Da Ming: I told you to die for your cause, why are you actually going to die?

Chapter 152 The Truth Comes to Light, Today's People [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Imperial Prison, interrogation room.

The stench of blood and the aura of despair almost solidified into a tangible form.

Fu Youwen, Ru Chang, Zheng Ci, and Zhai Shan had been tortured beyond recognition, but their core defenses were surprisingly strong.

Jiang Huan's face was terribly gloomy.

After being subjected to all sorts of torture, the four confessed to corruption, forming cliques, engaging in illicit activities, and even selling some military equipment. The list of middle and lower-level officials they implicated was as long as dozens of people, involving six ministries and local governments, and the amount of money involved was huge and shocking.

However, once the core of the 'Shaanxi Old Case' is touched, especially the part that may be related to the death of Crown Prince Zhu Biao, it becomes clear that...

The four either remained silent and endured torture, or insisted that it was just routine official business and that they had done nothing wrong to the Crown Prince.

"Commander Jiang... Commander Jiang... spare my life..."

Fu Youwen, barely breathing, said haltingly, "Embezzling river repair funds...forming cliques...we admit to these crimes...but plotting to murder the crown prince...that's a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family...we wouldn't dare do that even if we had ten thousand lives...we were completely unaware of it..."

"Since His Highness the Crown Prince is inspecting Shaanxi, we can only do our best to serve him and fear that we will not be able to serve him well. How could we dare to be negligent in the slightest?"

Ru Chang echoed hoarsely, "As for the Crown Prince's illness... that's fate... it's the imperial physician's business... what does it have to do with us..."

A cold glint flashed in Jiang Huan's eyes.

He knew that the charges of corruption and forming cliques, while enough to behead them, would be far from enough to quell the emperor's anger, let alone touch the deepest layers of doubt.

What the emperor wanted was not a few fat termites, but the venomous snakes that might be lurking behind them, gnawing at the dragon vein.

He changed his strategy, no longer directly interrogating them, but instead coldly throwing copies of the case files transferred from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and local authorities in front of them.

"In the spring of the twenty-fifth year of the Hongwu reign, before the Crown Prince inspected Shaanxi, His Highness the Prince of Qin sent an urgent memorial requesting the repair of the Xi'an Imperial Palace..."

"The timber and stone used were all specially approved by you, Minister Zheng of the Ministry of Works, and were taken from the depths of the Qinling Mountains. However, the payment for these materials was recorded under the 'Shaanxi Water Conservancy Reinforcement' account by you, Vice Minister Fu."

"At the same time, His Highness Prince Jin also requested a replenishment of the military equipment lost by the Datong border troops, in quantities far exceeding the usual amount."

"Minister Ru of the Ministry of War, your approval speed is exceptionally fast, and the 'loss' of this batch of military equipment just happened after His Highness the Crown Prince left Shaanxi."

Jiang Huan's voice was flat and straightforward, yet it was like a cold file, scraping away the disguise bit by bit.

"During His Highness the Crown Prince's stay in Shaanxi, all his food and lodging were managed by an old eunuch from the Eastern Palace named Wang Fu."

"According to investigation, this person has a younger brother who is also a eunuch. He served in the Prince of Qin's mansion for more than ten years, and the two had secretly met in Shaanxi."

"In addition, three months before the Crown Prince died, Wang Fu 'accidentally' fell into a well and died. After his death, a thousand taels of gold were found in the basement of his hometown mansion."

"And his hometown happened to be in the same county as the maternal home of one of the Prince of Jin's favorite concubines."

He did not directly say that the King of Qin and the King of Jin plotted to murder the Crown Prince.

He simply learned from Zhang Biao's 'mind map' and coldly laid out these seemingly accidental but closely related events on the timeline, one by one.

The expressions on Fu Youwen and the other three people's faces changed completely; it was a fear that was even deeper than facing torture.

They can grit their teeth and deny doing things they didn't do, but they can't explain these layers of seemingly unrelated yet interconnected 'coincidences'!
These 'coincidences', however, point to a terrifying conclusion:

[Some regional princes exploited their corrupt channels and networks of factionalism...]

[They may have subtly manipulated the medicines and supplies by controlling personnel within the Eastern Palace.]

Ultimately, this subtly damaged the crown prince's health, leading to his death!

They may not be the masterminds, and may not even know the specifics.

However, the convenience they provided and the loopholes they created became the breeding ground for the death of the crown prince.

"No... we don't know... we really don't know anything about Wang Fu..."

Zheng Ci broke down and cried out, "The King of Qin repairing the palace and the King of Jin replenishing the military equipment... these are all normal official duties... we just did them a favor... and received some benefits... we had absolutely no other intentions!"

"It's the King of Qin! It must be the King of Qin and the King of Jin!"

In extreme fear, Zhai Shan began to ramble incoherently, "They took advantage of our greed! We deserve to die! But we really knew nothing about the plot to murder the Crown Prince! It was the princes...it was the princes..."

"We're innocent! We're innocent!"

Fu Youwen roared, "We really don't know anything!"

"It must be the Prince of Jin! The Prince of Jin is hoarding military equipment; he must be plotting a rebellion!"

Ru Chang, having gone all out, hysterically exclaimed, "During the Crown Prince's inspection tour, he discovered evidence of his crimes! He was afraid the Emperor would punish him, so he tried to silence him! It must be him!"

Hearing these almost frantic accusations, Jiang Huan coldly watched them until they broke down, blaming and shifting blame, constantly mentioning the names of the vassal kings.

That's exactly the effect he wanted.

Because this matter has escalated to this point, there is no need for irrefutable evidence.

All that is needed is to present these doubts and connections, along with the names of the vassal kings that the perpetrators of the collapse, to the emperor verbatim.

"Record it! Make them sign it!"

Jiang Huan gave the order in a cold voice.

The imperial guards immediately recorded the detailed statements of Fu Youwen and the other three, and then grabbed their trembling hands and pressed their fingerprints onto them.

Holding this burning confession, which was enough to cause an earthquake in the empire, Jiang Huan glanced at Fu Youwen, who had completely broken down and was like a lump of mud, without any pity in his eyes.

"Keep an eye on them, don't let them die. The Emperor might personally interrogate them."

After saying this, Jiang Huan turned around and strode out of the torture chamber, heading straight for the Hall of Literary Glory.

Just then, a commander of the Imperial Guard rushed in to report:
"Boss, it seems the Five Cities Garrison has gotten a lead on where Li Mo and Wu Naida are hiding. Should we go over there?"

"Ah!"

Jiang Huan couldn't help but sneer, and said mockingly, "When did their case-solving abilities become so high?"

"Yes, I also think there's something fishy about this. What do you think...?"

"Ignore them! Let our people watch them, prevent anyone from killing them to cover it up. Also..."

Having said that, he glanced at the torture chamber again, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Keep an eye on this place too. Don't let anyone approach Fu Youwen and the other three, or use torture on them without authorization. Anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy!"

"Yes!"

The commander responded and then reported on Zhu Gaoxu's matter. Jiang Huan frowned deeply upon hearing this, but said nothing more.

Soon, he took the confession in his hand and went straight to the Hall of Literary Glory.

……

at the same time.

Yingtianfu West City, a low-lying, damp slum.

Deep in the alleyway, where sewage flowed freely, in the cellar of an almost abandoned earth god temple, Li Mo and Wu Naida huddled in a corner, silently facing each other, relying on the faint light filtering through the ventilation duct.

This is the third place they've changed hiding places.

But the faint sounds of searching and footsteps coming from outside kept them on edge.

"The wind outside seems to be picking up even faster."

Wu Naida lowered his voice, pressed his ear against the crack in the cellar ceiling, and said with a serious expression, "Damn it, Fu Youwen's lackeys have a really sharp nose!"

Li Mo's face was even paler and more haggard than a few days ago, but his eyes were unusually calm, even carrying an almost numb resolve:

"When the drum of petition sounded, we knew this day would come. We just didn't expect it to come so quickly and so ruthlessly."

They had already prepared for the worst when they spread the rumors. Suddenly!

The camouflaged wooden plank at the cellar entrance was suddenly smashed open!

The blinding torchlight instantly flooded in, illuminating the two astonished faces.

"Here they are! We've found them!"

A sharp shout came.

Immediately afterwards, more than a dozen fierce soldiers from the Five Cities Garrison swarmed in, instantly filling the narrow cellar to overflowing.

The flag officer leading the team wore an excited and sinister grin, as if he had stumbled upon a major clue.

"Li Mo! Wu Naida!"

The flag officer waved his hand and said, "You've committed a crime! Come with us!"

Wu Naida instinctively grabbed a broken dagger, wanting to resist, but Li Mo held him down.

Li Mo slowly stood up, patted the dust off his clothes, and showed no surprise on his face. Instead, he had a sense of relief, as if he had finally arrived.

He glanced at Wu Naida and shook his head slightly.

Resistance is pointless; it will only lead to a faster and more gruesome death.

Wu Naida understood his meaning, gritted his teeth, spat, but gave up resisting, and said resentfully:

"Damn it! You guys are lucky! I don't have a decent weapon!"

After saying that, he threw the broken dagger in his hand to the ground.

Upon seeing this, the soldiers immediately swarmed forward and roughly tied the two men up tightly.

They were escorted out of the cellar and through the filthy alleyways.

The poor people along the way hid in fear and whispered among themselves.

"Weren't they the officials who were 'demanding back pay'? How did they get arrested?"

"Yes, I remember they also audited six government departments. Is this a case of being punished after the fact?"

"Alas! What a pity! They were all good people. Sister Wu's husband died in battle three years ago and she still hasn't received her compensation. It was these people who 'paid off her debts' and saved her and her orphanage."

Gradually, the topic shifted.

"What do you know! What they did was illegal! They deserved it!"

"Exactly! They even dare to audit the mansions of dukes and marquises, they're courting death."

"Shh! I've heard they've done more than just this. The mastermind, Zhang Biao, is going to be executed by the Emperor this autumn."

Hearing these whispers, Li Mo and Wu Naida were pushed forward, but their faces showed little emotion, only a resigned calm and deep exhaustion.

They do things not for everyone to understand or comprehend, but only to have a clear conscience and to uphold justice in their hearts.

The rest is up to fate.

And just as they were being escorted, about to be transferred out of this slum and onto the Ministry of Justice prison—

Li Mo's gaze inadvertently swept over a dilapidated stall selling steamed buns on the street corner.

A familiar figure was squatting there, slowly eating a steamed bun.

The man was wearing tattered prison clothes and had injuries on his face, but they couldn't hide his cynical and even somewhat crazy temperament.

It's Zhao Fengman!

Wu Naida also spotted the other party.

He didn't hide?!

How dare he show up here so brazenly?!

Li Mo and Wu Naida were both stunned, almost thinking they were hallucinating.

Zhao Fengman also saw them.

He paused for a moment as he bit into the steamed bun, and then, to everyone's surprise—

He grinned and smiled.

The smile was exceptionally bright, even carrying a hint of joy and relief, as if seeing a long-lost friend rather than a companion heading towards a dead end.

Amidst the questioning and wary gazes of the escorting soldiers.
Zhao Fengman stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth in a few bites, patted the crumbs off his hands, then stood up and walked unhurriedly, even swaggeringly, toward the escorting team.

The soldiers escorting the prisoner immediately tensed up and shouted sternly, "Stop! What are you doing?! Get out of the way!"

Zhao Fengman seemed not to hear, his gaze remained fixed on Li Mo and Wu Naida, his smile growing ever brighter, carrying an indescribable madness and pleasure.

About ten steps away from the group
He suddenly stopped, took a deep breath, and then, with all his might, let out a thunderous shout towards the sky and the entire street, a shout filled with sarcasm and determination:

"I, Zhao Fengman, confess my crimes and submit to the law! Come and arrest me!"

The shouts were like thunder, exploding in the silent street, stunning all the soldiers and even the civilians on the roadside!
Li Mo and Wu Naida's eyes widened instantly, and their eyes suddenly welled up with tears!
This madman!

What an idiot!

He's walking right into a trap!

He was telling them in this resolute way:

[Don't be afraid, your brothers are here to join you! Our mission is complete! You won't be alone on the road to the underworld!]

The flag officer in charge of the team was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. It was truly a gift from heaven!
He immediately shouted, "Quick! Grab him! Don't let him get away!"

Instead of running away, Zhao Fengman walked towards the soldiers, still wearing that dazzlingly bright smile, and even winked at Li Mo and Wu Naida.

The soldiers swarmed forward and bound him up just as roughly.

The three were pushed together.

There were no extra words exchanged, not even a single word.

In the instant their eyes met, everything became clear.

A complex glint flashed in Li Mo's eyes, which ultimately turned into a very soft sigh and a sense of relief.

Wu Naida, his eyes red, muttered under his breath, "Damn it! You're a madman!"

But the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch upwards.

Zhao Fengman continued to laugh carefree, as if he were not going to his death, but to a grand feast.

Three young people who were once passionate, struggled, and tried to tear a hole in this dark world are now walking side by side on the road to death.

Their silhouettes stretched long in the setting sun, carrying a sense of tragic grandeur, yet also a strange, unique calm and tacit understanding that belonged to them.

Today's events and the people of today are finally coming to an end together.

[Brother Biao, we did it! We'd go crazy together, we'd die together.]

Please vote for me with your monthly tickets!

　This marks the end of this volume; starting tomorrow, the high-energy plot begins. I need to take a break. Tomorrow I'll write the first explosive, satisfying moment.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)