25 - Interrogation

Chapter 25 – Interrogation

Jiao Siniang raised her eyes to stare at Di Jing angrily. Although she seemed angry, she looked a little annoyed and also a little moved.

Shangguan Yan was observing the situation at the side and in her heart, she clucked in amazement.

This Lord Di is indeed good at creating trouble and makes use of his beauty to the fullest!

Finally, Jiao Siniang turned her gaze away and it seemed like she had decided not to speak.

Di Jing also did not bother with her and ordered. “People who can’t provide information are of no value. Feed her the poisonous blood.”

“Alright, let me do it!” Ao Yuanjie said with delight as he rolled up his sleeves. “In the past when I was in the Northwest killing the Tartars, I only cut the enemy’s throat and let out their blood but have never fed poisonous blood to anyone.” He smiled wickedly as though to be able to torture people openly was something he wished for but failed to achieve.

Jiao Siniang’s face became pale with panic and she turned to stare resentfully at Di Jing again. Her eyes seemed to be saying – ‘How can you do this to me?’.

Shangguan Yan could not help but sigh.

If this Jiao Siniang is not too naïve then she must have placed too much importance on herself. At this time, she still blames others for not showing love and appreciation for beauties.

Don’t ever think that all men in this world will be moved by beauty because this Lord Di just happened to be indifferent to beauties!

Seeing that she was about to be force-fed with the poisonous blood, Jiao Siniang panicked. Since the poison was produced by her, she knew very well the fate of swallowing it. Therefore, to preserve her life, she quickly rolled her eyes.

“My Lord, she rolled her eyes.”

“Feed her.”

Jiao Siniang was shocked and changed to blinking her eyes desperately.

“My Lord, she blinked.”

“Then let her live.”

“Tsk, what a pity.” Ao Yuanjie moved away the porcelain dish containing the black blood.

Di Jing continued to interrogate Jiao Siniang. He asked for a brush and paper to be prepared and then ordered that the details of her confession be recorded down.

The few questions asked just now were just the beginning and the questions coming up next were crucial. Di Jing’s ultimate goal was to find the biggest prey behind the scene. Guo Tiewang, Liu Shan, Jiao Siniang, and Tian Chongyang whose body had disappeared, and the ten death warriors who were caught…….they were only small fishes and shrimps *. Even though they had done a lot of evil deeds, they were all still useful and in the future, they can be witnesses during the trials.

(Small fishes and shrimps mean unimportant people who only have minor or supportive roles in a plan or an organization.)

Take one step and count ten steps, cast a long line to catch the big fish and after setting up the trap, wait for the right time………and it’s time for him, Di Jing, to reel in the line!

“Constable Ao, you can continue with the interrogation and after the questioning is over, let her sign.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

Suddenly, Di Jing seemed to remember something and turned around to speak to Shangguan Yan. “Oh yes, Niangzi. …….”

At this point, Di Jing suddenly realized he had addressed her inappropriately. The performance was over and he was still addressing her as his ‘wife’. At the same time, everyone’s eyes shot over to look at the Lord, and even Shangguan Yan was caught by surprise.

As his mind turned, Di Jing continued to speak with a normal expression. “You don’t have to use your fake identity anymore. You’ve done well and in the future, when this Officer makes a report, your contribution will be recorded.”

He put on the prestige of the Lord Imperial Commissioner and carried on speaking after he blurted out the word ‘wife’. When everyone realized that there was a continuation of the sentence, they withdrew their glances and carried on with their duties.

Shangguan Yan immediately held up her hands to salute him. “This humble one thanks my Lord for the recommendation.”

Di Jing gave a slight nod. After handing over Jiao Siniang to Ao Yuanjie and the group of subordinates to be responsible for the interrogation, he turned around to walk towards the study. After leaving everyone’s sight, he immediately took a deep breath and quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He could not help but feel embarrassed. His secret was nearly exposed just now……..

After Di Jing and the group of people returned to the imperial capital, they detained Jiao Siniang in secret.

Then a prison guard came to report that during the time Di Jing and his men were out of the imperial city, Pan Gongzi came to pay a visit. But because Shangguan Yan had followed Lord Di out of the city, the prison head made use of the order not to allow any visitors into the prison, so he did not allow Pan Gongzi to enter.

“Understood…….withdraw.”

After dismissing his subordinate, Di Jing pondered for a while at the table and then another guard came to report that Qiu Dan had returned. Di Jing immediately summoned him inside.

Qiu Dan did not follow Di Jing out of the city this time because Di Jing had assigned him a task. During Qiu Dan’s absence, it was Ao Yuanjie who took over the responsibility of protecting Di Jing.

After entering the study, Qiu Dan reported to his Lord about the information he derived from the investigation. After listening to Qiu Dan’s report, Di Jing tapped his fingers on the tabletop and then leaned back into his chair. After pondering for a while, he could not help but laugh.

“Consuming poison……it turned out that there is this kind of ruse. No wonder her face became like this…….Isn’t the poison harmful to her?”

“No, my Lord. That disguise-medicine was produced by the Divine Doctor Zhao. The two times that Constable Shangguan disguised herself, she had used that kind of medicine. As long as she consumes the antidote, she will recover.” Qiu Dan replied.

“That means to say she already has the antidote?”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“This Officer understands. Just leave this aside first. You must be tired, so go back to rest first.”

“Replying to my Lord, this humble one is not tired.”

“Even if you’re not tired, you still have to rest……..withdraw.”

“Yes.”

After Qiu Dan had left, Di Jing paced back and forth in deep thoughts.

This girl is indeed capable!

It made him angry and at the same time, he found it amusing.

Which girl doesn’t like to look beautiful? Why does she love to make herself look so ugly? But then again, she can still attract other people’s love while looking so ugly……then what if she restores her appearance, won’t she attract even more peach blossoms?

After thinking deeper, it’s good for her to disguise herself with an ugly look as it would reduce the number of love rivals and would be less troublesome for him.

Suddenly, it was very noisy outside. Di Jing was pulled out of his reverie and raised his eyes to look outside.

“Guards!”

A guard heard him and entered immediately.

“Find out why it’s so noisy outside.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

The guard was about to go out when another guard entered in a hurry.

“My Lord, there’s trouble! The Ninth Prince brought people here to break into the prison and our people couldn’t stop them!”

Di Jing knotted his eyebrows…….the Ninth Prince? He suddenly remembered the two times he met the Ninth Prince.

The first time they met in Fumen Inn. Since he has been away for a long time and seldom returns to the imperial capital, so he did not know the other party was the Ninth Prince and only guessed that he was the son of some noble family.

The second time they met in Cheng En Gong Mansion. At that time, he already knew him as the Ninth Prince. After the two times, he realized that the Ninth Prince is very fond of Shangguan Yan.

If he had not known beforehand that the Ninth Prince was unaware that Shangguan Yan is a girl, he would have thought that the Ninth Prince is in love with Shangguan Yan.

“Where is the Lord Magistrate?”

“The Lord Magistrate had rushed over and sent this small one to inform my Lord.”

“Understood. Tell the Lord Magistrate to hold him back first……..this Officer will be there soon.”

“Yes.” The guard quickly withdrew and hurried back to relay the order.

At this time, Shangguan Yan was in the workroom. She had received a reply from Old Man Zhao and the letter stated that once the poison is consumed it will take one’s life instantly and the seven orifices will bleed. It also said that the poison was produced by a woman named Poison Siniang.

After reading the letter, she burned it. Others already know about this news! She snorted………it’s good to have enough manpower! And every one of them is a top-notch expert including the Four Great Constables who are at their disposal!

However, after that trip, she has a deeper understanding of Di Jing’s character. It cannot be denied that she admires him and it is a blessing for the people to have such a good government official.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. She gathered her thoughts, immediately picked up her sword that was lying on the table, and rushed outside.

“What’s the matter? What is the argument about?” She grabbed hold of a guard and asked.

“His Highness, the Ninth Prince is here and throwing his temper.”

“His Highness, the Ninth Prince? Why is he here?”

“I don’t know.”

Shangguan Yan could not find out the reason but her instincts told her that it had something to do with her. So, she immediately went forward to inquire and in the end, she found out that the Ninth Prince had barged into the prison to visit her. Since he has a royal status, the jailer did not dare to stop him and let him in. When the Ninth Prince found the empty cell, he went straight to the hall in Yamen and created a ruckus.

When Shangguan Yan hurried over, from afar she could see the four personal guards of the Ninth Prince standing guard at the door while all the other guards that had been chased out were milling outside the door. At this time, the Ninth Prince’s roar was coming from inside the hall.

“Bring out Shangguan Yan and hand him over to this Prince!”

“Your Highness, don’t be angry………this lowly Officer……..this lowly Officer……..” The Lord Magistrate stammered.

“Hmph! Shangguan Yan holds an important place in this Prince’s heart! If he loses even a strand of hair, you’ll be held responsible!”

When she heard, Shangguan Yan felt very touched…….Brother, that’s loyalty!

It was not in vain that she had always treated him so nicely……allowed him to throw the tables and chairs in the inn……..allowed him to throw those vases and porcelain items……..and she did not even dispute with him!

Of course, it was also because he is a Prince and he could afford to pay the compensation and even paid more than necessary……..but she automatically ignored this last part.

She was not in a hurry and followed everyone to stand outside and ‘listen’ to the lively entertainment.

It was certain the Lord Magistrate would not be able to deal with the hot-tempered Ninth Prince and had to wait for Di Jing to settle this. She wanted to see how Di Jing is going to clean up this mess. Who told him to lock her up until now? Although it was not totally true, she was still unable to ‘meet people’ because of this.

Not long after, Di Jing appeared and walked towards the hall. Everyone was feeling cautious because of the arrival of the Ninth Prince and the Lord Magistrate was in fear and trepidation but Di Jing was still as calm and stable as a mountain,

When everyone saw the Imperial Commissioner, they immediately opened a path for him to pass. Shangguan Yan who was standing behind the crowd had initially thought that she would be inconspicuous but unexpectedly, Di Jing suddenly turned his head and looked in her direction. His gaze locked on to hers with precision which made her smile of mockery instantly freeze and she heard Di Jing’s majestic voice drift over in everyone’s presence.

“Constable Shangguan, follow this Officer.”

Shangguan Yan’s eyes widened.

Does this man have the eyes of eagles? He even noticed her hiding over here!