Chapter 52 A Life Mistakenly Enters the Game of Chess (Part Two) "Obediently follow me..."
Just as Ye Yixiang had barely adjusted to the suffocating darkness, the cell door was suddenly opened, and the blinding light of torches shone in, causing her to squint instantly.
Two burly jailers grabbed her arms without saying a word and dragged her out.
She was roughly tied to a wooden stake in the interrogation room, the cold ropes digging into her flesh.
Directly in front of him was a blazing brazier, the leaping flames illuminating the various oddly shaped and coldly gleaming iron instruments on the rack of torture instruments, and also illuminating the person sitting in the armchair opposite him.
The man was dressed in a dark red prison officer's uniform, clearly of a higher rank than an ordinary prison guard. He was leisurely sipping tea, the rising steam obscuring part of his face.
Hearing the noise, he slowly put the lid back on the cup, making a crisp clinking sound. Then he slowly raised his head, revealing a pair of eyes that were both cruel and playful, and looked at the bound Ye Yixiang.
"We meet again, Miss Ye." A half-smile played on his lips.
Ye Yixiang's pupils suddenly contracted—the person before her was Zhao Kui! The Zhao Kui who had served as a military advisor under Chu Huaili! How could he be here? And even become an official in the imperial prison?
Zhao Kui stood up and slowly walked to her. His figure appeared exceptionally tall and imposing in the firelight. He reached out, his fingertips almost touching her pale cheek, his tone laced with nauseating regret and a hint of smug control:
"If you had obediently followed me earlier, you wouldn't be suffering like this today."
Ye Yixiang abruptly turned her head away, avoiding his touch, her eyes filled with undisguised disgust and coldness.
Ye Yixiang abruptly turned her head away, avoiding his touch, her eyes filled with undisguised disgust and coldness.
"Once you get here, without His Majesty's oral decree or the Empress Dowager's imperial edict," Zhao Kui withdrew his hand, looked down at her, a mocking expression on his face, "you can't walk out upright. However..."
He drawled, "If you can please me, I might just grant you a quick death."
"On your very first day in prison, you were personally interrogated by Lord Zhao," Ye Yixiang said with a cold smile, her voice hoarse from lack of water but carrying a clear sarcasm. "Lord Zhao is truly... impatient."
She was well aware of the rules of the imperial prison.
This place has existed since the Ling Dynasty. It was originally a place for interrogating serious criminals, but later, when eunuchs seized power, it became a den of iniquity for extorting money and bribes.
If someone is arrested on trumped-up charges, they can be spared physical punishment for the first three days if someone is willing to spend a lot of money to bribe them or if a powerful figure behind them intervenes.
Although the newly established Southern Dynasty rectified the practice of arbitrarily arresting people on the surface, the unspoken rule of "no interrogation within three days" quietly continued.
The Empress Dowager's eagerness, even to the point of not bothering with such formalities, shows that she truly regards her as a major threat and is determined to eliminate her as soon as possible.
"I'm just trying to remind you, young lady," Zhao Kui spread his hands, pointing to the dark and gloomy instruments of torture and the mottled bloodstains around him, "that death is commonplace here. Besides, the imperial prison is dark and impenetrable."
He took a step closer, lowered his voice, and threatened with a hint of smugness, "Even if His Highness Prince Chen has connections everywhere, I'm afraid... he can't get his hands on this."
Prince Chen. Ye Yixiang's heart trembled slightly. This was Chu Huaili's title. "Chen" means "the emperor resides in the Purple Palace, the abode of the North Star," a metaphor for the emperor. It wouldn't be long before he was officially made crown prince and entered the Eastern Palace. This title itself was already a silent declaration.
“I have always been kind to women,” Zhao Kui said, seeing her silence and thinking that his intimidation had worked. He then changed his tone to enticement. “If you are willing to obediently confess your accomplices and sign your confession, you can escape this torture today.” He pointed to the instruments of torture on the wall that gleamed coldly.
"No accomplices," Ye Yixiang said firmly.
"It has nothing to do with my sister! You corrupt official, if you want to kill or torture someone, come at me!" Ye Lingrou's anxious shouts immediately came from the next cell, echoing in the empty interrogation room.
Zhao Kui's face darkened, and he gave a signal. Immediately, a jailer bowed his head and obeyed the order, quickly walking towards the depths of the prison.
“Here, death is often the most painless thing.” Zhao Kui smiled sinisterly, his meaning unclear.
At this moment, a clerk who had been sitting in the shadows writing away stood up and respectfully handed a thin sheet of paper covered with writing to Zhao Kui.
Zhao Kui unrolled the paper and said to the bound Ye Yixiang, "You are a smart girl. Just put your handprint on this and you can be spared from physical pain today."
By the flickering firelight, Ye Yixiang stared intently at the piece of paper. It listed a long string of names, each followed by a clearly marked "crime." There were twelve such crimes, each a heinous offense punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family:
First, they colluded with the Northern Barbarians and plotted to surrender the city;
Secondly, he secretly possessed the imperial seal, plotting to overthrow the emperor;
Thirdly, cursing the emperor's body and using witchcraft and sorcery;
Fourth, he embezzled military funds, leading to losses at the border.
Fifth, they formed cliques for personal gain and controlled the government;
Sixth, they secretly communicated with the palace and spied on the emperor's whereabouts;
Seventh, they privately manufactured weapons and kept assassins;
Eighth, spreading rumors and undermining the foundation of the nation;
Ninth, they seized farmland from the people, inciting popular uprisings;
Tenth, he framed loyal and virtuous officials and eliminated dissidents;
...
She recognized many of those names, including relatives of several powerful empresses and concubines of the current dynasty.
There were also many former officials who surrendered to the Southern Dynasty after the fall of the Ling Dynasty, but were still suspected by the emperor, including some of his confidants.
Ye Yixiang felt a chill run down her spine. The Empress Dowager was truly a master of political maneuvering. By taking this opportunity, she could not only suppress the growing power of her maternal relatives, but also clean up those former officials who harbored dissent or simply held different positions. She could even eliminate dissidents in the court.
This list is the result of a meticulously planned political purge.
Seeing her staring blankly at the list, Zhao Kui assumed she was frightened and continued to coerce and entice her: "If you are unwilling, then we will have to let you taste the things on the wall first. Let's... start with the simplest."
His gaze swept over the row of pliers, branding irons, whips, and other items of varying sizes and shapes on the wall...
Ye Yixiang had never seen these instruments of torture in person, but she knew how cruel they were. She was afraid that she would not be able to endure even the lightest of them before she would faint.
Although there are innocent people on the list, the vast majority of them are indeed the culprits who caused the rapid collapse of the Ling Dynasty back then.
Those generals who betrayed their cause in the face of battle, those officials who were greedy for life and cowardly and sold out their masters for personal gain.
If it weren't for them, the Zhenyuan Army, under the banner of "purging the emperor's corrupt advisors," would never have been able to advance so rapidly and storm the capital in such a short time.
In a flash, she made her decision.
“There’s no need for you to do it, sir,” Ye Yixiang said, raising her eyes and speaking calmly. “I will do it myself.”
Zhao Kui had prepared to exaggerate the horror of the torture instruments, but he was surprised that she agreed so readily. He then smiled and said, "Miss Ye is indeed sensible."
The jailers immediately stepped forward and untied her.
Ye Yixiang moved her wrist, which was deeply marked by the straps, and walked forward expressionlessly. She dipped her hand into the inkpad box next to her, filled it with scarlet cinnabar, and then, without hesitation, pressed her fingerprint on the Xuan paper that determined the lives of countless people.
The bright red fingerprints stood out starkly in the dim firelight.
"It's so refreshing to deal with smart people." Zhao Kui picked up the confession with satisfaction, examined it carefully for a moment, and then waved to the jailer behind him, "Take Miss Ye back to her cell to rest. Tomorrow... we will continue the interrogation."
Ye Yixiang was taken back to that dark and damp cell. As soon as the iron door was locked, anxious sobs, as if someone had been muffled by a covered mouth, came from next door.
"Lingrou, don't worry, I'm fine." She immediately reassured her, her voice tinged with fatigue but trying to sound calm.
Hearing her voice, the noise from next door gradually subsided.
Ye Yixiang slid down against the cold wall, feeling no relief whatsoever.
She has only narrowly escaped death today; who knows what kind of torture awaits her tomorrow?
Perhaps, once the Empress Dowager receives this "ironclad proof" bearing her fingerprint, she will be busy cleaning up the list and will have no time to pay attention to her insignificant role. Or perhaps... she has other uses for the Empress Dowager that she has not yet thought of.
She shook her head, clearing her mind of her chaotic thoughts.
In these chaotic times, since she has managed to survive until now, she must fight for a chance to live in this prison.
As long as there is a glimmer of hope to survive, she must never give up. She must live on carrying the hopes of her deceased clansmen, to see with her own eyes the vast world they had never seen, to watch how her enemies climbed the high platform step by step, and how... they fell from that height.
In this dark and gloomy place, time loses its meaning.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but as she lay on the musty-smelling hay, she vaguely heard footsteps approaching from afar, different from the heavy footsteps of the jailers.
The next day... has it arrived so quickly? A sense of instinctive panic flashed through her mind.
"Ye Yixiang? Are you... alright?" A deliberately lowered but still clear and familiar voice rang out outside the cell door.
Ye Yixiang suddenly opened her eyes, and by the dim light of the lantern outside the cell door, she saw incredulously two faces that should never have been there at this moment.
Princess Zhaoning, dressed in a bright yellow silk skirt, was covering her mouth tightly with a silk handkerchief.
Xiao Lingyi was following behind her.
Zhao Ning frowned, clearly extremely uncomfortable with the foul, pungent air in the cell. Xiao Lingyi stood there quietly, her eyes filled with obvious worry.
It was them!
"How...how did you get in!" Ye Yixiang sat up, her voice trembling with shock. She simply couldn't believe that these two noble and precious women would risk such a huge danger to sneak into this hell on earth.
"It's all because my brother is worried about you!" Zhao Ning said in a low voice, her eyes involuntarily glancing around warily. "Sister Lingyi's cousin happens to be on duty here tonight, which is why we were able to sneak in. But we can't stay long; we have to leave immediately."
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