Yu Xuanji said, "Now that everything is done, let's rest here. I will interrogate you here tomorrow."
Ye Zelin ordered two officers to take Cai Yuanchang away and lock him up, assigning shifts of guards while he himself rested in a nearby room. Yu Chisu found two rooms for Yu Xuanji and Lao Qiao to rest for a while. After they rested, she jumped onto the roof, used her knife as a pillow, crossed her legs, and dozed off.
After Sai Yuhuan was taken away by Zhang Zhongjian, she walked for a while before shaking off Zhang Zhongjian's hand and angrily demanded, "Hua Mingqiao, why?"
Zhang Zhongjian said calmly: "Ye Zelin knows our identities."
Sai Yuhuan said: "Didn't he know it a long time ago?"
Zhang Zhongjian said, "I mean, he knew I was Hua Mingqiao, so he didn't order anyone to arrest us just now. He deliberately let us go."
Sai Yuhuan said anxiously: "How would he know? He wouldn't know, aren't you dead?
Zhang Zhongjian shook his head and said, "Maybe he guessed it. As for when he became suspicious, I don't know. Maybe Hua'er knows it too, or maybe she doesn't know it yet. We'll know after Yu Xuanji interrogates Cai Yuanchang and meets Ye Zelin." He looked at Sai Yuhuan solemnly and said, "My nephew-in-law said something very reasonable. He said that it would be much better for Cai Yuanchang to die at the hands of the court than at our hands. I know it's cruel to say that. After all, revenge has been your biggest wish for the past ten years, but we still have Yue Zheng and so many brothers. Ye Zelin and Hua'er's stance is opposed to ours. They can let us go, or they can take our lives."
Sai Yuhuan said, "How could Hua Fushu do this? You are her uncle!"
Zhang Zhongjian said, "There is no mercy before the law. Huaer has done enough."
The east was already bright and the day would soon be light.
Ye Zelin walked out of the room and was about to go find Yu Xuanji, but it happened that Yu Xuanji and the other two had already arrived.
Yu Xuanji said, "I just took a walk through this courtyard. There are furniture made of red sandalwood and yellow pear, countless precious calligraphy and paintings, and porcelain from Jingzhen. The porcelain vases displayed in the main hall are actually red porcelain, a specialty of Dingzhou. Each red porcelain is worth at least a thousand taels, and the highest value is over ten thousand. Even the palace rarely uses red porcelain, and His Majesty does not allow tribute red porcelain. Cai Yuanchang actually has several pairs. This courtyard is worth at least a million yuan. This house is comparable to an imperial palace. He is truly wealthy. I don't even have one percent of this."
Ye Zelin naturally heard the sarcasm in Yu Xuanji's words. He said, "Even the imperial palace is not this beautiful."
Both of them understood that the Song Dynasty promoted a simple and frugal lifestyle, and Cai Yuanchang served as the governor for only ten years. To have such a magnificent house, it must have cost a lot of money to build it.
Where did he get so much money to build the house? It must have come from illegal sources.
Yu Xuanji ordered someone to open the door. He walked in and saw Cai Yuanchang with a slovenly face, like a beggar. He said calmly, "I heard that your wife and children were killed. It must be very painful."
Ye Zelin and the other two also came in. Hearing their uncle comforting a murderer, Yu Chisu said unhappily, "Uncle, he killed someone, this is retribution."
Yu Xuanji kindly said, "The crime does not extend to my wife and children.
Ye Zelin said: "It's just a chess piece, and now it's just a discarded piece."
Cai Yuanchang's eyes were dull and lifeless, and slowly a mocking arc rose up. It was so sad, so mournful, so ridiculous. The chess piece was already pitiful, wouldn't it be even more pitiful to abandon it?
He has become a chess piece, and that person wants him to be abandoned. He wants to kill his wife and children and silence them. Then, will he kill his entire family next?
If he commits a crime alone, his whole family will not be in trouble; if his family commits a crime, his entire clan will not be punished.
He is a chess piece, and even more so a discarded piece...
"Ha ha--"
He laughed out loud, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, but he didn't stop. This was the decency he left for himself, the last bit of dignity he had left for himself.
Cai Yuanchang said: "Ye Zelin, I am a chess piece, and so are you."
Ye Zelin said gently: "I am a chess piece, but not a discarded piece."
Cai Yuanchang laughed and said, "When necessary, you will become a discarded pawn."
Ye Zelin smiled warmly and said, "I am willing and have no regrets, but you are unwilling and helpless."
Cai Yuanchang just smiled and said nothing.
Yu Xuanji asked Lao Qiao to move a chair. He sat upright, his official airs in place, but his words were sharp: "Cai Yuanchang, are you resigned to this? Your wife and children died innocently. Do you hate them? Do you resent them? Do you seek revenge? Dying like this, leaving your enemies to roam free in this world, would you be worthy of your wife and children? Would you be worthy of your parents in the afterlife?"
Cai Yuanchang chuckled secretly. Yu Xuanji was indeed a minister. Did he accept the unconventional interrogation? Did he resent it?
Of course he is unwilling, of course he feels resentful!
Was he going to confess? No, he couldn't.
He can be a sinner of the Cai family, but he cannot be a sinner of the Cai clan.
He said, "Yu Xuanji, I stole the 100,000 official silver coins. I had Hang Yu kill Cheng Wenbo. I hired assassins to kill Cheng Wenzhong and the coroner. Even the attack on you was my plan."
Yu Xuanji was slightly stunned. Cai Yuanchang confessed just like that?
It’s so easy, much easier than Hangyu.
Yu Xuanji asked again: "Anything else?"
Cai Yuanchang said: "No more."
Yu Chi Su was secretly angry. Cai Yuanchang had committed more than one crime, too many to list, but he only admitted to these few crimes.
Yu Xuanji said, "You don't intend to admit to taking bribes, trafficking people, and operating illegally, but I have the account books as proof."
As he spoke, he took the booklet handed to him by Lao Qiao and flipped through it page by page in front of Cai Yuanchang.
Cai Yuanchang looked at the account book and thought of something, "Who sent you the account book?"
Yu Xuanji rolled her eyes at Cai Yuanchang and said, "You've offended so many people, you don't know who's going to deal with you."
Cai Yuanchang asked: "Why do you say this account book is true?"
Yu Xuanji said calmly, "You just admitted it. If you don't admit it, why would you answer me?"
Cai Yuanchang almost fainted and angrily said, "Yu Xuanji, you are sneaky and cunning!"
Yu Xuanji corrected him: "This is called the use of deception in war."
He paused for a moment and then said, "Cai Yuanchang, do you want to confess?"
Cai Yuanchang remained silent.
Yu Xuanji stood up, shook off her wide sleeves, and said, "Since you are not going to confess, I do not intend to investigate further. This case ends here."
Yu Xuanji instructed Lao Qiao and Yu Chisu to handle the case and then walked out.
Ye Zelin hesitated for a moment and then chased after Yu Xuanji.
Knowing that Ye Zelin was following, Yu Xuanji stopped in the empty corridor and said, "You want to ask why I didn't interrogate Cai Yuanchang?"
Ye Zelin nodded. He had this idea, but he was more puzzled as to why Yu Xuanji didn't continue the interrogation. As long as he continued the interrogation, he would definitely find out something.
They all knew that behind Cai Yuanchang was King Qinghe.
Yu Xuanji sat down on the crossbar of the corridor and said, "Young man, there's no need to rush. You should know how powerful Prince Qinghe is in the court."
Ye Zelin said: "I know."
Yu Xuanji continued, "With just Cai Yuanchang, do you think he can overthrow the King of Qinghe?"
Ye Zelin nodded immediately, then shook his head.
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