Chapter 11

Chapter 11

After being escorted into the imperial prison, Lu Wei was stripped of his marquis's court robes and high crown, forced to change into the reddish-brown garb of a prisoner.

He was then tied to a flogging rack, given thirty lashes, fitted with iron shackles on his wrists and ankles, and finally sent into a cell in the deepest part of the prison.

Even though it was daytime, the cell had no windows, so the light remained dim. Everything within sight was a dusty gray, and a damp, musty smell assaulted his senses.

Against the northern wall of the cell stood a low, crude wooden table, upon which sat a small earthenware jar of water.

Strewn near the southern wall was a stack of messy straw, presumably serving as the prisoner's bed. The straw reeked and was covered in many dark brown stains—it was impossible to tell if they were mold or the aged bloodstains of previous inmates who had been tortured here.

Lu Wei's current appearance was quite pitiful. Heavy shackles hung from his wrists and ankles, the hair at his temples was disheveled, and his back, having received thirty lashes, was lacerated and bleeding. His clothes were completely shredded, soaked through with streaks of fresh crimson.

A fiery pain burned like a brand across his back, yet Lu Wei stood calmly in the cell, his expression composed, showing no sign of agony.

In his previous, modern life, he had been an exceptionally patient and self-disciplined person. Without those qualities, he wouldn't have started a successful business from scratch at a young age and become one of the country's top entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the memories and emotions fused from his predecessor belonged to a stern, proud, and unyielding general. For such a man, thirty lashes were nothing; even facing death by a thousand cuts wouldn't have made him flinch.

Therefore, at this moment, he wasn't driven to madness by the pain. Instead, his mind was exceptionally clear.

These thirty lashes were... strange.

According to his predecessor's memories, thirty lashes in the imperial prison, while not fatal, were enough to severely damage a person's sinews and bones.

Yet, while his whip wounds looked gruesome—bleeding profusely, skin torn and flesh laid open—they had actually only damaged his skin and superficial muscles, leaving his tendons and bones completely untouched. With proper future care, these injuries wouldn't even leave scars.

Lu Wei licked his dry lips, feeling thirsty.

Although the whipping hadn't damaged his muscles or bones, he had lost a significant amount of blood and needed to replenish his fluids.

So he walked over to the crude wooden table, picked up the small earthenware jar of water with both hands, and took a sip from its rim.

The water was warm. A ginseng flavor, carried on the warmth, slid down his tongue and reached his throat.

This ginseng taste was slightly sweet yet bitter, very potent. To infuse hot water with such a strong flavor using ginseng slices, the ginseng used must have been at least fifty years old.

The Lu family and the New Nobility Party behind him, even if they wanted to save him, couldn't possibly extend their reach so deeply into the imperial prison... To achieve this level, it seemed the Emperor had intervened.

Lu Wei swallowed the ginseng water without changing his expression, a faint glint appearing in his star-like eyes.

The situation was unfolding just as he had anticipated. Entering the imperial prison involved some risk, but he definitely wouldn't die here.

And the news of his imprisonment should have already spread throughout Fengjing.

It shouldn't take too long to reach the Northern Frontier either.

...

Liu Hu sat upright in the imperial study, looking at the black-clad death soldier kneeling on the floor, and asked Zhang Deyi beside him with some doubt, "Chief Eunuch, does this person... resemble Bo Xiu?"

Zhang Deyi smiled, bowing deeply. "Replying to Your Majesty, in this old servant's view, he has a seventy to eighty percent resemblance."

"Will he be able to deceive the Left Chancellor and his faction?" Liu Hu was skeptical.

In his opinion, the death soldier's build and height were indeed seventy to eighty percent similar, but his facial features were only twenty to thirty percent alike.

His eyes weren't as deep and starry as Bo Xiu's, his nose wasn't as straight, his lips were too full, and let's not even mention Bo Xiu's unparalleled, awe-inspiring aura... Only the facial outline was somewhat similar. Could such a person really fool the Left Chancellor and the others?

"Your Majesty, the cruel tortures of the imperial prison can render a person unrecognizable. Moreover, the Marquis's current appearance is relatively easy to replicate." Zhang Deyi pointed at the death soldier's face. "Your Majesty, please look. If we add a scar made to look old on his left cheek and some bruising and swelling, wouldn't he look similar then?"

Liu Hu suddenly understood, clapping his hands. "So that's how it is! Then, have him go after nightfall. Get Bo Xiu out of that dreadful place as soon as possible."

Zhang Deyi glanced sideways at Liu Hu with a smile, thinking to himself that His Majesty was impatient to bring the Marquis into the palace. Out loud, he said, "Yes, I respectfully obey Your Majesty's decree."

...

Alone in his cell, Lu Wei slowly finished the jar of ginseng water. By the time he was done, night had fallen.

Suddenly, torches flared to life outside the cell, casting a bright, harsh light. Accompanied by the clanging of iron locks against wooden bars, the cell door swung open. Several fierce-looking jailers rushed in and shouted at Lu Wei, "By imperial command, we are to interrogate the criminal tonight!"

Despite the jailers' ferocious appearance, hearing the words "by imperial command" actually put Lu Wei's mind at ease. He allowed the jailers to shout, push, and shove him out of the cell and towards the direction of the torture chamber.

What was the Emperor planning? Although Lu Wei couldn't guess, he was looking forward to finding out.

Upon entering the torture chamber, he saw it was brightly lit, with all kinds of torture instruments hanging on the four walls. Just stepping inside, one's nostrils were forever assailed by a pervasive, lingering smell of blood.

On the rows of punishment racks standing in the chamber were bound about a dozen people, all covered in bloodstains, their condition unknown—whether alive or dead.

One person was currently being whipped.

He wore the reddish-brown prisoner's uniform. His build and height were similar to Lu Wei's, and his hair at the temples was disheveled. He wasn't bound; instead, he knelt, clutching a wooden punishment rack tightly, enduring the sharp, whistling lashes that fell heavily upon his back, one after another.

This was the real whipping of the imperial prison—the kind that could shatter tendons and injure bones.

Seeing Lu Wei enter, he lifted his face to look at him.

It was a face swollen and bruised beyond recognition, with a hideous scar running vertically down the left cheek.

When Lu Wei saw this face, his pupils contracted. In that instant, he understood the Emperor's intention.

To deceive the heavens and cross the ocean; to steal the beams and replace the pillars.

He had anticipated that the Emperor would be reluctant to kill him, but he hadn't expected the Emperor to devise such a method to kill two birds with one stone.

Having been apart for three years, he had perhaps underestimated the current Emperor's methods.

The door to the torture chamber creaked shut and was locked from the inside.

Knowing everyone in the torture chamber was the Emperor's man, Lu Wei dropped the act. Dragging his shackles, he walked towards the person being whipped.

Exactly thirty lashes were completed. The man slowly straightened up from the punishment rack.

Lu Wei squatted down before this man who was about to die in his place. After a long, long while, he finally spoke. "I'm sorry."

The man, however, shook his head, his expression wooden. "I'm not doing this for you, Marquis. I am a death soldier. The imperial command cannot be disobeyed. It is merely my duty."

Lu Wei looked at the man's impassive face, slowly stood up, and suddenly felt a profound sense of powerlessness, taking a step back.

Indeed, this death soldier appeared to die for Lu Wei, but in reality, it was due to the imperial command. Lu Wei had no right to apologize.

Lu Wei was a modern man; he couldn't remain indifferent to the life of an innocent person. Yet, this death soldier before him showed complete indifference towards his own life.

Since entering this different world, Lu Wei had never been as acutely aware as he was now that he was in a strictly hierarchical feudal dynasty with brutal rules.

He had also never been so clearly aware that he must survive, shatter these cruel rules, and break the heavy shackles imposed upon him!

No matter what means he had to use, he was determined to achieve it.

Not far from Lu Wei, a jailer used the handle of his whip to lift the face of a prisoner bound to a rack and said leisurely, "This one is already dead. Take him down."

Lu Wei turned around and saw several jailers untying the prisoner's ropes and taking him down from the rack. They stripped off his blood-soaked, rust-colored prison garb, wrapped his body in blue cloth, covered his face with white cloth, and laid him at the foot of the wall.

After the jailers' inspection, six or seven of the dozen or so people on the racks had already died. Soon, a pile of cloth-wrapped corpses formed against the wall.

"These corpses will soon be dragged to the mass graves for burial," a jailer said as he walked over to Lu Wei, bending down to remove the shackles from his hands and feet. "My lord, this way."

Lu Wei lowered his gaze and remained silent, allowing the jailers to strip off his rust-colored prison garb and wrap his body tightly in blue cloth.

Finally, a white cloth was draped over his face, and he could no longer see.

As if he were truly dead.