Feng Quan's face contorted in a grimace, the bloodshot veins in his bulging eyes threatening to spill blood. Was this why Feng Luan acted so fearlessly? Was Feng Luan truly that important to the Regent?
He turned his head. The person sitting in the prisoner's cart remained as composed and serene as ever, not the slightest change in the curve of her lips. Her gaze, cast down from above, made him look like a defeated cur.
Feng Quan held the paper, his fingers stiff. The resentment filling his heart dared not escape. He lowered his head, "Your subordinate obeys the decree."
...
The Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice temporarily took over all affairs of the Ministry of Justice. Feng Quan was once again thrown into the Heavenly Prison. The knife stained with Nan Shiying's bloody handprint was sealed in the evidence bag of the Ministry of Justice.
The death of the Minister of Justice was no small matter. From ministers in court to common people, discussions and rumors ran rampant. Some said Feng Luan was the murderer, first killing Liu Ling and then Zou Chengyi; some said Feng Luan was framed from beginning to end, and if a direct disciple of Medicine King Valley wanted to kill someone, why would they use a knife? Others said that because Jian'an Temple was sealed by the court and the monks within were detained, it angered the gods and Buddhas.
Those who spread heretical doctrines were severely punished. At this point, only two theories remained.
Feng Luan is the murderer!
Feng Luan is not the murderer!
...
The candlelight within the stone pillars was lit. The path from the morning court hall to the Imperial Study, the red walls on both sides of the road, under the illumination of the candlelight, revealed the cracks left by time on the walls.
The eunuch holding the lamp led Nan Chaoyin into the Imperial Study.
In the Imperial Study, only one large lamp was lit, illuminating only where Ji Hong was. The light covered only a few meters.
Nan Chaoyin closed the door and walked towards the light.
As he got closer, he saw Ji Hong buried in his desk. "Your Majesty!"
Hearing Nan Chaoyin's presence, Ji Hong finally looked up and handed a memorial to Nan Chaoyin. Nan Chaoyin bowed, took the memorial with both hands, and read it with great speed.
The contents made Nan Chaoyin's expression change repeatedly.
The contents detailed every action Feng Luan took with Zou Chengyi since being imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice, as well as the threats made by the Regent's Xuan Guards to the Ministry of Justice officials after Zou Chengyi's death.
Nan Chaoyin keenly grasped several key points, or rather, the points the Emperor wanted him to focus on. He suddenly knelt and cried out, "Your Majesty, this Feng Luan is truly wicked. Your subordinate implores Your Majesty to issue a decree to torture Feng Luan!"
"But this..."
Ji Hong hesitated, his eyebrows appearing somewhat slow in the candlelight. "That person is from Medicine King Valley."
Mentioning Medicine King Valley, Nan Chaoyin felt it was time to report something. He said, "I was acquainted with Hui Ji, who was not yet an elder of Medicine King Valley, in my early years. I still see him occasionally over the years and write to him to express my regards during my leisure time. A while ago, I mentioned Feng Luan to him, but..." Nan Chaoyin paused, quickly glancing at Ji Hong.
"Prime Minister, there is no need to hesitate, speak freely!"
"But Hui Ji said he had never heard of a person named Feng Luan in Medicine King Valley. I was surprised and asked a few more questions. Hui Ji said there is no such person as Feng Luan in Medicine King Valley, so this Feng Luan is likely a fraud impersonating a disciple of Medicine King Valley."
Ji Hong's expression did not change, only his eyebrows faintly raised.
His thought was not about Feng Luan's identity, but about Nan Chaoyin's acquaintance with an elder of Medicine King Valley. He had never mentioned this before. How many things was this old man hiding from him?
Ji Hong suddenly slapped the table, appearing furious. "This is outrageous! That Feng Luan is truly audacious! Guards, convey my decree, order the Ministry of Justice's Qing Li Division to interrogate Feng Luan!"
Nan Chaoyin lowered his head, saying nothing more.
Ji Hong's peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a sinister cold glint in his eyes.
...
Upon receiving the imperial decree, the Ministry of Justice interrogated Feng Luan.
"Speak, why did you kill Lord Zou!"
Although the Emperor only used the word "interrogate," there was no difference between interrogation and torture. Feng Luan was tied to a cross-shaped wooden pillar. Wei Wuxian, the head of the Ministry of Justice's Qing Li Division, holding a whip, his eyes wide and resembling a Rakshasa, pressed Feng Luan.
Feng Quan, locked in the adjacent Heavenly Prison, leaned against the wall, staring intently at Feng Luan. Finally, he saw an expression on her face other than composure and calmness.
Screams echoed and spread. Blood seeped from the torn flesh of the wounds. The whip, rolled in chili water, fell on her body, seeping into the wounds, and the pain it caused was so dense it felt as if every cell was wailing.
"Speak, will you speak!"
Wei Wuxian repeated his question while inflicting torture.
Whips, razors, pincers, brands – all the torture instruments of the Ministry of Justice were used on Feng Luan. Seeing the dying Feng Luan, Wei Wuxian spat fiercely, "Hmph, you've got guts. We'll continue tomorrow!"
He uttered a threat and then turned to Feng Quan, "Watch him carefully, don't let him kill himself!"
Feng Quan nodded.
After Wei Wuxian left, the prison fell into silence, leaving only heavy breathing.
"Do you regret it?"
Looking at Feng Luan, covered in blood, with no good spots left on her body, Feng Quan asked curiously, "If you had chosen to leave back then, at least you wouldn't be suffering such physical pain."
Feng Luan's delicate face was covered in hideous wounds. Her moon-white clothes had become dirty rags that barely covered her in the brutal torture.
"Heh~"
"Heh heh~"
She was laughing, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth.
In Feng Quan's eyes, as Feng Luan's torn lips curved into a smile, the pain seemed to make every muscle in her face tremble. In reality, Nan Shiying was sitting in front of the wooden pillar, leaning against it. There were no wounds on her body at all, only a little dry grass and dust clinging to the hem of her clothes. She looked up at Feng Quan, and the expression on his face made her unable to resist laughing.
That was why she chuckled.
Ci Sha's hallucinogenic drug was effective. It was much simpler and more practical than the previous method of burying animal corpses to induce hallucinations.
"With you accompanying me to the grave, I, do not regret it!"
Nan Shiying lowered her voice, trying to sound hoarse. However, when the brain is deceived, it automatically corrects certain loopholes. In other words, even if Nan Shiying's voice was not convincing now, in Feng Quan's ears, it would sound infinitely close to the voice of someone being tortured.
...
The Imperial Palace, Imperial Study.
Nan Chaoyin stood to the side, head bowed. The vast surroundings were filled only with the flickering of candlelight and the sound of soft breathing.
Two hours had passed since the Emperor issued the order, and he had been standing for two hours. His calves were sore, and the veins on his calves seemed about to burst.
His body swayed slightly. Just then, the door of the Imperial Study was pushed open. A eunuch ran in with a panicked expression and shouted, "Your Majesty, disaster! The Regent has led the Demon Hunter Army into the Ministry of Justice!"
The moment Ji Hong and Nan Chaoyin heard this news, their eyes flashed not with anger or surprise, but with joy and certainty: 'As expected,' 'So that's how it is!'