I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 220 Similarity
Bai Rouyin shouted at Tang Zhao's departing figure, "Tang Zhao, you've gone too far! I won't let this go!"

"Ignore her in her impotent rage," Tang Zhao stopped the guards who were about to reprimand Bai Rouyin. "Put the Eighth Turkic Prince in the dungeon. There must be no mistakes!"

"Yes!"

Wu Jia personally escorted Ashina Bolu back to the Protectorate General's Mansion, while Tang Zhao went to the Northwest Army's garrison to report the capture of the Eighth Prince to King Xuan.

“Since you want to keep him here, then I will grant your wish, but you must be careful,” King Xuan said solemnly. “Now that Dayu is negotiating with the Turks, if we kill the eighth prince of the Turks without cause, we will be in the wrong.”

But being subjected to severe torture and suffering minor injuries is unavoidable.

"Zhao Zhao understands, and will ensure that he dies with a just cause!"

King Xuan: ...

Okay, that's okay too.

Having spoken with King Xuan, Tang Zhao was now completely unconcerned. He rushed back to the Protector General's Mansion, went down into the dungeon, and stood there carefully examining Ashina Bolu, who was bound hand and foot.

Ashina Bolu was annoyed by being stared at. "What are you looking at?"

Naturally, we'd like to see what the male protagonist of the book, the future emperor who will rule the world and the number one romantic, looks like!

I must say, he's quite handsome.

Wu Jia stood to the side, glancing left at Ashina Bolu and right at Tang Zhao, his expression strange.

Instead of answering, Tang Zhao asked, "How old is the Eighth Prince this year?"

Ashina Bolu snorted coldly.

Wu Jia said, "The eighth prince of the Turks is twenty-seven years old."

He was only thirteen years old when the Song family was wiped out.

Thirteen years old! In his previous life, he was just entering junior high school. When Tang Zhao was thirteen, he was still farming and playing with mud.

However, people in ancient times matured earlier, so they cannot be compared in the same way.

"Why has the Eighth Prince come to Wuwei? I apologize for my poor hospitality."

Ashina Bolu gave Tang Zhao a cold look, arrested him and interrogated him, and still had the nerve to ask him for forgiveness?
Pooh!
Wu Shiyi thoughtfully explained, "The Eighth Prince was ordered to resist the Northwest Army. He was shot and wounded by the Prince at Mazong Mountain. He fled all the way to Wuwei and was rescued by Miss Bai."

"I see. In that case, wouldn't Miss Zhongyong be suspected of treason?" Tang Zhao emphasized the words "treason" with particular force.

"Nonsense!" Ashina Bolu struggled violently. "The Turks sue for peace, and the two countries should rebuild their relationship. Miss Zhongyong is kind and gentle. She saved me from the brink of death and is helping to bring peace between the two countries!"

"Oh, really? Then tell me, Eighth Prince, did the peace talks between the two countries come first, or did Miss Zhongyong Marquis save you first?"

"You!" Ashina Bolu was speechless.

"If the two countries negotiated peace first, then there is naturally nothing to argue about. But if Miss Zhongyong saved the Eighth Prince first, then the reasons behind it need to be carefully considered."

"Why would the daughter of a general of Dayu save the Turkic enemy army?" Tang Zhao leaned closer to Ashina Bolu. "Is it as the Eighth Prince said, that Miss Zhongyong was simply acting out of kindness, or have you two been secretly seeing each other all along?"

"Nonsense!" Ashina Bolu retorted angrily.

Tang Zhao took a step back. "Whether it's true or false is not up to the Eighth Prince to decide."

Ashina Bolu asked, "What do you want?"

Tang Zhao said softly, "In June of the thirtieth year of Kangzhi, the Song family was wiped out. Does the Eighth Prince know any secrets that cannot be told to outsiders?"

Ashina Bolu's eyes flickered. "I was only a teenager at the time, still in the inner palace. How would I know? The one who attacked Dayu was the eldest prince, who has already been killed by Gu Ci! If you want to ask, go ask Gu Ci and King Xuan directly!"

"You ungrateful wretch!" Tang Zhao snapped. "Guards, bring the torture!"

"Yes!" Wu Shiyi was quick-witted and took the instrument of torture first, whipping Ashina Bolu hard with a whip soaked in salt water and chili water.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!
The sound of whips cracking was incessant, but Ashina Bolu gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Tang Zhao was dissatisfied, "Is that all you've got? If not, then find someone else?" Wu Jia and the others took turns stepping forward and tried all eighteen kinds of torture instruments. Ashina Bolu finally cried out in pain, but remained silent about the destruction of the Song clan.

"Stop!" Tang Zhao lost his patience. "Go get some water and Xuan paper."

Wu Shiyi quickly brought over a large basin of water and a stack of Xuan paper.

Wu Jiayi took Ashina Bolu down from the shelf and tied him flat on the table. Wu Shiyi, following Tang Zhao's instructions, soaked Xuan paper in water and then neatly covered Ashina Bolu's face with it.

One sheet, two sheets, three sheets—when the fourth sheet was being covered, Ashina Bolu began to struggle violently, the hemp rope digging deep into his flesh.

Once Ashina Bolu's struggles weakened, Wu Shiyi quickly removed the Xuan paper.

Ashina Bolu gasped for breath, breathing in the dungeon air through his mouth and nose.

"This punishment has an elegant name, 'Rain on Plum Blossoms'," Tang Zhao chuckled. "How about it, is it fun?"

"Tang Zhao, this prince will not let you get away with this!"

Tang Zhao sneered, "Again!"

Sheets of soaked Xuan paper were repeatedly pasted onto Ashina Bolu's face and then peeled off again and again. Before an incense stick could burn, Ashina Bolu was barely breathing.

"I said."

"Stop!" Tang Zhao said. "You only have one chance."

"I was also overhearing. The reason why the eldest prince was able to conquer Wuwei so quickly back then was because there were people in Dayu who assisted him from the inside."

Tang Zhao said impatiently, "Tell me something I don't know."

Ashina Bolu swallowed hard. "Before that, the eldest prince had already had dealings with Dayu."

"Who?"

"I don't know, I only know it's the royal family of Dayu," Ashina Bolu gasped. "That person was deeply afraid that the Song family would become too powerful with their military might, so..."

He swallowed the rest of his words under Tang Zhao's icy gaze.

Tang Zhao sneered, "To think that fighting to the death to defend the border is what they call having an army to rely on?"

How ridiculous!

"That's all for today!" Tang Zhao strode out of the dungeon and stood in the courtyard to calm himself down.

"Does the young lady believe what he said?" Wu Jia asked, waiting until Tang Zhao's emotions had calmed down.

"Three parts truth and seven parts falsehood, I don't believe that's all he knows," Tang Zhao knew the original plot and naturally didn't believe that the person who would eventually unify the world was so useless.

Wu Jia hesitated for a moment, then said, "I have something to say, but I don't know if I should."

"Say!"

"Just now, when the young lady was face to face with the eighth prince of the Turks, I suddenly realized that the young lady and the eighth prince had some resemblance in their eyes and eyebrows."

Tang Zhao turned around abruptly, "What did you say?!"

Wu Jia quickly replied, "Perhaps I misread it!"

Tang Zhao recalled Ashina Bolu's appearance, "No, you're not mistaken!"

Tang Zhao bore an eight-tenths resemblance to his mother, the First-Rank Duke of Wei. Ashina Bolu, the eighth prince of the Turks, looked like a Dayu person, so he could only resemble his mother.

In other words, Ashina Bolu's mother resembled the wife of the Duke of Wei, a first-rank official.

Is it a coincidence?

Tang Zhao did not believe in coincidences. Although people may look alike, people who are similar usually have some connection.

"Go, immediately send someone to investigate Ashina Bolu's mother," Tang Zhao said. "I need to know all the information about her."