In the depths of the Imperial Prison, Li Ji, the Minister of Justice, had been cornered by Zhang Xi, the Grand Sima. Officials who were originally on leave had returned to the scene. The vast courtyard before the prison wall was a tableau of human suffering: some stood, some sat, some knelt, some prostrated themselves, some clutched their foreheads, some sobbed, and some howled. It was a scene of both divine mercy and demonic cruelty.
Zhang Xi coughed and turned to Song, a trusted aide, "What do you think?"
Song wiped the sweat from his brow. Despite the chilly early spring night, he felt a clammy sensation on his ribs and a burning sensation in his ears, his voice even sounding hoarse. " "Grand Sima, this accusation is directly aimed at your eldest son... I dare not present this to His Majesty, we must be cautious... extremely cautious."
The Minister of Justice chimed in, "Sir Song is right. Although there is a female prisoner who has confessed to infiltrating Luoyang City and hiding in the Ministry of Zhongshu, it's still hearsay. To implicate the Minister of Zhongshu in this case could lead to chaos."
Zhang Xi listened to their replies while glancing at the newly presented evidence, "So you dare not proceed with the investigation."
He clasped his hands behind his back, laughed coldly, and tilted his head. "Very well then."
The air in the courtyard was thick with unpleasant odors: the sourness of sweat, the acrid tang of blood, and the burnt smell of lamp oil, all clinging to the fine silks and satins of robes the officials.
Although Zhang Xi had said nothing more, he gave no sign of ordering the prisoner to be taken away. The woman in front of Song could barely kneel anymore. She had vomited from the torture and now leaned forward, retching violently. Song, though accustomed to blood as a close confidant of the emperor, had never been so close to such filth. He almost jumped back to avoid being splashed.
Seeing Song's discomfort, the Minister of Justice called out to the guards, "Bring some water."
Before the guards could respond, Zhang Xi suddenly stood up and slammed his palm on the table, shouting, "What use is water? In these murky times, which of you is clean? Even the purest water worshipped from the Yongning Pagoda couldn't wash away the sins of us as servants..."
He seemed to have been holding back for a long time, his face contorted with anger. He pointed his finger at the Minister of Justice, his voice rising, "It cannot wash away the sin of us as servants, who, driven by greedy beast and ignored the crimes done to our Emperor!"
The Minister of Justice was speechless.
Everyone knew who he meant by "beast," but no one expected this highly respected pillar of the state to hurl such an accusation at his own son. It was clear he was consumed by anger.
Song waved away the guards and tried to calm him down, "Grand Sima, please calm down. We have no intention of protecting him. However, this crime is too serious. If we rashly present this to His Majesty and he will imprison the Zhingshujian... not to mention the other consequences, but now that we are at war in the east, who will lead our troops into battle if the Zhingshujian is removed?"
His words were sincere.
Although Zhang Xi was trembling with anger, he felt a sense of weariness after hearing this. His greatest regret was not raising his son in Luoyang when he was young but instead sending him to the north to serve under General Zhao Jin. The boy had been a cold and prickly wolf cub when he left, but he returned with sharp fangs.
Years ago, Wang, the then Zhingshujian, had accused Zhang Duo of cultivating a private army, amassing wealth, and monopolizing power in the provinces, suggesting that he had ambitions to rebel. Before Wang could present any formal charges, he was framed, tortured, and executed.
The brutality of the execution had sent a shockwave through the court.
Zhang Xi realized that the boy who had arrived at his doorstep, ragged and wounded, refusing to kneel before the Zhang family's ancestral tablet, had taken a path that would bring great shame to the esteemed Zhang clan.
"Your lordships, the Zhingshujian has arrived."
Zhang Xi was still deep in thought when the female prisoner heard this and trembled violently. The chains on her hands and feet rattled as her eyes darted around in fear.
Zhang Xi glanced at the kneeling woman and waved his hand, saying, "Take her back."
But before the guards could move, a voice from behind the screen said, "Wait."
A figure stepped into the light.
Song and the others turned to see Zhang Duo, dressed in a dark blue robe, standing in the dim light.
The Minister of Justice stepped forward to greet him, and Zhang Duo returned the greeting. Then he walked over to Zhang Xi and bowed deeply.
Zhang Xi looked at his back. Although his clothes covered the injuries, the exposed part of his neck still faintly showed the marks of torture he had suffered at the Zhang residence six days ago.
Filled with disgust, Zhang Xi refused to respond. He picked up the indictment on the table and threw it in front of Zhang Duo.
"If you want to defend yourself, kneel down."
"I have nothing to say."
After saying this, Zhang Duo straightened his back and turned to the woman kneeling before the rack.
The woman, shackled, backed away until her back was against the rack and she could no longer move. She could only look up at Zhang Duo in terror.
To her surprise, he smiled slightly, reached out and brushed away the disheveled hair from her forehead, and sneered, "With such a face, even Liu Bi would send her to the palace?"
As he spoke, he squeezed her cheeks with his fingers and coldly said, "Open your mouth."
The woman was forced to open her mouth. Unexpectedly, Zhang Duo picked up a tongue clamp heated in the fire, pulled out the woman's tongue, and then clamped her nose and chin with the clamp, forcing her teeth to cut through her own tongue. Blood spurted out, but no one heard a scream.
Song was so frightened by the scene that he took a few steps back, covering his chest.
The Minister of Justice remained relatively calm, but seeing the woman with a gaping hole in her mouth, held in Zhang Duo's hand, he couldn't help but feel a chill.
Zhang Duo released the woman, and she collapsed to the ground like a pile of flesh.
He took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, wiped his hands, and turned to the Minister of Justice, "Is this case closed?"
The Minister of Justice replied, "She committed suicide by biting her tongue. I'll write up the case report now."
Zhang Duo nodded, wiped the blood off his hands, and squatted down to pick up the indictment that Zhang Xi had thrown on the floor.
He knelt down and presented it with both hands.
"Although I have nothing to say, it's up to you, Grand Sima."
Zhang Xi trembled all over and finally squeezed out two words from between his teeth, "You traitor..."
The young man in front of him seemed to smile, "I'm just solving a problem."
Zhang Xi looked up at the Minister of Justice and the two other officials, all of them looking relieved. He felt disheartened, closed his eyes and sighed, "With such a wolf, our emperor is in danger... in great danger!"
After saying that, he crumpled up the indictment and threw it on the ground, then turned to leave.
"Wait, Sima."
Zhang Xi turned around and saw that Zhang Duo had not yet gotten up.
"What else do you have to say!"
"Your Lordship, may I have a private word with Sima?"
The Minister of Justice and Song were already on pins and needles, and quickly said, "Do as you please," before getting up and leaving.
Two dark marks were left on the wall.
The woman's corpse still lay on the ground, her eyes wide open and her pupils dilated. The iron shackles around her were stained with blood and emitted a pungent smell.
Zhang Xi's chest heaved up and down as he looked at Zhang Duo kneeling on the ground, "Why are you still pretending?"
"I'm just trying to protect the family's reputation."
"You have no shame!"
"What to shame about?"
"Heh? Those who steal wealth, even if they are imprisoned, will eventually be pardoned. But those who steal a country will be cut into a thousand pieces, their souls will be scattered, and they will suffer for eternity. Don't you know what repentance is?"
Zhang Duo looked up, "I've died many times, on the battlefield"
He laughed coldly, and there was a hint of pity in his voice.
"When I died, I was confused. I didn't know why or for whom. So if we're talking about retribution, everyone will have it sooner or later. I also want to advise Sima, while there's still time, while I still care about my mother, you should leave Luoyang and go into hiding. The Zhang clan still has a chance to survive."
After saying that, he picked up the indictment that Zhang Xi had crumpled up and smoothed it out.
"You think that presenting this forced confession to the emperor will make him suspect me."
As he spoke, he used an iron hook to pry open the disheveled clothes of the female corpse and examined her injuries, smiling, "You're not good at torture. This kind of thing is not suitable for you. You should go to the execution chamber of the Central Military Camp sometime. In less than half an hour, people can say anything, even ghosts can speak."