Dream of the Red Chamber: Rising from Refugees to Sweep Across the Land

Chapter 106 Son Betrays Father

After the officials from the Ministry of Revenue had dispersed, the servant quickly entered the main hall and took out a letter from his sleeve: "Your Highness, a letter from the old immortal of Qingxu Temple."

"That old charlatan is probably short of money again."

Shui Rong sneered, his face full of disdain. But when he opened the letter, his eyes widened, a hint of panic flashed across his face, but he quickly regained his composure.

He read the letter carefully from beginning to end, and only after confirming that there were no mistakes did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Shui Rong folded the letter and stuffed it into his sleeve, then said to the servant, "Go tell the steward that the incense money for Qingxu Temple will be doubled this year."

"Yes." The servant bowed and withdrew.

Shui Rong leaned back in her chair, tapping her fingertips lightly on the armrest, and murmured to herself, "I hope it doesn't snow... that would save us a lot of trouble."

"Will you tell me or not! Will you tell me or not?"

Outside, the cold wind howled, but inside Wanping Prison, the heat was scorching, and the firewood in the brazier crackled.

Dai Quan finally lost his patience, gritted his teeth, and spat out a few words: "Beat them to death!"

Liu Feng, standing to the side, unconsciously gripped the hilt of his knife. Looking at the old man, who had been beaten almost beyond recognition, his heart tightened, fearing that the old traitor would not be able to withstand the pressure and would implicate Jia Jing or make wild accusations, dragging him into the mess.

The whip fell, each strike more ferocious than the last.

Seeing that the old man was barely clinging to life, Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding frowned and whispered, "Prime Minister, if we continue fighting, he will die. Let's hold off for a while."

Dai Quan snorted coldly, which was taken as tacit approval.

As soon as the whip fell, the cell fell silent except for the crackling of the firewood in the brazier.

After a long while, the old man slowly raised his head, staring straight at Dai Quan. A smile, tinged with contempt and mockery, appeared on his blood-stained lips.

Then, he spat out a mouthful of liquid.

A mouthful of bloody spit, mixed with thick phlegm, flew towards Dai Quan. Although it didn't touch him, it was extremely insulting.

Dai Quan's face darkened instantly. "Beat them! Beat them to death!"

Liu Feng almost burst out laughing. He hadn't expected this old traitor to be so tough. But then he thought about it, and it made sense. His entire family had died at the emperor's hands; all that was left in his heart was hatred. When a person reaches that point, what else is there to fear?

Just then, Dai Quan's godson rolled his eyes and whispered a few words in his ear.

Dai Quan nodded, and the young eunuch turned and left. A short while later, he returned, leading in a young man who looked like a scholar.

Liu Feng's heart skipped a beat, and he knew something was wrong.

Before the young man was even subjected to torture, he was already so frightened that his legs went weak, his face turned ashen, and even his lips were trembling.

Liu Feng could tell at a glance that this kind of person simply couldn't hold on.

Sure enough, when the young man saw the old man who had been beaten beyond recognition, his legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The young eunuch smiled smugly, looking down at him: "Speak, what are you doing infiltrating the capital?"

"I, I...he, he....."

"6

"Speak!" the little eunuch's voice suddenly rose. "If you don't speak, your fate will be far worse than his." He pointed a finger straight at the young man, a twisted smile on his face. "First I'll cut off your nose, then your ears... and your eyeballs, one by one, I'll slowly gouge them out..."

'

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly roared, "Speak!"

This roar even drowned out the sound of whips cracking in the prison.

Suddenly, a pungent smell of urine quietly wafted out.

Liu Feng's lips twitched. What a useless piece of trash!

The stench of urine didn't disgust the young eunuch; instead, it excited him even more. His eyes darted around, then he spotted the sword at Liu Feng's waist and said in a shrill voice, "Lord Liu, may I borrow your sword?"

Liu Feng really wanted to say "Get lost," but since the other man's "father" was there, he had no choice but to draw his knife.

"I'll talk! I'll talk..." The young man was terrified and shouted at the top of his lungs, "He's here to see some imperial grandson..."

""

"Shut up!" the old man roared, his eyes wide with anger. "I must have been blind to take you as my disciple!"

Dai Quan: "Shut him up."

The young eunuch immediately rushed forward, tore a large piece of bloody cloth from the old man's body, and stuffed it into his mouth.

The old man struggled and whimpered, but could only watch helplessly as the young man recounted in detail how they had sneaked into the interior of the pass, how they had made their way to the capital, and so on.

Liu Feng sighed inwardly. This was the worst possible outcome for the already miserable Crown Prince faction.

From the border to the capital, a large number of hidden members of the deposed crown prince's faction were unearthed in one fell swoop. Dai Quan finally smiled, glanced at the old man with wide-open eyes, and asked again, "Where is the imperial grandson?"

The young man shook his head, "I, I don't know..." Seeing Dai Quan's face darken again, he hurriedly added, "However, I overheard them talking, and they said that the imperial grandson didn't seem to have died in the Yellow River flood..."

Dai Quan was taken aback when he heard this. The Yellow River flood, not water-soluble?

Liu Feng's heart skipped a beat. Could he have gotten himself involved? He subconsciously looked at the old man, then suddenly realized something was wrong. He quickly stepped forward, reached out and checked the old man's breath, and was immediately shocked.

Dai Quan looked over: "What's wrong?"

Liu Feng paused for a moment: "It seems like... he's furious."

"What!" Dai Quan was shocked. He rushed over and ripped the blood-stained cloth out of the old man's mouth. With a "pfft," a mouthful of blood gushed out, splattering all over his face and body, and even Liu Feng was affected.

Dai Quan completely lost his temper: "Chop this old bastard up and feed him to the dogs!" After saying that, he strode up to the young man, staring at him menacingly, "Tell me everything you know, or I'll make you wish you were dead."

Looking at Dai Quan, who was covered in blood and looked like a demon, the young man dared not hide anything. He immediately spilled everything he knew, even revealing his family in Shengjing.

Liu Feng finally felt relieved. This person hadn't come into contact with anything crucial, and didn't even know what the old man had been doing outside the city these past few days; this was already a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune.

The trail went cold again. Dai Quan's face was terrifying, and the young man cried out in fear, "Don't kill me! I can help you go back and gather information!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng felt his worldview shattered. What happened to the integrity of a scholar?!

It was already past midnight when I got home.

Liu Quan came out to greet him and, seeing the bloodstains on Liu Feng's clothes, quickly ordered a servant to go to the kitchen to boil water. He himself held a lantern to illuminate the way, while taking out a letter from his pocket: "Second Master, this was delivered by the Xue family before dark."

Liu Feng entered the front hall and opened the letter; it was from Xue Baochai. The letter said that Hanlin Mei had gathered several like-minded individuals to lead the impeachment of Lin Ruhai, and a detailed list was attached...

Upon reading the last part, Liu Feng chuckled. No wonder this big-faced girl was so well-informed; it turned out that Mei Hanlin's son was the one tipping him off! A son betraying his father—that kid isn't any better.

Liu Feng snorted, folded the letter, and looked at Liu Quan: "Is there anything else?"

Liu Quan laughed and said, "Good news. The pavilion is up and running, and it will be finished in two more days."

Liu Feng nodded.

The pond has been dug, the fish have been raised, and the pavilion and connecting corridor are all in place. Once the smell of wood and paint has dissipated, we can bring Lin Daiyu home for a visit.

Liu Feng suddenly remembered the young man again, sighed, and turned to walk towards the backyard.

If even fathers and sons can betray each other, what is this little thing?

Although he didn't know what Dai Quan and the young man talked about in the end, he had to pass on a message to Jia Jing no matter what. Otherwise, if the fire really spread to him, it would be too late.