Chapter 26 (1/2)
After Ying Yan Long looked at her one more time, he turned around and walked towards the main entrance without a backward glance.
Along the way, in a low voice, Ying Yan Long told Steward Zhu the people he is to contact in the palace, the place where the valuable life-saving medicines were hidden and also instructed him to continue the investigation on the matters of Luo Ji Cai. Then he said.
”When I am not in the Mansion, the opinion of Hua Dangjia will represent my opinion. But before the reason for me to enter the palace is clear, you should only let the people outside know that Hua Dangjia is staying in the Ying Mansion to recuperate. Don't let this matter get her involved......”
When Ying Yan Long finished speaking, he silently sighed in his heart and he had already reached the main entrance.
There were about ten imperial guards at the door and they were all standing straight, facing the door with solemn faces.
After Ying Yan Long nodded at the Deputy General, he said. ”I have troubled everyone.”
Deputy General Ji nodded and said. ”Ying Dangjia, this way please.”
Ying Yan Long walked up the black carriage that was at the side and when the carriage started to move, he took a long breath with his brows still knotted.
He knew he had not done anything wrong but in the imperial court, one can be accused of a crime with just a simple word. He only hoped big matters become small and small matters become irrelevant so that he can return home safely to reunite with his family as soon as possible.
Three days later, Ying Yan Long who was in prison understood for the first time the meaning of the saying........it is better to be dead than to be alive!
But........he wants to live!
Because Hua Ming Zi and his family are still waiting for his return and before he had taken his revenge on Luo Ji Cai, he is imprisoned. Even if he dies, he will not be willing........
Under cruel torture, he would always look forward to the time when he falls into unconsciousness. At least during the time he is unconscious, he would get a temporary reprieve from the tortures........even though the time is always very short.
Because the pain was like pus.h.i.+ng the sky, overturning the sea which makes one wide awake!
(Pus.h.i.+ng the sky, overturning the sea should actually read as pus.h.i.+ng the mountain, overturning the sea. Maybe the author wanted to give it a more dramatic effect so the word 'sky' was used instead of 'mountain'. It describes something as very extreme and strong which one is unable to resist.)
At this time, it was not known how many times Ying Yan Long had lost unconsciousness and when he woke up, he opened his eyes slightly. There was no sound in the surroundings therefore, it indicated the interrogator had left.
Even so, he still shrunk his body because he was not accustomed to the biting icy coldness of the palace prison and his teeth chattered uncontrollably. Originally, his face was very majestic looking but because he was undergoing interrogation and torture, his meal of thin watery porridge was only given once a day. His face had long thinned down and his pair of eyes had lost its l.u.s.ter.
In the palace prison, the punishment methods used did not harm the skin texture which was even more unbearable.
What does it mean when skin texture is not damaged? Every time when they interrogated him, the eunuch who knows how to use poison needles would insert them into several large veins in his body. With that kind of bloodless method, the extreme pain he felt was like his internal organs were being crushed into bits. It felt so painful that he almost bit off his tongue and he had even thrown up blood yesterday before pa.s.sing out.
He woke up again because the eunuch poured a basin of water on him before leaving, saying that he wanted him to feel again the pain. The eunuch also said that today, he would be back to give him another acupuncture treatment which could destroy his internal organs. He told Ying Yan Long to confess quickly so that he would suffer less. Today, when the long needles were inserted, his body had gone into spasms and he fainted.
But what is it that they wanted him to confess? The reason why he was imprisoned was due to his inappropriate conduct and he had molested Concubine Xu.
He had not done anything. Why do they want him to admit that he had taken advantage of a moonless night of high winds* to enter Concubine Xu's chamber and then he had turned down the light to make inappropriate moves on her?
(Moonless night of high winds means a dark night with a sinister atmosphere suitable for criminal activities.)
Moreover, how could there be such a coincidence in this world? The night he behaved inappropriately, there was no doctor nor were there any guards with him. There was also no one in Concubine Xu's chamber either and it just so happened that he had also left behind a medicine sachet embroidered with the word 'Ying'.
Out of his calculated expectation, Luo Ji Cai had used the medicine sachet he stole from Ying Mansion as evidence to frame him. Setting Luo Ji Cai aside, what is Concubine Xu's intention? She had framed him and if the Emperor detested her for being involved with other men and no longer favors her, then is she not harming others and at the same time, harming herself? Then why is she taking such a risk?
Thinking about this, it can only be a.s.sumed that Luo Ji Cai had incited her.
In this way, it led him to think of another clue in the investigation he had carried out. Among Luo Ji Cai's friends of wine and meat, some had confidently said that Luo Ji Cai had once boasted that he was intimate with Concubine Xu. The concubine who committed adultery with Luo Ji Cai should be about to be exposed. He wondered how much the investigation on Luo Ji Cai selling off the Emperor's gifts and Prime Minister Luo's conspiracy had progressed.
Hateful! In the first place, he should not have taken everything upon himself. At least, he should have let Xue Wen or Hua Ming Zi know about some of the matters. Ying Yan Long tightened his eyes and tried to think a bit more but his weak body could not respond to him and his eyelids slowly drooped........