My Lord, your wife is spreading rumors about you again.

Chapter 86: Even in times of disaster, one must dress properly
"He didn't say a word, and he was very stubborn." Jiang Tong raised his head in the direction of Shen Ke: "Your Highness is planning to torture him."

Mo Zhao, who was dying, raised his head. His lips were cracked and bleeding, his eye sockets and cheekbones were deeply sunken, and half of his teeth in his mouth had been pulled out.

His eyes stayed on Ming Li for a long time: "Second Miss Ming, are you here to interrogate me?"

Mingli did not answer.

She turned to look at Shen Ke and said, "Your Highness, let's go here. You go upstairs and rest first. I have something else to discuss with you later."

"Okay." Shen Ke had no objection. He took two steps forward and handed the whip to Mingli: "Then I'll wait for you. The rest is up to you."

After saying that, Shen Ke took An Zhi out of the dungeon. Zhang Zhi, Ming Li, and Jiang Tong all bowed their heads towards his back and said, "Farewell, Your Highness."

I don’t know if it’s a habit of being a minister for decades, but even though Mo Zhao was in this situation, he still lowered his head towards the place where Shen Ke left.

This is the respect that a subject has for his king, which is ingrained in his blood.

Zhang Zhi sat aside, sharpened his pen, and prepared to record his testimony.

Ming Li waved to Jiang Tong and leaned over to whisper something to her. Jiang Tong was confused at first, but when she saw that she was not joking, she nodded, put away the dagger, and turned to leave.

"Mr. Mo, you are also in my hands, why don't we talk?" Mingli walked towards Mo Zhao with a smile on his face: "Give me your confession, and I will try my best to satisfy you with whatever you want."

Mo Zhao sneered and closed his eyes: "I just want to die."

"Death is the easiest thing in this world." Mingli walked to the interrogation table. She lowered her head and ran her fingers over the sharp silver blades one by one. "If you really want to die, bite your tongue immediately. I won't stop you."

Mo Zhao: “.”

Mingli spent a long time choosing and finally picked a knife that was handy. She walked around behind Mo Zhao, who took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Mingli looked weak, but in fact, she was more brutal than anyone else.

She probably wanted to kill herself directly and then forge a confession.

But the false confession has loopholes after all. As long as the second prince reads the confession, he will know that he has not betrayed, and the Mo family will not be in danger of destruction.

"pat-"

The shackles were opened and fell to the ground. Mo Zhao felt his hands suddenly lighten, and he turned back suddenly, only to see Mingli uncuffing him and cutting the hemp rope.

He stared at Mingli in great surprise, and after thinking for a long time, he still couldn't guess her intention. Zhang Zhi on the other side saw this and didn't say anything, but just touched the long sword at hand. If Mo Zhao did anything wrong, he would kill him immediately.

"Mingli, what do you want to do?"

"Don't worry." Mingli threw the knife aside, took Zhang Zhi's cloak and folded it on the ground, then knelt down. She smiled and raised her head, pointing to the opposite side: "Master Mo, sit down."

Mo Zhao looked Ming Li up and down for several times, and a sense of fear rose in his heart for no reason. After a while, Jiang Tong came over with a tray. On the tray was a pot of strong liquor, two wine cups, and a set of clean men's clothes.

Mo Zhao stared at the three young men in front of him with vigilance.

Jiang Tong stood behind Mingli. According to her personality, even an iron man would have to tell her the truth after being tortured with eighteen tortures. But Mingli said that in order to prevent the Second Prince's followers from interrogating them and demanding the body to be examined, they could not use torture and could only convince them with reason.

"This set of plain cloth clothes is specially prepared for you, my Lord." Mingli's eyes seemed to have burning flames, and she said, "Even if it is difficult to sew, I will still dress properly."

The integrity of scholars and the nobility of the aristocracy, even if their crimes deserve death, they must dress neatly, atone for their sins in the next life, and become civil officials again.

Mo Zhao lowered his head and said after a long while, "Thank you."

"Master Mo, have you ever been to Pingzhou? Eight years ago, there was famine and drought, and people were starving everywhere. People even ate their own children. This was known in history as the 'Pingzhou Great Disaster.'"

Mingli's words, which came out of nowhere, made Mo Zhao stiffen. He slowly raised his eyes, and the lake surface that was as quiet as dead water seemed to be instantly shattered.

Mo Zhaoduan's voice trembled slightly: "You, what do you want to say?"

"I just want to tell you a story I heard from a friend."

"The night is long, I will talk slowly with you, sir," Mingli smiled slightly. She raised her hand and poured a glass of wine for Mo Zhao. The girl's voice was as clear as a spring, touching people's hearts.

"Pingzhou was hit by a huge disaster, with countless casualties. No one in the court dared to go to provide relief. Finally, His Majesty sent a son of an aristocratic family who had been an official in Beijing for generations. At first, everyone thought it was another son of an aristocratic family who came to go through the motions, but they didn't expect that since he was ordered, he had been worried day and night, running around in various states and counties to deliver food to the people of Pingzhou. The disaster victims continued to riot, so he ate and lived with them to ease their irritability. When there was not enough food to share, he wrote a letter home, threatening his own life to force his family to open the warehouse and release the grain. Everyone in his family said he was a madman, and there was no one in Beijing who didn't laugh at him. The relief grain sent by the court was After being exploited by the noble families, less than 30% of his food remained in Pingzhou. He was extremely anxious, but the countless memorials he submitted to Kyoto fell on deaf ears and no one heard back. He knew that among those who withheld the food, there must be his clansmen. He could only rely on himself to repair the river, plant new crops, comfort the people, and reorganize the soldiers. No one knew how he survived in the cannibalistic hell of Pingzhou. Half a year later, the disaster was finally alleviated, and the noble family returned to Kyoto. He thought he would be welcomed by the people, praised and rewarded by the emperor, and cared for by his relatives. "

"But, he didn't." Mingli smiled bitterly: "He got nothing."

"Yes, he got nothing. Not only did he get nothing, he also lost everything."

As he spoke, Mo Zhao revealed a bitter smile. He raised his head and drank the wine in the cup in one gulp. "Second Miss Ming, your story is not good at all. This noble family kid is the number one fool in the world! He is the most damnable person in the world! Do you know how many people he killed back then, and how many people he didn't save? He deserves to die in Pingzhou and be buried with the people!"

Mingli looked at him quietly: "But he also saved many people."

"No! He didn't, he killed a lot of people!"

Mo Zhao drank half a pot of wine in a row, and then he stood up unsteadily: "I am Mo Zhao. The master of Anyun Mo family, born in an aristocratic family, and the descendant of a famous official!"

Mo Zhao's eyes were filled with tears. "When I was young, I was also proud and vowed to sacrifice my life for my country. When Pingzhou was hit by a calamity, I ignored my family's objections and insisted on asking for permission to go. I wanted to find a way out for the victims."

He lowered his hands, looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. He felt as if he was back on the yellow earth where he died eight years ago.

"But when I arrived, I realized that the drought in Pingzhou was not enough to drive the people to death. What really pushed them to the brink of death was the court that claimed to be working for the country and the people! It was the noble families who were full of merit and in high positions! It was the emperor who ruled the world and was worshipped by the people!"

(End of this chapter)