Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 218 Water Drop Torture [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

"Yes!"

Yan Shifan responded and immediately led several people to lift up Zhang Yin, whose head was still buzzing.

“Ah!”

When the wound on his calf was touched, Zhang Yin couldn't help but let out another scream.

He has lived for nearly seventy years, experiencing many ups and downs in his life, even coming back from the brink of death multiple times. He has finally transformed himself into the person he is today, which can be considered a legend.

Even so, he was still not fully recovered at this moment.

too fast!
too suddenly!

This is so unexpected!

One second he was the White Lotus Sect's "old manager" who was confident of victory, and he had planned countless ways to make Yan Maoqing hesitate to act, each of which could make it impossible for Yan Maoqing to move an inch.

The next second he was a prisoner who had lost everything, with no room for resistance whatsoever.

Now that he's getting on in years, both his physical and mental abilities are not what they used to be.

Faced with this intense pain and sudden change, his mind went completely blank, and for a long time he could only hear a buzzing sound, as if he were in a nightmare.

Before being led away by Yan Shifan, he looked resentfully at the officials, powerful figures, and merchants who were still squatting on the ground with their heads in their hands in the main hall.

These people usually act all high and mighty, and even if they walked around Taiyuan Prefecture with impunity, no one would dare to say anything.

Now, standing before Yan Maoqing, whose beard hadn't even fully grown, they were like clueless green recruits, their faces filled with fear and apprehension. They didn't even have the courage to look this young man in the eye, and their eyes even held a hint of fawning.

At the same time, Zhang Yin also noticed that the way these people looked at him had changed, with a hint of chill mixed in with their cold indifference.

What does it mean?
In just a short while, they've already treated him like a pawn, wanting him to die as soon as possible?!
Hahaha, this young man has quite the skills.

I've spent my whole life hunting eagles and dragging countless officials down with me, but now the eagle has pecked out my eyes. Is this my retribution?

Before leaving.

Zhang Yin overheard someone flatteringly advising Yan Maoqing:

"Minister Yan, this man is cunning and treacherous, especially adept at bewitching people; he is likely a hidden danger..."

"Please rest assured, I have a plan."

Yan Maoqing merely glanced at him, his ambiguous smile giving off an indescribable sense of cunning, causing Zhang Yin's heart to tremble involuntarily.

Now, let's think back carefully to everything that Yan Maoqing did after he appeared.

Zhang Yin seemed to have realized something.

The reason why the situation took such a sharp turn for the worse, why he ended up in this predicament, and why these officials, powerful figures, and merchants turned against him so quickly... is because he had thought too highly of Yan Maoqing.

He thought Yan Maoqing was truly ignorant and arrogant, and that he probably had some real intentions in coming to Taiyuan.

As it turned out, Yan Maoqing was a far more wicked and evil person than anyone could have imagined.

This young man probably never intended to do anything beneficial to the country and its people from the very beginning. He only thought about outwardly obeying the emperor while secretly defying him, and from the very beginning, he was plotting to snatch food from him and Guan Jieshan.

This young man succeeded.

Now that these officials, powerful figures, and merchants have been alienated, he and Guan Jieshan have been sidelined. Any further action they take will be futile, leaving them at the mercy of others.

but……

These officials, powerful figures, and merchants surely don't think that's the end of it, that they can now remain unscathed.

How could such a heinous and wicked person give up so easily?

This is a life-saving grace that I should repay with a spring of gratitude!
Once he and Guan Jieshan are gone, this group will be leaderless. It's no wonder Yan Maoqing will exploit them to the bone. At most, they can only eke out a living. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.

They thought too highly of him...

Enough, enough. Everyone has their own destiny, and who can care about anyone else? I guess this is the end of my life...

“Ahhhhh——!”

A sudden, more excruciating pain jolted Zhang Yin awake. Only then did he realize that Yan Shifan had taken him to a cell in the backyard.

For some reason, a dazzling burst of fire suddenly erupted from his injured calf.

A plume of black smoke rose up, and the aroma of roasted meat filled the air.

His body stiffened from the excruciating pain, his muscles twitched all over, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably.

It smells like gunpowder.

This one-eyed fat man, who clearly wasn't a good person, actually sprinkled gunpowder on his wound and then lit it.

"Don't worry, my aunt's husband won't let you die. Even if you want to die, it won't be that easy."

The one-eyed fat man waved away the black smoke, glanced at the charred wounds, and then ordered someone to bring a chair. He then slowly tied up the fat man's hands, feet, body, and neck.

He even stood a rod upright on the back of the chair, tightly binding his head so that he couldn't move an inch.

Have you ever heard of the "water dripping torture"?

"It is said that this was a punishment created by King Zhou based on the principle of 'constant dripping wears away a stone,' which was even more cruel than the death by a thousand cuts."

"However, my uncle said that the saying 'constant dripping wears away a stone' does not apply to people. Water droplets can't penetrate a person's head; at most, they can only make people unable to calm down, unable to fall asleep, increase their stress, and feel tormented."

"Over time, the scalp will just start to go numb, and after being soaked in water for a long time, it will start to ulcerate and fall off. The pain will become more and more intense, and the scalp wounds will become deeper and deeper, eventually exposing the skull."

"A skull is not like a stone; it's very difficult for water to penetrate it, and no one can survive that long." "Of course, if you add a little salt to the water, the scalp will fester and peel off even faster, and the pain will be more intense—that's when the effect is best..."

At this point, Zhang Yin's heart felt as if it were being gripped by a hand, shrinking uncontrollably.

A chilling sensation ran through his body, and he swallowed hard, unable to resist asking:

"What exactly do you want to get out of me?"

He had long understood his situation and resigned himself to his fate, no longer expecting anyone to save him. Therefore, he could answer whatever Yan Maoqing asked, without fear of betraying anyone and causing trouble.

And that was his only thought at that moment.

He used what he knew to bargain with Yan Maoqing in exchange for promises such as ensuring the safety of his offspring or leaving him with a complete corpse.

He felt that this idea should have a chance to come true, otherwise why would Yan Maoqing have to torture him with such cruel methods?

They just wanted to pry him open, maybe even force him to implicate Guan Jieshan...

"Stop being so self-righteous."

Then Yan Shifan shook his head and chuckled.

"Now all the high-ranking officials, powerful figures, and merchants in the city are our people. If we say someone is a member of the White Lotus Sect, then they are a member of the White Lotus Sect. There are plenty of people who can provide witnesses and evidence for us. Afterwards, when people submit memorials to the emperor, they all sing our praises. Why ask you?"

"..."

Zhang Yin was speechless for a moment, his heart turning cold.

This is an indisputable fact. Yan Maoqing can now do whatever he wants in Taiyuan Prefecture. Apart from him and Guan Jieshan, who have been sidelined, no one will stand against Yan Maoqing.

Therefore, this was simply torture, pure torment, and not interrogation.
"Alright, fill that with water and hang it up, let a strip of cloth hang down so it drips slowly."

Yan Shifan patted Zhang Yin on the shoulder, his chubby face contorted in a wide grin, trying his best to imitate Yan Maoqing's signature wide smile.

"Enjoy yourself. Yan Butang might come to visit you when he has some free time."

……

Provincial Administration Commission.

What did you say?!

Governor Guan Jieshan's expression changed drastically, and his heart clenched as if gripped by a giant hand.

After Zhang Daren and the councilor were forcibly thrown out of the prefectural government office by Yan Maoqing, they were completely at a loss and could only run to Guan Jieshan to report the news and see if Guan Jieshan had any countermeasures.

After all, nowadays, all the prominent figures in Taiyuan Prefecture, except for Guan Jieshan, have all pledged allegiance to Yan Maoqing's camp.

Yan Maoqing had just explained everything in the government office.

This time, he intended to deal with Guan Jieshan as a "decent official," return to report to the Emperor, appease the Emperor's anger, and have the Emperor let the matter drop.

In other words.

Guan Jieshan was now in the same boat as the two of them, and could only advance and retreat with them.

"Lord Guan, now we are afraid that we can only fight Yan Maoqing to the death. Perhaps this is our only chance of survival."

Zhang Daren sighed, frowning as he offered his advice from the side.
"Although Yan Maoqing led his troops, he only had two thousand soldiers."

“My father has been operating in Shanxi for many years. He has nearly a hundred managers in Taiyuan alone, and tens of thousands of followers. If all of these people were to mobilize and cause trouble, their spittle alone could drown these two thousand soldiers.”

"In addition, my father has served as the Right Guard Commander for many years and has some loyal followers who cannot escape responsibility. Let them disguise themselves as ordinary people and cause trouble in the crowd, so that we can catch them off guard."

"If Guan Yu could also make up his mind to secretly transfer some troops from the Left Guard and the Vanguard."

"With the addition of the guards and servants of the manor, who also infiltrated the group to cause trouble, the scale of the disturbance was bound to be enormous."

"As long as we can break through these two thousand soldiers and kill Yan Maoqing."

"I'm afraid those officials, powerful figures, and merchants won't change their minds. If Governor Guan leads them to give a unified account and submit a memorial to the Emperor, it will be no problem to give Yan Maoqing a bad reputation for violating the law, disrupting the government, and inciting a popular uprising. Even the Emperor won't be able to find out the truth, and no one will dare to investigate again in the future."

"..."

Guan Jieshan's brows were furrowed as if carved by a knife and axe, and his eyes were fixed on Zhang Daren.

If this guy isn't stupid, he must be evil!
Yan Maoqing has already made his point clear.

Whatever unrest occurs in Taiyuan Prefecture from now on, and regardless of whether the perpetrators can be identified, it will all be a matter for the three of them.

Everyone else can clear their names, but none of the three of them can escape unscathed.

Guan Jieshan had reason to suspect that Yan Maoqing had come prepared.

That's why they dared to be so open about their hand, and why they were so fearless. They must be hoping he would do this now.

Otherwise, why would he have released Zhang Daren and his subordinate councilors? Did Yan Maoqing not know that these two would immediately come to inform him?

This is a conspiracy!

A blatant conspiracy!

Yan Maoqing has put him in a dilemma where he is stuck in a rut, and even if he kills Yan Maoqing, he certainly won't change his situation!

He can't be fooled!
Not only could he not allow trouble to arise in Taiyuan Prefecture, he also had to do his utmost to control the situation.

Otherwise, he would be set in stone as a traitor, with no room for maneuver whatsoever!

(End of this chapter)