Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 236 Preliminary Interrogation

A little earlier, in the prison of the Northern Pacification Division of Tianjin.

"Wang Ertu, come out." The jailer of the Northern Pacification Division knocked anxiously on the wooden door of Cell A. "Wang Ertu!" Seeing that Wang Gui hadn't responded, the jailer didn't wait any longer. He took out the key, opened the cell door, and walked in.

"Wang Ertu, are you fucking deaf?" The jailer kicked Wang Gui lightly, only to find that Wang Gui was still lying there limp.

The jailer was all too familiar with this situation. He squatted down and put his hand to Wang Gui's nose to test it. "Fuck." Wang Gui was still breathing.

"Get him out, then find a car to drag him out of the city and bury him." The jailer said to the jailer beside him.

"Dead?" the jailer asked subconsciously.

"Just do what I tell you to do. Why all that crap?" The jailer grew impatient and slapped the jailer on the head. "Is it strange that people die in prison? You're just a fucking freeloader, you idiot."

The jailer's eyes rolled around, but he didn't say anything. "I'll go right away."

"Hurry up." Even though the jailer immediately ran to find a cart, the prison boss still thought he was too nagging.

In less than half a minute, the dying Wang Gui was carried away.

At this moment, the jailer opened the door and started banging on it with a wooden stick, muttering, "Get the hell out! We won't let you eat in this jail anymore."

"Is this another amnesty?" A thief stood up excitedly upon hearing this. Prison food? It was mixed with sand and chaff and tasted like dog shit.

"You don't seem to be a local military household, right?" The jailer heard the voice and turned his head suddenly.

"I'm from out of town," the thief said, bowing hurriedly. "Don't worry, I won't come back to you."

"It's not good to have a prisoner without one." The prison boss thought about it and decided to modify the order to some extent. "Put him back!"

"Hey!? Isn't this an amnesty?" The thief panicked. "I haven't committed any capital crime of treason, why am I the only one left in jail?"

"You're talking too much nonsense!" The jailer came up and slapped him. "Get out of here."

The thief was stunned by the slap. However, the jailer was old after all, and the slap did not make the thief speechless. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm going to play with your mother." The jailer slapped the thief again, then pushed him back in with a hard push.

"Fuck! You bastard, hit me to death if you dare!" The thief also got angry.

"Which ones are from other places?" The jailer locked the door and stopped paying attention to the thief. Instead, he asked the other jailer on duty. "Put them all back."

"They haven't been released yet. Apart from this dirty guy, the one with a hole in his head, and the one who cheated a woman's body and made her a slut and thrown into the pig cage by her family, there are no outsiders." The jailer pointed at two more people.

"Is there something wrong with your brain?" Seeing that the things ordered by the superiors had been almost done, the prison boss finally let go of his worries.

"This bastard wanted to steal someone's donkey in the dark, but he touched the donkey's butt in the dark. The donkey was frightened and kicked him with its hoof. It kicked him right on the forehead. After the swelling went down, there was a hole on the head. At least he was not kicked to death." The jailer briefly introduced the case.

"How come I didn't know there was such an idiot?" The jailer almost laughed out loud.

"This guy was brought in yesterday, just before the city gates closed. You were gone by then, so he wasn't here." The jailer asked cautiously, "Master Gao, isn't this an amnesty?"

"No. There are just new prisoners coming, so we need to make room." The prison boss Gao said this briefly.

------

After receiving the order, Shen Zhengping first went to the Qianhu Suo to collect two hundred-household soldiers, and then slowly assembled a team to arrest people. By the time he and his men had taken all the family members and servants of the Shen Mansion to the Northern Pacification Division Prison, Lu Wenzhao's court was about to be dismissed.

After a simple meal, Lu Wenzhao brought Luo Zongqi and four others to the Northern Pacification Division Prison. Shen Zhengping immediately came forward and reported, "Sir, bring all eighty-two people from the Shen residence, men, women, and children, here."

"Go eat. Come back afterward." Lu Wenzhao didn't immediately respond to Shen Zhengping. Instead, he pulled out a piece of silver weighing exactly one ounce from his waist bag and tossed it to Sun Xiaoqi. "Don't bother with the change. Just give it back to me. Keep it for yourself."

"Thank you, sir." Sun Xiaoqi was quick-eyed and quick-handed. He pinched the silver bar with three fingers and put it into his sleeve pocket.

"Don't drink. After we return to Beijing and finish our mission, I'll take you out for a drink." Lu Wenzhao instructed.

"Yes." Sun Xiaoqi clasped his fists and left. Shen Zhengping also breathed a sigh of relief without leaving a trace.

Lu Wenzhao turned to look at Shen Zhengping. "You said there are eighty-two people in the Shen Mansion?"

"Yes. Including Shen Xie and Shen Sanyi who are unconscious, there are a total of eighty-two people." Shen Zhengping nodded heavily.

"That fat pig's name is Shen Xie?" Lu Wenzhao looked at Shen, the housekeeper who was being held in solitary confinement. "Have you found a doctor?"

"We've sent for a military doctor." Shen Zhengping nodded, then cautiously probed, "But judging by his appearance, the situation doesn't seem optimistic."

"He just passed out from the pain. He wasn't hit in the upper body, so he won't die for a while." Lu Wenzhao ordered, "Have your military doctor find a way to reconnect his bones and wake him up."

"Yes." Shen Zhengping's heart trembled, and he immediately clasped his fists. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

"Besides Shen Caiyu, who else ran away?" Lu Wenzhao asked Shen Zhengping.

"I didn't investigate carefully," Shen Zhengping explained. "When I led the soldiers from the Qianhu Division to the Shen residence to arrest them, Sergeant Sun had already herded everyone from the Shen family into the courtyard. Sergeant Sun said everyone was present, so I didn't investigate further and just brought them over."

"Besides Shen Xie, is there anyone else here I can question?" Lu Wenzhao grinned and said, "You should know this, right?"

"I know, I know. You can ask any of these people." Shen Zhengping led Lu Wenzhao to a cell where women were imprisoned, and said, "They are all Shen Caiyu's wives and concubines."

"Hmm." Lu Wenzhao, using the light from the window, examined the women one by one. Finally, he fixed his gaze on the woman he considered the best-looking. "You, come here." Lu Wenzhao beckoned the woman with his finger.

Shen Zhengping wanted to remind Lu Wenzhao, but changed his mind and said nothing more. Instead, he gave the jailer a look. The jailer immediately understood and came over to knock on the cell door with a stick. "Did you hear that? The officer is calling you."

"Yes, yes." The woman shuddered and trembled as she walked to the cell door. "No need to open the door. No need to torture for now, just a few simple questions." Lu Wenzhao held up a finger, stopping the cell boss from reaching for the key.

"Yes. Please tell me if you have anything to say." The jailer smiled flatteringly and stepped aside.

Lu Wenzhao waved to the jailer and asked the woman, "What's your name?"

"My humble concubine, my humble surname is Chen." The woman was panting so hard she could barely reply. The Jinyiwei's notoriety for brutality was universally known. She had previously witnessed this officer severing the leg of Shen Xie, the Shen family's chief steward, at the popliteal fossa with a single, fleeting word. Now, hearing the words "no need for torture for now," she was practically terrified.

"Okay. Chen, let me ask you. Where did Shen Caiyu go?" Lu Wenzhao asked with a forced grin.

"I don't know." Chen widened her eyes and shook her head in horror.

"I don't know. Hmm." Lu Wenzhao's pupils shrank slightly. "Then you must know the day Shen Caiyu disappeared, right?"

"Probably." Chen bit her lip and thought for a moment. "Probably around the seventh or eighth day of the first lunar month."

"Probably, around. You do know how to use words." Lu Wenzhao suddenly raised his voice, put away his only smile, glared at Chen with his tiger eyes, and asked, "Which day?! Explain clearly!"

"I, your concubine, really don't know." Chen was frightened and burst into tears on the spot, but she didn't dare to cry out loud, so she could only shed tears silently.

"God, calm down. Have the judge come over here." Lu Wenzhao lowered his head slightly and raised his eyes, staring at Chen's fearful gaze with a solemn and gloomy expression. "You don't know anything about anything. It seems I can't talk to you properly."

"Yes." Shen Zhengping immediately turned around and said, "Come here and listen to the officer's instructions." All the criminals from the Tianjin Wei Bei Pacification Division had already gathered.

"We really don't know." A middle-aged woman with a hint of charm mustered up the courage to come to Chen.

"Who are you?" Lu Wenzhao stopped Shen Zhengping and slightly removed the stern look on his face.

"Shen Caiyu's wife, Zhang." This middle-aged woman was also afraid, but after all, she had seniority and experience. She wasn't as frightened as the young Chen.

"Shen Caiyu fled for fear of punishment without even taking his wife with him?" Lu Wenzhao found it a little strange.

"She is a wife who cannot give birth to a son." Zhang said sadly.

"Oh. Okay." Lu Wenzhao had no interest in the love-hate relationship between Zhang and Shen Caiyu. "Then let me ask you, when did Shen Caiyu disappear?"

"Yes. Just like she said just now, we really don't know where Shen Caiyu is going or when he left. The last time we saw him was on the night he returned to the yamen. But this kind of thing is not surprising. He often stays out overnight and we are used to it." Zhang was much calmer than Chen. At least she could give an explanation instead of shaking and being speechless like Zhang did when she was frightened.

The time Shen Caiyu disappeared could be used as a factor in analyzing the facts of the case. For example, it could be used to determine if Han Chengkui was lying. Now that the exact time of Shen Caiyu's disappearance had been roughly determined, there was no need to dwell on it any further. "Who is the most favored person in the Shen family?" Lu Wenzhao asked instead.

"No one is favored. As for women, Shen Caiyu likes the ones he can't get the most. The second is the girl in Zuichunlou." Zhang understood what Lu Wenzhao meant, so she added: "In fact, Shen Xie knows much more than we do. But he fainted."

Lu Wenzhao frowned slightly and said, "Besides Shen Caiyu, who else is missing? While I still have patience, tell me the truth and don't lie."

"I didn't look closely, but Shen Bo should be missing." Zhang replied.

"Shen Bo? Who is he, Shen Caiyu's son?" Lu Wenzhao asked.

"Shen Caiyu has no son. After Shen Caijun died last year, the clan was planning to adopt a close relative to him to inherit the family line." Zhang took advantage of Lu Wenzhao's pause in thought, patted Chen's shoulder, and whispered in her ear, "You go back, I'll take care of this."

Lu Wenzhao noticed Zhang's little action, but did not stop her. Instead, he asked, "Adopt a close relative? Doesn't Shen Caijun have a son?" Listening to the generation name and Zhang's statement, Lu Wenzhao could roughly determine that Shen Caijun should be Shen Caiyu's closest blood brother.

"No, both brothers can't give birth to sons. Shen Caijun is better. A few years ago, a concubine from outside gave birth to a daughter for him, but the daughter died soon after." Zhang shook her head and said with regret.

"Okay. Let's talk about Shen Bo. What does he do?" Lu Wenzhao brought the topic back.

"If I have to say, Shen Bo is Shen Caiyu's inner chamber steward. Haha." Zhang instinctively sneered.

"What are you laughing at? Don't try to be witty with me or use metaphors," Lu Wenzhao warned.

"Shen Bo is Shen Caiyu's catamite." The crow's feet at the corners of Zhang's eyes were full of disdain for Shen Caijun.

"Huh?" Lu Wenzhao was stunned. Then he subconsciously glanced at the still unconscious Shen Xie. "Could this Shen Bo also be Shen Caiyu's nephew?"

Being fond of male homosexuality was not a strange thing. As a Jinyiwei, he knew the orientation of many officials. With such a trend, many so-called Taoist scholars kept both beautiful maids and handsome slaves. Many brothels in Huanghuafang also provided such services. There were even rumors that the late emperor kept "Ten Handsome Men" in the palace. However, if it was really as he guessed, Shen Caiyu was not only gay but also incestuous, then it was too much.
"That's not the case. Shen Bo was bought by Shen Caiyu from a human trafficker. He was only twelve years old when he came into the family. He came a few days earlier than Shen Xie." Zhang's words made Lu Wenzhao inexplicably relieved.

"How many people are there in the Shen family?" Lu Wenzhao asked again

"About seventy or eighty people. I haven't counted the exact number." Zhang didn't dare to be too definite.

"You, as a wife, are worse than a pedophile."

"Who said it wasn't?" Zhang sighed.

"After talking for so long and going around in circles, don't you just want to say that you know nothing?" Lu Wenzhao's eyes turned cold.

"Shen Caiyu won't let me manage the household, and won't let me entertain guests outside. What can I know?" Lu Wenzhao's eyes were cold, and Zhang was a little panicked. He quickly directed the blame to Shen Xie. "If you don't believe me, you can ask others. For example, Shen Xie. He knows best."

"I'll ask Shen Xie. You don't need to remind me." Lu Wenzhao had wanted to ask her if she knew why Shen Caiyu ran away. But he suddenly felt that asking so simply wouldn't get him any closer to the truth. So he called out, "Shen Zhenfu. Let your criminal justice department do the interrogation. Take turns. Go through each person. Interrogate them until they remember that the first sip of milk they had after they were born was that day. My people will coordinate with your shifts."

"Yes. I understand." Shen Zhengping knew that this so-called "cooperation" was actually just surveillance, but there was nothing he could do. Everything he could do had already been ordered and completed before the Jinyiwei brought their men to the prison. If anything went wrong again, he would be helpless.

"What about the female relatives? Will they be tortured too?" Shen Zhengping suddenly asked.

"What do you think?"

"I understand."

(End of this chapter)