A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 756 Silencing
"Tell me, why did you enter the Taiji Palace that day!"

In the Dali Temple prison,

The sorcerer monk Faya was pierced through the collarbone with an iron hook and hung in mid-air. Several jailers took turns torturing this sorcerer monk.

The branding iron was heated red-hot in the charcoal and then pressed onto the body, the skin sizzling and even emitting the smell of roasted meat.

Faya gritted his teeth and glared angrily.

This strong man, who could draw a 300-pound bow, was tortured to the point of near death.

Seeing that he was still being stubborn, Changsun Wuji gave a signal, and another jailer stepped forward. He took a net and wrapped it tightly around Faya's body, pulling chunks of flesh out of the mesh.

Then he took out a small cloth bag, opened it, and inside was a bunch of knives.

Taking out an extremely sharp knife, the jailer expressionlessly began to slice the meat protruding from the mesh.

One slice at a time.
The movements were skillful and swift.

In one swift motion, the jailer sliced ​​off nine thin pieces of meat, each the size of a coin, and then sheathed his knife.

Then I took two bottles out of my bag.
"what is this?"

The emperor's brother-in-law asked curiously.

The jailer chuckled, "One is a hemostatic medicine passed down from our ancestors, taken internally. If you take this medicine, you can cut a prisoner for three days and three nights, cut him 3,600 times, and he won't bleed to death. This medicine can also relieve pain."

"Where's the other one?"

"Oh, this? Hehe, this is salt, but with some chili added. Before, it had powdered ingredients like Evodia rutaecarpa, ginger, and Polygonum hydropiper; now it has chili flakes."
Sprinkle just a little bit on this ripped wound, and it'll be absolutely delicious.

Instead of immediately giving Falla a hemostatic and pain-relieving medicine, the jailer first sprinkled salt with chili flakes onto his wound.

Changsun Wuji had heard the phrase "rubbing salt into someone's wound" before, but this was the first time he had actually seen someone do it.

The jailer's movements as he sprinkled salt were even somewhat elegantly practiced.

He pinched a small pinch of salt between three fingers of his right hand, and with a gentle flick of his fingers, the fine salt mixed with chili powder drifted down like snowflakes onto the bleeding wound.

"what!"

Even though Faya endured all kinds of torture,

But he couldn't hold on any longer. He gritted his teeth, but still couldn't help but cry out.

Changsun Wuji sneered, "Weren't you so stubborn? Weren't you so tough? Didn't you claim you could draw a 300-jin bow? Didn't you boast about how good you were at fighting? What happened?"
"Even a lowly jailer has you figured out?"

Falla endured so much punishment,

They couldn't hold on any longer.

"Give me a quick death!"

"If you want a quick and easy solution, it's simple. Just give me a clear and straightforward explanation, and I'll give you a quick and easy solution."

The jailer, however, continued to elegantly rub salt into the wound.

The red-hot branding iron and the sharp iron hook piercing his bone hadn't made him yield, but now the small knife cutting his flesh and the salt being rubbed into his wounds were too much for Faya to bear.

"Put me down, and bring me a jug of wine. Ask me anything you want to know, and I'll tell you everything," Faya said.

"Wait a minute, you're giving in so quickly? This isn't like you at all. I still have plenty of tricks up my sleeve. See that guy standing over there? Do you know what his family's ancestral skill is?"

The process of castrating those who were to enter the palace as eunuchs.

"He has a family heirloom knife, and his craftsmanship is superb. You can choose to remove the eggs or remove them completely, but rest assured, his skill is so good that it won't affect your urination; you can still urinate standing up."

Changsun Wuji turned to the jailer and asked, "I'm quite curious, how can you pee standing up after your penis has been removed?"

"Reporting to Duke Qi, it is a family tradition that I can insert a reed tube after removing the root..."

Upon hearing this, Faya's face paled slightly.

He wasn't afraid of death, but he didn't want to die like this.

“I confess, I confess everything. That day, I was training monk soldiers at Huadu Temple when Minister Pei Ji sent his servant Gongming to the temple to see me, saying that Pei Ji wanted me to go to the palace to meet the Emperor and to deliver a message to him…”

About half an hour later,
Changsun Wuji looked at the thick stack of confessions in front of him, along with the blood-red handprint and signature that Faya had pressed on them, and flicked them with great satisfaction.

At this moment, Faya seemed to have lost all his energy and spirit, and was listless.

Changsun Wuji snorted dismissively and turned to leave.

"Duke of Qi, I beg you for a favor. My son is still young. Please spare their lives!"

Changsun Wuji left without looking back.

He traveled all the way to the Eastern Palace and met the Emperor at the Chongxian Hall.

The emperor was chatting with Li Yi, and in front of them was a wall of bookshelves and books in the hall. The five-year-old crown prince, Chengqian, was writing.

There were two children of similar age next to him. Upon closer inspection, the boy was none other than his future son-in-law, Li Cong. He also had a deep impression of the girl, Li Shu, the little firecracker who had bitten him once.

The three children sat together writing calligraphy.
That fiery older sister was patiently teaching Chengqian how to write Li Yi's lean and sinewy calligraphy. The dignified Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty was actually very obedient to this little girl.
"Your Majesty, Faya has confessed everything. Pei Ji colluded with the sorcerer..."

Li Shimin's face immediately darkened.

"Wuyi, Fuji, accompany me for a walk outside!"

Li Shimin summoned his two trusted ministers out of the palace, not wanting to discuss matters such as Pei Ji, the retired emperor, and Faya in front of the crown prince.

The ginkgo leaves outside the hall have turned yellow.
Leaves drifted down in the wind, carpeting the ground beneath the tree with a golden blanket.

The autumn wind is bleak.

“Pei Ji is just not content with being alone,” Li Shimin said, his hands behind his back and his brows furrowed.

Changsun Wuji said, "The Da'an Palace is almost finished. We can ask the Emperor Emeritus to move to the Da'an Palace."

The sooner Your Majesty enters the Taiji Palace, the sooner certain people's delusions will be completely extinguished.

"That old scoundrel Pei Ji should have been dealt with long ago. Since he doesn't know when to back down, there's no need to show him any mercy. Let's exile him to Lingnan as well!"

Compared to Li Xiaochang, Liu Deyu, Changsun Anye, and others, Pei Ji was a more representative of the retired emperor's senior officials.

The emperor looked at Li Yi, "Wu Yi, what do you think?"

"In my opinion, what Lord Changsun said makes sense. Pei Ji is out of touch with reality and doesn't know when to advance or retreat. This time he has crossed the line and broken the red line. He should be punished accordingly."

but,

The severity of punishment must be carefully considered to avoid creating widespread anxiety.

Changsun Wuji objected, "These old guys need to be dealt with severely, otherwise, if one of them has wicked thoughts today, and another has ulterior motives tomorrow, when will it ever end?"

Li Shimin had never liked Pei Ji.

When Li Shimin and his son wanted to raise an army, they tried to win over Pei Ji, the supervisor of Jinyang Palace, in order to obtain the large amount of armor, weapons, and provisions stored in Jinyang Palace. Li Shimin knew that Pei Ji was a gambler, so he deliberately gave Gao Bin, the magistrate of Longshan, a lot of money and asked him to deliberately lose to Pei Ji.
As a result, Pei Ji had an enormous appetite and was only satisfied after winning several million coins.

From that time on, Li Shimin didn't like this guy very much.

Too greedy.

Moreover, he lacked real skills; aside from being adept at eating, drinking, and having fun, he had no other real expertise. Back then, he was merely managing the Jinyang Palace. When the Tang rebels stormed Chang'an, they appointed him as prime minister, and he suddenly began to govern the entire country.

"Pei Ji can move around a bit, but it's not suitable for him to move around too much."

"Let's convene a court meeting!"

Li Shimin made a decision.

The signal that Pei Ji was sending at this moment was understood by everyone.

Speaking of which,

Pei Ji not only had a close relationship with Faya, but was also a major backer of the Three Realms Sect.

···
Wei Guogong Mansion,

Sikong Peiji has locked himself in his study for quite some time now.
He was very uneasy ever since he learned that something had happened to Faya after he entered the palace. When he heard that Huadu Temple had been attacked and sealed off by the Imperial Guards, and that the entire Sanjie Sect had been completely banned by the court in conjunction with the Ten Great Eminent Monks, he became even more fearful.

Ordinary people only know that Pei Ji was once the most favored minister of the retired emperor.

Even though a new emperor brings a new court, he was still the Minister of Works, one of the Three Dukes, when he retired. Not to mention that the retired emperor was his relative by marriage, making them even closer.

His son, Lawyer Pei, was engaged to the sixteenth princess of the retired emperor, while his daughter was engaged to Li Yuanjing, the sixth son of the retired emperor.

But who could know,

That kind of fear of being purged every day.

And now,
Faya got into trouble, and it happened after she entered the palace, and it just so happens that he was the one who brought Faya into the palace.

Disaster is imminent.

Regret, fear
A mix of emotions.

Pei Ji's eyes were bloodshot. "Someone come here."

The butler entered. "Master, what are your orders?"

"And what about your permission?"

"I have been ordered to go to the countryside to collect rent."

Pei Ji personally arranged this matter. After sending Gongming to Huadu Temple to deliver a message, he sent Gongming to the countryside to collect rent, which was actually to cover up the truth.

Who would have thought that Falla would run into trouble?

Pei Ji gritted his teeth. He had sent Gong Ming with a verbal message, not a written one.

Without Gong Ming, even if Faya implicates him, it will only be one side of the story.

"Take your servants and sneak out of the city to the manor to find Gongming. Once you find him, secretly execute him and bury him. Tell everyone that Gongming was in charge of collecting rent from the manor and embezzled a million coins. After the incident was discovered, the manor investigated, and he fled to avoid punishment."

The steward hesitated for a moment, "I have served the young master for many years and have always been loyal..."

Pei Ji glared at him. "If Gong Ming is imprisoned, can you guarantee he'll stick to his guns and refuse to say a word?"

"He wouldn't talk nonsense."

"Hmph, under the protection of Sanmu, what can't I get? Do you think those jailers are just sitting around doing nothing? They're all masters of their craft, with all sorts of torture techniques to extract confessions. Even the toughest man wouldn't last long; they'd spill everything."
"Only the dead truly shut up." Pei Ji gritted his teeth, glaring at the butler. "Go now."

Gongming was his trusted servant, who had followed him for many years and was indeed extremely loyal.

But now,
We have no choice but to give him up.

The steward led a group of servants out of Chang'an City and headed straight for the Pei family estate on the banks of the Chan River at the foot of Changle Slope.

He found Gong Ming, who had been sent to collect rent. This guy was leisurely enjoying himself at his country estate. He said he was there to collect rent, but actually he was just there to avoid trouble.

As a servant of the Duke of Wei, he was ordered to come to the village below, indicating his high status.

The head of the village treated them to good food and drink.

The butler's sudden arrival surprised Gong Ming. "Uncle Wei, what brings you to the countryside? It's so boring here..."

"Come with me." Butler Wei said expressionlessly, calling Gong Ming aside.

Seeing that no one was around, Steward Wei ultimately couldn't bring himself to do it. He and Gongming were both people around Alang, and had been together for many years. He had even watched this boy grow up.

“Something’s happened,” he sighed. “Faya was arrested the day he entered the palace, Huadu Temple was attacked and ransacked by the Imperial Guards, and now the entire Three Realms Sect is going to be banned.”
Ah Lang,”

Butler Wei hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Ah Lang is worried that Faya will implicate him, so he wants you to hide first."

"You can't stay here any longer. You must get into the Zhongnan Mountains immediately. The authorities absolutely cannot find out..."

Gong Ming was stunned.

(End of this chapter)