TPATTHU Chapter 53
by Volare“Crack!”
Accompanied by a horrifyingly crisp sound echoing within the prison, Shen Zhejiang felt the skin on his body being torn into shreds. His lowered face was obscured by his disheveled hair, making it impossible to see his expression. He resembled a soulless walking corpse.
The jailer glanced at Governor Yang, who was sitting behind the desk, reviewing the case. Seeing him calmly resting with his eyes closed, without giving any orders, the jailer once again raised his long whip.
Following two more cracking sounds, Shen Zhejiang bore even more bloody whip marks on his body.
The crisscrossing wounds were a ghastly sight.
The jailer sternly questioned, “Speak! Where have you hidden Zhao Xiaosi?!”
“……”
Shen Zhejiang remained silent.
The jailer gripped the whip handle, the veins on the back of his hand bulging out, as frightening as exposed tree roots.
He had never seen a criminal with such a tightly sealed mouth. In the past, most prisoners couldn’t endure twenty lashes before crying and begging to confess. Yet, this one before him had taken a full hundred lashes, leaving not a single good patch of skin, but he still refused to utter a single word.
“You’re stubborn, aren’t you? We have plenty of methods to pry open your mouth here. Will you talk or not?!”
He raised the whip, ready to strike.
“Alright, what’s the point of continuing to beat him? Step back.”
Upon hearing this, the jailer reluctantly put away his whip and stood aside.
Governor Yang opened his eyes and coldly glanced at Shen Zhejiang, who was covered in blood and filth. “How long has it been? Oh, almost an hour, right? Shen Zhejiang, this governor doesn’t have that much time to waste with you. You’d better tell me the truth.”
“……” Shen Zhejiang ignored him.
Governor Yang wasn’t angry. He leisurely picked up the celadon tea cup on the desk, took a sip, and revealed a disgusted expression. “The tea’s cold, tsk, truly awful.”
Then, with a bang, he slammed the teacup back onto the table, dusted off the dust on his clothes, stood up, and turned to face Shen Zhejiang, who was bound to the torture rack.
“The Number One Scholar of Shuncheng Year Nine, calculating the days, hiss…” Governor Yang paused, seemingly deep in thought. When he spoke again, his tone was full of sarcasm, “It’s been so long, yet no one in Yan Country has been able to surpass you. You can truly be said to be unprecedented and unmatched. Meeting you today, you are indeed extraordinary, and quite arrogant.”
Only then did Shen Zhejiang show a bit of reaction. He coughed lightly, which triggered the wounds all over his body. He frowned slightly, his voice already extremely hoarse, “…Where is Xiao Zhinian? I want to see him.”
Governor Yang stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Shen Zhejiang with a rather appreciative gaze. “What? You’ve already fallen into captivity and can barely protect yourself, yet you still have the heart to think about others? It seems you two are truly deeply in love. This governor will gossip a bit, are you lusting after his youthful body, or his beautiful kingdom and wealth?”
Such humiliating words, yet Shen Zhejiang managed to restrain himself.
Biting his lower lip until it bled, he said in a low voice, “What do you mean?”
“Good question, do you remember Chunyi Brothel?” Governor Yang paced back and forth, the sound of his footsteps scraping against the cold, damp floor. He revealed the plans that had been disrupted. “Ziyun was originally planted as an informant by Xiao Zhinian’s side, if not for you… You, tell me, why did you go to Chunyi Brothel? And Xiao Zhinian just happened to run into you. Anyone who didn’t know better would think this was a scheme between the two of you. Fortunately, neither of you seemed to have noticed anything. In that case, Xiao Zhinian must have made you feel like you were in heaven, right? My Yang also helped contribute to a beautiful affair between you two.”
Like a mantis stalking a cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
It turned out that everything Xiao Zhinian had done to lure Yang Sharen out through the Chunyi Brothel incident was already known to Yang Shihui. And the reason why Xiao Zhinian had come up with this plan was because of Shen Zhejiang’s suggestion. In the end, they were just pawns in a game.
So, who was the chess player, and who was the bystander?
Shen Zhejiang had lost too much blood, his face was pale to the point of transparency. He stubbornly held on to his consciousness, staring at Yang Shihui and said, “Yang Sharen is your own nephew, yet you were willing to let him take the risk, and even beat him to death in public.”
Unexpectedly, Governor Yang stopped walking, a flash of sorrow fleeting across his eyes. After all, he had raised him for so many years, so it would be a lie to say he wasn’t saddened.
However, what replaced it was a coldness like a venomous snake. Governor Yang said, “Those who ruin great plans deserve to be beaten to death; that’s already the greatest kindness.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhejiang took the opportunity to press him, “What great plan?”
Governor Yang wasn’t foolish and didn’t follow his words. He turned around and sat back in his seat, “It’s no fun to be so clear. Shen Zhejiang, you are very smart, but there’s a saying, ‘Cleverness can be ruined by cleverness.’ You are nothing more than like…”
Before he could finish the word “this,” Shen Zhejiang directly interrupted him, “The black-clothed men sent to the capital three years ago were arranged by you.”
It wasn’t a question, but a confirmation.
Whether it was Yang Sharen or the black-clothed men, they seemed unrelated, but upon closer inspection, there were improprieties.
If he hadn’t been imprisoned today, he would never have dug out those minor details from the corners of his mind. When Yang Sharen was arrested at Chunyi Brothel and imprisoned, Huai Wu had once reported that Yang Shihui had visited someone in the prison at night.
At the time, both he and Xiao Zhinian thought it was Yang Sharen, but Yang Sharen was never in the prison. If the person Yang Shihui saw was the elusive black-clothed man, then everything would make sense.
Governor Yang was suddenly stunned, but he quickly concealed his expression, saying, “So what if it is? So what if it isn’t? This governor…”
“Then it is. I haven’t even mentioned anything about black-clothed men, yet Governor Yang already looks like he understands.”
“You dare to trick me into talking?”
Shen Zhejiang gasped for breath, his chaotic thoughts gradually forming a clear line. A cold smile, like ice from the heavens, appeared on the corner of his mouth. “I have never met you before, and I have never had any grievances with you. Yet, you want to put me to death. There’s no other reason unless you were already familiar with my father. You and him…”
A strong wind struck his face, slicing through the heavy smell of blood in the air with a “whoosh” sound. Immediately afterward, an afterimage swept across Shen Zhejiang’s face, and a string of blood beads splattered, falling onto the wall.
The chains binding Shen Zhejiang’s hands and feet swayed and collided, echoing in the dark corners of the prison, like the resentful wails of lonely ghosts.
“Don’t you ever mention Shen Jinmo to me again! Why! Why could Shen Jinmo so easily gain the master’s appreciation! While I, clearly I’ve been working so hard, so loyal, yet I can only ever work in his shadow!”
Governor Yang held the long whip he had snatched from the jailer, blood dripping down to the end of the whip, coiling around his shoes.
He panted heavily, a raging fire of anger ignited by jealousy in his eyes, as if he wanted to burn Shen Zhejiang to ashes as well.
“……”
Shen Zhejiang’s breath was weak, his head leaning to the side on the torture rack, yet he still looked at Governor Yang with arrogance.
He really didn’t expect to learn some things from the past through Yang Shihui.
“Look at me with those eyes again, and believe me, I’ll gouge them out! Damn it! It’s those eyes again!” Governor Yang threw away the whip, grabbed Shen Zhejiang’s collar with both hands, his eyes bloodshot with resentment, “You and Shen Jinmo are nothing alike, except for these eyes. Arrogant and conceited, truly worthy of being the bastard he raised! I’ve dreamed of digging them out and crushing them!”
Shen Zhejiang’s mind was muddled, so weak that he felt like he could faint at any moment. His throat was full of the metallic taste of blood, and he said coldly, “My father was kind to others, and no one in the capital doesn’t admire his character. It’s your heart that’s narrow-minded and petty.”
“Say that again! Shut your mouth!”
Governor Yang slapped him twice more, the hatred in his heart difficult to quell. He took a big step back, picked up the already drafted confession from the table, and quickly read it from beginning to end.
Then, he raised his head, years of pent-up frustration burning red in his eyes. “The criminal Shen Zhejiang has committed many evils and shows no remorse. He still refuses to confess and sign after multiple interrogations.”
He paused for a moment, then said, word by word.
“Apply the clamp torture!”