A basin of cold water was poured on Gong Zheng's face, causing him to wake up from his coma and look around solemnly.
He found that he seemed to be locked in a place that looked like a torture chamber, with his hands each fixed on a wooden torture frame by a chain.
He frowned as he recalled.
He vaguely remembered that in that manor at that time, he had felt that something was wrong because he heard the warning from his own people, but just when he was about to escape, he was subdued by several assassins wearing cyan leather armor.
.
"...Prince Zhao Run's Green Crows?"
Gong Zheng secretly complained, and at the same time he couldn't help but sigh to himself: No matter how cautious he was, he was still caught after all, and this time I'm afraid it will be more unfortunate.
"The remnant of the Xiao family, Gong Zheng...heh, is that his name?"
Just when Gong Zheng was thinking to himself, a voice came from in front of him.
It turned out that directly opposite the palace, about three feet away, there was a desk. At this time, Zhang Qigong was sitting behind the desk, holding a teapot, pouring a cup of tea into a teacup, and sipping from the teacup.
After taking a sip, he greeted Gong Zheng.
"..."
Gong Zheng glanced at Zhang Qigong for a few times and asked in a deep voice: "Where is this?"
Zhang Qigong took a sip of tea and said slowly: "Prince's Mansion!"
"..."
Gong Zheng's eyelids twitched, and at the same time he felt even more desperate.
He knew very well that the current Prince's Mansion was the former Prince Su's Mansion, or it was called Prince Jing's Mansion twenty years ago, and it is located in Daliang City.
A few years ago, Gong Zheng would have had some hope that his companions would find a way to rescue him, but now, their "Fu Weijun (overturning the Wei Army)" power in Daliang has almost been completely destroyed, although there are still
There are some sporadic members, but they are no longer enough to cause riots like the "Daliang Rebellion".
Today's Daliang is the territory of Prince Zhao Run. Thirty to forty thousand Imperial Guards, plus the Green Crows, are closely monitoring the royal capital, not to mention the Prince's Mansion. Presumably, it is even more heavily guarded. If you are caught,
Here, it is equivalent to pronouncing the death sentence on his Gong Zheng.
After taking a slight breath to calm down, Gong Zheng forced himself to remain calm and sarcastically said: "When did the Prince's Palace have such a private prison?"
"A few days ago." Zhang Qigong took a sip of tea and said casually: "This was originally a wine cellar in the mansion. Zhang changed it into a private prison. You should be honored to be the first resident here."
"Huh? No wonder Gong has smelled the aroma of wine since just now..." After sniffing his nose, Gong Zheng turned his attention to Zhang Qigong and suddenly asked: "You are Zhang Qigong, the aide to the old prince Zhao Yu, right?"
"Do you recognize Zhang?" Zhang Qigong looked at Gong Zheng with curiosity.
Gong Zheng smiled when he heard this and said: "Master Zhang, who is known as the cruel official, is also quite famous in Daliang. How could Gong not recognize him?"
"That's good, it saves Zhang a lot of trouble." After saying that, a cold look flashed in Zhang Qigong's eyes, and he said in a deep voice: "Gong Zheng, if you tell me the whereabouts of Xiao Luan, Zhang will give you a pleasure.
"
After hearing this, Gong Zheng shook his head and said calmly: "I don't know what Mr. Zhang means by this. I am a serious businessman who is about to go to Bolangsha Port City to do business, but I don't know why Mr. Zhang is innocent.
Will you capture me?"
"A serious businessman?" Zhang Qigong curled his lips and sneered twice, and said coldly: "There are no less than two hundred desperadoes in the courtyard where you are hiding..."
"That's my guard. Mr. Zhang must also know that this world is actually not that safe." Gong Zheng replied calmly.
"Well, I understand." Zhang Qigong nodded and said calmly: "I won't shed tears until I see the coffin. I think I am referring to people like you... It doesn't matter, I have a lot of patience."
After that, he picked up the tea cup again.
At the same time, Yang Yi, the leader of the black crows, crossed his arms and leaned against the wall in the corner, looking at Gong Zheng. Hearing this, he stretched out his hand and patted Gong Zheng twice. Immediately, two black crows walked in from outside the execution room, using a kind of
Staring at Gong Zheng with raging eyes, he cracked the whip in his hand.
"...corporal punishment?"
Gong Zheng glanced at the two black crows with a cold expression and snorted softly.
"Pah——"
A heavy whip hit Gong Zheng's chest hard. Immediately, Gong Zheng subconsciously grasped the chains with both hands, and veins popped out on his forehead.
However, he didn't say a word.
"..."
Zhang Qigong, who was always paying attention to Gong Zheng, frowned when he saw this scene.
He felt that this seemingly weak Gong Zheng might be more tenacious or stubborn than he expected.
"Pah——"
"Pah——"
The sounds of whips hitting the flesh again and again resounded in this unknown torture room, but from the beginning to the end, only the sound of the black crows being tortured was heard, and Gong Zheng did not make any sound, even if
In the end, he was holding on to the chain tightly, clenching his teeth and passed out.
"Lord Captain, the prisoner has fainted," said one of the torturers.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Qigong glanced at Gong Zheng and said calmly: "Waking him up!"
"yes!"
"Wow--"
Another basin of cold water was poured on Gong Zheng's head, gradually waking him up from his coma.
"Are you willing to recruit?" Zhang Qigong asked calmly.
"Hahaha." Gong Zheng laughed twice and whispered in a tired voice: "I'm sorry... I don't understand what I'm saying..."
"..." Zhang Qigong nodded and said gloomily: "Keep fighting!"
"yes!"
"Pah——"
"Pah——"
For a whole day, Gong Zheng suffered from whipping torture. He fainted more than a dozen times and was woken up by cold water pouring on him more than a dozen times. Even the black crows who tortured him changed several shifts, but Gong Zheng still refused to admit it.
He is a member of Xiao's remnant party.
Facing such a stubborn guy, Zhang Qigong felt both admiration and anger.
And just when he was about to carry out the execution again, the leader of the black crows, Yang Yi, stopped him and said in a low voice: "Lord Captain, let's stop here for today. If we continue to fight, this man will die..."
After hearing this, Zhang Qigong gave up and looked at Gong Zheng sharply, nodded and said, "Come back tomorrow."
At this time, Gong Zheng, who had been whipped for a long time, could not even lift his head. After hearing this, he slightly raised his head and glanced sideways at Zhang Qigong, and let out a contemptuous sneer. Zhang Qigong was so angry that he almost punched the opponent in the face.
.
The next day, Zhang Qigong continued to torture Gong Zheng. If yesterday's flogging was still a relatively cruel punishment, then today's punishment would be even more cruel.
"ah--"
With a scream, today, Gong Zheng finally broke the dullness of being tortured.
It's no wonder, after all, today's punishment is so cruel. Under Zhang Qigong's order, three Black Crows grabbed Gong Zheng's hand and dug iron needles into the gaps between Gong Zheng's fingernails, causing pain.
The number of times De Gongzheng fainted was more than ten times more than yesterday. "Note: Please understand that this paragraph cannot be written in detail. The author suffers from sharp object discomfort. It is very uncomfortable to simulate this scene in his mind."
But even so, Gong Zheng still gritted his teeth and refused to confess.
Zhang Qigong was so angry that he asked the black crows to pull out the nail of Gong Zheng's little finger, causing Gong Zheng to faint from the pain again.
For two or three days, in the former wine cellar of the Prince's Mansion that had been converted into a private prison, Gong Zheng was tortured by Zhang Qigong in every possible way, and died from the pain several times.
But such a cruel punishment could not pry Gong Zheng's mouth open.
On the fourth day of December, there was no wind and light snow.
In the side hall of the East Palace, Zhao Hongrun stood at the window, hands behind his back, quietly looking at the slowly falling snowflakes outside the window.
A moment later, Yang Yi, the leader of the Black Crows, stepped into the side hall. After nodding and greeting Lu Mu, the chief of the clan's guards, he walked about a foot behind Zhao Hongrun, cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, Prince,
Did you summon the humble minister?"
"Hmm." Zhao Hongrun turned his head, brushed away a few snowflakes that had drifted in from the window and landed on his shoulders, and asked, "Can Gongzheng tell me the whereabouts of Xiao Luan?"
"This..." Yang Yi had a look of embarrassment on his face, lowered his head and said, "Not yet."
"Huh?" Zhao Hongrun frowned slightly.
Seeing this, Yang Ji told Zhao Hongrun exactly how Gong Zheng behaved during the torture in the past few days.
Even Zhao Hongrun felt a little surprised when he heard that Gong Zheng had no intention of yielding under torture.
You know, Zhao Hongrun felt his scalp numb just by hearing the tortures Yang Ji dictated. It was really hard to think that Gong Zheng, a seemingly weak man, could actually endure it.
"...His Royal Highness, I humbly ask Your Highness to wait for a few more days." His Highness the Crown Prince seemed to have a bad look on his face before meeting, and Yang Ji asked with some fear.
However, Zhao Hongrun did not mean to rebuke Yang Yi or Zhang Qigong. After thinking about it, he stood up from behind the desk and said, "Take me to have a look."
Yang Yi did not dare to stop him, so he followed Zhao Hongrun and Zong Wei Chief Lu Mu in a carriage to the private prison of the Prince's Mansion.
When entering the private cell, Zongwei Chief Lu Mu glanced inside and muttered with some dissatisfaction: "This place... has been really messed up."
Once upon a time, the clan guards would often go to this wine cellar to get wine. Now, seeing this familiar wine cellar changed beyond recognition, Lu Mu felt a little uncomfortable.
After hearing the mutterings of Lu Mu, the chief of the imperial family, Zhao Hongrun didn't say much. After all, he allocated several houses to the west of the front yard of the Prince's Mansion to Zhang Qigong as a place to handle cases, even though Zhang Qigong privately transformed the wine cellar into a private room.
No matter what, he won't say much.
What's more, the "Prince's Mansion Captain's Office" does need a private prison that is not known to everyone. After all, some people have committed crimes, so it's hard to hand them over to the Ministry of Punishment, right? - There are some things that even Zhao Hongrun doesn't want to see too much.
People know.
Patting Lu Mu's shoulder, Zhao Hongrun walked towards the depths of the dungeon.
After walking about seven or eight feet, he suddenly heard a shrill but short scream coming from the depths of the dungeon. It was obvious that the prisoner who was being tortured could not resist the torture and fainted.
Just as Zhao Hongrun guessed, Gong Zheng was once again tortured by Zhang Qigong and passed out in the torture chamber deep in the dungeon.
And just when Zhang Qigong looked sinister and was about to ask someone to pour cold water on Gong Zheng to wake him up, suddenly a black crow walked into the execution room quickly and reminded Zhang Qigong: "Captain Zhang, the prince is here."
"..." Zhang Qigong was stunned, stretched out his hand to stop the two black crows from splashing cold water on Gong Zheng, and turned to look at the entrance of the execution room. He happened to see the leader of the black crows, Yang Yi, pushing open the door of the punishment department. Then,
Prince Zhao Run, wearing a vermilion-patterned dragon brocade robe, walked in from outside.
Seeing this, Zhang Qigong hurriedly took a few steps forward, bowed his hands and saluted: "I, Zhang Qigong, have met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"Hmm." Zhao Hongrun nodded, and then glanced around the torture chamber a few times. Finally, his eyes fell on Gong Zheng, who was chained to the torture frame.
"He still refuses to confess?" Zhao Hongrun asked.
Zhang Qigong lowered his head, raised his hands and begged: "Your Highness, please give me some more time...I promise that I will be able to pry this person's mouth open."
Zhao Hongrun nodded noncommittally, stepped forward, and looked at Gong Zheng, who had fainted.
Although he didn't know the specific process of Zhang Qigong's torture of Gong Zheng, seeing that Gong Zheng was covered in blood and even had brand marks on his clothes, he could guess that this member of Xiao Ni must have been full in the past two days.
Being tortured.
"It's a bit cold here..."
After rubbing his hands, Zhao Hongrun looked back at the stove in the execution room - the kind used for burning with fire. He signaled to a black crow member and said: "Add some charcoal to make the stove hotter." As he said that, he continued.
Instructed another Black Crow: "Go and boil a pot of wine."
"Yes!" The two black crows clasped their fists and retreated.
"Isn't this quite submissive?"
Looking at the backs of the two black crows leaving, Zhao Hongrun thought in his heart.
In fact, he didn't know that not all the Black Crows were rebellious. Moreover, even the Black Crows with code names like Ghost did not dare to offend him in front of him.
Watching a Black Crow member add some firewood to the stove, Zhao Hongrun stretched out his hands to warm his frozen hands, and at the same time ordered: "Lu Mu, wake him up."
After hearing this, a black crow member walked towards Gong Zheng carrying a bucket, but was waved by Zong Wei Chief Lu Mu halfway, walked up to Gong Zheng who was unconscious, pinched the latter's chin with one hand, and held the latter's chin with the other.
He slapped the latter's face gently.
Gradually, Gong Zheng woke up from his coma.
After regaining some consciousness, he was about to taunt Zhang Qigong as he had done several times before, when he suddenly saw a man wearing a brocade robe with a dragon pattern standing by the stove, warming his hands.
The pupils shrank suddenly, Gong Zheng suddenly put away his contempt, and replaced it with solemnity.
"...Prince Zhao Run." He said word by word.
Zhao Hongrun looked back at Gong Zheng and asked casually: "Do you recognize me?"
Gong Zheng shook his head, and said in a deep voice with a solemn tone that even he probably didn't realize: "Ji Zhao's dragon colt... Gong still recognizes it."
"Ji Zhao's dragon colt? What the hell?" Zhao Hongrun frowned and muttered.
At this time, a black crow came in carrying an iron pot and said: "Your Highness, the wine is ready."
After hearing this, Lu Mu, the chief of the Zongwei clan, took the iron pot and poured a cup of hot wine for Zhao Hongrun.
Zhao Hongrun took a sip of hot wine and let out a long breath: "I'm alive...it's really a bit cold today." After saying that, he saw Gong Zheng looking at him intently, and asked: "Would you like some wine?"
Would you like to warm yourself up?"
But even though it was a question, he didn't wait for Gong Zheng to answer. He walked towards the only table in the room and said casually: "Give him a drink."
After hearing this, Gong Zheng snorted and said with a bit of ridicule: "Your Highness, Captain Zhang used this trick yesterday..."
But before he could finish his words, he saw Lu Mu, the chief of the Zong Wei, walking up to him with a glass of wine. Under his stunned gaze, he grabbed his chin and handed the wine glass to his mouth.
"Are you really giving me a drink? Instead of pouring wine on my wounds?"
Gong Zheng was stunned for a moment, and then, under the impatient urging of Zong Wei Chief Lu Mu, he drank the glass of wine.
The wine was a bit hot, and Gong Zheng drank it too fast, which caused a faint burning feeling in his chest. However, this burning feeling gradually dissipated the coldness in his body, making him feel much softer and more energetic.
.
"...This is Zhao Run."
Gong Zheng looked at Zhao Hongrun, who was sitting in Zhang Qigong's seat yesterday, with a more solemn look.
From what happened just now, he could feel that the Crown Prince of Wei was a very domineering, conceited, and proud person.
"What do you call it?" Zhao Hongrun asked, taking a sip of hot wine from the wine cup.
"Gong Zheng." Gong Zheng replied.
"I think this is not your real name, right?" Zhao Hongrun smiled and said: "After drinking a glass of wine from me, how about you reveal your real name? Anyway, you probably don't have many clan members anymore, so you don't need to worry about me.
Why hide it when you will harm them?...Tell me which family of Nanyan you are from."
"..."
Gong Zheng took a deep look at Zhao Hongrun, and after a moment of silence, he said in a deep voice: "Beigong...yu."
"Beigong..." Zhao Hongrun muttered and said with a smile: "This is not a common surname."
Hearing this, Zongzheng's expression changed slightly, and then he sneered: "Does His Highness the Crown Prince want to use this surname to track down my clan members? Give up, even if our Beigong clan does still have a few survivors, they will definitely not.
Dare you use this last name again..."
"When did I say I wanted to investigate?" Zhao Hongrun smiled, suddenly looked at Bei Gongyu and said, "Beigong Yu, you actually have a family background, right?"
"His Royal Highness, are you talking about the past?" Bei Gongyu sneered.
"It's not like before." Zhao Hongrun shook his head and said lightly: "As far as I know, in order to prevent you, Xiao Ni, from being blackmailed by the court, you are not allowed to get married or have children, but I think... Beigong clan, this
It sounds like a big family. As one of the few remaining descendants of this big family, you shouldn't abide by such rules and end the bloodline of the Beigong clan, right?"
"So that's why you asked me about my real name?" Bei Gongyu flashed a flash of anger and sneered: "Unfortunately, you will never find it."
"Looking for? No need." Zhao Hongrun shook his head, looked at Bei Gongyu and said lightly: "I am just a little curious suddenly. If I hang you on the city and tell the world, do you think your wife and children will know about it?"
Will they show up because of you after this incident?...I guess you won't tell them some of what you did, and they may not know about you, so they might actually take the bait."
"...Despicable." Bei Gongyu said bitterly.
Hearing this, Zhao Hongrun shook his finger and said with a smile: "I just said it casually, you don't have to worry. In fact, even if I do this, your wife and children may not be able to come to Daliang alive.
...Xiao Luan will sit back and watch your wife and children fall into a trap, becoming a handle for the court to threaten you to obey? How is that possible! According to his approach, he will send someone to kill your wife and children to avoid future troubles!"
"..." Bei Gongyu took a deep look at Zhao Hongrun, squinted his eyes, nodded and said, "I understand, are you trying to drive a wedge between me and Xiao Luan?"
Zhao Hongrun smiled noncommittally and asked lightly: "How about it, do you want to take a gamble? Maybe your wife and children were lucky enough not to see the notice? Well, no, even if they didn't see it, Xiao Luan
If he knew about it, I'm afraid he would probably do something cruel... Well, how about I bet on Xiao Luan's friendship with you?"
"..." Bei Gongyu closed her mouth tightly and looked a little nervous.
He hated himself extremely and hated that he had just revealed Beigong's surname to that Zhao Run.
And at this moment, Zhao Hongrun suddenly said: "Beigong Yu, please serve me."
"..."
Hearing this unexpectedly, Bei Gongyu couldn't help showing a look of astonishment on his face. He said with a bit of laughter: "Your Highness, did I hear correctly? You are actually recruiting me?"
"It is inciting rebellion." After correcting Bei Gongyu's words, Zhao Hongrun said calmly: "You and I both know who is right and who is wrong in what happened back then, so there is no need to say more. In fact, Xiao Luan is also an implicated person, but
, he used and betrayed his close friend who he had known for more than 20 years, who is also the sixth uncle of this king, so I will kill him no matter what!... It is not a national hatred, but a personal hatred!"
Having said this, he pointed at Bei Gongyu and added: "As for you, in fact, I have never thought about killing them all... In fact, I still admire people with strong backbone."
"Ha." Bei Gong Yushai smiled and shook his head: "His Royal Highness, you think that with just a few words, I will reveal Xiao Luan's whereabouts?"
"Why not?" Zhao Hongrun spread his hands and said seriously: "Beigong Yu, do you really think you can gain anything by following Xiao Luan? Xiao Luan spent twenty years running an anti-Wei force in our great Wei Dynasty, but
Now, haven't you fled abroad in despair with your tail between your legs?... I am the Prince of the East Palace of the Wei Dynasty, and behind me is the entire Wei Dynasty. If I want him to die, he will die eventually!... Follow such a destined trend.
End guy, what do you get?"
"If it is rumored, His Highness the Crown Prince is really...arrogant." Bei Gongyu sneered, and then he said seriously: "However, I followed Xiao Luan not to gain anything, but to avenge your Ji Zhao clan.
!”
"Why?" Zhao Hongrun asked.
"Why?" Bei Gongyu was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly and said: "His Royal Highness actually asked me why?" At this point, a strong look of hatred appeared in his eyes, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Because of you
The Ji Zhao family killed loyal ministers for no reason and destroyed our Beigong family!"
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun held a wine cup and said lightly: "What if this king restores the Beigong clan?"
"What?" The anger on Bei Gongyu's face froze.
Pointing at Beigong Yu, Zhao Hongrun said calmly: "Although the Beigong clan has been destroyed, you and your son are still there... Well, it's a son, right? It doesn't matter if it's not... In short, if the imperial court restores Beigong,
Gong, if you marry more than a dozen wives and concubines, work hard, and have more than a dozen children, won’t you, the Beigong clan, rise again twenty years later?... My father, I can issue an edict to you Beigong.
The Beigong clan has fallen, and I, the king, can also issue an edict to make your Beigong clan prosper. Which is more important, the hatred of the clan members or the upright continuation and prosperity of the family?"
"..." A few complex colors flashed in Bei Gongyu's eyes.
"Either continue to serve Xiao Luan and let Xiao Luan take the lead in getting rid of your wife and children, and you will die worthless; or, you can serve me and kill Xiao Luan, and you will belong to the Beigong family.
The Lord of Zhongxing can help you, the Beigong Yi clan, regain your status as a noble."
With that said, Zhao Hongrun drank all the wine in the glass in one gulp and placed the wine cup on the table with a snap.