newbobooks Chapter 157 Unforgivable Sin!
Chapter 157 Unforgivable Sin!
Wang Jinglin shook his head, feeling quite helpless. The Zhaoyu Prison was controlled by a trusted confidant of the royal family, who never allowed outsiders to interfere. Moreover, Pei Yuanling was already wary of the Wang family.
Now we can't get any information at all.
I will be returning to the capital in a month. If this matter cannot be resolved at the temporary palace, it will only be more difficult to deal with it later.
“Father, do you think it’s possible that those assassins are already dead, and that His Majesty intentionally released false information to make the person behind the scenes panic and couldn’t hold back from showing up, so that he could catch them like turtles in a jar?” Wang Jinglin said, expressing his conjecture.
For some time now, the emperor has been investigating the assassination attempt, but more than a month has passed and he still hasn't been able to find out anything.
“We were never targeting His Majesty, and we never left any loopholes. Even if those few assassins really confessed, His Majesty will only be more wary of our Wang family.”
Wang Chengxun said with a grim face, "Although he now controls the court, his foundation is not stable and he still needs the support of our Wang family. I suppose he wouldn't dare to make any rash moves."
Despite saying that, after a long silence, Wang Chengxun still instructed: "In any case, before returning to the capital, we still need to find a way to deal with those assassins, lest things get complicated."
“My son understands.” Wang Jinglin nodded.
"Alas, if your sister's womb were to cooperate and give birth to a child related to our Wang family sooner, why would we have to go through all this trouble?"
Ultimately, Pei Yuanling is not the Empress Dowager's biological son and has no blood relation to the Wang family, which has led to the current awkward situation.
If their eldest daughter could give birth to the eldest son of the emperor and be made crown prince, the kingdom of Daqing would sooner or later be in the hands of the Wang family.
However, the eldest daughter has been married to Pei Yuanling for five or six years now, and has yet to conceive a child, which makes it hard not to have some doubts.
In the harem, apart from the child of the late Consort who died young, there are no children left. Pei Yuanling has been on the throne for five years, and his offspring have dwindled to this extent, which is all related to his exclusive favor towards the late Consort.
Now, with the emergence of Consort Qiao, they are truly troubled.
Imperial palace, imperial prison.
The emperor wore a dark-colored robe with subtle patterns, a gold-inlaid jade belt around his waist, and a veiled hat, exuding an air of nobility.
The man in black following behind him was Gu Li, his trusted confidant and a loyal henchman who interrogated prisoners on his behalf, obeying only the emperor's orders.
Those assassins should have been handed over to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation, but because it concerned His Majesty's safety, they were directly handed over to Gu Li for disposal.
"Have those assassins given their word?" Pei Yuanling asked in a deep voice.
The other person just shook their head, seemingly undecided.
As if he had already guessed this outcome, Pei Yuanling remained calm and said, "It's alright. I never intended to extract anything from them anyway."
The two walked deeper into the prison and soon arrived at a torture chamber.
The place reeked of blood, making one want to vomit, but Pei Yuanling paid no attention and remained expressionless: "Bring that assassin up here. I want to interrogate him myself."
"This..." Gu Li was a little worried, but she still went to do it.
Soon, a tall, half-dead man was dragged up, his body covered in wounds, with burn scars on his chest, covered in blood, and his tendons in his hands and feet severed, barely clinging to life.
This appearance is no longer human, yet it just can't die.
Gu Li went to great lengths to find a form of punishment that would make people wish they were dead.
Pei Yuanling slowly walked forward, picked up a red-hot iron rod, lifted his chin, and forced him to look directly at him.
In an instant, the air was filled with the smell of burnt meat.
The man had a large, gruesome burn on his chin.
Pei Yuanling looked down at the assassin, his tone icy: "Speak, who sent you, and you'll be spared this physical pain."
The assassin kept his eyes closed, his teeth clenched, and remained silent.
Pei Yuanling snorted coldly, the iron rod in his hand sliding lightly across the assassin's wound. Wisps of smoke rose up along with the pungent smell of burning, but the assassin only groaned and still refused to utter a single word.
"He's quite the tough guy."
Pei Yuanling clicked his tongue, his eyes filled with gloom, "It's a pity that you served the Wang family your whole life, but in the end they couldn't even let you die cleanly."
Upon hearing this, the assassin's pupils constricted sharply, and hatred seemed to overflow from his eyes, as if he wished he could tear the person in front of him to pieces.
"Your target that day was Consort Qiao, right? It's just a pity she didn't die, and now she's back."
Pei Yuanling narrowed his eyes, threw the iron rod on the ground, making a clanging sound that seemed to strike the heart.
He said, "The Wang family's plan has failed, and so many of your brothers have died. Don't you feel it's a pity?"
"Stop talking nonsense!"
The assassin's voice was hoarse and indistinct, his eyes blazing with fury, and his bloodied face was unrecognizable, suggesting extreme resentment.
"I've heard that assassins have no emotions, but I don't think that's entirely true. Those are your close friends who spend every day with you. If they died in front of you, wouldn't you feel heartbroken?"
Pei Yuanling remained aloof, his eyes cold and devoid of emotion. "Go, bring the rest of the assassins up here."
"As ordered!"
Soon, the remaining assassins were also brought up, each one covered in wounds and unrecognizable.
This was the first time they had met since they were arrested.
Seeing the enemy's miserable state, the assassins turned pale and looked utterly miserable.
"Hang them all on the gallows."
Pei Yuanling flicked his sleeves and sat down solemnly in the grand chair. On the table in front of him were various instruments of torture, covered with blood and flesh, a horrifying sight.
"Yes!" Gu Li then called over several jailers, who hung up the group of inhuman assassins one by one.
"Today is the deadline. Whoever reveals the mastermind first will receive a swift death from me."
Pei Yuanling casually toyed with the small torture instruments on the table, as if he were just talking about something trivial.
He gave Gu Li a look, and the other immediately ordered his subordinates to select the instruments of torture and bring them forward.
As several people were executed simultaneously, the stench of blood in the execution chamber grew even stronger.
Pei Yuanling remained calm and composed. As an emperor, he did not need to do these dirty things himself.
But at that moment, he personally took the scorching hot iron rod from his subordinate and thrust it straight into a wound in a man's abdomen.
"what!!!"
Flesh and blood churned, emitting sizzling white smoke. The man finally couldn't bear it any longer and gritted his teeth, letting out a painful cry.
The others didn't fare much better; they were subjected to all sorts of tortures, but they weren't allowed to die a quick and painless death.
"None of you will tell?"
Pei Yuanling's eyes darkened, and he sneered, "Then you can all suffer. Whether you reveal the mastermind or not is of little significance to me."
As soon as he finished speaking, he drew his knife again and with a "whoosh," cut off another piece of flesh from the other man's body.
"How dare you lay a hand on my woman right under my nose! Your crimes are unforgivable!"