men."
She blew out the lamp and immersed herself in darkness.
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