jdhmnovel Chapter 1254 Trial of Huai Shaoyong
Chapter 1254 Trial of Huai Shaoyong
"Waaaaahh ...
Upon seeing Shen Zheng's face clearly, Huai Shaoyong was overwhelmed with excitement and struggled even more.
Shen Zheng was also looking at him.
It had been less than ten days since I last saw him, but he looked completely different from before.
His bluish-black complexion, deep-set eyes, prominent cheekbones, and trembling limbs all spoke of his unusual condition.
"Waaah—!" He kept gesturing for Shen Zheng to remove the coarse cloth stuffed in his mouth, growing more and more anxious.
Shen Zheng scrutinized him for a while before saying to the bailiff, "Remove the cloth from his mouth."
Upon hearing this, a light of "joy" flashed in Huai Shaoyong's eyes.
Seeing this, Yu Shizhang nodded secretly.
The fact that he can understand human speech means that this kid is still quite conscious, so interrogating him shouldn't be too difficult.
Just then, the rag in Huai Shaoyong's mouth was taken out by the yamen runner.
And his very first words were...
"Give me the spirit powder!" he cried, frantic and greedy.
Yu Shizhang was greatly shocked.
He realized that his understanding of "spiritual powder" was still too superficial.
"Give me the spirit powder!" Huai Shaoyong's eyes were fixed on Shen Zheng's face as he growled, "Give me the spirit powder, one coin is enough. As long as you give it to me, I'll tell you everything I know!"
Shen Zheng took in his entire appearance.
She closed her eyes briefly, her voice unreadable: "Speak first, and I will send someone to fetch it for you."
"Give it to me first!" Huai Shaoyong didn't care whether she was telling the truth or not, he just kept demanding, "Give it to me first! Give it to me! If you give it to me, I'll tell you everything!"
His voice reeked of decay, and he was already panting heavily after uttering just two sentences.
Seeing the morbid longing in his eyes, Shen Zheng repeated once more: "I am not here to negotiate with you. If you do not speak, then I will come to see you again in two days."
After saying that, Shen Zheng turned and walked outside.
Seemingly surprised by her resolute decision, a glimmer of clarity returned to Huai Shaoyong's eyes: "Aren't you afraid I'll die in the government office?"
Shen Zheng paused, turned her head, but her gaze did not return: "If Headmaster Hou and the doctors can all testify for the government, why should I fear that you will die in the government office?"
The unspoken message is—if you die, you die.
Huai Shaoyong shuddered suddenly.
Shen Zheng thought of Xu Yunyan, who was still on his sickbed, and her voice became even colder: "'Ling San' is behind you and wants your life. It was only because Lord Xu took the poison for you that you were on the verge of death. Otherwise, you would have been meeting the King of Hell long ago. If you are determined to die, when those villains sneak into the government office again, I will definitely turn a blind eye and help them send you to hell."
"Someone... wants my life?" Huai Shaoyong looked at Shen Zheng's profile in disbelief.
"Believe it or not." Shen Zheng took another step.
Huai Shaoyong looked stunned.
His consciousness yearned for it, but reason forced him to wake up.
I want his life...
Does that mean he almost died?
His gaze slowly shifted, looking at his lower body and then at the furnishings in the room, when suddenly countless questions welled up in his mind.
—How long has it been since the awards ceremony for the second round of interviews?
Why am I so tired?
—My whole body aches. Did someone hit me?
—Does someone want their own life? Why?
With a host of doubts swirling in his mind, he instinctively called out to Shen Zheng, "I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
Shen Zheng stopped in her tracks.
He added, "But you promised me a penny of spiritual powder, and I can't go back on my word..."
Before she finished speaking, Shen Zheng walked towards the door again.
"You have broken your promise!" he shouted angrily. "As an official of the imperial court, how could you...?"
"So what if I break my word?" Shen Zheng interrupted him, her voice icy. "The government office doesn't have any 'spiritual powder,' and even if it did, I wouldn't give it to you. You can speak if you want, or I have ways to make you talk."
As the last sentence fell, Huai Shaoyong's jaw trembled slightly.
He knew that Shen Zheng was not joking with him.
There has always been an insurmountable gap between officials and the people.
Did they speak up voluntarily, or under duress?
This is a good choice.
“I’ll talk.” Huai Shaoyong lay back on the couch, no longer struggling, and no longer feeling resentful for being fooled.
Shen Zheng waved for the yamen runners to leave, and she and Yu Shizhang brought out stools and sat down.
"Tell me. Where did you get the 'spiritual powder' you took?"
Huai Shaoyong stared intently at the roof beam, as if recalling something.
If it weren't for the occasional blink of his eyes, Yu Shizhang would have thought that the person lying in front of him was a dead man, devoid of any life.
"The person selling the 'spirit powder' comes from the Yuanzhou government." After saying this, Huai Shaoyong remained silent for a long time.
Shen Zheng's eyes trembled slightly: "Are you sure?"
“Confirmed.” Huai Shaoyong still stared straight at the roof beam, his voice hoarse: “Before the prefectural examination this year, I attended a poetry gathering. The person who organized the gathering was named Tan Sheng. I heard from my classmates at the academy that his aunt was a relative of an official in Yuanzhou, but I don’t know which official she was.”
"The first time I consumed the Spirit Powder was at that poetry gathering."
"Before that day, I wrote an article all night by lamplight, so when I was composing a poem, my inspiration dried up and I was unable to come up with a matching line for a long time, which made others laugh at me."
"I intended to take my leave on the grounds of feeling unwell, but as I was leaving the garden, a servant called me back. He... gave me a 'spiritual powder,' saying it was a remedy to refresh the mind, and that Tan Sheng had specially sent him to deliver it."
“I was already angry because I had just been ridiculed by everyone. When I saw that the servant had indeed appeared at the poetry gathering, I didn’t think much of it and took the spiritual powder according to his instructions.”
"I felt nothing for a moment after taking it; it was no different from before."
"But after a cup of tea, a warm current swept through my limbs and bones, and the previous fatigue disappeared without a trace, and my mind became unusually clear."
As he spoke, Huai Shaoyong's expression shifted, no longer completely empty, but showing a hint of reminiscence of the state he had been in at that time.
But soon, that lingering feeling was replaced by gloom: "I immediately returned to the poetry gathering, and without much thought, I recited several excellent poems in front of everyone."
“Those who were laughing at me just moments before suddenly turned extremely ugly. I still remember that scene to this day.”
"When you first taste the elixir, what you remember about that pleasure is not your body, but your mind."
"After the poetry gathering, I became very popular and received more and more invitations."
“At first, I did not rely on the Spirit Powder. Firstly, I was too embarrassed to ask Tan Sheng for help, and secondly, at that time I believed that even if I took the Spirit Powder, I would still be myself. As long as I ate well, slept well, and maintained my physical strength and mental focus, I could continue to create masterpieces.”
"But I was wrong."
"After several attempts, I realized that no matter how hard I tried, I could not reach the state of the poetry gathering that day."
"So I compromised with my reputation and with the spirit powder, and sent a visiting card to Mr. Tan. But Mr. Tan replied that the spirit powder was not sent by him."
“I found it strange, but I desperately needed the spiritual powder, so I went to the garden where the poetry gathering was held that day.”