Sure enough, the man woke up slowly after a while. Before he even opened his eyes, he felt the pain of his tendons being severed and let out a series of soft moans.
The jailer helped him sit up and then quietly stood at the doorway.
This person found it difficult to even open their eyes, let alone raise their head; they could only hang their head heavily.
He recalled being arrested and felt an overwhelming sense of regret.
He shouldn't have left so soon.
If we wait two more days, more people will leave the city, and it will be impossible for King Wen's men to catch us.
But hindsight is always 20/20!
Prefect Qi remained silent and waited quietly for a while, but the man still didn't look up. Only then did he glance at the jailer.
The next instant, another bucket of ice water was poured over her.
The man was shivering from the cold, and it seemed that the wounds on his hands and feet didn't hurt as much anymore. He couldn't help but fall backward, lying stiffly on the ground, his whole body convulsing.
Gu Yuzhi had never seen what an interrogation looked like before, so he dared not speak, for fear of affecting Prefect Qi.
Watching this man being doused with two buckets of ice water in succession, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
No wonder it's so cold in here.
Gu Yuzhi was lost in thought when he saw the jailer make the man sit up again. After a while, the man finally raised his head.
His teeth chattered incessantly, and his whole body screamed out one word: cold.
The weather in early spring was already not warm, and the prison cell was a dark place all year round. With these two buckets of ice water, he really suspected that he would freeze to death!
Prefect Qi then spoke, his voice much lower and more authoritative than usual: "What's your name?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the man's gaze fell on Prefect Qi, and then he was completely drawn to Gu Yuzhi.
He immediately recognized the man's identity: Prince Wen!
The position of the Prince Wen was very clever, right in the sunlight, making him seem to be glowing, and making it difficult for the person to see his face clearly at first.
Prefect Qi, who had many tricks up his sleeve, dared not use them at this moment and could only ask again, "Who are you?"
The man finally stopped looking at Gu Yuzhi, closed his eyes, and sneered inwardly.
He really thinks too highly of the prefect. He doesn't even know how to use torture. He thinks he can get someone to confess by just pouring two buckets of ice water on them? He's dreaming.
After a short while, Gu Yuzhi felt a bit bored. He looked up at Prefect Qi and saw that he looked calm and not angry at all. He scratched his head.
Prefect Qi has a really good temper.
The good-natured Prefect Qi certainly wouldn't expect this man to confess without using any tricks, after all, this man was Li Yanping's confidant and might have been involved in the plan to abduct and kill the young prince.
A ruthless person will definitely be punished severely!
Prefect Qi slightly raised his hand, and the jailer handed him several sheets of confession paper. He turned to one page and slowly said, "Li Tong. The adopted son of Li Yanping, the merchant of Li's family..."
Li Tong's eyes snapped open, as if he hadn't expected Prefect Qi to uncover this.
Prefect Qi ignored him and continued, "You've been following Li Yanping for seven or eight years now, haven't you? You've been traveling all over the country with Li Yanping all these years, and you've been very loyal."
Li Tong's lips curled up slightly. He wanted to say something sarcastic, but in the end, he gave up.
Being interrogated is something he's been holding back; if he lets it all out, he definitely won't be able to hold on any longer!
Prefect Qi smiled slightly, his voice suddenly softening considerably, "Would you like to see your son?"
Upon hearing this, Li Tong suddenly opened his eyes!
He trembled involuntarily, this time not from the cold, but from fear!
He never imagined that the child would be found out.
Prefect Qi sneered, "Li Tong, do you think that just because you never show up there during the day, no one will find out that you have a wife and children?"
"You're wrong. If you do it, there will definitely be flaws!"
Gu Yuzhi nodded his head, completely agreeing with Prefect Qi's words.
He and Wen Shu whispered to each other silently, "So people really shouldn't do bad things!"
Shu Xiaohan nodded repeatedly, "Your Highness is right!"
Manager Wen nodded in agreement.
Gu Yuzhi looked at Li Tong's changed face and suddenly found it amusing.
Chief Secretary Xie explained to Gu Yuzhi in a low voice, "After Guard Zhang returned to Changzhou, he conducted a purge of people in Changzhou who were associated with Li Ji Trading Company."
Gu Yuzhi nodded his little head: "I know, I know! Guard Zhang told me."
He immediately understood what Chief Secretary Xie meant: it was because of Guard Zhang's large-scale purge that Li Tong's wife and children were dug up!
Gu Yuzhi clenched her little hands, her eyes sparkling with admiration, and exclaimed, "Guard Zhang is so amazing!"
Chief Secretary Xie...
"Your Highness is right, Guard Zhang is indeed formidable."
Xie Changshi truly admired this.
After Li Tong was implicated, Guard Zhang spent several days going through all the testimonies from beginning to end, scrutinizing every detail. It was then that he discovered a clue from the mouths of the servants in Li Yanping's household: someone had mentioned the word "young master."
Following this speculation, Guard Zhang continued his investigation into the so-called young master, and soon the strangeness of a family in Tong'an Lane also caught his attention.
It can be said that within two days of learning of Li Tong's existence, his wife and children were taken into custody by Guard Zhang.
Prefect Qi said in a low voice, "Do you think you can hide the person in Tong'an Lane and fool Li Yanping, and also fool us?"
The King of Chu controlled his confidants by controlling their families, and Li Tong was no exception.
However, Li Tong spent most of his time in the northern desert and had a distant relationship with his parents who lived in the south of the Yangtze River. But he did not want to die without an heir, so it was not unusual for him to marry and have children in the northern desert.
He knew full well what the consequences would be if he failed, so he kept it a secret from everyone from the beginning.
Li Tong's eyes instantly dimmed, and his previous smugness turned into caution and worry.
He suddenly launched an attack: "My son is only five years old! I really didn't expect that you, a prefectural governor, would lay a hand on a child. Don't you think you are cruel?"
Shu Xiaohan couldn't stand this moral blackmail: "What nonsense are you spouting? Is His Highness really that old?"
"When you kidnapped the young prince, did you ever consider that he was only six years old?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Yuzhi felt that these words made a lot of sense, and nodded his little head repeatedly, raising his voice and saying, "Why does Prefect Qi think he is cruel! I am also very young, don't you think you are cruel?"
Upon hearing this, the entire prison fell silent.
Li Tong tried to stare at Gu Yuzhi with wide eyes, but for some reason, he couldn't see his face clearly anymore.
He suddenly laughed, his voice hoarse, "I don't know what you're talking about?"
Prefect Qi suppressed his inner turmoil and sneered, "Do you think we only found out about Tong'an Lane?"
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