Chapter 171 Torture
As the black piece landed on the chessboard, Xue Han silently recited in his mind: Han Wu.
He picked up another chess piece.
After this, Aheng began having relations with Yuan Chenghai's concubines, preparing perfumes for three of them. Not long after, Yuan Chenghai died suddenly while drinking with others at Fengwei Restaurant.
As the chess piece fell, Xue Han murmured: Yuan Chenghai.
The third chess piece was picked up and lingered on the boy's fingertips for a long time.
Black and white, strikingly distinct.
With the first two pieces in hand, almost without thinking, one person naturally came to mind for Xue Han: Fang Xiang.
Did Aheng enter the Prime Minister's residence to kill Prime Minister Fang?
Did the Qi man's intrusion into the Prime Minister's residence at night have anything to do with Aheng?
Han Wu, Yuan Chenghai, Fang Xiang—
Xue Han considered the actions of the three men and concluded that Aheng was definitely not a spy from Northern Qi. With these three around, it was the people of Great Xia who would suffer; eliminating them would actually be a loss for Northern Qi.
What force is behind Aheng?
As the chess piece fell from his fingertip, Xue Han had a thought: perhaps it was time to have an open and honest talk with Aheng.
As evening approached, the Qi people who had left the city were caught up by the Imperial City Guard and brought before Xue Han.
Xue Han sat in the chair, looking at the man who had been pushed to the ground.
The man looked to be around thirty years old, with an unremarkable face that would make him indistinguishable in a crowd.
“A Qi person,” Xue Han coldly uttered.
The man suddenly looked up, crying out in denial, "I'm innocent! I'm just a traveling merchant..."
Xue Han didn't bother listening to him continue and said expressionlessly, "Give him a beating first."
Two imperial guards immediately stepped forward, dragged the man over, tied him up, and lashed him hard with barbed whips.
Screams rang out, each one louder than the last.
After being whipped more than ten times, the man's face contorted in pain, and he was drenched in cold sweat.
Xue Han looked at him, her tone calm and composed: "A Qi person."
"No--"
The man opened his mouth, and Xue Hanwei raised his chin slightly: "Change to branding."
Before the man could react, the red-hot branding iron was placed on him, sizzling and emitting white smoke.
"Ah—" The scream was shrill, and the person felt a pain that struck straight to the soul.
It hurt so much that he wished he could die immediately.
Xue Han raised his hand, and the imperial guard holding the branding iron stopped.
He walked up to the man, his tone still calm: "A man from Qi."
The man opened his mouth, then glanced at the red-hot branding iron covered in charred flesh and blood, and completely broke down: "Yes, yes, I am a Qi person, I am a Qi person, please stop torturing me!"
"It's good that you're from Qi. If you had admitted it earlier, you would have avoided this ordeal," Xue Han said impatiently.
The man was on the verge of tears, thinking to himself that when a suspect is caught, shouldn't they be questioned properly? How can they just ask two words and immediately resort to torture if the suspect denies anything?
"Tell me, what were you doing at Prime Minister Fang's residence last night?"
"Send, send some gifts to Prime Minister Fang..."
"Gifts?" Xue Han thought he had misheard.
A man from Qi sent a gift to the prime minister of Da Xia.
"The purpose," he said succinctly.
But because the question was so brief, the man felt a familiar fear and quickly said, "I beg you, Prime Minister Fang, to help me persuade your emperor to transfer Huang Lin away from the border."
Xue Han's eyes darkened.
Indeed, Bai Rifang advised the current emperor that the people of the north only knew General Huang, but not the current emperor.
This matches what this person said.
"Is Fang Xiang a person from Northern Qi?"
It's not uncommon for hostile countries to make arrangements early on, giving their own people the identity of the enemy.
"no."
"no?"
Upon noticing Xue Han glancing at the imperial guard beside him, the man's face paled: "It's really not! Years ago, during the Battle of Baihe, Prime Minister Fang went as an envoy to negotiate peace with our side and interacted with our lord. We've maintained contact ever since..."
Xue Han found it increasingly absurd: "So, Prime Minister Fang isn't from Northern Qi, and he took bribes from you to do things for you?"
Fearing Xue Han wouldn't believe him, the man forced a smile and said, "Isn't there a saying in your country, 'Money makes the world go round'..."
"Besides Fang Xiang, who else did you see?" As Xue Han asked this question, it felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart.
"No."
"Really not?"
"Do Fang Xiang's servants count?"
Xue Han removed his hand from his heart and immediately felt his breathing become easier. After asking a few more questions, he stepped out.
The sky had darkened, and the cold wind was biting; even colder was Xue Han's heart.
He had seen too many corrupt officials. For the head of all officials to accept bribes from the people of Qi was unbelievable and a sign of the country's downfall.
Xue Han thought of the saying: When a country is about to perish, there will surely be monsters.
It seems I need to meet with Aheng as soon as possible, have a frank talk, and hear her plans before making any arrangements.
"Don't mention the capture of the Northern Qi spy to anyone for now," Xue Han instructed his men.
Since this matter concerns Fang Xiang, he cannot afford to be careless, and he must even be wary of his adoptive father.
Xue Han was aware of the business dealings between Xue Quan and Fang Xiang. If his adoptive father found out and intervened, things would become difficult.
That night, Xue Han remained awake for a long time. Qiu Heng waited until midnight and once again lit the exotic incense for Madam Yang.
Madam Yang saw her son in her dream, just as she had hoped.
"Granny Su, please wait."
Qiu Heng didn't let Granny Su continue to escort her, and returned to her room alone.
Her clothes and hair still carried the chill of the outdoors as Qiu Heng touched the account book that was kept close to her body.
She must leave the Prime Minister's residence tomorrow to see Xue Han.
Plans are subject to change. Now that the evidence of Fang Xiang's treason has been obtained so quickly, there are priorities, and there's no time to deal with Xue Han slowly.
Since Xue Han had sent people to keep a close eye on her, he must have noticed the Qi people who entered the Prime Minister's residence at night. If he acted decisively enough, he might already know about the collusion between Prime Minister Fang and the Qi people.
She wanted to probe Xue Han's thoughts to decide whether to expose Fang Xiang alone or cooperate with him.
She didn't sleep well that night. After washing up, Granny Su came over and invited Qiuheng to have breakfast in Madam Yang's room.
In the warm room, steaming hot breakfast items, exquisite and varied, were laid out on the table.
Madam Yang's face was pale, but her eyes were bright. As soon as she saw Qiu Heng, she couldn't help but smile: "Sixth Miss Qiu, please have a seat."
After days of longing, Mrs. Yang felt a brief sense of satisfaction upon seeing her son last night, which brought her much peace of mind.
This wasn't the first time Qiu Heng had dined with Madam Yang. She finished her meal silently, washed her hands and rinsed her mouth, and then asked to leave the mansion.
"The incense is used up, I need to go home..."
Although reluctant to let Qiu Heng go, upon hearing her words, Madam Yang had no choice but to nod: "Sixth Miss Qiu, come back soon. Granny Su, bring that set of red jeweled jewelry."
Soon a set of gold jewelry inlaid with rubies was placed in front of Qiu Heng.
"It's nothing special, Miss Qiu, you can keep it for fun."
As Fang Rui stepped in, she heard Madam Yang's words and her gaze fell on Hongbao's head and face, her expression changing.
"Mother, isn't this the set of jewelry you just got this summer? Are you going to give it to Qiu Liu?"
"Well, it's just sitting there anyway."
Fang Rui suspected that Qiu Heng had ulterior motives and had been frequently visiting Madam Yang these days. Madam Yang saw this as nothing more than causing trouble and her tone was inevitably cold.
"Mother, did Qiu Liu cast a spell on you?" Fang Rui asked, unable to contain herself any longer.
My mother even said at the time that she would keep this ruby headdress for my daughter's dowry. A set of jewelry is nothing, but isn't it strange that my mother valued Qiu Liu more than she did?
(End of this chapter)
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