Chapter 68

The pavilion has an octagonal structure and faces a pond within Lin Estate. The breeze blows over the pond, wafting the fragrance of lotus leaves.

There were brushes, inks, paper, and inkstones placed on the stone table in the pavilion. Before they arrived, Mu Jingxu was writing a dossier. Rong Tang took a casual glance and saw the words “Lu Junxian, Governor of Jiangnan” written on it.

He withdrew his gaze and didn’t examine it carefully.

Ke Hongxue invited them to sit down and asked with a smile, “Today is Qixi; what plans do Shizi and Shizi Fei have?”

Rong Tang suddenly felt a little listless and didn’t feel like talking. He sat on one side and picked up a lotus pod and began peeling to entertain himself, peeling the lotus seeds piece by piece to relieve stress.

Su Huaijing shook his head. “Nothing at present. Does Tutor Ke have any recommendations?”

Ke Hongxue said regretfully: “If you usually come to Jiangnan during Qixi, I can find a hundred places for you to visit. But now that it has been flooded, I’m afraid everyone wouldn’t have the mood for amusements.”

“What a pity.” Su Huaijing continued, then asked in a different tone, “How long do both Excellencies plan to stay in Jiangnan this time?”

Ke Hongxue said: “Initially, I wanted to return to the capital after interrogating Lu Junxian, but my senior’s old illness relapsed, and he couldn’t bear it. Thus, I asked the Second Prince to help hand over a booklet to request a long leave on behalf of Senior.” He lifted his chin and said, “Mm-hmm, after writing this dossier and sending it back to the capital, he can go on leave.”

Su Huaijing asked, “Is this the investigation of the Jiangnan governor’s crime?”

“Exactly.”

Su Huaijing: “But I heard that Governor Lu is quite trusted by His Majesty and has a powerful backer in Senior Official Zhang in court. I suppose he has nothing to fear and will certainly remain silent under interrogation. How did Lil’ Bro Mu manage to get him to confess so much information?”

In addition to Lu Junxian’s history, Mu Jingxu’s dossier also included the bribery records and account books of subordinate officials in Jiangnan over the years, the amount of gold and silver Lu Junxian had transferred to the capital, as well as various major and minor cases that had been concealed over the years. There were even records of frequent harassment by Japanese pirates in the coastal areas of Jiangnan……

The charges against him are numerous, and the evidence is overwhelming.

To pry out this information from a high-ranking, second-rank official of the imperial court, Mu Jingxu was by no means as cold and harmless as he seemed.

Su Huaijing observed this junior minister of the Imperial Court of Justice without betraying his thoughts. Ke Hongxue laughed softly at the side, unfolded his folding fan, and slowly waved it without saying anything.

Rong Tang’s movements of peeling off the lotus pods paused, and he eyed Su Huaijing with a frown, feeling that he seemed to have made his intentions too obvious.

When they were in Song Garden, Su Huaijing didn’t entirely want Ke and Mu to join the team. It was more like a mutually beneficial cooperation than a partnership.

Su Huaijing provided them with beneficial information, and they reciprocated the favour by concealing Sheng Chengli’s frame-up of Empress Wang.

But if Lu Jiaxi asked this question this time, it could be regarded as doubt. However, when Su Huaijing asked this question, it was definitely not out of pure curiosity—everyone present was aware.

Ke Hongxue delayed his response. Just when Rong Tang thought that Su Huaijing’s question might have touched some taboo, Mu Jingxu calmly spoke and asked, “Has Young Master Su ever learnt torture techniques?”

Su Huaijing shook his head. “Never.”

Mu Jingxu: “Then do you know what type of torture can leave no trace on the body, but cause such misery that one wishes they were dead?”

Su Huaijing chuckled: “All the more, I wouldn’t know.”

The summer morning breeze is refreshing. Birds flit about, dragonflies rest on the tips of lotus leaves, and mayflies live and die in the water.

Mu Jingxu’s voice was soft, devoid of emotion, and unwavering as he calmly stated a fact: “Buried alive”, “promoted to an officer”.”

“For the former, a wooden barrel as tall as a person is used. Sand is slowly poured into the barrel after the person is placed inside. They’re warned beforehand that if they start to panic only when the sand reaches their chest, it’s already too late to save them. It usually doesn’t take long.”

Mu Jingxu’s tone remained cold and emotionless as he continued: “For the latter, the person is tied to a long bench, with all limbs bound—though I typically leave one leg free. Then, thin Xuan paper is dipped in water and layered over the prisoner’s face. The sensation of suffocation and drowning will make them struggle desperately, but they can only move one leg. I’ll hang a lantern frame above that leg using a bamboo pole. If they wish to surrender, they need only reach it and kick it down, and the jailer will remove the paper.”

Su Huaijing’s eyes brightened slightly, and he asked with a smile, “What if they can’t kick it down?”

“Young Master Su, have you ever seen the death row prisoners in the prison? Sometimes their theories are rather miraculous, but I think they can be applied to themselves,” Mu Jingxu said softly.

Su Huaijing then asked, “What do you mean?”

Mu Jingxu: “The execution officer asked him why he committed murder, and he said he just felt like killing. When asked what enmity he had with the deceased, he said there was none. When asked why he chose the victim, he replied, ‘You can only blame his bad luck.’”

Mu Jingxu silently looked at Su Huaijing and softly repeated, “You can only blame his bad luck for not being able to save himself.”

It’s not that he didn’t give them a way out. The prisoners subjected to these two forms of torture all have a mountain of indisputable evidence against them. The purpose of the interrogation is merely to extract more details for an easier conviction.

Even if they don’t confess, it doesn’t matter. Mu Jingxu was the top scholar in the seventh year of Qingzheng—one of the most intelligent and astute individuals of the Dayu dynasty.

He has countless ways to craft a flawless dossier. What the prisoners say is merely an insightful study of human nature to him.

Rong Tang paused in his action of peeling the lotus pods, suddenly feeling a bit dazed.

He had seen Mu Jingxu interrogating before.

He exchanged his snow-white robes and dressed in a crimson court uniform of a junior minister from the Imperial Court of Justice. Standing in the pitch-black cell, surrounded by the wails of countless prisoners, with rats gnawing at carrion in the corners and the air thick with a rancid stench, Mu Jingxu took a red-hot iron hook and pressed it against the prisoner. He was neither sad nor pleased, showing no emotion at all as he calmly and steadily gouged a piece of bright red flesh from the prisoner’s body. With a slight turn of his wrist, he added to the rats’ feast, and another piercing scream joined the chorus of countless howls.

And when the torture was over, there would be no traces of blood on his crimson court uniform. Yet it still made people feel as if he were a ghost who’d crawled up from hell—cold and ruthless.

Being “buried alive” and being “promoted to an officer” can be considered gentle tortures. Suffocating in despair, listed in the punishment book of the Imperial Court of Justice, is certainly not the most horrifying method, but Mu Jingxu had only mentioned these two.

Su Huaijing raised his eyebrows, smiled slightly, and asked, “May I ask which method Excellency Mu used on Lu Junxian?”

Mu Jingxu replied, “Xuan paper is expensive, and dry sand is scarce after the disaster.”

Su Huaijing was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into hearty laughter, his beautiful phoenix eyes fixed on him. “So, Excellency Mu is trying to fool me?”

“No,” Mu Jingxu shook his head. “I’m merely telling you that there are many types of punishments in this world. Some leave no trace, and others, once enacted, will eventually be discovered.”

Ke Hongxue bent down and took out a lotus pod from the bamboo basket at Rong Tang’s feet. He peeled it slowly, separating the lotus seeds from the core, leaving a small plate of bitter green leaves and a small bowl of sweet pulp.

Rong Tang frowned and looked at Mu Jingxu with some confusion.

There was no change in the latter’s expression; his emotions were always well-concealed. When Su Huaijing looked at him, he quietly returned the gaze, neither speaking nor avoiding it.

Gradually, Su Huaijing’s expression shifted, his cheerful smile giving way to a guarded wariness. He leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing as he said, “What does Lil’ Bro Mu mean by this? I don’t understand.”

Mu Jingxu remained silent for a moment before picking up the brush again. He lowered his head and continued writing the dossier, saying softly, “There’s no meaning.”

As he moved, his sleeves rolled up slightly, and Rong Tang inadvertently caught a glimpse of several fresh scratches on his right wrist. The scabs were bright red and shallow, clearly recent wounds.

He was momentarily stunned, unable to understand who could leave such marks on the junior minister of the Imperial Court of Justice. But in the next instant, Mu Jingxu’s sleeves fell back down, covering all traces.

Rong Tang furrowed his brow in thought. At that moment, Ke Hongxue laughed lightly and said, “Senior is worried that saying too much might frighten you. For someone as important as Governor Lu, using ordinary punishment methods would seem disrespectful.”

Rong Tang suppressed the questions in his heart and followed up, “Then what kind of methods would be considered appropriate?”

“Tie an iron rod to the belly, place two rats inside, and constantly heat the rod with a torch.” Ke Hongxue squinted his eyes with a smile as he spoke slowly. Whether it was true or not, it sent an inexplicable chill down their spines.

Rong Tang thought about the scene Ke Hongxue described and the grim outcome it would lead to, and he couldn’t help but shudder.

The rustling sound of the brush tip on paper echoed in the pavilion. After Ke Hongxue finished peeling the lotus seeds, he naturally began grinding ink for Mu Jingxu. Rong Tang replayed the conversation between Su Huaijing and Mu Jingxu in his mind. Whether it was just his imagination or something else, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to Mu Jingxu’s words—something unspoken and pointed.

But no one brought it up again or offered any explanations. Sheng Chengming and Lu Jiaxi took the money that Ke Hongxue had provided and went out to aid in disaster relief. Meanwhile, they remained in the pavilion, enjoying the breeze that blew across the pond, chatting casually, and basking in the morning sunlight.

It wasn’t until the sun grew hotter that Rong Tang began to feel dizzy, prompting Su Huaijing to stand up, intending to take him back.

Ke Hongxue rose to see them off, while Mu Jingxu continued writing in the middle of his dossier.

Su Huaijing descended the steps but paused just as he was about to step outside. He turned back to Mu Jingxu and, in a seemingly casual manner, asked, “There’s one thing I’m rather confused about, and I would ask Lil’ Bro Mu to clarify. Corruption and bribery are not typically capital crimes. Lu Junxian has served by His Majesty’s side for many years, so he should naturally be aware of what His Majesty detests and what his bottom lines are. I can understand him confessing to corruption, as well as implicating his accomplices and even re-reporting the Japanese pirate incursions he had once concealed.”

Su Huaijing paused, and Mu Jingxu’s brush tip halted slightly as he looked up and asked bluntly, “What is it that you don’t understand, Young Master Su?”

Su Huaijing replied, “His background.”

Rong Tang’s heart tightened as he listened to Su Huaijing continue in a slow drawl: “It has been nine years since His Majesty ascended the throne. During these nine years, all the royalist officials who once held power were either executed or exiled. The only one who received relatively favourable treatment was probably Ke Wenrui, Grand Tutor Ke.”

He glanced at Ke Hongxue, who remained calm and composed, his expression unchanged. Ke Hongxue even smiled and gently shook his fan when Su Huaijing mentioned his grandfather.

Su Huaijing continued, “If all the other charges are not enough to sentence Lu Junxian to death, being the biological brother of the late Consort De and the biological uncle of the Third Prince would certainly be enough to provoke His Majesty’s wrath, leading to the confiscation of his estate and his execution. So why would he confess to this?”

The sun gradually climbed overhead, yet the harsh light outside did not touch Su Huaijing at all as he stood on the pavilion steps.

He gazed intently at Mu Jingxu and asked softly, “Or rather, Lil’ Bro Mu, how did you come to know this secret, to the point where you could compel Lu Junxian to confess?”

The pavilion fell into a long silence before Mu Jingxu finally responded, “The secrets of the Imperial Court of Justice are not to be disclosed.”

“Is that so?” Su Huaijing let out a soft laugh, then bowed his head slightly in apology, “I overstepped.”

He then turned, took Rong Tang’s hand, and left, as if the question he had just posed was nothing more than a casual, spur-of-the-moment inquiry.