Chapter 1 The Iron Yama King Who Forcibly Confessed to Disrespect Gods and Buddhas
"Lord Feng, this case is no ordinary one. Lord Gao has been personally investigating it for two days and two nights without finding any clues. He only rested at 5:15 PM. Look at this... what a coincidence..."
Feng Tan looked up at the Vice Minister of Justice, whose temples were slightly gray, and calmly replied, "It is my unfortunate timing that I have come. If I cannot pay my respects to Lord Gao, then may I be allowed to visit the prison?"
Left Vice Minister Zhen Yongming is fifty-seven years old this year. He has been an official for more than thirty years since he passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty-six. It is rare for someone of his age to be promoted to the third rank. However, he has never been arrogant. He is cautious and always walks on thin ice, never daring to slack off in the slightest.
Having navigated the ups and downs of officialdom for thirty years, Zhen Yongming naturally had his own way of judging people. Half a month ago, Feng Tan was transferred from the sixth-rank official of the Qingli Division in Fuzhou to the seventh-rank official of the Ministry of Justice in the capital. Although his rank was downgraded, his real power was significantly increased.
The officials of the Six Ministries were not subordinate to any other department, but reported directly to His Majesty. They possessed the power to offer advice, supervise and impeach, and could even remonstrate with the emperor. Their promotions were incredibly rapid. All civil and military officials of the court were subject to their supervision, and even the Three Dukes, Nine Ministers, and Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet had to bow to them when they met.
Besides the aforementioned official position, Feng Tan's own remarkable qualities also played a role.
Feng Tan passed the imperial examination at the age of sixteen. Thanks to solving the case of the fallen dragon, he was promoted to the capital just two years after passing the examination, which shows his talent and ability. His career prospects are immeasurable. In addition, Feng Tan came here on the emperor's orders. Going to the prison to check on him is also within his duties. If he were to stop him, it would only give others a reason to criticize him.
After thinking it over for a while, Zhen Yongming made up his mind, brushed the thin layer of snow that had fallen on his shoulders, and said, "Lord Feng, please come with me."
Feng Tan bowed respectfully, "Thank you for your trouble, Lord Zhen."
In early winter, the days are short; in the short time they had been talking, it was already completely dark. The two left the main courtyard of the Ministry of Justice and moved to the prison pagoda.
At the beginning of his reign, Emperor Jianming, the founding emperor of the Daewang Dynasty, ordered the Ministry of Justice prison to be renovated and rebuilt in the style of a pagoda. It was surrounded by iron poles, with eighteen stories and four pillars reaching to the sky and the ground. He personally named it "Prison Pagoda". The Prison Pagoda was connected to the imperial palace on one end and the six ministries on the other, thus reminding his subjects that "although I govern with benevolence, I am not without iron fists".
Carrying a lantern, Feng Tan walked with extra caution through the dark passageway. When she reached the thirteenth floor, the stench of blood in the prison grew stronger. She frowned, and her unease gradually grew.
Zhen Yongming was already quite old, and after climbing so many steps, he was panting heavily. When he reached the iron gate on the thirteenth floor, he wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead and turned to Feng Tan, saying, "Lord Feng, this must be your first time visiting the Prison Pagoda. You might feel uncomfortable when you see the torturers. Would you like me to go in and clean you up first?"
Feng Tan shook his head and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Lord Zhen, but I am fine. Please open the door."
Zhen Yongming couldn't help but take another look at Feng Tan. It seemed that this young man not only had an otherworldly appearance, but also a calm and composed temperament.
Pushing open the heavy iron door, the strong stench of blood, along with the faint groans of pain from within the cell, rushed out.
The scene that came into view made Feng Tan's pupils shrink. She knew that the Ministry of Justice was in charge of criminal law, but without solid evidence, how could such cruel torture be inflicted on a person who was very likely innocent?!
The person being fished was completely naked, covered in bloody welts from being whipped, with the skin on her face and body turned outwards and wrinkled. Her hands and shoulder blades were pierced by iron nails, and drops of blood dripped from the holes to her toes, gradually pooling into a puddle.
Even more horrifying, the tips of her breasts were actually cut off by human hands!
Perhaps fearing she would be tortured to death, a bowl of warm ginseng soup was placed on the small table in the cell, so that her life could be kept afloat at all times.
Just half a month ago... when she saw her, she was still a vibrant and passionate girl.
In the dimly lit cell, the crackling of the burning candle brought Feng Tan back to her senses. She lowered her eyes to hide the emotions that suddenly welled up within them, and when she looked up again, there was no ripple in her eyes. Her tone was flat and even. "Lord Zhen, Article 1 of the General Provisions of the Dahuang Criminal Code states that torture shall not be inflicted on prisoners without conclusive evidence."
“Just a prostitute.” Zhen Yongming waved his hand, signaling the jailer watching over the side to leave. “Lord Feng, Gu Junwei, the son of the Minister of War, and Zhu Youqing, the Vice Minister of Revenue, died together on her bed half a month ago. The Minister of War’s son died mysteriously while having an affair with a third-rank official. His Majesty is furious, the court and the public are in uproar, and the people are in an uproar! And this prostitute insists that she did not do it. So Lord Gao, you will have no choice but to use torture to extract a confession.”
Feng Tan quietly clenched her fingers, her nails digging into her flesh to maintain her official demeanor. Her expression was restrained, revealing nothing of her true feelings. "Under torture, most cases are wrongful convictions."
Looking at the slender young man standing alone at the intersection of black and white light and shadow, Zhen Yongming sighed and said, "How could I not know? But His Majesty ordered us to find the murderer within a month and give the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue an explanation. Only she knows best what happened that night. Although there are many wrongful convictions under torture, it is also the fastest way to pry open a person's mouth."
Feng Tan's clenched knuckles grew increasingly pale. She slowly walked up to Wan Niang, untied her cloak, and asked, "Are you afraid of the pain? Do you want to wear it?"
Wan Niang raised her blood-stained face, only her pupils lit up with a glimmer of light when she saw Feng Tan, and she said hoarsely, "No... I'm not afraid of the pain, I want to wear it."
Feng Tan moved closer to her, gently draping his cloak over her exposed body. In the instant their ears met, he lowered his voice and said, "Wan Niang, I'll find a way."
Wan Niang's eyes widened slightly. She never expected that the young official she had met once at the Red Sleeve Pavilion half a month ago would suddenly say such a thing to her. But this undoubtedly gave Wan Niang the last bit of hope before she died.
She wanted to live.
Even after being tortured like this, she still wanted to live.
Feng Tan tightened her sash, covering her naked body completely under the cloak, and turned to Zhen Yongming, saying, "Since I have been ordered to investigate, I must remind you, sir, that this task is not easy. If a confession is obtained through torture, the truth can be changed at will. If the matter comes to light one day, how much better will the Ministry of Justice's fate be than that of this prostitute, given their eagerness to complete their task and deceive the Emperor? If we want to solve the case, we cannot find any new clues by simply resorting to torture."
Zhen Yongming's eyes lit up slightly. The young man in front of him had solved the case of the fallen dragon that had troubled His Majesty for a long time by his own efforts. He must have some skills. So he changed his calm tone and asked urgently, "In your opinion, Lord Yifeng, where else can we start with this case?"
Feng Tan asked Wan Niang, "Wan Niang, were there any signs before the two lords died?"
Wan Niang had answered the same question countless times in the past two weeks. She moved her dry, cracked lips and said haltingly, "That night, the two gentlemen asked me to extinguish the candles and serve them. The room was pitch black, with only a sliver of moonlight filtering through the curtains to illuminate the dimly lit bed… The Vice Minister… at that time… pressed my head into the blankets for an unknown amount of time… and then suddenly stopped moving… The room was dark, and when I looked back, I saw the Vice Minister's face was as white as a ghost, covered in lines—it was… utterly terrifying…"
Wan Niang wasn't particularly ashamed of being barely clothed, but talking about such matters of sexual intercourse in front of such a pure and handsome young man made her feel that it would defile his ears, so she lowered her voice further and further.
Feng Tan remained calm and said to Wan Niang, "Just tell me in detail."
“Yes,” Wan Niang spat out a mouthful of blood, her breath coming in short gasps, “The Vice Minister died and became a vengeful ghost… Lord Gu was also terrified. He moved the Vice Minister off me, and I had just turned over when… Lord Gu suddenly also turned into a ghost and died… died.”
As if recalling the scene again, Wan Niang trembled violently, her voice shaking repeatedly, "My lord... I had no reason to kill you two! Please save me... I... don't want to die here..."
Feng Tan nodded, then turned to Zhen Yongming and said, "Lord Zhen, you must already know about Wan Niang's confession. What is your opinion on this matter?"
After pondering for a while, Zhen Yongming said, "After the incident, the Ministry of Justice immediately sealed off the room and searched through all the items in the room, but found nothing suspicious. The two officials died from poisoning, and only Wan Niang survived in the room. In addition, Wan Niang said that there was no one else in the room. This is really... really unbelievable."
A strong wind howled, and the snow outside the iron bars drifted slowly down to Feng Tan's feet through the half-open window of the cell. She reached out to catch the drifting snowflakes, then turned to look into Zhen Yongming's eyes. "Lord Zhen," she said, "all poisons have a physical form. They may be ground into powder, rolled into pills, or even flow like water... And there are many ways to administer poison, whether it enters the mouth, nose, or skin... The time it takes for the poison to take effect varies depending on the individual and the poison itself. You have been investigating in the Ministry of Justice for many years; you must know the principle that 'the blade used in a crime can catch the tiger cub without going through the tiger's den.'"
Zhen Yongming turned his head to look at the prison window, then at Feng Tan, and after thinking for a moment, said, "The coroner has determined that the poison they were poisoned with is the most potent and rare poison in the world, the Yin Ghost Poison. This poison takes effect in one to two quarters of an hour. Before the poison took effect, they had been in Wan Niang's room for more than an hour... In other words, if the poison was not administered by Wan Niang, it is possible that it turned into powder outside the window... or somewhere else and was inhaled by the two gentlemen?"
After saying that, Zhen Yongming suddenly overturned his own idea and said, "But Wan Niang did not die from poisoning."
“Wan Niang just said that she was held down by the officials under the covers, which means that her head was in a safe area when the poison was introduced, so the poison had no way to enter.” Feng Tan held the melted snow water in his palm, turning his hand over to let the snow water pour down. His voice suddenly turned cold, and his gaze toward Zhen Yongming was no longer gentle. He asserted, “The Ministry of Justice’s investigation was not enough.”
Zhen Yongming averted his gaze amidst such stares, saying, "I have learned a great deal today. Without further ado, I will immediately send someone to investigate the Red Embroidery Pavilion again."
Feng Tan slowly withdrew his slightly sharp gaze, his expression indifferent and emotionless. "You flatter me, sir. I am ashamed to accept such praise."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Wan Niang, then at Zhen Yongming, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Zhen Yongming, a shrewd man in officialdom, stroked his beard and smiled, "The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Criminal Affairs will inevitably have dealings in the future. Lord Feng, just let me know if you have any requests. I'd like to do you a favor, wouldn't I?"
Feng Tan said, "Then I will not keep you in suspense and will speak frankly. The girls in Hongxiu Pavilion are all government-run prostitutes. They are unfortunate people who were implicated by their fathers and brothers, and they did not become prostitutes willingly. They are literate and educated, and it is already pitiful that they were implicated innocently. If they are subjected to torture to extract confessions, it would be truly unjust. Of course, the Ministry of Justice also has its difficulties..."
“I understand what Lord Feng means,” Zhen Yongming interrupted Feng Tan. “I will report to the Minister and have the torture stopped here.”
Feng Tan bowed in thanks and followed Zhen Yongming out of the prison.
As Zhen Yongming walked, he said, "Lord Feng should know Wan Niang, right? But Lord Feng has only been in the capital for half a month, how did he get involved with Wan Niang?"
Although he spoke with a smile, his words were full of probing.
The light snow that had fallen when she arrived had melted into large flakes of snowflakes, blanketing the night. In the snowy night, Feng Tan's face appeared even more serene, but her words were not so innocent: "Wan Niang and I are nothing more than people who have rolled around in bed a few times."
Zhen Yongming was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter. The doubt in his eyes faded slightly, and he stroked his beard, saying, "Knowing that one is attracted to beauty and admiring young women is only human nature, only human nature!"
After he finished speaking, he saw a figure standing quietly in the wind and snow ahead. The figure was eight feet tall, with a robust build, wearing a straw hat and a large knife at his waist. The straw hat was covered with a thick layer of snow, as if it had been waiting for a long time.
“These are my guards,” Feng Tan introduced casually, then looked at Meng Henabul’s soaked clothes and said, “Uncle Meng, didn’t I tell you to use an umbrella when it snows heavily?”
Meng Henaboul's voice came clearly from under the straw hat, "Lin Wanzhou, see her off and return quickly."
Meng Henabul's Central Plains dialect was poor, always broken and intermittent, but Feng Tan understood his meaning immediately, and his calm face suddenly showed ripples, "Lin Wanzhou has been sent away?!"
Menghenabor nodded and said, "Yes."
Seeing Feng Tan's change from his usual composed demeanor, Zhen Yongming said thoughtfully, "Lin Wanzhou? Lin Wanzhou, the most beautiful courtesan in the capital, from the Red Sleeve Pavilion? Lord Feng, you really do have a way with people."
Just now there was Wan Niang, and now the top courtesan has arrived. This Lord Feng must have a close relationship with Hongxiu Pavilion. He might not know anyone else in Hongxiu Pavilion, but it's impossible that he doesn't know Lin Wanzhou. Lin Wanzhou was implicated in her mother's crime and was demoted to Hongxiu Pavilion as a prostitute by His Majesty at the age of six. Judging by the years, she should be just coming of age? Moreover, official prostitutes can never leave Hongxiu Pavilion for their entire lives, and ordinary people would never dare to take her in easily.
Feng Tan asked anxiously, "Where did you send her? To whom did you give her?"
Menghenabul slowly replied, "To the Left Censor-in-Chief, Xiao, Yinshi."
Feng Tan had only been in the capital for a short time, yet he had surely heard of Xiao Yinshi, the Left Censor-in-Chief. In the tenth year of the Chongming reign, Xiao Yinshi, at the tender age of fifteen, achieved the highest rank in the imperial examination, gaining the emperor's favor in the Golden Palace and being appointed as the Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy. Half a year later, when Japanese pirates repeatedly invaded the border, he volunteered to go to the northwest to find the power of the Da Ming tribe and persuade them to join forces with the Da Huang to attack the pirates. This battle was a great victory, and the Chongming Emperor promoted him to Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Five years later, when the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, the highest supervisory body of the Da Huang, retired, Xiao Yinshi was promoted from Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Left Censor-in-Chief.
Xiao Yinshi has been an official for ten years and is only twenty-five years old. He has no powerful family or influential relatives, and has risen to the rank of second-grade official solely through his own efforts, becoming a powerful minister. Throughout the three hundred years of the Huang Dynasty, no one has been able to surpass him. Given time, he will surely enter the important central government of the cabinet.
When he served as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he was ruthless and sharp in his methods. Just hearing his name could stop a child from crying at night. Back then, there was even a doggerel about him that circulated among the people.
From afar, she possesses a divine countenance; up close, her natural grace is divine. With a flick of her finger, she can manipulate events, severing flesh and bone. If there is no Yama in the mortal realm, the prisoners in the imperial jail will cry out in injustice!
This Iron King Yama, who disrespects gods and Buddhas, has been repeatedly sought by powerful families to form alliances with them, but he never agrees. He has no female attendants by his side and does not frequent brothels.
Zhen Yongming said, "Lord Feng, don't be anxious. Lord Xiao is not interested in women, he won't accept her."
Among all the civil and military officials in the court, few dared to send prostitutes to the government, and of course, even fewer dared to accept them. At most, they would secretly enjoy them for a couple of days before sending them back. Of all these officials who loved to play with women, Xiao Yinshi was the only one who would not be included.
Menghenabul said, "He accepted it."
A fierce wind, carrying snowflakes, blew, making faces look as if they were being sliced by a knife. Feng Tan remained silent for a moment, then bowed to Zhen Yongming in farewell, "Lord Zhen, I have disturbed you today, this humble official shall take his leave now."
Zhen Yongming watched as the young man deftly mounted his horse in the wind and snow, the galloping hooves kicking up swirling snowflakes until he disappeared into the vast snowstorm.
This young official has quite a few connections with courtesans. Wan Niang is one thing, but now there's Lin Wanzhou... Lin Wanzhou... Lin Wanzhou was convicted because of her mother, and her mother is... Feng Youming.
It's fate that she was the instigator of the female calamity case. Since Emperor Chongming ascended the throne, no one has committed a crime more serious than her.
He had investigated Feng Tan's background: a native of Qingning County, born into a farming family, his parents died when he was five, and he was subsequently adopted by his uncle. Aside from sharing the same surname, Feng Tan and Feng Youming could never have any connection. Or perhaps it was just a young man's infatuation with a beautiful woman, and he was simply eager to win her over? However, if Feng Tan truly loved Lin Wanzhou and was going to compete with the Grand Censor for her, he was afraid he wouldn't have a good ending.
"Never mind, what's he worrying about?" Zhen Yongming squinted, wiped the snow off his eyelashes, and sighed, "It seems the snow came exceptionally early this year."
A note from the author:
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