Upon hearing Lu Baichuan's words, Zhuo Wei was instantly stunned. He had calculated everything, but he had overlooked the Yan family.
Having been married for many years, he knew Yan Shi quite well. She was indeed a ruthless and selfish person; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to use this matter to threaten him for so many years, not only keeping her position as the mistress of the house but also making him constantly wary of her.
Logically speaking, after enjoying so many benefits over the years, Yan shouldn't confess so easily, since she should know that person's methods.
Lu Baichuan noticed his dazed look and the struggle and hesitation in his eyes, and continued, "It seems that the Duke has already made up his mind. So, does the Duke intend to speak up himself, or wait for your wife to speak up? You know, speaking up first will save you some suffering."
Lu Baichuan sat opposite him with a cold, murderous smile on his face. Zhuo Wei didn't dare to look at his expression at all, and lowered his head guiltily, seemingly lost in thought.
"General, it seems he has fainted."
The jailer, seeing that he hadn't said a word for a long time, went over to take a look and reported back with some speechlessness.
Lu Baichuan chuckled. His breathing was still so rapid; how could he have really fainted? He was just pretending to faint to avoid interrogation.
"Wake him up."
"Yes... oh, he bit his tongue!"
The jailer was about to go over when he saw blood trickling from the corner of Zhuo Wei's mouth. He quickly reached out to press it down to prevent him from actually dying.
This surprised Lu Baichuan. For someone like Zhuo Wei to be willing to bite his tongue and commit suicide rather than reveal the person behind the scenes, there are only two possibilities: either the person behind the scenes is very powerful and he dares not challenge them easily, or Zhuo Wei is not in a cooperative relationship with them at all, but is a member of that organization himself, and is confident that the Yan family does not know everything. Once he dies, whatever the Yan family says will be impossible to prove.
The jailer checked them over and was relieved to find that he had discovered it early. After applying medicine, the men were out of danger, but the ordeal had nearly killed them; they had fainted from the pain.
"General, my tongue has been bitten and I'm afraid I won't be able to speak."
The jailer looked at Lu Baichuan with some guilt. He was the closest to Zhuo Wei at the time, and if he had reacted faster, Zhuo Wei's tongue wouldn't have been so badly injured.
"It's alright. If his tongue is damaged, he still has his hands; if he loses his hands, he still has his feet. I don't believe he won't talk. Wake him up, give him some ginseng water, and continue the torture. Just make sure he doesn't die."
Lu Baichuan has plenty of ways to deal with people like Zhuo Wei. He has to avenge his wife first, and there's no rush to get a confession from him anyway.
After giving his explanation, Lu Baichuan went to Yan's place. Yan was locked in a cell and tried to keep her presence as inconspicuous as possible, but the jailers still came in and dragged her out.
"Don't hit me! Don't hit me! I don't know anything! I really don't know anything! It's all a misunderstanding!"
She kept repeating these words over and over, acting like a mentally unstable madwoman, as if trying to escape interrogation in this way.
"The Duke committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Does the Madam also want to suffer the same fate?"
Lu Baichuan looked at her with a smile on his face, looking just like a bad uncle who was coaxing a child.
Yan was still shaking her head and repeating that sentence in a mad manner, but when she heard him speak, she was so frightened that her legs went weak and she almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, she was dragged away by two jailers and escaped a disaster.
"Let's do it."
As soon as Lu Baichuan spoke, the jailer was about to tie her to the rack. She panicked, but didn't immediately switch sides. She screamed at the top of her lungs, "Your Excellency, please save me! I really don't know anything! Your Excellency, please save me, waaaaaah..."
She shouted with all her might, but heard no response. After all, Zhuo Wei had bitten his tongue and couldn't make a sound, so he couldn't respond to her.
Yan Shi then truly began to panic. If Zhuo Wei really committed suicide out of guilt, the focus of the attack would not be shifted to him. Everyone would be counting on her, and their partners would also be watching her. If she dared to confess, they probably wouldn't even know how they died.
She was filled with resentment. How could that bastard Zhuo Wei be so cowardly? He committed suicide out of fear of punishment. What was she supposed to do?
Just then, the merciless whip came down, and she screamed and fainted.
The jailer paused, looking at Lu Baichuan with a helpless expression, his heart pounding with panic.
So easily beaten? He only hit her once!
"continue."
Lu Baichuan's calm voice rang out from the side, which spurred the jailer to resume the beating, and the man woke up in no time.
"Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! I really don't know anything! Waaaaah, this must all be a misunderstanding! I'm just a simple woman, I really don't know anything!"
She looked at Lu Baichuan with a pleading expression on her face.
"It's alright if you don't know now. Madam can think about it slowly and tell me when you remember."
Lu Baichuan sat down next to him and took a sip of tea with great pleasure.
My wife should wake up soon. I need to buy her some snacks on the way back. I have a lot of things to do and can't be with her all the time, so I need to make the most of every opportunity to see her.
Seeing that he remained unmoved, Yan began to think of other methods.
"I...I...I only know He Jiuniang's background, nothing else. If you promise to let me go, I'll tell you!"
Lu Baichuan ignored him completely, his mind preoccupied with what delicious food to bring back for his wife.
"Don't you really want to know who He Jiuniang is? If you knew her background, would you still be able to stay with her without caring about anything else?"
Yan was anxious and kept trying to sell herself, unaware that what she was saying was completely unimportant to Lu Baichuan.
Regardless of her background, his wife is still his wife. Moreover, she comes from the future and is not affected by her background. Yan made a wrong bet.
Seeing that Lu Baichuan remained silent, the jailer changed the instrument of torture. This time it was a finger clamp. If you pulled hard, you could hear the bones cracking. If you pulled harder, you could crush the bones.
After just one pull, Madam Yan couldn't take it anymore and started yelling, "I'll confess! I'll tell you everything!"
"But I'm only telling you this. Otherwise, even if you kill me, I won't tell you!"
She looked at Lu Baichuan with unwavering resolve in her eyes.
She was gambling, gambling on how deep Lu Baichuan's feelings for He Jiuniang were, which was her only chance to survive.
Lu Baichuan thought for a moment, then dismissed the guards, leaving only the two of them in the interrogation room.
"Speak, my lady, remember, you only have one chance."
Lu Baichuan stood up. It was almost time. He would finish asking this question and then leave work!
Madam Yan gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, steeled her resolve, and said, "I don't know much. I only know that the man is He Jiu Niang's biological father, and he is from Dongting. He has a very good personal relationship with my Duke!"
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