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Chapter 159 Minister Zheng, it seems you won't shed tears until you see the coffin.
Cining Palace.

Not long after King Zhou Zhi of Shu left, the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian entered the Cining Palace under the guidance of an old eunuch.

"Meet the Queen Mother."

Upon entering the Cining Palace, the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian respectfully addressed the Empress Dowager.

"The Eighth Prince has arrived."

"Quickly bring a chair for the Eighth Prince."

The Eighth Prince Zhou Xian was a brother of the late emperor, and among his many brothers, he was the one who was closest to the late emperor.

Therefore, there was no estrangement between the Empress Dowager and the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian.

Upon seeing the arrival of the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian, the Empress Dowager addressed the old eunuch who had led him in.

The old eunuch who led the Eighth Prince into the Cining Palace immediately moved a chair over for the Eighth Prince, Zhou Xian.

"Thank you, Queen Mother."

The Eighth Prince, Zhou Xian, sat down.

He wondered what had prompted the Empress Dowager to suddenly summon him to the Cining Palace.

It should be noted that since the late emperor passed away, the Empress Dowager has rarely summoned Prince Baxian to Cining Palace.

After the Eighth Prince sat down, the Empress Dowager addressed him, saying, "Eighth Prince, I summoned you here so that you might take good care of the Prince of Shu during his stay in Luoyang."

"The court has been in turmoil lately, and I fear that the Prince of Shu may unknowingly be drawn into it."

"I have been living in the palace for a long time and cannot leave the palace all the time."

"Therefore, I can only trouble my eighth brother with matters outside the palace."

The Empress Dowager looked at the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian and, without beating around the bush, directly stated the purpose of summoning the Eighth Prince to Cining Palace.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xian, the Eighth Prince, showed a hint of surprise in his eyes.

He had initially thought that the Empress Dowager's sudden summons of the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian to Cining Palace was for some important matter, but it turned out to be to look after the Prince of Shu.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will take care of the Prince of Shu."

The Eighth Prince, Zhou Xian, understood the Empress Dowager's meaning.

The Empress Dowager was worried that the Prince of Shu might get involved in court affairs during his time back in Luoyang, so she asked him to keep an eye on things.

After all, things have been rather turbulent in the imperial court lately.

One by one, the officials were investigated.

Even high-ranking officials from the Six Ministries, such as the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Justice, were removed from their posts.

This made even a royal prince like Zhou Xian, the Eighth Prince, somewhat cautious.

"Then I will have to trouble my eighth brother."

After saying this, the Empress Dowager did not say anything more.

Instead, he chatted with the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian about other things.

……

At this time, Zhou Zhi had already left the palace and returned to the Shu Prince's residence.

Sitting in the main hall of the Shu Prince's Mansion, Zhou Zhi's expression was rather unpleasant.

Zhou Zhi never expected that the Empress Dowager, his mother, would be so stern towards him this time.

It was a reprimand and warning that had never been seen before.

This made Zhou Zhi feel very resentful.

Zhou Zhi couldn't understand who the Empress Dowager's biological son was.

How could the Empress Dowager treat her own son, the Emperor, this way for the sake of the Emperor's brother who is not her biological son and sits on the throne?

"Mother, I will show you that I am no less capable than him." A resolute look flashed across Zhou Zhi's face as he murmured to himself.

"Three Virtues".

Zhou Zhi called out.

"Your Majesty."

San De's figure appeared in the hall.

"Immediately and secretly contact the Prime Minister and tell him that I have important matters to discuss with him."

Zhou Zhi spoke first.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

San De turned and left the council hall.

"At this point, there's no going back."

After San De left, Zhou Zhi's gaze drifted away with a deep look.

……

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

After returning from Cining Palace, Zhou Chen continued to process the memorials placed on the dragon desk.

Not a moment.

An imperial eunuch entered and whispered something in Cao Shaoqin's ear.

"what happened?"

"What happened?"

After the eunuch left, Zhou Chen asked a question without even looking up.

Cao Shaoqin immediately spoke up: "Your Majesty, some of the palace maids and eunuchs serving in Cining Palace have just been replaced."

"After the King of Shu left, the Empress Dowager summoned the Eighth Prince to the Cining Palace."

Cao Shaoqin relayed the news that the eunuchs and guards had just told him.

No matter what happened outside, it couldn't escape the notice of the Eastern Depot, and the same was true inside the palace.

Even the Cining Palace is no exception.

However, Cining Palace is somewhat special, as it is the residence of the Empress Dowager.

The Eastern Depot could only go this far, knowing only the general information.

To be more specific, the reason why the Empress Dowager summoned the Eighth Prince to the Cining Palace remains unknown.

"Oh!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chen put down the memorial in his hand, raised his head, and his eyes flickered.

In Zhou Chen's mind, the Empress Dowager was a person who cherished the past.

The palace maids and eunuchs serving in Cining Palace were mostly elderly people who had been working there for many years.

Why would the Empress Dowager suddenly replace some of the palace maids and eunuchs in Cining Palace?
After pondering for a moment.

Zhou Chen glanced at Cao Shaoqin; "Tell the people from the Eastern Depot to keep an eye on the Eighth Prince."

"Look at what the Eighth Prince has been doing these past few days!"

Zhou Chen said calmly.

Now that he knew that King Zhou Zhi of Shu was restless, Zhou Chen also paid close attention to the Empress Dowager's actions.

It wasn't that Zhou Chen, with his petty mind, suspected that the Empress Dowager was also involved in the schemes of King Zhou Zhi of Shu.

Zhou Chen knew that the imperial family was the most ruthless place.

Born into an imperial family.

First comes ruthlessness, then comes the emperor.

This is the law of survival.

Nothing else.

As they were both sons of the Empress Dowager, Zhou Chen believed that the Empress Dowager would not favor one son over the other, and would not scheme against the other son for the sake of the other.

No queen mother has ever done this before.

However, as an emperor, Zhou Chen could not take this belief as complete trust.

The necessary precautions for an emperor should still be taken.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Cao Shaoqin bowed.

Previously, the Eastern Depot had always been wary of members of the royal family.

Without Emperor Zhou Chen's permission, the Eastern Depot would not monitor members of the royal family.

However, ever since rebellions like Zhou Junxian and Zhou Qian, the carefree prince, emerged, Zhou Chen has relinquished this power over the Eastern Depot.

Within Luoyang, this applies to everyone from imperial relatives to high-ranking officials.

Whether it was local officials or ordinary people, they were all targets of the Eastern Depot.

There are no exceptions.

After speaking, Zhou Chen continued to bury himself in processing the memorials.

I didn't really take it to heart.

Cao Shaoqin also quietly left the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

With Dian Wei, the commander of the Imperial Guards, present, Cao Shaoqin's time on duty at the Hall of Mental Cultivation wouldn't be long.

His main focus was on overseeing the Eastern Depot.

With the Minister of Justice recently removed from office, many matters now require the approval of this second-in-command of the Eastern Depot.

...Just a few days after the Minister of Revenue was executed and his entire family was wiped out, the Minister of Justice was also found guilty of embezzlement and arrested.

The residence of the Minister of Justice was raided and confiscated by the Eastern Depot.

This news caused quite a stir in Luoyang.

Although officials have been arrested every day for investigating the Ministry of Revenue, they are nothing compared to the Minister of Justice.

The Minister of Justice is one of the six ministers, a high-ranking official in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Apart from the four regents, the ministers of the six ministries held the most power in the imperial court.

It's hard to imagine that the confiscation of the property of such an important court official wouldn't cause a stir.

Moreover, the Minister of Justice comes from a different background; he is from the Rongyang Zheng family, one of the seven great families of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Given his background and the high position and power of the Minister of Justice, the fact that his home was raided naturally became a topic of discussion.

The Fan family of Jiexiu, who were the first to be exterminated by Emperor Zhou Chen, originally thought they could escape the court's extermination by breaking up into smaller groups and thus hold off the court's forces.

However, they underestimated the extent to which imperial power was deeply ingrained in people's hearts.

Emperor Zhou Chen's decree to punish all related members directly thwarted the Fan family's strategy of breaking up the group into smaller units, forcing local officials to do everything in their power to suppress the Fan family rebels in their respective areas.

In addition, there was the pursuit and capture of the forces of Cao Zhengchun, Lü Bu, and Zhang Liao.

The Fan family of Jiexiu suffered a devastating blow in a short period of time.

……

The location of the Eastern Depot.

Cao Shaoqin sat in the supervisor's chair, glanced at one of the imperial guards below, and asked in a sinister tone, "Minister of Justice, how's the torture going?"

This is also the consistent modus operandi of the Eastern Depot.

Anyone imprisoned in the Eastern Depot's dungeon was first subjected to several of the Eastern Depot's cruel tortures, to let them experience the methods of the Eastern Depot, before being interrogated.

Just like Fan Yongdou, the Minister of Revenue.

After entering the Eastern Depot's prison, Fan Yongdou was subjected to several kinds of torture by the Eastern Depot before Cao Zhengchun began his interrogation.

"Reporting to the Chief Supervisor, as instructed, the Minister of Justice has basically confessed, but it's all about embezzlement and bribery; he hasn't said a single other word."

The guard bowed and said.

"is it?"

Cao Shaoqin grinned maliciously; "It seems that our Minister of Justice, like that Minister of Revenue, is not just tough on the tongue, but also on the bone."

"Walk."

"Come with me to take a look."

Cao Shaoqin got up and left the hall, heading to the Eastern Depot prison.

Generally speaking, given Cao Shaoqin's status, there was no need for him to personally go to the Eastern Depot prison to watch the interrogation of these prisoners.

But the Minister of Justice was different. The Minister of Justice was involved in a major conspiracy between the three powerful families and the Prince of Shu to change the world. Cao Shaoqin had no choice but to go and see for himself.

The Eastern Depot's prison was gloomy, damp, and extremely dark.

A musty, decaying smell permeated the air.

After entering the Eastern Depot prison, Cao Shaoqin went straight to the innermost part and stopped outside a cell.

The Minister of Justice is being held in this cell.

At this time, the Minister of Justice was hanging in the prison.

After enduring several forms of torture by the Eastern Depot, the Minister of Justice was covered in wounds and had lost his former official composure, appearing only disheveled and wretched.

Cao Shaoqin walked into the cell and looked at the Minister of Justice, who was hanging there covered in wounds. "Minister Zheng, you've already experienced several of the Eastern Depot's cruel tortures. They must have been unpleasant!"

"If you are honest and tell me everything I want to know, I will give you a quick death."

"Otherwise, you'll have to experience all 108 kinds of torture used by the Eastern Depot."

Cao Shaoqin looked at the Minister of Justice and spoke in a effeminate manner.

The Minister of Justice raised his head, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and glanced at Cao Shaoqin; "I have confessed everything I need to, and I admit to all my crimes."

"What else do you want me to explain?"

The Minister of Justice said weakly.

Cao Shaoqin smiled sinisterly; "It seems that Minister Zheng wants to experience all 108 kinds of tortures of the Eastern Depot. The prison cell next door holds Minister of Revenue Fan Yongdou."

"Minister Fan fainted after experiencing the thirty-six tortures of the Eastern Depot. I wonder if Minister Zheng could endure more or less of them."

Cao Shaoqin stared menacingly at the Minister of Justice.

Upon hearing this, the Minister of Justice's pupils contracted involuntarily.

When he was imprisoned earlier, the Minister of Justice saw the people being held in the cell next door.

Because the person in the next cell was lying on the ground with their back to the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Justice did not recognize who the person in the next cell was.

But what I saw in the cell next door was that the man looked like a monster, with almost no part of his body intact.

Clearly, they suffered tortures that the Eastern Depot could not have imagined.

The Minister of Justice was initially speculating about the identity of the person imprisoned in the adjacent cell, wondering why the Eastern Depot would resort to such cruel torture.

Unexpectedly, the person locked up next to them turned out to be Fan Yongdou, the Minister of Revenue.

In just a few days, he turned into such a horrible mess.

It's simply unbelievable.

What do you want to know?

"I've confessed everything I need to, I've admitted to all my crimes, I really don't know what else you want to know?"

The Minister of Justice glanced at Cao Shaoqin again and said.

This time, Cao Shaoqin stopped wasting words and looked directly at the Minister of Justice, saying, "Minister Zheng, I want to know about the secret plot between your Zheng family and the Prince of Shu."

As soon as Cao Shaoqin said this...

The Minister of Justice's expression changed slightly, but he quickly concealed it.

However, this did not escape Cao Shaoqin's notice.

"Minister Zheng wouldn't tell me, the Grand Eunuch, that you didn't know about this, would he?"

Cao Shaoqin looked at the Minister of Justice.

The Minister of Justice smiled, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth; "Cao Shaoqin, tell His Majesty that if you want to deal with my Rongyang Zheng family, you'd better come up with a better excuse."

"There's no need to drag your own brother into this."

The Minister of Justice said sarcastically.

On the surface, he appeared calm, but in his heart, the Minister of Justice was in turmoil.

The Minister of Justice had no idea how their secret plot had been leaked.

How did Cao Shaoqin find out?

However, these are no longer issues that the Minister of Justice should be considering at this time.

The Minister of Justice is now considering that since this matter has been leaked and the Eastern Depot knows about it, then the person in the palace must also know about it.

So, can their plot with the King of Shu still succeed?
"Minister Zheng, it seems you won't shed tears until you see the coffin."

"After enduring thirty-six kinds of torture, Fan Yongdou finally spoke up and confessed the conspiracy between you three great families and the King of Shu."

"Now you're pretending to be stupid with me? Do you think I don't know?"

Cao Shaoqin looked at the Minister of Justice and said.

The Minister of Justice looked back at Cao Shaoqin and gave a weak smile; "Since you already know, Cao Shaoqin, why ask me again?"

Cao Shaoqin's attempt to trick him won't be so easy.

If Minister of Revenue Fan Yongdou had truly confessed, Cao Shaoqin would not have questioned him further.

Moreover, when the Minister of Justice had previously gathered with Chancellor Yuan Bo and Prince Zhou Zhi of Shu to discuss matters...

The Minister of Justice already knew from Prince Zhou Zhi of Shu that Fan Yongdou's entire family had been executed by Cao Zhengchun and subjected to torture by the Eastern Depot, but they had never spoken of it.

Now, Cao Shaoqin says that Fan Yongdou has spoken up, but the Minister of Justice doesn't believe it at all.

"hehe."

Cao Shaoqin gave a sinister smile.

"Someone is coming."

“Let me, the Eastern Depot, give Minister Zheng one of the 108 cruel tortures, one by one.”

"Don't stop until Minister Zheng speaks."

"If that doesn't work, then try them all over again."

"I want to see just how tough Minister Zheng's bones and mouth really are."

Cao Shaoqin said menacingly.

Cao Shaoqin had originally intended to try and trick the Minister of Justice! But the old fox Minister of Justice didn't fall for it.

Cao Shaoqin then stopped wasting words and had no choice but to resort to the Eastern Depot's cruel torture methods.

"Yes, Second Supervisor."

The imperial guards, having received their orders, began to torture the Minister of Justice once again.

……

(End of this chapter)