Denghuangtai

They were taken to the back of the courtroom for questioning.

Pei Qingyan stirred the tea foam and slowly sipped a few mouthfuls.

"Still no one's hiring?"

The Minister of Justice looked grim. "We've used severe torture, but no one has given up."

As they were speaking, a loud curse came from outside the door: "Pei Qingyan, you colluded with the Court of Judicial Review to frame a loyal minister! You deserve to die a horrible death!"

"Look at them, they're all covered in so much flesh, yet they still have the energy to curse. I'll have them all gagged right now."

"No need." Pei Qingyan was dismissive. If such curses were effective, the soldiers on the border wouldn't need to fight the enemy; they could all just curse in their camps.

She put down her teacup and instructed, "Give them the items one by one according to their names."

"Okay." The Minister of Justice nodded in agreement, turned to leave, but turned back after a few steps.

"You'd better hurry up and think of other ways. Those people inside are all shrewd officials. They know exactly what's going on and that as long as you stick to your guns and refuse to confess, you'll have a chance to turn things around. The treasure ledger you brought is unlikely to be of much use."

Pei Qingyan remained calm and offered no further explanation. Seeing this, the Minister of Justice shook his head and withdrew.

Inside the interrogation hall, the canal transport official was tied to a wooden stake, his face covered in blood, his clothes ripped open with more than a dozen tears, revealing the torn flesh beneath, and a pool of blood at his feet.

The Minister of Justice led his men in. Hearing the commotion, the transport official struggled to lift his head, his almost unfocused eyes surging with overwhelming hatred. He gritted his teeth and cursed, "Despicable villain, framing an official of the court..."

He was shouting and halfway through his sentence when he saw the jailer carrying a wooden box, opening it and placing it in front of him.

The wooden box was full of gleaming gold ingots.

The official in charge of transporting grain immediately changed his expression.

"What have you done to my son?!"

The Minister of Justice followed the gaze of the canal transport official and fell upon a white jade necklace, and suddenly realized what was going on.

No wonder there were some strange items in each box.

Like this white jade necklace, it is a token of love from the person you care about most!

Concern leads to confusion.

With these things around, it's hard not to get them to confess!

Now the Court of Justice finally understood the real reason why Pei Qingyan was so fearless.

The court official's expression was ruthless. He ordered the jailers, "Tell everyone that if they still refuse to confess by dusk, what we'll see next won't be just a token."

After saying that, he ignored the reaction of the canal official inside the room, hummed an unknown tune, and walked out.

Inside the interrogation room, Pei Qingyan slammed his fist on the table, staring coldly at the person in front of him.

"I'll ask you one more time, are you going to confess or not?"

The man was tied to a wooden stake, his face covered in blood, his clothes torn in more than a dozen places by the whip, revealing the ripped flesh underneath, and a pool of blood at his feet.

The man struggled to raise his head, his eyes filled with boundless hatred, and he gritted his teeth as he cursed, "Pei Qingyan, you colluded with the Court of Judicial Review to frame a loyal minister! You deserve a terrible death!"

Pei Qingyan was too lazy to waste her breath on this stubborn person who wouldn't admit defeat until he was faced with a fatal mistake. She beckoned, and a jailer carried in a lacquered wooden box.

"Playing tricks, despicable person..."

The man was shouting when, halfway through his sentence, a wooden box was opened and placed in front of him, filled with gleaming gold ingots.

Amidst the golden expanse, there sat a white jade necklace worn by a rather unassuming young man.

The man's expression changed drastically.

"If you have a problem, come at me! Why are you making things difficult for a kid?!"

"A teenager?"

Pei Qingyan sneered, "For your young son's future, you sent him to Bailu Academy at a young age. But have you ever considered that those young men fighting the Xiongnu in the north are only a few years older than your son? When you colluded with those people to embezzle military pay, did you ever think about the lives of those children?"

"Can others be compared to my son...?"

Under Pei Qingyan's gaze, the man spoke even softer. It wasn't that he felt guilty; he was concerned about the life of his young son.

"Your Wei family has had only one son for generations. The two elders in your household dote on your child. If anything happens to him, the two elders in your household may very well follow him."

"Despicable scoundrel!"

Pei Qingyan sneered, "Keep cursing. If we don't get your confession before dusk, your son's head will be delivered to you two."

After saying that, she turned and left the interrogation room, the man's roar echoing behind her.

"If you have any tricks up your sleeve, come at me! Spare my son!"

"Pei Qingyan, you'll die a horrible death!"

Outside the door, Pei Qingyan listened to the curses of the other party in a fit of rage, but instead of being angry, he laughed. If such curses were effective, the soldiers on the border would not need to fight the enemy; they could all just curse in the military camp.

When the Imperial Censor arrived, he overheard this and immediately ordered, "Gag him."

"Did you show them everything?"

"As you instructed, I have reviewed everyone except the Grand Minister of Agriculture."

These people were looking at the contents of those lacquered wooden boxes. Inside were the treasures these people had hidden after accumulating wealth, account books, and, more importantly, tokens from the people they cared about most.

Some of these things were found by the imperial envoy before his death, while others were obtained by Pei Qingyan. It was precisely because of these things that she had the confidence to get involved.

"We've already taken drastic measures; now we're just waiting for them to give up and confess."

"General Pei, you've confessed! You've confessed everything!"

Just past 1 PM, the Court of Justice arrived excitedly at the place where Pei Qingyan was resting in the Court of Justice, holding a thick stack of confessions in his hand.

Pei Qingyan took the document and glanced at it. The confession was clear and logical. More importantly, it was a confidant of a powerful figure who had fully explained the entire process of murdering the imperial envoy. With this, she could seek justice for the imperial envoy and completely clear his name.

Next, all she had to do was take these things to His Majesty.

Pei Qingyan had the case files organized and then took them into the palace.

Inside the Xuanzheng Hall, the emperor sat upright behind his desk. The hall was quiet, with only the occasional soft sound of turning pages.