With that, he waved his hand, and his men immediately prepared to take the couple away for questioning.
"Lu Baichuan, you have trespassed into my Duke's mansion without permission and have humiliated him in this way. You shall die a horrible death!"
Zhuo Wei's face turned completely red. Only now did he realize what had happened. He couldn't be arrested, nor could he admit to anything, or he would be finished.
Madam Yan also cried out in fear, "Yes, yes, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding! We didn't know the medicine was poisoned. It must have been a thief who sneaked into our house and tampered with it when the servants weren't looking. We didn't know anything!"
"Xiaoyu is my biological daughter. How could I, as her mother, possibly harm my own daughter? It's all a misunderstanding, sob sob sob..."
Yan's reaction was faster than Zhuo Wei's. Zhuo Wei could only keep cursing, while Yan could at least offer a few words of explanation.
However, Lu Baichuan was not so easily fooled. He didn't give them much of a chance to speak and waved his hand to have them taken away.
He had been keeping an eye on the Zhuo family case for a long time, so naturally he wanted to interrogate them personally. However, the couple were both cunning and could not be interrogated together, so they had to be interrogated separately, one by one.
Based on priority, Lu Baichuan went to Zhuo Wei's place first.
Zhuo Wei was already injured from the caning, and now that he was tied to the rack, his face was contorted in pain.
"Lu Baichuan, you unfilial bastard! I'm your father-in-law! How dare you treat me like this? Aren't you afraid of divine retribution?!"
"Send that unfilial daughter to see me. I refuse to believe she can stand by and watch me be tortured!"
"Let me go! I need to see the Emperor and the Crown Prince! I refuse to believe that this vast capital can be controlled by Lu Baichuan with just one hand!"
...
He kept cursing and swearing, which annoyed Lu Baichuan. He said, "He's too noisy. Gag him, beat him up, and then interrogate him."
"yes!"
The jailer immediately found a smelly rag and stuffed it into his mouth, then found a barbed whip and beat him without saying a word.
Even though his mouth was gagged, it didn't stop Zhuo Wei from screaming like a pig being slaughtered; he looked like he wanted to swallow the stinky rag in his mouth.
Hearing Zhuo Wei's voice, Yan Shi, who was imprisoned not far away, trembled with fear. She never expected that she would be betrayed by her own daughter.
Just a moment ago they were fantasizing about their bright future and how good life would be, but now they were about to face torture in this prison. Yan Shi curled up in a ball, hugging herself and shrinking into a corner, but her mind was racing.
The fact that Lu Baichuan was able to rush in so quickly indicates that he had been lying in wait. Furthermore, before smashing the bowl, Zhuo Jiayu deliberately tried to get information out of Zhuo Wei about whether he was cooperating with the Dongting people. This was probably to allow Lu Baichuan to gather evidence, which is why Lu Baichuan was so reckless in arresting the two of them for interrogation.
They're interrogating Zhuo Wei now, so it'll be my turn soon. What should I do?
Should they remain silent like Zhuo Wei, or should they confess honestly and perhaps have a chance to live?
Anyway, it was Zhuo Wei who had been in contact with those people. At most, I would be charged with failing to report something I knew about, which shouldn't be a capital offense.
As for Zhuo Wei, husband and wife are like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly away separately. Her life is the most important thing.
She could abandon even her own daughter in a critical moment, let alone a man who had no feelings for her at all.
Over the years, she has made many plans for herself. Even if the Duke's mansion is gone, she can still live a peaceful life in her later years, just not as glamorous as before.
However, compared to saving one's life, this is nothing at all.
In just a short while, she had already found a way out for herself and was no longer so panicked.
Yes, as long as the blame is pinned on Zhuo Wei, she can live!
Zhuo Wei, however, still had some backbone. Even though he was beaten and covered in blood, he didn't utter a single word.
Such a person is cold-blooded and selfish, and only cares about himself. Even threatening him with his closest relatives is useless; you still have to work on him.
Lu Baichuan was not in a hurry at all and ordered the jailers to continue the torture.
Actually, he had a powder given to him by his wife that could make people tell the truth, but he didn't want to use it. He wanted Zhuo Wei to experience the torture firsthand, otherwise how could he be worthy of his wife's years of wandering and suffering?
Zhuo Wei glared at him fiercely, no longer having the strength to curse, and said through gritted teeth, "If you have the guts, then kill me!"
"Killing you would be pointless. Don't worry, not only will I not kill you, but I'll also treat you to good food and drink and make sure you live a good life."
Yeah, if they're alive and well, then we can drag them out and beat them up every day to vent our anger.
"Lu Baichuan! What on earth did my Duke Mu's mansion do to offend you!"
Zhuo Wei really couldn't understand. If it was about recognizing relatives, then it would be fine if they didn't acknowledge them, but why were they targeting him at every turn?
"Your Excellency is joking. I am an upright and honest person, and I would never stoop to such petty tricks. As for today's matter, Your Excellency knows the truth perfectly well, so why make a fool of yourself?"
If it weren't for the Duke's ill intentions towards me, and his willingness to sacrifice his own daughter to frame me, how could I have been able to find the flaw so quickly?
If the Duke could reveal the person behind this, I, Lu, could plead with His Highness the Crown Prince to help him leave this world more peacefully, considering that the Duke and my wife still have some connection.
However, since the Duke is still feigning madness, then don't blame me for being ruthless.
As soon as he finished speaking, the jailer beat him even harder.
Zhuo Wei gritted his teeth, angry that Lu Baichuan was not accommodating at all, and even angrier at himself for raising such an ungrateful child. He had always been careful, but he never expected to be tricked by his daughter and end up like this.
"There's no one behind the scenes. I just can't stand that you, a commoner, dare to be so arrogant in the capital!"
As he spoke, he spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ground, and continued, "This time I was just unlucky to have fallen into your hands... um!"
As he was speaking, he was whipped across the face, his face instantly turning bloody and mangled, but he still refused to confess.
Having worked with that person for most of his life, it's no wonder that the person was willing to help him time and time again. Although he wasn't very capable, he was good at keeping his mouth shut.
He knew very well that if he didn't speak, he might still have a chance to live, but if he did speak, he would definitely not survive, as that person's methods were no less than Lu Baichuan's.
Lu Baichuan laughed and said, "It seems that the Duke has forgotten that just because you don't say it doesn't mean that others won't. Your wife is right next door. Are you sure she can withstand these tortures as well as you?"
How could a mother who could drive her own daughter to death keep her mouth shut for the sake of the Duke?
Or perhaps, she can resist the benefit of staying alive?
"Your Excellency should think this over carefully. If we get this information from your wife, then you'll be of no use to us. We might not even be able to leave with a whole corpse."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com