Chapter 113: Shouldn’t Exist

Chapter 113: Shouldn't Exist

In an instant, the Protectorate of Anbei was engulfed in panic.

The city was under martial law, the Feather Forest Army mobilized, and soldiers everywhere detained people. Shen's Cloth Store became a makeshift interrogation center, filled with screams and wails. Even in broad daylight, with the sun yet to set, the horrifying atmosphere was palpable, and the stench of blood wafted from inside.

The Emperor sat inside the shop, looking ferociously determined. Every so often, an order was relayed through Yang Xin's mouth.

The entrance was bustling non-stop.

People were constantly brought in for questioning, and some were carried out.

The Deputy Minister of the Right, Shang Quan, and the Imperial Secretary Cheng Duan were originally at the Protectorate's office until they heard that Shen Ji's farmstead had become the site of interrogation. Rushing over, they found the scene more gruesome than they had imagined.

"What is His Majesty doing? This is sheer cruelty and inhumanity."

Shocked, Cheng Duan moved to enter and advise, but was stopped by Shang Quan, "Stop, if you go in now, you’ll only add another life to the toll."

"But His Majesty..."

Cheng Duan wanted to say the Emperor had gone mad, but out of respect, he hesitated, swallowing his words, "If someone is missing, just search for them. Master Xu is a living person with legs to walk. Why scrutinize and penalize the households within a five-neighborhood radius and those who’ve met Master Xu these days?"

"I wonder which Xu family deity it is," said Cheng Duan angrily, his nature as a forthright minister making him naturally disdainful of the imperial in-laws.

Shang Quan responded, "Minister Linghu has already left the city to search." The involvement of a Chancellor in a search piqued his curiosity about which member of the Xu family it was, though he had a suspicion.

That person might not be just anyone from the Xu family.

Hearing this, Cheng Duan was genuinely startled. The fact that Minister Linghu You had personally gone on the search signified the gravity of the situation.

Shang Quan gave him a look, knowing well that no fools could hold positions in the Three Departments, "Come with me, and don't speak out of turn." He cautioned, considering Cheng Duan's future prospects, a man in his thirties holding the significant position of Imperial Secretary, ranking just below the fifth grade, especially in the absence of the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Xie Wu.

As Shang Quan and Cheng Duan entered the shop, they saw Xu Jie, the official in charge of interrogation, rushing out, "Your Majesty, there’s news. Madam Lin has confessed." He said, handing over a confession.

The Emperor nearly leapt from his chair, snatching the confession, which revealed Madam Lin had hired people to kidnap Master Xu and sent him out of the city under the name of Governor Yuan, before selling him to human traffickers for thirty strings of cash.

The contents were so shocking that Xu Jie dared not report verbally, choosing instead to write them down and hand over the confession.

The Emperor’s pupils dilated in fury as he glanced at the confession, his anger boiling over. He felt as if a heavy weight was pressing on his chest, nearly suffocating him. The thin sheet of paper crumpled into a ball in his hand, his face terrifyingly grim, eyes flashing dangerously, as if ready to devour Xu Jie, “Where is the human trafficker?”

Startled, Xu Jie quickly lowered his head and replied, “She didn’t say. She claimed she would only reveal it in the presence of Your Majesty.”

Hearing this, the Emperor immediately turned and strode towards the back, moving swiftly. Xu Jie hurriedly followed, the original weaving room of the cloth farm having been temporarily converted into an interrogation chamber.

Hesitant, Shang Quan stayed put, not following. Seeing this, Cheng Duan also didn’t follow, partly influenced by Shang Quan’s actions and partly intimidated by the Emperor’s recent demeanor.

The once bright weaving room, now turned into a grim interrogation chamber, resembled a purgatory on earth, filled with blood and screams.

Many entered, but few lasted even a quarter of an hour.

They came in upright but left horizontally.

The various torture devices, mostly brought from the government office, some improvised by Xu Jie as needed, filled the room. In a corner, Madam Lin was suspended by her wrists from a wooden frame, her body covered in whip marks, no part left unscathed, her clothes tattered and soaked in blood, unrecognizable in color, her right hand bloody.

Yet, the Emperor felt it was far from enough.

Rarely regretful in his life, at this moment, he was filled with immense regret. Back when the Governor of Shengzhou, Yuan Yi, brought her to the Protectorate during a banquet, offering her to him, he had refused. When she boldly approached him to offer a toast, he should have executed her on the spot, not merely dismissed her.

If he had executed her then, none of this would have happened.

Zhu Yan would not have suffered this undeserved calamity.

Approaching her, the Emperor glared with a gaze as if looking at a dead person, pressing, “Tell me, where is the human trafficker?”

“His Majesty has arrived,” Madam Lin said with a light laugh, seemingly oblivious to the Emperor's murderous intent, “Your Majesty, I have a question for you. Am I beautiful? Perhaps, in your eyes, my beauty does not compare to that of your beloved Zhu Yuanfei…”

"Shut up, you have no right to mention her. I only want to know where the human trafficker is, not your nonsense," the Emperor snapped, grabbing a whip from nearby and twisting it into two strands, pressing them against her throat.

"Your Majesty, please don't rush. I will tell you where the trafficker is, but don't you want to know why I did this?"

The Emperor, upon hearing this, remained silent, his gaze icy. He was puzzled; having arrested all the outsiders Zhu Yan had met in recent days, he hadn't expected Madam Lin, just one of them, to be responsible.

Seeing his silence as permission, Madam Lin continued, "Since coming of age, every man has looked at me with amazement. I have always been irresistible to men, except with Your Majesty, who has rejected me thrice."

"I pride myself as a beauty that should live in luxury and honor, yet due to my humble origins and inability to participate in the imperial selection, I missed my chance. When Your Majesty toured the north, I saw it as an opportunity to change my fate, but to my dismay, I couldn't catch Your Majesty's eye."

Her face showed a trace of indignation as she spoke, "Later, someone told me Your Majesty ignored me because of your favored Consort Zhu Yuanfei. I wanted to see what kind of beauty she was. After meeting her, I found she indeed is extremely beautiful, kind-hearted, and beloved by Your Majesty. She lived the life I longed for, but such a good person shouldn’t exist..."

"Enough," the Emperor's eyes turned frosty, tightening the whip against her throat, "Who told you this? Who is that person?"

"I can't say that."

Frustrated, the Emperor stepped back, instructing Xu Jie, "Torture her until she answers both of my questions."

Just then, Yang Xin hurried in and reported breathlessly, "Your Majesty, Minister Linghu has found Master Xu and is bringing him back from outside the city."

"Really?" The Emperor was seized by immense joy, feeling as if walking on clouds, almost unreal.

"It's true, the messenger from Minister Linghu is waiting outside."

"Very well, let's go out of the city to meet them," the Emperor said, unable to wait, finding nothing more important than finding Zhu Yan. He dropped the whip and turned to leave, instructing Xu Jie, "You handle this, find out who gave her the information."

"As you wish," Xu Jie responded eagerly, also relieved. Just moments ago, the Emperor's aura had shifted from oppressive to buoyant, a change that made it easier for Xu Jie to breathe.

Only Madam Lin, upon hearing this news, was shocked and filled with immense resentment.

She hadn't expected the traffickers to be found so quickly, in less than half a day. Seeing the Emperor turning to leave, she hurriedly called out, "Wait."

But the Emperor didn't pause. Desperate, Madam Lin shouted louder, "I'll tell! I'll tell Your Majesty who it is!"

This time, the Emperor stopped and turned to look at Madam Lin.

Madam Lin quickly said, "Now that Consort Zhu Yuan has been found, I hope Your Majesty can spare my life."

"I never negotiate with the dead."

The Emperor's gaze was icy as he said, "You can ponder at your leisure about your method of execution – be it dismemberment or death by a thousand cuts. Xu Jie, remember not to let her die before the execution."

He said this proudly, turning away without leaving any room for negotiation.

"I'll tell you, it was someone who claimed to be Zhu Qi. She said she was the second lady of the Zhu family, the sister of Consort Zhu Yuan. She told me everything."

Author's note: