"Don't worry, Lord Governor, I will be careful to let the prince hold on for a longer time."
Cang Lang put down Luo Tie with a smile, and walked to the side to select torture tools. The densely packed shelves of various things made people's hair stand on end just by looking at them.
Xiao Yan turned around and walked out. Seeing that he didn't look back and had no intention of continuing to question him, King Cheng panicked. His original belief that Xiao Yan was just scaring him could no longer be maintained.
Seeing Cang Lang pointing at his leg with a strange-looking hammer, he whispered: "Let's start from here..."
When the sharp weapon was raised high and struck down on his knees, King Cheng screamed with a pale face.
"Don't use torture, I say!!"
…
Xiao Yan came back and sat back where he was before.
Cang Lang took a pen and paper and put it on the table beside him. Next to him was the sharp instrument that almost broke King Cheng's leg bone.
King Cheng's previously open skirt was pulled up, covering the mottled wounds on his chest left after the execution, but the bright red seeped out along the clothes, and he was tied to the rack and his face was pale.
"The Benlei Crossbow was brokered by Hou Rui, the Minister of War, and Gong Jinghao, the Supervisor of the Department of Arms, secretly built it for me. I gave him a premium of 30,000 taels each."
"In addition, there is an additional 'wage' of ten taels of gold for a crossbow, which is divided equally between the two of them, the craftsmen in the Department of Arms, and those who helped cover up the forged amount."
Cang Lang scrawled on the paper.
King Cheng lowered his eyes and whispered: "The ladder originally belonged to the Fourth Battalion in the suburbs of Beijing. It was also obtained by Hou Rui from a captain named Wang. I hid it in the palace without any disobedience. It’s just a precaution.”
"What are you preparing for in case?" Xiao Yan asked quietly.
"Supervisor Xiao is so smart, can't he see the situation in the capital?"
King Cheng smiled bitterly: "Your Majesty is already old, and the fight among several princes for the throne is getting increasingly fierce. Although I am a prince, your Majesty has always guarded against me, so that I have never had real power in my hands for so many years."
"I also want to find someone to get close to me in advance, so that I can gain a share of the stability after the new emperor ascends to the throne through the power of the dragon. What's more, I have experienced the heir apparent and have seen the tragedy with my own eyes. If I don't Prepare some trump cards for yourself in advance, if chaos breaks out in Beijing in the future, how can I protect myself?"
What he said was reasonable, and the bitterness on his face wasn't even a hint of pretense.
"I had personal contact with the second prince, and I felt that he had the appearance of a wise king, so I secretly introduced him to the Cui and Feng families, thinking that I would surrender to him after he gained the support of the family and gain a future, but Who would have thought that the second prince would choose you."
"Do Cui Lin and the others know that you were the one pulling the strings?"
"I don't know, the second prince himself doesn't know either..."
Xiao Yan listened to King Cheng's words and caressed the finger ring on his hand, and asked coldly: "I remember that Hou Rui took the position of minister less than four years after joining the Ministry of War. He is bound to grow old at the age of 18, and the position of Minister will most likely fall to Hou Rui after it becomes vacant. For a mere thirty thousand taels of silver, do you want him to risk his career for you?"
King Cheng paused: "But it's true that he was the one who connected me with the Department of Arms..."
"Boom——"
Xiao Yan put his fingers on the back of the chair and made a soft sound: "My lord, you should know what I want to ask. You are a prince with no real power and you have no ability to ask Hou Rui to work for you. If you don't tell the truth, Then I don’t need to talk to you anymore.”
King Cheng's face turned a little pale.
Xiao Yan continued: "The few minerals you are holding came to you through the hands of the Lu family. The ships they used to transport in the south of the Yangtze River also passed several times for a merchant named Fucheng Cloth Co., Ltd. in Beijing. Substandard goods.”
"The Sutie that makes the Benlei Crossbow is under the control of the central government, and every entry and exit must not be faked. However, the Arms Department can make so many crossbows for you. The ore that refines the Sutie is from Where did it come from?”
"If I remember correctly, Prince Cheng's Mansion has a lot of properties. Although the shopkeeper of Fucheng Cloth Shop is named Yu, he is a relative of the housekeeper in your mansion. That cloth shop is also your property."
"The Lu family helped you transport the goods. Wouldn't you tell the governor that the ship was only loaded with cloth?"
King Cheng suddenly raised his head, his eyes instantly panicked.
He didn't expect that Xiao Yan had already investigated so deeply. Even Rongyue didn't know about the cloth business. In recent years, only the housekeeper has been handling it. Logically speaking, no one should know about it. Moreover, he was the one who even handled the minerals of the Lu family. Things also came to light.
Prince Cheng looked at Xiao Yan with condensed eyes and said hoarsely: "The cloth shop is indeed mine, but I only have ordinary business dealings with the Lu family, and the minerals are just purchased from others through their hands..."
"Really? But Hou Rui was promoted to the Ministry of War by the Lu family."
King Cheng's expression changed greatly.
Xiao Yan leaned back and spoke coldly: "The governor is very curious. Why would an official from the Lu family who has finally been placed in an important position in the Six Ministries help you for no reason?"
"Furthermore, you even told the story of your attempt to support the second prince in seizing the throne and privately bribing court officials, and you didn't hide it from the Cui and Feng families, but you didn't even mention the Lu family. What is hidden between you and the Lu family? "
Prince Cheng was immediately confused. He felt that Xiao Yan's sharp eyes seemed to be able to see through people. He suppressed his panic and said, "What can this king and the Lu family hide? Governor Xiao is thinking too much."
"Then Hou Rui did accept the money and agreed to help me connect the king. The mining matter was just a matter of me bribed a steward of the Lu family."
"Governor Xiao has been fighting with the Lu family for so long. It is impossible that he doesn't know the background of their clan. They are just two abandoned mines that are almost empty. The Lu family doesn't care at all. This gave me the opportunity to get it. .”
"Besides, Governor Xiao is in charge of the Privy Council and the Black Armored Guards. You don't have your eyes anywhere in the capital. You should know that I have never had any interaction with the Lu family in these years..."
Seeing that Xiao Yan didn't speak, he felt a little flustered and even felt uneasy and couldn't keep his face, but he also knew that he must not expose his flaws in front of him.
It's a pity that he forgot who the person in front of him was.
The more King Cheng tried to distance himself from the Lu family, the more guilty he appeared, and even his face, which was trying to remain calm, seemed to have a layer of panic that could not be concealed.
Xiao Yan said indifferently: "Did you bring Xie Yin from the Lu family?"
King Cheng stared in horror.
"You tricked Princess Cheng into getting married, but the people you really care about are in the Lu family?"
King Cheng's heartbeat almost stopped, and he couldn't hide his panic. Xiao Yan looked at his appearance for a long time, and then suddenly sneered.
"So Xie Yin is not just some bastard you picked up, but is a bloodline of you and the Lu family?"
