Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 242 The Background of "Yuan Tianzi"?

Sihaiju (Four Seas Residence)

Haiyue went up to the second floor.

Yan Shifan and Zhao Wenhua followed behind, their expressions not good as they looked at the blood and untreated limbs on the ground, but they were not afraid, much less disgusted.

Not long ago, during the crackdown on the White Lotus sect, the two had witnessed far more horrific scenes.

The difference is that Haiyue did not participate in that siege.

Yan Shifan rolled his eyes and remarked with a touch of irony, "Last time, the Five Cities Garrison and the Patrol Battalion mobilized far more soldiers, but they lacked Mingwei's strategic planning and foresight, let alone his ability to seize the opportune moment. They merely relied on their superior numbers to surround the residence, which only alerted the enemy..."

"Yeah yeah!"

Zhao Wenhua quickly added, "When the traitors in the courtyard saw the soldiers coming in a fierce manner, they first fought back desperately. But then, knowing they could not escape death, they all set themselves on fire. If the leader had planned and directed their actions beforehand, this would not have happened. It is clear that capturing traitors requires not only swift and decisive measures, but also the ability to strategize and plan!"

"Now this is a complete victory, so impressive!"

"Today is the first day of our annihilation of the White Lotus Sect traitors of Li Yuan!"

……

"Hai Hanlin!"

Not to mention that while the two were updating their counts, the other two hurriedly came up to them.

Tao Dianzhen dragged along Fan Jingnian, a portly man with a strong merchant air, while Sun Weixian carried Fan Jing'an, an ugly man covered in blood. They introduced them one by one: "This man is the head of the Fan family!" "This fellow is highly skilled in martial arts. In his desperate counterattack, he even injured several people!"

Haiyue said directly, "Let's interrogate them on the spot!"

The arrest of traitors is not the end; there are also merits to be gained during the interrogation process.

When it comes to methods of torture, the Imperial Guard prison is second to none. However, since the Taoist priests of Chaotian Palace risked their lives to defeat the enemy first, it would be unfair to send the prisoners directly to the Northern Garrison Command.

As expected, Tao Dianzhen breathed a sigh of relief, while Sun Weixian remained noncommittal.

After all, the Northern Garrison Command was not his territory. If he went back now and was intercepted by Wang Zuo's confidants, he would be devastated. This was a reasonable expedient measure.

After selecting a room and escorting the two ringleaders inside, Haiyue calmly sat down and looked at the pale-faced Fan Jingnian and the fierce-looking Fan Jing'an: "Do you have anything to say?"

Fan Jingnian trembled, his voice shaking as he said, "Your Honor, I'm innocent...innocent..."

Fan Jing'an spat out a mouthful of blood: "Did that little bastard who murdered his mother betray me?"

Hai Yue raised an eyebrow: "You are Qin's biological father?"

Fan Jing'an said coldly, "Back then, I studied hard for ten years and went to the capital to take the imperial examination. I was originally going to marry that slut, and we even had a child together. But after I failed the exam, she looked down on me because I was poor and lowly, and turned around and married a scion of a noble family. And what was the result? She didn't even get the title of mistress, and she became a matchmaker! Is she the kind of person who would act as a matchmaker for others? Haha!"

As he spoke, his face twisted in pain: "That little bastard is even more vicious than her mother! Not only did she murder her mother and sister, but she even dared to blackmail me into coming to her rescue? I really want to see how she's executed by slow slicing! I just didn't expect her to know so much about me, that she actually managed to get you all to come here!"

Upon hearing this, Fan Jingnian hurriedly said, "Our family is unfortunate to have such a wretched daughter. No matter how she tries to frame us, my brother is innocent. We are an innocent family..."

"An innocent family that colluded with the White Lotus Sect?"

Hai Yue's words instantly turned the other man's face to ashes: "The Embroidered Uniform Guard has already been dispatched, yet you still try to argue here. Vice Commander Sun, how many rounds of torture do you think this man can endure in the eighteen sets of tortures in the Northern Garrison?"

Sun Weixian smiled in agreement: "I'm afraid we won't even be able to pass the third hurdle, 'washing up'!"

"Spare...spare my life..."

Fan Jingnian's Adam's apple bobbed, but he could only squeeze out a few broken syllables; the clattering sound of his teeth hitting each other was particularly clear.

Although the two Taoist priests on his left and right held his arms tightly, his body slid down like a snake with its bones removed. Soon, a stream of turbid yellow liquid dripped down the hem of his robe and formed a foul-smelling puddle on the floor tiles.

The crowd looked disgusted and shifted their gazes to Fan Jing'an.

Clearly, this kind of good-for-nothing is unlikely to be the leader of the Liyuan Society. Fan Jingnian may know that their family is colluding with the White Lotus Sect, but the one in charge is this ferocious middle-aged man.

Haiyue asked directly, "What position do you hold within the Liyuan Society?"

Fan Jing'an said, "Even if I had said it, you wouldn't have used torture next?"

Sun Weixian asked, "You told me why you used torture?"

"How can we know whether Fan's words are true or false without severe torture?"

Fan Jing'an raised his head proudly, his words carrying a hint of provocation: "Now that you've captured a wanted criminal like me, don't you want to get to the bottom of things?"

Sun Weixian narrowed his eyes upon hearing this, his knuckles unconsciously rubbing against the scabbard—his words, though arrogant, were not without reason. Hai Yue shook her head and chuckled: "We will judge the truth of what you say. As for the structure of the Liyuan Society's Three Enclosures and Twenty-Eight Mansions, the imperial court has long been aware of it! Given your status, which allows you to directly interact with the leaders of the White Lotus Sect, you shouldn't be one of those lowly errand boys from the Twenty-Eight Mansions, but rather someone from the Three Enclosures Hall. Am I right?"

Fan Jing'an's pupils contracted slightly, and his eyes flickered.

Haiyue said to herself, "The Three Enclosures Hall is divided into the Purple Palace Enclosure, the Supreme Palace Enclosure, and the Heavenly Market Enclosure."

"The Purple Palace Enclosure represents the leadership level, the core of decision-making, and the place where orders are issued."

"The Taiwei Enclosure is the execution layer, responsible for training personnel and coordinating various parties."

"Tian Shi Yuan is the source of wealth. It is said that salt merchants, canal transport, and even trade with foreign vassals are all involved. You even dare to collude with the enemy and betray the country on trade routes beyond the Great Wall!"

"Originally, the three palaces cooperated without any conflict, but recently there have been more and more contradictions between them, and even internal strife has broken out. The root cause is that the Taiwei Palace and the Tianshi Palace have gradually grown stronger and are no longer willing to obey the command of the Ziwei Palace in everything. Instead, they all want to sideline the Ziwei Palace and seize power for themselves!"

As Haiyue recounted her story, Fan Jing'an's arrogant expression froze completely on his face. He was even taken aback when he heard about the internal strife within the Sanyuan Hall, and subconsciously asked, "How do you know about these things?"

"This was explained by the 'Female Bat' of the Twenty-Eight Mansions."

Hai Yue raised an eyebrow: "Your tone is tinged with surprise. You, a member of the Heavenly Market, don't know as much information as the people of the Twenty-Eight Constellations, do you?"

"Hey!"

Of everyone present, Tao Dianzhen was the first to notice this interrogation tactic, and he chuckled in agreement. Immediately afterward, Yan Shifan and Zhao Wenhua also looked disdainful and laughed strangely: "Really? Really?"

As expected, Fan Jing'an's face quickly turned red, and the anger between his brows outweighed his fear. He gritted his teeth and said, "Traitors! Traitors! Those people are all traitors! Even if I am beaten to death or torn apart by five horses, I will never betray the Liyuan Society!"

"Is it?"

Haiyue said, "There are two kinds of non-betrayal—either you know the core secrets but keep them to yourself, or you never even touch the key points but still claim to be loyal and righteous. You know perfectly well which one you are! Of course, you can grit your teeth and hold on until the end, keeping your secrets from us, but you should also hope that no other members of the Liyuan Society are arrested during your imprisonment, otherwise..."

Sun Weixian continued, "Your brother couldn't withstand the eighteen sets of tortures, so you're not even qualified for us to use the eighteen sets of tortures! This is how on-the-spot interrogation is done? Do you think a nobody deserves to be tortured?"

"You all look down on me! You all look down on me..."

Fan Jing'an knew that the other party was trying to provoke him, but he eventually broke down under the scornful and disdainful gazes of the crowd.

He was born ugly and his appearance was not as good as his relatives and brothers. Fortunately, he studied hard and passed the county and prefectural examinations early on, becoming a scholar. He wanted to become a Jinshi, a rare achievement in the merchant family of Fan.

Why were those powerful Shanxi merchants so well-connected and influential?

Didn't they still manage to become Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) and have connections in the imperial court? Otherwise, no matter how well they did in business, they would never have been able to enter the upper class.

Unfortunately, he failed the imperial examinations twice. He finally became a student of the Imperial Academy and took the provincial examination in Shuntian Prefecture, but he failed again. His newlywed wife also ran away with someone else. In despair, he finally gave up the imperial examinations and went far away to join that secret society.

He has never married since then, and his daughter, who remains in the capital, is his only child. It is clear that the other party only realized that she still had her father as a fallback option after learning about this.

But Qin was wrong.

Fan Jing'an could have been heartless enough to let her die instead of being blackmailed. Why would he want a matchmaker's daughter? Bringing her back to the Fan family would only make others despise him!
His life of wandering has shaped this extremely distorted sense of self-esteem, causing him to see himself as a major criminal even after being arrested! A serious offender!

Instead of randomly interrogating insignificant people on the spot, they are not taken seriously at all!

"The Liyuan Society has a leader...a legacy spanning a century...someone the imperial court dreams of finding out..."

Fan Jing'an's voice was hoarse, like sand grinding together, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth. He paused after each sentence, his gaze fixed on Hai Yue's brows. Seeing his calm reaction, he stretched his neck forward like a trapped beast ready to devour its prey: "I don't believe you know this too!"

Haiyue smiled and said, "'Yuan Tianzi', is that right?"

"Ah ah ah ah ah!"

Fan Jing'an was furious.

That despicable "female bat," that murderous "female bat," just how many secrets did she reveal?
How could a mere twenty-eight constellations possibly know so many secrets about the Three Enclosures Hall that not everyone is aware of?!
In fact, apart from Haiyue, Sun Weixian and Tao Dianzhen were also shocked. The leader of the traitors actually dared to use the emperor's name, which was indeed a great act of treason.

Yan Shifan and Zhao Wenhua had heard Hai Yue recount the story before and had also read the intelligence presented by Yixin Society. Knowing that Liyuan Society did indeed have such a terrifying leader, they were immediately invigorated.

Could it be that this person knows the identity of "Yuan Tianzi" and is capable of capturing the leader first?

Hearing the rapid breathing, Haiyue knew what the other person was thinking. She said slowly, "It's a pity that we went through so much trouble to capture a nobody who's not even as good as the Twenty-Eight Mansions. But with the clues about the Fan family, we can wipe out the rest of the White Lotus Sect. It seems that's where the real big gain is!"

"I know about 'Emperor Yuan's' background! Go ahead and report it, let this dog emperor taste the bitterness of fear—"

Before he could finish speaking, Fan Jing'an suddenly screamed, his eyes flashing with a manic sneer: "Listen carefully! 'Yuan Tianzi' is a descendant of Emperor Jianwen! He is the legitimate descendant of the Ming Dynasty, who sat on the dragon throne but had his throne usurped by a traitor!"

(End of this chapter)