The prince is more stable

Chapter 620 Severe Torture and Interrogation
This eunuch named Zhang Xiang's behavior was indeed very suspicious.

Putting aside everything else, just the fact that he bypassed the Imperial Pharmacy and took away the young prince's prescription without authorization means that the young prince's death was inextricably linked to him.

Some reasons are brought to the forefront, but their nature depends on how the situation develops.

If the young prince is alright and has lived well until now, then this person taking the prescription without permission is not a big deal, and no one will care about any excuse he makes.

But the young prince is already dead, so the investigation must continue. Taking the prescription without authorization is not something that can be covered up with a simple excuse. The Imperial City Guard is not to be trifled with.

Despite it being broad daylight, the side hall was dimly lit, with sunlight unable to reach inside.

The main hall was gloomy. Zhao Xiaoqian sat on a chair behind the desk, wearing a purple official robe. His double-winged official hat swayed precariously. His eyes were half-open and half-closed, and a half-smile played on his lips.

The dim, faint light illuminating his profile made him look like the King of Hell interrogating a ghost about his past and present lives.

In addition, there was the Imperial City Clerk at the small table next to him who was responsible for recording the confessions, and Wei Jie and Liu Dan standing on either side of the table.

The mournful cries of Gong Jing and other eunuchs after their caning still echoed outside the palace...

Okay, so the King of Hell, the judges, and the ox-headed and horse-faced demons are now standard features of the underworld.

Zhang Xiang was clearly not a staunch materialist. After Zhao Xiaoqian's unintentional scene arrangement, Zhang Xiang was terrified. He knelt before Zhao Xiaoqian, pale-faced and trembling all over.

"I advise you to confess voluntarily. To be honest, I can't stand bloody scenes either. They're too disgusting. I haven't been able to eat for days. For the sake of my appetite in the next few days, you'd better not force me to resort to any means," Zhao Xiaoqian said coldly.

Zhang Xiang knelt before him, looking utterly lost and helpless, and asked, "What does Your Highness want me to say... what should I say?"

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled: "Do you really want me to ask you first? That's a whole different process. Think it through."

His tone was calm, but to Zhang Xiang it was like a thunderbolt, extremely psychologically intimidating.

“This servant…will speak first,” Zhang Xiang said timidly.

After a pause, Zhang Xiang said in a trembling voice, "When the young prince was seriously ill, this servant went to the Imperial Medical Bureau without permission and obtained a prescription once."

Zhao Xiaoqian followed up by asking, "Who instructed you to get the prescription?"

Before Zhang Xiang could speak, Zhao Xiaoqian coldly said, "Think carefully before you speak. Don't try to fool me. Don't say you were acting on the orders of Consort Liu. Remember, the consequences of fooling me are worse than refusing to confess. You can't afford the consequences."

Zhang Xiang trembled, his face turned ashen, and he trembled as he said, “The person who instructed…instructed me…I don’t know them.”

Zhao Xiaoqian stared at his face, his gaze calm but gradually filled with murderous intent.

After a long silence, Zhao Xiaoqian smiled slightly: "Very good, you have guts, I'm starting to admire you."

Without making any statement, Liu Dan, who was standing next to him, seemed to understand Zhao Xiaoqian's intentions. He took a few steps forward and slapped Zhang Xiang several times.

After a series of slaps, Liu Dan suddenly pulled out a dagger from his pocket, pressed Zhang Xiang's hand to the ground, and plunged the dagger in, piercing through him and pinning his hand to the floor.

Zhang Xiang let out a bloodcurdling scream like a pig being slaughtered. He watched as his hand was pierced by a dagger and pinned to the ground, blood gushing out like a fountain. The excruciating pain and the extreme despair overwhelmed him. After screaming for a while, Zhang Xiang's eyes rolled back and he fainted.

Zhao Xiaoqian frowned and clicked his tongue, his gaze towards Liu Dan filled with displeasure.

Liu Dan knew she had gone too far, so she smiled at him guiltily and ingratiatingly, saying, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I couldn't help myself and hit him a little too hard. I'll wake him up right away so as not to delay Your Highness's business."

Zhao Xiaoqian's cheek twitched. This guy really lived up to his reputation; he really was a pervert.

Zhao Xiaoqian gave a faint "hmm" and said, "Be more civilized. I've said before, I don't like overly bloody scenes. If you make it all bloody, are you going to let me eat for the next few days?"

"Yes, yes, this servant knows she was wrong. This servant is actually wronged too. If this were at Bingjingwu, what I did just now would have been just a greeting gift, and the main course hasn't even been served yet," Liu Dan said aggrievedly.

Someone brought a basin of cold water and poured it over Zhang Xiang's head. The cold water in the dead of winter jolted Zhang Xiang awake, who had been unconscious.

Liu Dan pulled the dagger out of Zhang Xiang's hand. Zhang Xiang, who had just woken up, let out another shrill scream, but Liu Dan ignored him and tore a strip of cloth from Zhang Xiang's robe to wrap around the wound on his hand.

Finally, Liu Dan squatted down in front of him, still with a kind and friendly smile, and gently patted his face.

"I am Liu Dan from Bingjingwu. You must have heard of my name. People who fall into my hands are basically no longer 'human'. So, don't force me to take action. Answer me quickly. In my eyes, you only have a sliver of hope. If you can't seize this sliver of hope, you can't blame anyone else."

After speaking, Liu Dan stood up and silently retreated to Zhao Xiaoqian's side. The smile on his face never faded, like the Maitreya Buddha enshrined in a temple, honest and lovable.

Upon hearing Liu Dan's name, especially the three characters "Bingjingwu," Zhang Xiang's body trembled violently, his eyes filled with deep fear and despair.

He roughly knew that those who fell into Bingjingwu's hands, especially Liu Dan's, rarely came out alive, and even fewer had their organs intact.

Zhao Xiaoqian said calmly, "Zhang Xiang, if you've recovered, shall we continue our conversation?" Zhang Xiang nodded blankly.

"You said you've never met the person who instructed you, is that the truth?"

Zhang Xiang nodded again: "It's the truth. It was around the time when the little prince first fell ill. One day, when I was passing by the corner of the side hall of Consort Xian's palace, someone called out to me."

"The person who called out to me was standing inside the hall, while I was standing outside. We were talking through a closed wooden window. I have never seen this person before, Your Highness. What I am saying is absolutely true."

Zhao Xiaoqian continued, neither confirming nor denying, "What did that person say to you?"

"That person said that I should find an opportunity to go to the Imperial Medical Bureau and retrieve the young prince's prescription. If I succeeded, I would be rewarded with five hundred taels of silver..."

Zhao Xiaoqian raised an eyebrow: "So, you agreed?"

Zhang Xiang's face was pale, and he lowered his eyelids, saying, "This servant is useless; money is truly tempting. Five hundred taels of silver is enough for this servant to live comfortably for the rest of my life after leaving the palace. This servant simply cannot refuse..."

"Didn't you ask that person what he wanted the little prince's prescription for?"

"I asked, and I know this is a deadly job, so naturally I wanted to know the details, but that person wouldn't say. He only told me to take the money and do the job, and not to meddle in other people's business..."

"After you took the prescription, how did you hand it over to that person? And how did that person give you the five hundred taels reward?"

“It was still that side hall. I slipped it to him through the window crack. As for the five hundred taels, the man told me that it was buried under a willow tree next to the palace wall. I secretly dug it up in the middle of the night, and it was indeed five hundred taels.”

Zhao Xiaoqian narrowed his eyes and stared at him: "Who else knows about what you did? Does Consort Liu know?"

Zhang Xiang shook his head: "This servant dares not tell anyone. After all, it is a matter of life and death. There is so much treachery in this palace that no one can be trusted. How could this servant dare to speak out? And Consort Xian does not know about this matter. The little prince is her own son. How could she allow this servant to harm the little prince?"

Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes flickered, and he said softly, "How did you arrange to meet that person? Do you have a way to lure that person out for a meeting? If you can accomplish this, you can survive."

Zhang Xiang looked dejected, not because he was unmoved by Zhao Xiaoqian's promise, but because he couldn't fulfill it.

“Whenever I meet that person, it is always that person who calls me to stop in the palace. I cannot take the initiative to ask him to meet me.”

Zhao Xiaoqian looked somewhat disappointed.

The clues we finally found seem to have run dry here.

The only thing known is that the man was probably a eunuch in the palace, since it was the inner palace and no man with normal organs would be allowed to enter.

After quickly exchanging glances with Wei Jie and Liu Dan, Zhao Xiaoqian waved his hand listlessly, ordering his subordinates from the Imperial City Guard to take Zhang Xiang to Bingjingwu, while Liu Dan continued the retrial, hoping for some unexpected gains.

Wei Jie knew the trail had gone cold and said helplessly, "Your Highness, what should we do next? The case is getting harder to investigate."

Zhao Xiaoqian pondered for a while and said, "Send people to keep an eye on the side hall of Consort Liu's palace, monitor that side hall day and night, and bring anyone who enters or leaves to the Imperial City Guard for questioning."

"Yes."

He secretly connected the dots in his mind: the young prince was sick, and someone planned to take the opportunity to harm him. So they found someone close to Consort Liu, offered them benefits, and obtained the young prince's prescription.

What should I do after receiving the prescription?
Of course, the prescription would be tampered with. Among the herbs needed in the prescription, the most convenient place to do so would be the Imperial Pharmacy.

After thinking it over, Zhao Xiaoqian nodded. The logic was sound; the next issue was the Imperial Pharmacy.

"Wei Jie, send men to seal up all the medicines in the Imperial Pharmacy, especially the few herbs that will be used in the young prince's prescription. Strictly inspect the herbs to see if they have been tampered with," Zhao Xiaoqian instructed.

"Yes."

"In addition, all officials and eunuchs of the Imperial Pharmacy were imprisoned, interrogated separately, and made to denounce each other to identify suspects."

After giving his instructions, Wei Jie was about to leave when he heard a sharp, indignant female voice coming from outside the hall.

"This is outrageous! The little prince's body is barely cold, and yet people are already bullying him at our doorstep. Zhao Xiaoqian, even if you have achieved great merit, you cannot humiliate this poor woman like this. Even if we take the case to His Majesty, you will not be in the right!"

"Zhao Xiaoqian, if you're really so capable, why don't you take care of me too! I killed my child, do you believe me?"

Zhao Xiaoqian heard everything clearly in the side hall. His expression changed, and he quickly exchanged a glance with Wei Jie. Then, Zhao Xiaoqian gave a wry smile.

I really shouldn't have taken this job.

(End of this chapter)