Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 493: Father is not kind and brother is not respectful

"Open the door." Cui Wensheng walked to a cell very close to the torture chamber. Here were imprisoned Wuqing Marquis Li Mingcheng and his legitimate son Li Guorui.

"Yes." The jailer at the door immediately took out the key and poked the keyhole.

When Cui Wensheng entered the cell, the eunuchs accompanying him immediately lit up all the candlesticks in the cell. At the same time, another eunuch brought him a stool.

"I am Cui Wensheng, your servant, and I pay my respects to the Marquis and the young Marquis." Cui Wensheng pretended to salute the Marquis of Wuqing and his son.

Li Mingcheng had lived a life of luxury for as long as he could remember, so how could he withstand such intimidation? A night of relentless interrogation and incessant screaming had completely worn down his mental defenses. When the guard opened the door, Li Mingcheng thought he was being taken away for torture. Terrified, he curled up into a ball, trembling in the corner of his cell.

Li Guorui was young after all, and his mental state was a bit better. At least after reacting, he knew to stand up and reply to Cui Wensheng.

"Ah!" Before Li Guorui could finish his words, a miserable scream that was not like a human howl echoed from the cell deep in the dungeon. It frightened Li Guorui so much that he shrank back.

Cui Wensheng sat down, and the eunuch in charge of recording also took up position at the door of the cell.

Cui Wensheng crossed his legs and looked at Li Guorui. "Now, the servants of each family are being punished. Although it is said that common people should not be punished, and doctors should not be punished, the incident outside has become so serious and ugly. When His Majesty heard about it, he was furious and even scolded the ancestors. If there is no result in time, who knows when, I will allow this servant to commit insubordination and serve you two carefully. My Lord and the Young Marquis are so delicate and precious, I wonder if they can bear it?"

"I" Li Guorui was just about to speak when screams were heard again.

"Ah! No! I won't answer anything you ask, ah! You ask. ah!"

"Haha, I forgot to remind you two," Cui Wensheng chuckled. "To prevent false confessions, the Eastern Depot would first torture the person until they passed out, then pour a basin of salt water over them to wake them up, and then torture them again. This cycle would repeat repeatedly until the person's arrogance and energy were completely gone, and only then would they begin questioning them. If..."

"Eunuch Cui!" It was unclear whether he had finally reacted or was simply terrified. Before Cui Wensheng could finish his words, Li Mingcheng, who had been cowering in the corner, suddenly leaped over, knelt at Cui Wensheng's feet, and kowtowed several times. "We didn't start that damn rumor!"

"Oh my! How could this servant of yours truly accept such a generous gift from the Marquis?" Cui Wensheng slowly stood up and leaned over to help Li Mingcheng up. "And I haven't even asked anything yet, and the Marquis is already rushing to deny it?"

"This..." Li Mingcheng was stunned by Cui Wensheng's question. "I, I'm just telling the truth."

"Heh," Cui Wensheng chuckled softly and let go of Li Mingcheng. "If you didn't spread this rumor, then why does every word of it seem to be related to your Li family?"

"How should I know!" As if to suppress the fear in his heart, Li Mingcheng knelt again and roared. "This is a frame-up! Someone is trying to frame us!"

"You don't need to speak so loudly. I can hear you." Cui Wensheng didn't help Li Mingcheng. He sat back on the stool and stretched out his hand to hook his back. "Lord Li's legs are weak. Help him to stand up."

"Yes!" A strong jailer came over and lifted Li Mingcheng up firmly from behind.

"My Lord," Cui Wensheng's expression changed, his fake smile dropping. "If it's a frame-up, there must be someone who framed you, and a reason for it. Who do you think it was, and why would they use such means to frame you?"

"It must be those ungrateful and greedy dogs!" Li Guorui interrupted.

"What slave?"

"They are those dogs who secretly made money in Guangning, Tianjin and Tanggu under the banner of my Li family!" Li Guorui had a sick smile on his face.

Li Mingcheng and Li Guorui, father and son, believed the emperor's delay in taking action and refusing to report any impeachment was simply a gesture of sympathy. He hoped to minimize the impact of a major incident and minimize the impact of a minor one. They had a plan: once the wave of public opinion had died down, they would pay a few familiar censors to speak in their favor. Then, they would send a few servants to take the blame, claiming that these crimes were committed under the Li family banner, concealed from the Wuqing Marquisate, and that the Marquis and his son were completely unaware of the incident. With just one person willing to take the blame, and then contribute a small amount of money in the name of donations, this wave of public opinion would pass without incident, just like previous ones.

However, this sudden prophecy was truly vicious. It exploited a palace funeral to directly pit Empress Dowager Li, the Li family's greatest supporter, against the emperor. Empress Dowager Li had already passed away, and the emperor could not expel his own grandmother from the Zhaoling Mausoleum. Therefore, he could only vent his anger on the Li family, leading to the current prison disaster.

"They're helping you run your business, making money for you. And now you're turning against them, accusing them of secretly amassing wealth under the Li family's name." Cui Wensheng rolled his eyes. "How could anyone in this world secretly embezzle money from their master?"

"Where can I get the money?" Li Guorui insisted. "My Li family doesn't have any money at all! If you don't believe me, you can go dig up Tsinghua University!"

"Young Marquis, do you really have to treat me like a fool?" Cui Wensheng's face darkened. "This cunning trick may fool you, but it won't fool me!" Cui Wensheng thrust out his clenched right hand, causing Li Guorui to recoil in fear. He thought Cui Wensheng was going to hit him.

"I won't go into the details of your Li family's gold vaults in the capital. I'll just briefly mention the ones outside the capital. Are they correct? Fangshan, Liangxiang, Wuqing, Dong'an, Yongqing, Baoding." Cui Wensheng held up a finger as he named each location. When he had used up all five, he clenched his fist backwards and listed more than a dozen places. "Anywhere famous around the capital has your Li family's assets. Even if I had to dig three feet deep, I would go to those places."

"You, what are you doing..." Li Guorui's face turned pale. He didn't expect that the East Factory had already secretly found out so many things. "How did you find out?"

"Humph." Cui Wensheng sneered. "Young Marquis is so good at controlling his subordinates. Isn't it strange that the East Factory can get some truth out of them? Some people even hope to die." "Then go arrest them!" Li Guorui shouted. "Since those dogs are hoping for our death, they must be the ones who took advantage of Li Guochen's arrest to spread rumors and put us to death!"

"I might as well tell you now," Cui Wensheng said, beginning to grow impatient. "Since last month, everyone entering or leaving Tsinghua University has been monitored by spies from the Eastern Depot. I know what they've been up to better than you do."

"Then why are you asking here, you bastard?!" Li Guorui was used to being arrogant. Annoyance and fear intertwined together, and finally he roared out in anger.

Snapped!
Cui Wensheng suddenly stood up, swung his arm, and hit Li Guochen fiercely in the face. "Young Marquis, do you think I'm easy to talk to?" Cui Wensheng stared at Li Guorui fiercely and asked sinisterly.

"Ah!" Li Guorui screamed, covering his swollen face in disbelief. Soon, a salty and fishy taste came out of his mouth. This was the first time in his life that he had been beaten so hard, and he didn't expect it to hurt so much. "You, you dare to hit me?"

"Before entering here, you were the young marquis, and I was a lowly servant. Now that you're here, you still think you're the young marquis? If you're planning on reporting me to the Emperor, you'd better wait until you're actually out of this prison." Cui Wensheng leaned close to Li Guorui's ear, his voice low and cold, as if wrapped in a layer of tangible chill. "If you piss me off, I'll kill you right here in prison, and report you 'dying of fear and terror'. Do you think the Emperor, in his wrath, will punish me for your death? Your Li family's millions in gold and silver are my merits and my ticket to immortality! I'll string together those confessions and submit them to the court, and if I uncover a few more silver caves, even the three judges will speak for me. Do you believe it?"

"You!" Li Guorui took a few steps back.

"Young Marquis, stop talking nonsense to me. If you don't want to be tortured and don't want to die, give me real clues and confession! If I can't catch the murderer, you are the murderer!" Cui Wensheng sat back and rubbed the old wound with his backhand, which was slightly itchy and painful due to the strong pulling.

"How could I possibly know any clues?" Li Guorui was anxious, but he didn't dare to yell anymore. "We were staying at home peacefully, not knowing anything, and yet we were impeached three times in a row. Then Li Guochen was arrested by the Ministry of Justice, and then there was that rumor..." Li Guorui paused, then suddenly realized. "Yes! That's right! Li Guochen! Where's that bastard Li Guochen? These prophecies and rumors in the capital were caused by him. You should go and put him on trial."

"Li Guochen, Li Guochen." Cui Wensheng's eyes flickered slightly. "Young Marquis, after all, this Young Master Li is your brother. Calling him by his first name is rather rude and disrespectful, isn't it?"

"Brother? What brother? Humph!" Li Guorui said disapprovingly, "He's just a bastard born to a concubine. He's been a mean and restless child since he was little! He's full of evil intentions, and his mind is full of plans to seize the throne. Yes! This must be his conspiracy. He wants to kill me and my father completely. If the emperor abolishes my father's title and my legitimate position, he will be the only son to inherit the title of Marquis, the Marquis of Wuqing!"

"Wow?" Cui Wensheng licked his lips. He had heard about the discord between the Li brothers, but he hadn't expected the feud to be this intense. "What's going on? Tell me in detail."

"What's there to elaborate on?" Li Guorui's voice grew increasingly agitated, but Cui Wensheng's slap had proven effective. Instantly, Li Guorui's eyes lit up with ingratiation. "My Director Cui, Eunuch Cui, if you only think about it, you'll understand. Li Guochen was arrested, and then this prophecy came out. How could such a coincidence happen? He's definitely involved! This case of treason and rebellion was orchestrated by him, a frame-up!"

Li Guorui seemed certain. He had a preconceived notion, and his thoughts suddenly flooded his mind, connecting the entire matter in his mind: "Li Guochen saw that despite the three cases in Guangning, Tianjin, and Tanggu in the capital, the emperor was still hesitant, so he entered the game himself, thinking of angering the emperor and drawing divine punishment to completely defeat my father and me. He first threw himself into the Ministry of Justice prison, and then his minions and lackeys, according to his pre-arranged arrangements, spread rumors all over the capital! They created the illusion that we fabricated prophecies and intimidated the emperor in order to rescue him! In this way, he stayed out of the matter in the Ministry of Justice prison, while we became the target of everyone's criticism."

"This is just speculation. Do you have any evidence?" Cui Wensheng asked.

"Shouldn't you be the ones to find this evidence?" Li Guorui swallowed his salty saliva and said with a bitter face, "As long as you bring him to the Ministry of Justice and interrogate him carefully, you will definitely catch those who helped him spread rumors!"

"Lord Wuqing, what do you think?" Cui Wensheng looked at Li Mingcheng with interest.

"I..." Li Mingcheng sighed softly. "I don't know, but, maybe he did it, but it doesn't necessarily mean he was trapped..."

"Dad!" Li Guorui shouted, interrupting Li Mingcheng. "That bitch-born bastard, what good could he possibly have? He's always thinking about killing you and me!"

Li Mingcheng came to his senses. "Yes, yes, yes! It's a frame-up! This is it!" Only a frame-up could save them from the emperor's wrath. If Li Guochen had good intentions, then they couldn't escape the blame either.

"Haha. You two should just forget it." Cui Wensheng stood up and walked out of the cell. The jailer who had been holding Li Mingcheng also let go. "Don't lock the door yet," Cui Wensheng said to the jailer.

"Yes."

Cui Wensheng looked at the eunuch who was in charge of copying. "Have you written everything down?"

"Mr. Factory, I have written everything down. Please take a look." The eunuch quickly wrote the last few words, stood up and handed over the polished record of the conversation.

As Cui Wensheng took the records, another eunuch lit a candle for him. Soon, Cui Wensheng finished reading. He turned back to Li Mingcheng and Li Guorui, father and son, and said, "Take a look and sign." Regardless of whether this was the truth, Cui Wensheng had to produce a result to save his own skin.

"Okay." Li Guorui took the conversation record.

"Both of them have to sign!" Cui Wensheng stood with his hands behind his back, looking down with contempt in his eyes.

Just as Wuqinghou and his son were reading the conversation record in the dim firelight, hurried footsteps rushed to Cui Wensheng's side, stepping over the continuous screams from deep in the cell. "Godfather! The old ancestor is here, waiting for you in the guard room."

(End of this chapter)