"It's the official." The person next to Fang Guancheng was Wang Wei, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang. He had been accompanying the emperor since Hongli arrived in Zhejiang, and he was very familiar with Hongzhou.
The governor-general and the governor are both local military and political officials, and are collectively called governors. However, the governor-general supervises military affairs and is also responsible for food and wages. His power is much greater than that of the governor. The governor-general of Fujian and Zhejiang is in charge of the affairs of Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. He is an official of the second rank.
At this time, Fang Guancheng saw Li Shihui being forcibly dragged in, and said in shock: "Your Majesty, what's going on with Mr. Li? Why do you look like this?"
Although Li Shixun's official position was not high, he was still a fourth-rank imperial official. Even though Hong Zhou was a prince above the first rank, he could not be treated like this.
Hong Zhou ignored his words and only said: "I would like to ask you, did you send someone to take away three people from the Hangzhou Mansion Prison today?"
Fang Guancheng rolled his eyes slightly, but did not answer directly, but said: "Why does the prince ask this, but what happened?"
Hong Zhou said coldly: "Now I am asking you, where did you take them?"
Fang Guancheng hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said: "No, I don't know what the prince said." He is a very thoughtful person, and he will never agree to anything easily before he understands what happened;
What's more, looking at the situation in front of us, it really doesn't look like a good thing.
Upon hearing this, Li Shixun suddenly became anxious and said, "Sir, you personally told me to take those three people out of the prison and hand them over to you. How could you not know?"
Idiot, how can you say this in front of Hong Zhou? Are you tired of living?!
Fang Guancheng cursed secretly in his heart and said blankly: "When did I ever say such a thing? What Mr. Li said is really strange. Three people...which three people, have I seen them before?"
Seeing that Fang Guancheng turned his face away, Li Shixun became more and more anxious and said hurriedly: "Those three people who were involved in the Wanhualou case and were imprisoned with Qiao Yan'er. Sir, where did you take them? Hurry up.
Speak out, otherwise you and I will be in great trouble."
Fang Guancheng secretly glanced at Hong Zhou, who looked gloomy, shook his head and said, "Wanhua Tower? Qiao Yan'er? Why am I getting more and more confused as I listen to this? What happened?"
Seeing that he insisted that he didn't know about this, Li Shixun was angry and anxious. He gritted his teeth and said, "Sir, do you know who Hong Si is? He...he is the current Holy Emperor!"
As soon as these words came out, Fang Guancheng and Wang Wei, who had been silent until now, were both startled and said in disbelief: "What did you say, Your Majesty?"
Li Shixun nodded and said: "Yes, it's your Majesty, and the lady with him is the Queen. Nothing should happen to the two of them. Please tell them where they are going immediately so that they can send people to search for them. It's too late."
...I’m afraid something will happen if it’s too late!”
When he suddenly learned about this, Fang Guancheng had mixed feelings in his heart, but he was much more thoughtful than Li Shijun, and he did not lose sight of it, nor did he forget who the person standing in front of him was.
After thinking about it for a while, he said with a look of horror on his face: "How could such a thing happen? Li Shijun, you are so stupid that you dare to put the emperor and the empress in prison. You... you don't want to live anymore, do you?"
Li Shifeng said bitterly: "I know that I have made a huge mistake and my crime is unforgivable. I only wish for the safety of the emperor and empress. My lord, please tell me quickly, where did you take the emperor and empress?"
Fang Guancheng's mind turned and he quickly came to a conclusion and said loudly: "I just said that I have never met the emperor, and I have never said those words to you. Don't talk nonsense and frame me.
official!"
Li Shiqiu never expected that Fang Guancheng would turn his back on him and refused to acknowledge the matter. He was stunned for a moment and didn't know what to say.
Hong Zhou stared at Fang Guancheng and said: "Master Fang, it is related to the safety of the emperor and empress. Please tell the truth. Otherwise, if something happens, neither you nor I will be able to afford it!"
"What the prince said is absolutely true!" Fang Guancheng bowed deeply and said: "But it is indeed true that there is nothing like Mr. Li said. Besides, I have the honor to see the holy face. If I see it, I will definitely recognize it as the emperor.
How could you not know anything?"
Li Shijun said in a sharp voice: "Every word I said is true. It was indeed his people who took away the emperor and the queen. He is also the only one who knows their whereabouts. Your Majesty, as long as you torture him, he will definitely tell the truth."
!”
Before Hong Zhou could say anything, Fang Guancheng said coldly and sternly: "Master Li, what are your intentions in slandering me so much?!"
At this time, Wang Wei stepped forward and cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the official came here this morning and was always with Mr. Fang. There is indeed nothing unusual about him. Magistrate Li... may be afraid of being held responsible, so he kept the matter secret."
Push it to Mr. Fang."
"I didn't!" Li Shixun said in a panic: "Your Majesty, believe me, I didn't lie. I really handed the person over to Fang Guancheng. He is the only insider!"
Hong Zhou glanced around at everyone, and finally stopped at Fang Guancheng, and said coldly: "Come here, pull him down and torture him. Bring him up again when you are willing to speak up!"
"Your Majesty, wait a minute!" Wang Wei quickly stepped forward to stop the guard and said, "Your Majesty concluded that Mr. Fang was related to this matter based on Li Shijun's words alone, and it would be too hasty to punish him!"
Hong Zhou said expressionlessly: "The whereabouts of the emperor and the queen are unknown, and I can no longer care about so many things."
"If it is later discovered that Mr. Fang had nothing to do with this matter, the prince will have a reputation of abusing lynchings and persecuting court officials. What should we do?"
"The most important thing now is the whereabouts of the emperor and empress. We will talk about the rest later!" After saying this, Hong Zhou said again: "Pull him down immediately!"
"Your Majesty..." As soon as Wang Weigang said two words, Hong Zhou interrupted: "If you plead again, you will also be tortured!"
Wang Wei closed his mouth helplessly and watched helplessly as Fang Guancheng was pulled down. Soon, the sound of wailing and screaming could be heard outside. It was so horrifying that it made people want to cover their ears to not listen to these sounds.
After the time for touching a stick of incense, Wang Jiu came in and said, "Your Majesty, Fang Guancheng was beaten until he fainted. He still refuses to admit it!"
Hong Zhou said coldly: "If you wake up and fight again, you must ask for the whereabouts of the emperor and empress!"
Wang Jiu left as he was told, and came in again after a while: "Your Majesty, Fang Guancheng has been knocked unconscious again, but he kept insisting that he did not know the whereabouts of the emperor and empress. Judging from his appearance, if the beating continues,
I’m just afraid of losing my life!”
"Damn it!" Hong Zhou cursed bitterly and did not dare to order any more beatings. This was not because he was afraid that if Fang Guancheng was beaten to death, he would be notorious for harming the imperial officials, but because he was afraid that if Fang Guancheng died, Hongli and
There is no way to know the whereabouts of Xianyue!
After thinking for a long time, Hong Zhou ordered someone to drag him in. After pouring a basin of cold water on his head, Fang Guancheng woke up from his coma. Hong Zhou squatted down, clamped his chin tightly, gritted his teeth and said: "The last name is
Fang, the reason why you are so strict is because you want to survive. I can promise you that as long as you tell the truth about the whereabouts of the emperor and the queen, I will intercede for you and save you from the death penalty!"