All official government offices in Qing Yu Nian could be used to detain prisoners. In Kyoto, there were even more such places. Starting from the Kyoto Prefecture, the Qing law stipulated that as many as seven government offices had the authority to detain prisoners. However, those officials involved in political affairs and those heinous criminals were often held in the dungeons of the Ministry of Justice, the Great Mercy Temple's wall chambers, and the Supervisory Council's prison. This was what the common people regarded as an abyss, the so-called "Heavenly Prison" often mentioned in storytelling.

Since the establishment of the Supervisory Council, this special agency directly under the Emperor had played an extremely powerful, gloomy, and terrifying role in politics. High-ranking officials who were arrested were often imprisoned here, and formidable individuals with extraordinary skills were locked away in the underground for years. This prison gradually surpassed the Ministry of Justice and the Great Mercy Temple, becoming a veritable Heavenly Prison.

The Heavenly Prison was located near the Supervisory Council. Exiting the main gate of that square, gloomy building, one only needed to turn around a corner to see the two extremely heavy iron doors. Naturally, there was also a secret passage within the Supervisory Council that led directly to the Heavenly Prison. One only needed to walk behind the large courtyard behind the Supervisory Council, pass through a small door, and could reach it directly.

Regardless of which direction one entered the Supervisory Council's prison, the first scene one saw was a deep tunnel. The cells where the most serious offenders were held were deep underground, with extremely strict guards, so there was no worry about prison breaks.

As one descended into the tunnel, the air became more stagnant, and the lights grew dimmer. Although there was good ventilation equipment below, the mingling of decades of foul air created an inexplicable sense of terror and suffocation.

Descending to the deepest part of the tunnel and passing through several ordinary prison cells, one reached the lowest cells of the Supervisory Council, where the guards were the strictest. Today was different from usual. The officials responsible for guarding the Heavenly Prison had unusually complex expressions, and the entire prison was filled with experts from outside the Council.

For example, experts from the Imperial Guards and the Ding Prefecture Army, as well as experts from the inner court. Even more chilling was that along the separate road leading to the lowest level, four strangers wearing bamboo hats and hemp clothing stood there, coldly.

No one knew the identities of these four people, but it was possible to clearly perceive the powerful aura flowing within their bodies. These four people were sent by that Emperor in the palace.

Chen Pingping, the principal offender in the assassination attempt on the Emperor, was being held on the lowest level of the Supervisory Council's prison. Perhaps even this remarkable and terrifying figure did not expect that one day, he would be imprisoned in the very prison he had established.

The Emperor returned Chen Pingping to the Supervisory Council instead of imprisoning him in the palace or the Great Mercy Temple. His intentions were clear. If the Supervisory Council truly pitied its old Director and was willing to do whatever it took to rescue him, then leaving him in this prison would allow him to see the thoughts of the Supervisory Council officials more clearly.

If there were enemies in the world, let them jump out sooner and higher. Emperor Qing had been acting according to this method since the first day he ascended the throne, including the siege of Mount Dong three years ago and the Kyoto rebellion. Only a monster like the Emperor, who possessed two of the most powerful roles in the world, would dare to use this method, which was so confident as to be arrogant and so suspicious as to be a form of entrapment.

However, the Emperor did not expect that the hidden fire in the hearts of the Supervisory Council had been extinguished by Chen Pingping, nearing death, with a single finger. Therefore, the ten thousand elite Qing soldiers stationed outside the Supervisory Council were not used, and the experts who had forcibly entered the Seventh Division Heavenly Prison vigilantly watched their surroundings, but had not yet discovered any signs of rebellion within the Supervisory Council.

The underground was damp and dark, but there were no traces of moss on any of the stone steps or walls, indicating that the Seventh Division of the Supervisory Council took great care of this place. Pale yellow, specially made oil torches burned outside the deepest cells of the prison, illuminating this underworld-like place clearly.

On the lowest level, there were only two prison cells, carved directly from the granite bedrock. No one knew how deep or thick the walls behind them were. The front of the cell was a heavy iron door, not much lighter than the two iron doors at the entrance of the Heavenly Prison.

This was the gloomiest place in Qing Yu Nian, and not many people were qualified to be imprisoned here. From the time the Supervisory Council was built, these deepest underground rooms had only held one person. That person's name was Xiao En, and he had been imprisoned for decades.

And today, Chen Pingping was also being held here.

……

……

The iron door of the cell was not closed, and the firelight shone inside, clearly showing all the furnishings within the cell. A bed, a basin of water, and some miscellaneous items. It was not as people imagined, filled with only weeds, rats, and mud. On the contrary, the cell was extremely clean, just a bit too clean and simple. One could not even see a cockroach.

Chen Pingping lay on the bed, breathing slowly, his eyes closed tightly, his gray hair messily covering his face. Although the wound on his chest and abdomen had already been bandaged and treated by the imperial physician, the excessive blood loss had turned the old man's face a ghastly white. His breathing seemed extremely labored, each inhalation causing his somewhat shriveled chest to struggle several times like an aging machine, his throat emitting a sound like a broken bellows.

On the long wooden bench outside the cell, four people sat in a row: Yan Bingyun, He Zongwei, a eunuch, and an imperial physician.

These four people would keep watching the old man, ensuring that he would not die, ensuring that he would not escape, and ensuring that he remained in this semi-conscious, near-death state, until the court session opened tomorrow, the charges were determined, and in front of the imperial city, under the gaze of the people, he would accept the Emperor's wrath.

Yan Bingyun's face was pale as he quietly watched the old man on the bed, no one knew what he was thinking. He Zongwei glanced at him with a indifferent expression, not very worried. At this time, the Supervisory Council's Heavenly Prison had been completely controlled by the military. Even if there were any unstable elements within the Supervisory Council, trying to kill their way to the lowest level without a leader and rescue Chen Pingping was completely impossible.

Looking at Chen Pingping's dying body, He Zongwei frowned slightly, feeling a chill. The beginning of this matter stemmed from his jealousy of Fan Xian, but the ending had nothing to do with him. His mind was slightly bewildered and awe-struck. He didn't know how long he would have to continue walking on this dark road to reach the end, and even if he reached the end, would he be like this old cripple in front of him, still unable to have a complete corpse?

But He Zongwei had to continue walking. From the moment the Emperor took a fancy to him and made him stand on the opposite side of Fan Xian, he could no longer retreat. That was why he had exclaimed in the palace, seeking to solidify Chen Pingping and the Supervisory Council's crimes, so that Fan Xian, who would be returning to Kyoto soon, would go crazy because of Chen Pingping's tragic death.

All the civil and military officials and important figures in the Qing court were now worried about Fan Xian going crazy, but He Zongwei hoped that Fan Xian would go crazy. If Fan Xian was really so indifferent, and under the imperial power, did not care about Chen Pingping's death and the humiliation suffered by the Supervisory Council, then he would still be that aloof Duke Danbo, one person below ten thousand.

Such a ruthless, cold, and far from aloof Duke Danbo was not the enemy that He Zongwei wanted to face. He Zongwei only hoped that Fan Xian was a young, passionate courtier who would fall out with the Emperor because of this matter. Only in this way, with him standing behind the Emperor, would he have the chance to obtain lifelong wealth and glory.

Just as he was lost in thought, Yan Bingyun suddenly said, "Academician He, I don't know who those four people outside are."

He Zongwei glanced at Yan Bingyun and shook his head without answering. He knew that the other person was talking about the four mysterious figures wearing hemp clothing and bamboo hats. These four people held imperial decrees, and their authority was even higher than the Imperial Guards. They were specifically responsible for guarding Chen Pingping. No one knew where the palace had suddenly found these four experts. He Zongwei did not know either, but as he looked at Yan Bingyun, he began to calculate other things in his mind.

Back then, the Emperor had brought in new blood for the court, and the Seven Gentlemen had entered the palace, each receiving careful instructions from the Emperor. Apart from Qin Heng, who was tragically killed by the Black Knights due to his family's rebellion, the remaining six had gradually shone in the court. These young ministers were undoubtedly the Emperor's preparations for the future.

Among these six people, He Zongwei had the highest reputation and status, implicitly taking the lead. However, today, looking at Yan Bingyun's face as cold as frost, He Zongwei felt a bit cold and faintly fearful in his heart.

What he feared most in his life were characters like himself, who were good at choosing strong factions and good at hiding themselves, and who were particularly ruthless when action was needed. And today, Chen Pingping had attempted to assassinate the Emperor, but Yan Bingyun had already taken many countermeasures within the Supervisory Council. This fact shocked He Zongwei, discovering that this young Master Yan was also a naturally cold and extremely ruthless person, and moreover, he clearly knew more about this matter than he did. In other words, the Emperor's trust in this person was vaguely above his own.

Yan Bingyun did not notice what the popular Academician was thinking in his heart. He simply looked quietly at the old man in the cell, his eyes complex and calm.

The old man had devoted his entire life to Qing Yu Nian, expending too much effort and energy. In addition, he had fought desperately on the battlefield in his early years, suffering countless serious injuries. In recent years, he had been paralyzed on one side of his body, and his Qi and blood did not circulate. All these reasons added together made the Qing Emperor's first strategist age exceptionally quickly. Now, his face was full of wrinkles and silver hair, making him look exceptionally old, and the true essence of life within his body had long been exhausted.

Today, in the imperial study, the Emperor had acted in anger. Although he had controlled his strength after being severely injured, that porcelain cup had already severed Chen Pingping's breath. Without the imperial physician saying anything, Yan Bingyun could also judge that the old Director's life was at its end. If it were not for the palace's precious medicinal materials to sustain his life, he was afraid that he would not even be able to wait for the execution ground to open tomorrow, and the old Director would bid farewell to this world.

At this thought, a trace of undetectable sorrow flashed in his eyes.

Just at this moment, Chen Pingping's body, which had been unconscious, suddenly moved. The imperial physician quickly stepped forward to take his pulse. After a long time, Chen Pingping opened his eyes with great difficulty and looked around, seemingly trying to confirm where he was first. However, his dry lips curled up, and for some reason, he smiled.

Chen Pingping's eyes were very cloudy, with no luster. He looked at Yan Bingyun, very indifferently.

Yan Bingyun also looked at him, equally indifferently.

……

……

In the mountains, one does not know the passage of time, and underground, one does not know the passage of time either. No one knew how much time had passed, but the oil torches were still burning at the cost of their lives. The people in the Supervisory Council's Heavenly Prison, who had not slept all night, felt an unbearable sense of fatigue after passing through the most tense night.

He Zongwei rubbed his eyes and subconsciously looked out the window, only to see a stone wall. He then realized that he was deep underground, and smiled self-deprecatingly. Just then, there was a sound of footsteps on the stone steps behind the cell. With these footsteps, the little eunuch who proclaimed the decree came to the outside of the cell.

He Zongwei's expression became solemn, the imperial physician's expression relaxed, the eunuch guarding here's expression tightened, and Yan Bingyun remained expressionless. These people responsible for guarding the principal offender Chen Pingping knew that.

The hour, had finally arrived.

……

……

A touch of red sun in the east had already leaped out of the clouds, warmly illuminating all the buildings in the Qing Yu Nian capital. This group of people who came out of the Heavenly Prison stood in the morning light, each subconsciously squinting their eyes. After a night of tension, nothing had happened in the end. Whether it was He Zongwei or Yan Bingyun, or even the Imperial Guards responsible for guarding, they all felt that their spirits were exhausted to the extreme.

He Zongwei waved his hand gently. Surrounded by hundreds of fully armored Imperial Guards, a black carriage stopped at the entrance of the Heavenly Prison. Chen Pingping, still lying on a stretcher, was lifted onto it again.

Yan Bingyun squinted his eyes and looked at the magnificent imperial city, knowing that the court session had already begun. Those ministers of various departments must be indignantly denouncing Chen Pingping's treason in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The charges that those civil officials had prepared for many years finally had the opportunity to be placed on the old black dog's neck.

The principal offender Chen Pingping was carried out of the Heavenly Prison, embarking on the road to death. The surrounding soldiers solemnly and nervously distributed the guarding tasks. Yan Bingyun and his most trusted Supervisory Council subordinates fell behind, and then heard a piece of news.

The old servant who had been accompanying Chen Pingping for decades, the old servant who drove the carriage to send Chen Pingping back to Kyoto, had also been imprisoned in the Supervisory Council's Heavenly Prison last night. Now knowing that the master he had served for decades was about to enter the execution ground, this old servant committed suicide by crashing into the wall in his cell, his blood smeared all over the walls.

Hearing this news, a slight wetness appeared in Yan Bingyun's eyes, but he forcefully suppressed it, raising his face and no longer looking at the imperial city, lest tears mixed with complex emotions would fall in front of so many people.

He looked up, and then saw countless rain clouds arriving for no reason, quickly piling up in the sky above Kyoto, tightly covering the newly rising red sun behind, allowing a piece of darkness to envelop the buildings and green trees in the city.

Another autumn rain was about to fall.

……

……

(I feel like I'm not writing well, or rather, I don't dare to write much, so I stopped here… The chapter name appeared. The chapter name that I have saved for half a year is probably the only thing in this chapter that can convince myself. It will be better tomorrow.)