Chapter 275: The Truth Revealed
Chapter 275: The Truth Revealed
Outside the prison cell, Hu Shiyeh paced back and forth in the corridor, his heart filled with anxiety.
"They won't let me in, and I have to wait here."
Hu Shiyeh stopped in his tracks, his brows furrowed with worry.
"Does he know how to interrogate a prisoner? What if he slips up? Should I give Hai Zhu some sedative to cloud his mind a bit?"
"But then, his confession won't be admissible."
"Oh, this is a headache!"
"I'll take a look inside!"
Hu Shiyeh, unable to contain his worry, took a step towards the cell, but just as he reached the door, he remembered the man's instructions and reluctantly retreated a few steps.
This went on for some time.
Finally, Hu Shiyeh took a risk; he wanted to eavesdrop!
Just then, he felt a chilling aura rushing towards him, and the man emerged from the cell.
The long corridor was all too familiar to Hu Shiyeh; he knew every crack in the walls.
Yet, for some reason, he felt a sense of strangeness in this corridor, as if it were a path to the underworld.
The man seemed like a formidable ghost who had crossed over from the netherworld, causing every hair on Hu Shiyeh's body to stand on end.
"You can go see him now."
The man's hoarse voice sounded like the creaking of a broken bellows.
Hu Shiyeh suddenly realized that the man's throat might be damaged, which explained why his speech had seemed unusual throughout their journey.
"So soon?"
Hu Shiyeh was taken aback.
The man pulled the brim of his cloak and disappeared into the boundless night.
Hu Shiyeh stared blankly at his departing figure, feeling a bit dazed.
When he snapped out of it, he chased after him in a panic, shouting, "Hey—your payment—"
By the time he caught up, breathless, the man and his horse had vanished from the streets.
Hu Shiyeh shuddered, rubbing his arms. "I really feel like I've seen a ghost. Where did the Minister find this guy? It's so eerie!"
Hu Shiyeh went to Hai Zhu's cell.
Hai Zhu expressed his desire to meet Minister Xing.
"In the middle of the night, you sure know how to keep me busy!" Hu Shiyeh grumbled as he left.
Upon hearing that Hai Zhu wanted to see him, Minister Xing immediately boarded the carriage bound for the Ministry of Justice without a word.
"Where's Qian Fugui?" Minister Xing asked.
"Qian, Qian Fugui? Who's that?" Hu Shiyeh was a bit confused.
"Didn't you receive him?" Minister Xing inquired.
Hu Shiyeh replied, "Ah, you mean the fake Shen Hou? Yes, I received him, but he's already left."
Minister Xing frowned, "He left?"
"Yes, he went to see Hai Zhu and then left in a hurry, even forgetting to collect his payment. Is he really a wandering performer? He seemed a bit creepy to me."
Minister Xing pondered over this.
As they spoke, the carriage arrived at the Ministry of Justice.
Minister Xing went to see Hai Zhu.
Hai Zhu confessed to his crimes without hesitation—he admitted to poisoning General Chu and forging the general's orders to dispatch the remaining twelve guards of the Chu Manor.
Minister Xing: "How many were there?"
Hai Zhu: "Apart from You Ji and Yin Hu, who went to Northern Liang, there were ten of us left, including myself."
Hu Shiyeh quickly jotted down the complete transcript at the desk in the corner.
Minister Xing continued, "Was the fire at the Chu Manor also your doing?"
Hai Zhu: "No, those were the only things I did."
Minister Xing stared intently at Hai Zhu's eyes, "So, you didn't kill the Chu family members either?"
Hai Zhu confessed, "I wasn't involved in the later actions. I only took care of poisoning General Chu and dispersing the twelve guards."
Secretary of Justice Xing asked, "How did you poison them?"
Hai Zhu replied, "I poisoned the well. It would have been too risky to tamper with the wine and food, and there was no guarantee that General Chu would consume them. To ensure he was poisoned, I had to poison everyone."
Hu Shiyeh's pen scratched furiously, nearly smoking from the speed of his writing.
Secretary of Justice Xing asked, "What kind of poison did you use?"
Hai Zhu answered, "A poison from the Western Regions, colorless and odorless. It has no effect on ordinary people, but it can cause martial artists to lose their cultivation overnight. The more they try to force their cultivation, the deeper the poison penetrates their organs, eventually leading to death from bleeding out of the seven orifices."
Hu Shiyeh's pen scratched across the paper.
Damn! This confession was so detailed!
Secretary of Justice Xing asked, "What's your take on Lady Chu being the murderer?"
Hai Zhu said, "She was also poisoned. She couldn't have killed anyone, and she's being framed. As for who framed her, I don't know."
Secretary of Justice Xing said, "So, you're saying she didn't start the fire either?"
Hai Zhu's expression paused, as if a moment of hesitation flashed across his face, but he quickly shook his head. "What reason would she have to start a fire?"
Secretary of Justice Xing's expression turned serious. "But I also can't understand why your accomplice would start a fire. Are you sure you don't know each other?"
Hai Zhu said, "We don't know each other. I only did what I was told to do, and I know nothing else."
Secretary of Justice Xing caught the key point in his words. "So, you were instructed by someone else. Who was it?"
Hai Zhu's lips twitched.
Although he was reluctant to admit it, this Secretary of Justice Xing was indeed skilled.
"The late Crown Prince," Hai Zhu said.
Secretary of Justice Xing's expression didn't change at all. Hai Zhu didn't know if he had already suspected this or if his emotional stability was beyond comprehension.
Hai Zhu thought of Si She. She was such a person.
Secretary of Justice Xing asked, "Why did the Crown Prince want to harm the Chu Family?"
Hai Zhu confessed, "King Chu is the Retired Emperor's son. After the Crown Prince learned of his background, he feared that King Chu would compete with him for the throne. So, he bought me off, making me a part of the plan to annihilate the Chu Family."
Hu Shiyeh's pen scratched loudly, leaving a long scratch on the table.
Good heavens! This was a huge revelation!
Secretary of Justice Xing's expression remained unchanged.
Hai Zhu now knew for sure that he possessed an incredibly strong will.
Hai Zhu had assumed that Secretary of Justice Xing would proceed with routine questions about his motives and details of his collusion with the Crown Prince.
Unexpectedly, Secretary of Justice Xing broke from his usual pattern and asked, "Hai Zhu, you must know that your crime is unforgivable, right? Even if you weren't the mastermind, your actions are enough to warrant your execution."
Hai Zhu calmly replied, "From the moment the Crown Prince bought me off, I knew that my judgment day would come eventually."
Secretary of Justice Xing said, "If I give you a chance to redeem yourself, will you take it?"
"Redeem myself?" Hai Zhu laughed. "It's just a worthless life. Do you think I'm afraid of death?"
Secretary of Justice Xing leaned forward. "I know you're not afraid of death, and I'm not offering you a way out. I'm giving you a choice—to die as a condemned prisoner under the execution blade, or to die like a true warrior?"
Hai Zhu was stunned.
...
"There was once an inconspicuous guest in the Crown Prince's residence, named Luo San, nicknamed Three Humpbacks. He was the one who revealed King Chu's background to the Crown Prince, and he was the one who incited the Crown Prince to target the Chu Family. He plotted, bought off assassins... everything was his doing."
"If you find him, he can identify the true mastermind behind the borrowed knife—Xun Prime Minister."
(End of Chapter)
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