Inside the interrogation room.
The three mine heads were bound to three thick, cross-shaped wooden stakes.
A row of tables and chairs was placed opposite them.
Lu Ye and Bai Sheng sat in the middle, Ji Chenghe beside Lu Ye to record the interrogation, Du Min and Feng Pingyuan sat beside Bai Sheng, while Ma San, Yang Ming, and others stood by, each holding a knife, ready.
Mine Head Jiang looked disdainfully at these ignorant, low-born individuals before him, finally fixing his gaze on Lu Ye and sneering, "Your name is Lu Ye, right?"
Lu Ye poured himself a cup of tea and replied calmly, "Yes."
Mine Head Jiang smiled sinisterly, "Do you know what kind of trouble you've gotten yourselves into today?"
"I do," Lu Ye, still leisurely drinking tea, replied with an unchanged tone.
"Then do you know who our mine's patron is?! You truly are bold, daring to even capture us! You're simply tired of living!" Mine Head Jiang's eyes were red with rage, his words filled with arrogance.
Lu Ye looked up and gazed coldly at him, "Oh, and who is your patron? Could it be that Administrator Xue?"
"Hahaha... Administrator Xue?" Mine Head Jiang burst into wild laughter. "That ninth-grade foolish donkey is merely a dog at this mine head's feet, not even worthy of licking the backside of the patron behind me!"
Next door, Administrator Xue in the left room heard this clearly. As an official of the court, he was being looked down upon by a mere stone-digging fool. He was indignant!
Bai Sheng laughed, "Xiao Ming, slap his face! Who is he trying to scare? What patron, I say he's at most a dog that bullies others by relying on power!"
Yang Ming responded with a "Yes" and stepped forward, but did not act immediately.
"You, you, you... you ignorant slut! How dare you call His Highness the Crown Prince a dog?!" Mine Head Jiang's eyes widened, almost popping out of his head in shock.
"Imperial Envoy Ji, did you hear that clearly? In the year of Jia Hong, the twenty-fourth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, on the tenth day of the third month, during the Shen hour, Mine Head Jiang personally admitted that the three mine sites located in the desert of Tianshui Town, Tashajun, belong to His Highness the Crown Prince. Witnesses include xxxx..." Bai Sheng turned her head and said calmly to Ji Chenghe.
"Mhm, mhm, noted," Ji Chenghe's hand holding the pen moved with such speed it created afterimages.
Next door, the more than twenty workers sitting in the right room heard everything clearly. Before leaving, Lu Ye had quietly kept them behind as witnesses.
These workers, from different villages, would lend more credibility to their testimony.
Mine Head Jiang was immediately shocked.
If his hands were not tied, he would have slapped his own foul mouth at this moment.
The other two mine heads were also greatly alarmed.
They glared fiercely at Mine Head Jiang.
Only then did the three of them understand that the true target of these people was the Crown Prince!
This... this was too audacious! They themselves? Just some ignorant, arrogant wretches, dirt-diggers?
But, if the Prince Yu was included? It seemed not impossible.
Thinking of this, all three felt a chill run down their spines.
If the mining affair was truly exposed to the imperial court, the Crown Prince would absolutely not spare them!
After all, it was they who provoked Hongshupo first, offending these people, which led to the Crown Prince's matters being revealed.
This strikingly beautiful, corpulent woman was truly putting them on the spot.
Alas, they suddenly felt great regret, that they should never have provoked this group of ferocious wretches.
Lu Ye pointed at Mine Head Jiang and said to Yang Ming, "Slap this fellow Jiang twice. He just insulted my precious darling."
Precious darling? Damn it! Are these normal people? They can't even forget to show affection while interrogating a prisoner?
The three mine heads glanced at the affectionate couple opposite them, noticing their unblushing faces and steady hearts, while the surrounding people appeared as calm as ever, clearly accustomed to such verbal assaults.
Are young men and women these days so shameless? Alas, the world is indeed changing for the worse!
Yang Ming had the same intention, raising his hand and delivering two loud slaps to Mine Head Jiang's face.
Mine Head Jiang's mind was still dwelling on the changing world when his face bore the imprints of five fingers, causing him to see stars from the pain, and his two large molars seemed to be loosening.
In fact, Yang Ming had not used his full strength, as they were still in the midst of interrogation and couldn't hit too hard; this person's foul mouth was still needed for speaking.
Mine Head Jiang's eyes were red, glaring at Yang Ming, thinking: You spew foulness, you spew foulness, you spew foulness.
Yang Ming gave him a brilliant smile, then calmly took out a handkerchief from his waist and began to wipe his hands.
Mine Head Jiang's face was too dirty; after only two slaps, Yang Ming's hand was covered in grime.
If General Feces saw this scene, he would surely order his subordinates to strip all of them, give them a good bath, and then happily collect basins of bathwater capable of fertilizing two mu of land, a bountiful harvest for the septic tank.
But Mine Head Jiang didn't feel his face was dirty; he washed it only once every five or six days, how could it be dirty?
Therefore, he only felt Yang Ming wiping his hands with a handkerchief was a deliberate humiliation.
Lu Ye's words pulled Mine Head Jiang back from his thoughts.
"Tell me, what kind of ore are you three mines digging, and what is it used for?"
Lu Ye and Bai Sheng naturally knew what ore their mines were digging; the mine traitor Huang Xiaoyan had already told them everything.
Lu Ye's question, though he knew the answer, was merely to elicit the confession directly from the mouths of these mine heads.
After all, with so many witnesses in the adjacent rooms, it was necessary for the witnesses to personally hear the confessions of those involved in the mines.
This way, Bai Sheng and the others would have ample confidence when reporting to the Emperor through Prince Yu, as it would be based on factual events. If it were just an act, it would always lack a certain authenticity.
However, these three mine heads had become smarter and had completely fallen silent.
Lu Ye sneered, "Xiao Ma, it's your turn."
Lu Ye, as the instructor of the guard, was also proficient in extracting confessions through torture.
The entire guard, including the youngest Lu Yu and Tie Zhu, had mastered various methods of coercion.
Lu Yu, with his childlike wisdom, had even created many coercive techniques. For instance, making prisoners eat their own excrement, or making them starve for three days and three nights, then watching him eat chicken legs right before their eyes...
In short, Lu Yu's methods always related to "eating."
Wang Xiao Ma walked up to Mine Head Jiang, cut off one of his shoes with a knife, then with a swish, the tip of the dagger suddenly pierced the nail of his foul-smelling big toe.
"Ah—" Mine Head Jiang's scream was mournful and long, piercing the tranquil sky of Hongshupo.
"Ugh, ugh—" Bai Sheng gagged from the stench of Mine Head Jiang's feet.
After gagging, she looked at Wang Xiao Ma with disgust, covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief, and said, "Ma, why did you think of poking his toes? Wouldn't poking his fingers be more pleasant?"
Wang Xiao Ma felt guilty, "Mistress, they still need their fingers to press their handprints and seal the deal, so I... I..."
Lu Ye covered his nose and said, "Only one thumb is needed to press the handprint. He still has nine fingers, poke any one you like. My heavens, it stinks so much, quickly find something to wrap his smelly feet."
"Alright!" Wang Xiao Ma yanked out his dagger with a swish, tore off Mine Head Jiang's top, and tightly wrapped his "fragrant" feet.
Du Min and the others also covered their mouths and noses, while the other two mine heads' noses twitched.
Yang Ming immediately opened all the windows to the maximum.
Wang Zhugan grabbed a piece of clothing and fanned frantically by the window.
The severely despised Mine Head Jiang, at this moment, was covered in tears and cold sweat, his face pale as frost, yet his heart still silently roared: My feet aren't smelly, I wash them once every ten days, how can I be dirty when I'm so clean?!