Reborn as a eunuch, the system tells me to seduce the empress?

A few days later.

Left Censor-in-Chief Sun Zhengming was arrested by agents of the Eastern Depot in his study at his residence.

He was writing a folded paper at the time.

The duties of the Censorate were usually quite leisurely, but Sun Zhengming was different.

He was the son-in-law of the Earl of Yongchang and the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. He held the dual status of being a member of the Qingliu faction and a person of high rank and prestige, and countless people in the court were eyeing his position.

The pen in his hand was used to write a memorial impeaching the Vice Minister of Revenue for embezzlement; the wording was sharp and each word like a knife.

Sun Zhengming was always skilled at writing memorials, even the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet would frown upon seeing them.

He planned to submit the memorial at the morning court session the next day, hoping to further enhance his reputation as an official.

He had only written half of the folded paper when the study door was kicked open from the outside.

Sun Zhengming looked up in astonishment and saw seven or eight eunuchs from the Eastern Depot dressed in brown robes file in, led by Chen San, the head of the Eastern Depot.

Chen San unfolded a travel permit in his hand expressionlessly and waved it in front of him by candlelight.

"Lord Sun, this is an investigation by the Eastern Depot. Please proceed."

Sun Zhengming's pen fell onto the rice paper with a thud, the ink spreading and staining half of the beautiful article.

He was a third-rank official, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and a rising star among the upright officials.

Although Sun Zhengming was panicking inside, he forced himself to remain calm and shouted sternly, "Insolence! The Eastern Depot needs an imperial decree to arrest people. What right do you have to trespass on my residence?"

Chen San walked forward without saying a word, picked up the half-written note, looked at it, sneered, and casually threw it on the ground and stomped on it.

Then he tilted his head, and two guards pounced on him like wolves, pinning Sun Zhengming to the desk and quickly putting a thumb-thick iron chain on him.

"An imperial edict?" Chen San clapped his hands and sneered, "The governor's words are an imperial edict."

Sun Zhengming only truly felt fear when he was escorted out of the mansion.

He saw his steward and a young, unfamiliar eunuch in the Eastern Depot's ranks.

The steward was completely unharmed, dressed neatly, and even chatting and laughing with a guard.

Sun Zhengming's eyes widened. He seemed to have figured something out. His lips trembled, but he couldn't say a word.

His bribery of the Eastern Depot clerks three years ago has probably been exposed long ago.

Lin Mo simply didn't close the net until today.

Sun Zhengming was shoved into a prison van.

The prison van was sealed with sheet metal on all four sides, making it airtight, with only a small gap at the very top.

He huddled in the darkness, listening to the rumbling of wheels on the stone pavement, his heart sinking deeper and deeper.

He suddenly remembered that the Earl of Yongchang, Liu Kaishan, had told him the day before yesterday that Lin Mo was just a eunuch and that even if the Eastern Depot were reopened, he wouldn't be able to cause any trouble.

Liu Kaishan spoke with great confidence because he was one of the most trusted confidants of Marquis Guanyun, Guo Liang, who was one of the most powerful marquises in the army and the nephew of the current Empress Dowager.

But at that moment, Sun Zhengming, inside the prison cart, suddenly realized something.

When Fang Hong died, Marquis Guanyun didn't utter a single word.

Fang Hong was a second-rank official in the Ministry of War, one rank higher than Sun Zhengming, so his death was no big deal.

What is he, a mere Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, anyway?

It wasn't just him who got arrested.

The entire Sun family was imprisoned in the Eastern Depot.

The sight of the hundreds of members of the Sun family weeping and wailing instantly terrified the onlookers on the street, who dared not even breathe.

The unscrupulous Eastern Depot has once again made a grand appearance before the world.

Lin Mo planned to use the lives of a vice minister of the Ministry of War and the left censor of the Censorate to inform Wu Xun and the civil official group.

I, Lin Mo, am back.

When these criminals arrived at the gate of the Eastern Depot, they were all dragged into the Eastern Depot's private prison.

The Eastern Depot's prison was the most terrifying place in the entire capital.

It is said that no one who enters this place ever leaves unscathed.

Countless people have died here. Every spring when the prison is cleaned, the jailers can sweep up a basketful of human teeth from the corners of the cells.

Sun Zhengming was dragged into a torture chamber.

The walls of the torture chamber were covered with all sorts of instruments of torture: thumb clamps, knee crushers, skinning knives, and branding irons. In the corner was a bloodstained wooden bed, on which lay a person, whose fate was unknown.

Chen San was already waiting inside, sitting in a chair, slowly sipping his tea.

Seeing Sun Zhengming being brought in, he put down his teacup and smiled.

"Lord Sun, please have a seat."

Sun Zhengming was forced to sit on a chair. The armrest of the chair still had a layer of dark brown stains on it, and it felt sticky to the touch.

He dared not look down and tried his best to keep his hands away from the handrail, but the two guards held his wrists firmly on them, and he could not move at all.

"Chen San, what exactly do you want?" Sun Zhengming's voice trembled with fear as he spoke. "I am an official appointed by the imperial court; your Eastern Depot cannot torture me!"

Chen San ignored him, took out the thick booklet from his pocket, opened a page, and began to read.

"In March of the twelfth year of Xinglong, the Ministry of Revenue allocated 300,000 taels of silver to the northern border army for their pay, but the person in charge withheld 50,000 taels. Lord Sun, of these 50,000 taels, 30,000 taels belonged to you. After you took the silver, you bought three shops in the south of the city, and the shop deeds were put in your brother-in-law's name."

Sun Zhengming's pupils suddenly contracted.

Chen San turned another page.

"In June of the thirteenth year of the Xinglong reign, Qingzhou Prefecture in Shandong reported a drought, and the imperial court allocated 80,000 taels of silver for disaster relief. Less than 20,000 taels were distributed to the disaster victims, and the remaining 60,000 taels were divided among the Qingzhou prefect and the officials of the Provincial Administration Commission. Lord Sun, you were then the Censor-in-Chief sent to Shandong by the Censorate, and you received 15,000 taels as hush money."

"You're spouting nonsense!" Sun Zhengming struggled violently, veins bulging on his neck, pointing at Chen San and cursing, "You eunuch's lackey, what evidence do you have to accuse me of accepting bribes!"

Chen San then took out several letters from his pocket and placed them one by one in front of Sun Zhengming.

"This is the letter you wrote to the Prefect of Qingzhou, this is the receipt from the Provincial Administration Commission, and this is the contract for the three shops in the south of the city. There are also a few witnesses, currently locked up next door. Shall I call them over to cross-examine you?"

Sun Zhengming stared at the letters, and his whole body began to tremble violently.

He recognized the handwriting; it was his own. He didn't know how the Eastern Depot had obtained these things; he made sure to clean up his correspondence every year.

Chen San stood up, walked up to Sun Zhengming, bent down, leaned close to his ear, and whispered something.

"Lord Sun, the Commander-in-Chief said you have one last chance. Confess to the affairs of Liu Kaishan, the Earl of Yongchang, and Guo Liang, the Marquis of Guanyun, and write a detailed statement. The Commander-in-Chief will guarantee you a complete corpse, and your family will be safe as well."

Sun Zhengming trembled, his lips moved a few times, and finally he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "If...if I confess, will you spare my family?"

"The governor's word is as good as gold; he never goes back on his word."

Sun Zhengming closed his eyes, and two streams of tears slid down his cheeks.

After a long while, he slumped into the chair as if all his bones had been removed, and said in a hoarse voice, "I'll confess, I'll confess everything."