Prince Bei Jing of the Red Chamber, starting from saving Qin Keqing

The clamor of the court assembly dissipated into the deep palace night. Shui Rong returned to his residence by carriage, only to find the corridors deserted as soon as he arrived at the gate.

The carriage that had been prepared was nowhere to be seen, leaving only two shallow ruts on the bluestone slabs.

It seems that Qin Keqing, accompanied by Qin Zhong, has already visited the Lin residence.

He didn't linger, but turned and went around to the hidden side gate of the west courtyard of the Prince's mansion. This was where the Prince of Beijing's privately built dungeon was located, which was used to interrogate spies and assassins and was unknown to ordinary servants.

Two black-clad guards stood watch at the dungeon entrance. Upon seeing Shui Rong appear, they immediately knelt on one knee, their armor clashing together with a dull thud: "Greetings, Master!"

"Get up." Shui Rong continued walking, his voice calm yet carrying an imposing aura. "How's the interrogation of Zhao Zhong going? Did those assassins reveal even a fraction of the truth?"

"Reporting to Master, Steward Zhao has been interrogating the assassin in the inner room for half an hour. The assassin is still stubbornly refusing to speak, but he has managed to extract the formula for the pill that greatly increases combat power."

The guard bowed in response, then pushed open the heavy iron prison door, and a wave of heat mixed with the smell of blood, mildew, and charcoal fire rushed out.

"stop."

The dungeon was dimly lit by candlelight, the tallow candles on the walls crackling and reflecting the bloodstains. Three iron chains firmly bound the assassin to the execution post.

His clothes were torn and his body was covered in whip marks, yet he still held his neck stiffly, his eyes filled with a ferocious and fearless spirit.

Zhao Zhong, holding a leather whip soaked in salt water, quickly dropped the instrument of torture as soon as he saw the water seep in, and stepped forward, bowing as he said:

"Master, these few thieves are incredibly stubborn. We've used whipping and caning, but they won't utter a single word."

"Only the remnants of pills were found in the bosom of one of them, but I have already identified the main ingredients of the formula."

"Oh?" Shui Rong raised an eyebrow, strode to the rack, and glanced at the three assassins who were barely alive but still resisting. "What is the main ingredient?"

"Reporting to Master, it is datura juice."

Zhao Zhong replied in a low voice:

"Brewing the fresh juice of the highly poisonous datura, and mixing it with aconite and prepared aconite root, can temporarily stimulate the body's strength after consumption, but it will burn the meridians and will inevitably lead to death. It is a vicious and deadly formula that leads to mutual destruction."

Shui Rong nodded, his gaze falling on the assassins' tightly pursed lips. He noticed their jaws were clenched and their cheeks were bulging, as if they were holding something foreign in their mouths.

He reached out and grabbed the chin of the leading assassin, pinching him hard.

The assassin cried out in pain and opened his mouth, sending a wax-coated iron pellet rolling to the ground.

It turned out to be a torture device specifically designed to block the back of the tongue and prevent suicide by biting one's tongue.

"You've thought of everything; you've even blocked the path of suicide."

Shui Rong chuckled softly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes; the dim candlelight made his gaze appear cold and icy.

"They are neither afraid of death nor willing to commit suicide, simply because they fear that the person behind the scenes will implicate their relatives, or they are bound by the oath of the death squad. If you can withstand ordinary torture, then let's try some other methods."

"They were separated into three separate cells, cut off from all sound, and forbidden to communicate with each other."

Zhao Zhong's eyes lit up, and he quickly bowed, "This servant obeys the decree!"

He immediately ordered the guards to take the three assassins to three separate, sealed cells on the east side of the dungeon.

Each cell was kept dimly lit by a single tallow candle, completely isolating each other from sight and sound.

After a long while, Shui Rong made several guards scream in agony.

Then Shui Rong entered the cell of the ringleader, who was chained to a stone pillar. When he saw Shui Rong enter, he turned his head and glared at her angrily, his teeth clenched, without uttering a single word.

Shui Rong leaned against a stone pillar, his fingertips lightly tapping the stone wall. The candlelight illuminated his calm eyes, and his tone was flat, yet every word was piercing:

"It's fine if you don't want to talk. Your two companions have already confessed everything."

The assassin's pupils contracted sharply, his neck tensed, but he still maintained his composure and let out a cold snort:

"Nonsense! We swore a blood oath, vowing never to betray our master, even unto death! How could we possibly betray him!"

"A blood oath?"

Shui Rong chuckled softly, pulled a piece of paper stained with ink from her sleeve, and deliberately waved it in front of him:

"This is the confession of the two prisoners next to you, signed with their own fingerprints."

"He said that you were the one who initiated the assassination order and the source of the datura pills. You were the one who orchestrated everything, and all the blame was placed on you."

He paused, leaned closer to the assassin, and lowered his voice even further, striking at the assassin's most vulnerable spot:

"Your loyalty to the death is solely for the safety of your families."

"But your companion, in order to protect himself, has already sold me all the addresses of your family members."

"You think the person behind this will protect you? Right now, they've probably already sent people to wipe out your entire family."

The assassin shuddered, the chains rattling as he struggled. For the first time, a crack appeared in the unwavering resolve in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and roared, "Impossible! He would never betray me!"

"You'll find out soon enough."

Shui Rong straightened up, turned to leave, and dropped the last straw:

"I'm giving you one last chance. Tell me who the mastermind is, who your accomplices are, and the whole plan. I'll guarantee your family's safety and give you a dignified death."

"If you remain obstinate, you will become a scapegoat, ruined in reputation, and your family will have no one to even claim your body."

Having said that, Shui Rong turned and left, leaving the assassin to scream and struggle in the cell. The seeds of suspicion had already been sown.

Immediately afterwards, Shui Rong entered the second cell. The assassin was pale and clearly exhausted from the torture.

Before he could speak, Shui Rong threw the "confession" he had just given him in front of him, her tone icy:

"The ringleader has confessed everything, saying that you were the mastermind behind all the assassination plans, and that the handover of the pills was all your doing. He was just following orders."

"You will bear all the blame."

The assassin's eyes widened in disbelief, and he roared, "Bullshit! He was the one who started it! I was just following orders!"

"He says it's you, you say it's him, words are no proof."

Water-soluble, faint opening:

"The ringleader has confessed that you were instructed by the Crown Prince's close attendants to stage an assassination attempt on me, disrupt the situation in the capital, and cooperate with the Mongols to launch an attack next spring."

"So, do you acknowledge these things or not?"

"I……"

The assassin was thrown into chaos. Betrayal by his comrade, abandonment by the mastermind, and Shui Rong's relentless pursuit drove him to utter collapse.

"I confess! It was Miss Su from Wan Jinlou, a close attendant of the Crown Prince, who contacted us. The datura pills were sent by a confidant of the Mongolian goddess. The assassination attempt on the Crown Prince was a ruse; the real intention was to frame a vassal king!"

"Who else is an accomplice? What is the background of the owner of Wan Jin Lou? Who specifically authorized the Crown Prince?" Shui Rong pressed on, asking step by step.

"It's...it's the chief eunuch by the Crown Prince's side. Miss Su is a former commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I don't know her specific name, but I do know that her code name is 'Falling Plum Blossom'..."

After obtaining the key information, Shui Rong turned and headed to the third cell. Before he could speak, the assassin saw him walk out of his companion's cell and fear was already evident in his eyes.

Water-soluble substances directly reveal their true colors:

"Both of your companions have confessed."

"The ringleader accused you of being the mastermind, the second-in-command revealed all the accomplices, leaving you as the only one left, still putting up a stubborn resistance."

"You think the person behind this will leave you alive? Once you're no longer useful, you'll be the first one silenced."

He slowly recounted the key points of the first two men's confessions, from the Crown Prince's instructions and collusion with Wan Jinlou, to the Mongolian elixirs and framing the prince, word for word, completely shattering the assassin's psychological defenses.

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!"

The assassin slumped on the chains, tears streaming down his face.

"It was His Highness the Crown Prince who orchestrated the assassination attempt, sending us to assassinate Prince Bei Jing in order to frame Prince Qin and Prince Zhao and seize military power!"

"The datura pills were provided by the Mongols, who agreed to launch an attack next spring, using the internal strife in the capital as an inside maneuver..."

In less than the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, the three assassins, amidst mutual suspicion and betrayal, confessed to all their conspiracies.

Crown Prince Zhu Changyu orchestrated his own assassination attempt, colluding with Wan Jinlou and a Mongolian goddess to assassinate Shui Rong, frame the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Zhao, disrupt the court, seize control of the military in the capital region, and act as an inside agent for the Mongolian invasion the following year.

Shui Rong walked out of the cell, the candlelight casting a long shadow of him. Zhao Zhong quickly stepped forward, his face full of admiration.

"Our master is brilliant. Without resorting to torture, he used only psychological warfare to make these assassins eagerly confess!"

Shui Rong frowned: "But Wan Jin Lou is my territory, how could there be a problem?"