Children of Loulan

Chapter 265: Prince Xin

This sentence was like a sharp sword, piercing the man's heart, making him feel extremely wronged and helpless. It was not that he didn't want to ask, but when he was tied up, his mouth was blocked and he couldn't make any sound.

He wanted to explain, but he didn't know where to start, and his heart was filled with bitterness. If the whip hadn't hit his face just now and knocked off the gag, he would probably still be silent and unable to defend himself. At this moment, his eyes revealed deep sadness and helplessness, as if he was telling about the unfair treatment he had suffered.

Looking at his appearance, Aidier coughed lightly and said in a cold voice: "Now I'll give you a chance, tell the truth, otherwise I will make you live a life worse than death!"

The man groaned in pain, secretly complaining in his heart. He had no idea what information these people wanted to get from him, let alone explain. However, facing this cold-blooded man, he knew that if he didn't give a satisfactory answer, he would probably be tortured even more cruelly.

So he widened his eyes in disbelief, and asked with trembling lips: "You...you are actually the prince? Then may I ask, Prince, what do you want to know?" He asked this, but in his heart he more or less understood what it was about. After all, the whole Loulan knew that the three princes were investigating West City.

Edir took out two letters from his pocket expressionlessly, waved them slowly in front of the man, and said with a sneer on his face, "You should still remember these two letters!"

The moment the man's eyes fell on the envelope, his face turned pale and his eyes began to panic, and Adil saw all of this.

He sneered and said, "Since you have fallen into my hands, it means that we have sufficient evidence to prove that you colluded with the steward of the Grand Historian and attempted to frame the Grand Historian. You must know that framing an official of the court is a serious crime punishable by the extermination of all nine generations of your clan! However, if you can honestly explain who the mastermind behind the scenes is, there may be a glimmer of hope and you can make up for your mistakes."

Hearing that his entire clan would be exterminated, the man's eyes were filled with fear and despair, but he still subconsciously wanted to argue: "No, these letters were definitely not forged by me!"

Aidil laughed contemptuously. "At this point, do you still want to deny it? Let me tell you, the writer who forged the letter for you has confessed his crime. He admitted that you spent three hundred taels of silver to ask him to write the letter, and even promised to ask him to help write more letters in the future."

As he spoke, he picked up the iron brand from the brazier next to him and held it in front of the man, with a cruel smile on his face: "It seems that you are quite loyal."

Aidil looked at his bloodstained clothes again, with a hint of teasing in his eyes: "However, you haven't explained anything yet. If you die from excessive blood loss, that would be bad. Why not let me help you stop the bleeding!"

Seeing the red-hot iron brand getting closer and closer to him, the man's eyes widened in horror, his face full of fear. He stammered, "I...I said, I said, it's...it's Prince Xin...it's His Royal Highness Prince Xin, I'm working for His Royal Highness Prince Xin!"

Hearing the man in front of him blatantly throwing dirty water on his head, Aidil was so angry that his face turned blue. He grabbed the iron brand and pressed it hard on the man's chest. The iron brand made a "sizzling" sound when it touched the flesh, accompanied by a pungent smell of burning and green smoke, followed by the man's heart-wrenching screams that spread throughout the dungeon.

Aidier put down the iron brand in his hand and stared at him fiercely, but the man still did not change his words, "Your Highness, I...I really did not lie to you, I just...I am working for His Royal Highness Prince Xin."

Seeing that he hadn't changed his words yet, Aidil put his hands behind his back and asked, "Have you ever met King Xin?"

The man was sweating profusely from the pain. He shook his head weakly and said, "How could His Highness meet with a nobody like me?"

Aidier said coldly: "Then how do you know that you are working for Prince Xin? Who told you?"

The man gasped, his eyes full of fear and pain, but he still insisted: "My Lord, I know that Prince Xin is your brother and you trust him, but...but how do you know what he did behind your back?"

Aidil asked again in a stern voice: "Tell me, who told you that!"

The man's lips trembled and he said weakly, "Yes, my brother-in-law said so!" He answered tremblingly.

Aidil raised his eyebrows slightly, knowing exactly who the brother-in-law he was talking about was. However, he still pretended to be calm and asked, "Who is your brother-in-law?"

The man replied tremblingly: "It doesn't matter who my brother-in-law is. The key is... his sister is the wife of the housekeeper of the Shangshu Mansion!"

When Aidil heard this, he couldn't help but frowned, and his voice became cold: "Go on."

The man was so scared that he was shaking all over, and he stammered, "He told me that the Shangshu had encountered some difficult problems and was looking for someone to help. He asked me if I was willing to lend a hand. At that time, I thought he was just joking. After all, how could a Shangshu be unable to solve problems? So I... I agreed casually. If I could help, I would do my best!"

He paused, took a breath and continued, "But who would have thought that after a few days, he actually came again, and ordered me to find... find the housekeeper of the Grand Historian, get the Grand Historian's handwriting, and find someone to imitate his handwriting and write a few letters. When I saw the content of the letter, I was also shocked. This is to frame the court officials. I am so scared!"

When he said this, his body trembled uncontrollably, and his voice was filled with fear and regret. He knew exactly what he had gotten himself into, but there was no turning back.

"If...if I fail, I will surely die. But my brother-in-law said that the Shangshu and the Prime Minister are related by marriage, and the Prime Minister is the most powerful person in the entire court. Not only that, the Prime Minister also has a grandson, His Royal Highness Prince Xin. The Prime Minister will definitely support Prince Xin to ascend the throne in the future. When Prince Xin ascends the throne, the Prime Minister will be the greatest contributor, and his status will naturally be beyond doubt. The Shangshu Mansion, which is related to the Prime Minister by marriage, will also rise in status. If we solve the problem for the Shangshu Mansion, it is equivalent to solving problems for the Prime Minister and Prince Xin."

"If it succeeds in the future, we will also have a share of the credit..." the man stammered, his voice getting lower and lower until it was almost inaudible.

"After hearing his convincing words, I...I was blinded by evil spirits and agreed!" He cried and complained, regretting deeply: "Please have mercy on me, Your Majesty. I...I know I was wrong!"

His face was covered with tears and his eyes revealed endless fear and regret.

Aidil's face turned gloomy. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he said, "What evidence do you have to prove what you said? If you can't produce any evidence, I will kill you immediately!"

A trace of despair flashed in the man's eyes. He knew that he had to produce enough evidence to convince Aidier. So he said excitedly: "Yes, there are two more letters that have not yet been changed to the handwriting of the Grand Historian. They are in my house!"