Chapter 348: Sign Early, and It'll Be Better for Both of Us

When he returned to the Embroidered Uniform Guard compound, Xu Xianchun wasted not a moment—he had the man brought up immediately.

This matter was far too serious; he needed to get it done as quickly as possible.

The Kong Mansion's chief steward was the key, and Xu Xianchun was determined to break this man. If he couldn't pry open the chief steward's mouth, many things would become very difficult to handle.

His Majesty had entrusted him with this task, so he had to do it well. If he left any handle, any point of attack, then it meant the job hadn't been done properly.

Xu Xianchun absolutely would not allow such a situation to arise. His Majesty had given him this opportunity—there could be no mistakes whatsoever.

The Kong Mansion's chief steward was already strung up on a cross, stripped down to nothing but a pair of shorts.

Cui Yingyuan stood off to the side, watching the Kong Mansion's chief steward, Kong Shangsheng, with a cold sneer.

Beside him, a brazier on a wooden stand blazed, with red-hot branding irons heating at its edge, and all manner of torture implements laid out in neat array.

The Kong Mansion's chief steward's face was ashen, drained of all color.

This time, he was in for it.

The Kong Mansion's chief steward knew full well that if things hadn't reached a certain point, the Embroidered Uniform Guard would never dare do such a thing to him.

The moment Xu Xianchun walked in, the atmosphere in the room shifted instantly.

Xu Xianchun didn't look at the Kong Mansion's chief steward. Instead, he went behind the table, sat down, picked up his tea and took a sip, then said with a smile: "You know, people who talk too much get thirsty easily. Always need a drink of water."

After saying this, Xu Xianchun looked up at the Kong Mansion's chief steward and said: "The Kong family's chief steward, Kong Shangsheng, is it? Do you know why you were arrested today?"

Kong Shangsheng raised his head, looked at Xu Xianchun and said: "I don't know. Please enlighten me, sir."

Letting out a helpless sigh, Xu Xianchun said: "People always like to think themselves clever, and they always like to play dumb. Sometimes it makes this official rather angry—when something is right there in plain sight, why won't they admit it? Do they insist on tasting the Embroidered Uniform Guard's tortures first?"

"Perhaps before trying it, everyone thinks they can tough it out. But those who can truly tough it out—there aren't many, I'm afraid."

At this point, Xu Xianchun looked up at Kong Shangsheng and said: "You're a man of the Kong family. I'd very much like to see whether the men of the Kong family truly have such backbone."

After saying this, Xu Xianchun nodded to Cui Yingyuan and said: "Show him some techniques. Let the Kong family's chief steward see what the Embroidered Uniform Guard can do—don't let him think little of us."

Hearing these words, Cui Yingyuan, who had been waiting eagerly off to the side, stepped forward without delay and began applying torture to Kong Shangsheng.

A leather whip dipped in salt water—that was just the appetizer.

The crackling sound soon rang out through the cell.

At first, Kong Shangsheng could still grit his teeth and endure, but as it went on, he could no longer hold back and let out sounds of agony.

Yet his eyes remained resolute, teeth clenched, with the look of a man who would not confess.

Xu Xianchun was in no hurry. He sat by the table, drinking his tea.

After a while, Xu Xianchun looked up with a hint of hesitation, waved to his subordinates, and said: "I'm hungry. Have them prepare a midnight snack."

"It's late at night—how can the brothers work without something to eat? Tell them to prepare something good. No wine, though—don't want anything to go wrong."

"Yes, sir," the subordinate behind him said hastily. "You truly look after your men, sir."

"No need for flattery—go prepare it quickly." Xu Xianchun waved his hand and said with a smile.

Soon, food was brought in.

Though the air in the cell was foul, and the smell of blood was thick from the whip striking the Kong Mansion's chief steward, Xu Xianchun didn't mind much. He picked up his chopsticks and began to eat.

A smile on his face, he ate while nodding in satisfaction.

When he finished eating, Xu Xianchun took the silk handkerchief his subordinate offered, wiped his mouth, then waved his hand and said: "Alright, clear this away."

After the subordinates cleared the things away, Xu Xianchun stood up and glanced at the Kong Mansion's chief steward, whose flesh had been lashed open.

Xu Xianchun walked over to him, nodded with a smile, and said: "Not bad, not bad. You haven't shamed the Sage Confucius."

After saying this, Xu Xianchun walked straight over to the red-hot branding iron, picked it up, and walked back to stand before Kong Shangsheng.

Without a moment's hesitation, Xu Xianchun pressed the branding iron directly onto Kong Shangsheng's chest.

A sizzling sound rang out, and the smell of scorched flesh filled the air.

"Ahh!" The Kong Mansion's chief steward cried out in pain, his body trembling, yet he still gritted his teeth and did not speak.

His face was twisted in a ferocious grimace as he glared at Xu Xianchun with hatred.

"You beasts of the Embroidered Uniform Guard—you'll all die horribly sooner or later," the Kong Mansion's chief steward said, trembling.

"Whether I die horribly or not, you won't live to see it." Xu Xianchun said with a smile, casually tossing the branding iron back into the brazier, then said: "Let my men take a rest. This official will have a chat with you."

After saying this, Xu Xianchun sat down on the chair his subordinate had brought over, looked at the Kong Mansion's chief steward and said: "You probably haven't realized how serious this matter is."

"Someone attempted to assassinate His Majesty—surely you've heard of that by now. Through the Embroidered Uniform Guard's investigation, it was found that this was a conspiracy between the Lu Prince's Mansion's senior advisor and its chief household steward."

"Why did they have the audacity to attempt to assassinate His Majesty? Because they were afraid. Why were they afraid? Because they had been trafficking in disaster-relief grain."

"Originally, this matter was nothing much—they had the Lu Prince's protection. His Majesty would always grant the Lu Prince some face; it hadn't yet reached the point of a fight to the death."

"But there was something more to it. The grain trafficking couldn't withstand scrutiny—they had sold the grain to the White Lotus sect. Oh, right, that is, the people of the Wenxiang sect."

"The Wenxiang sect planned to use this grain as military provisions to launch a rebellion. Because the disaster victims had no relief grain to eat, they would follow them into rebellion. This was the Wenxiang sect's scheme—taking the court's disaster-relief grain to serve as their own military provisions. On the one hand, it left the people with nothing to eat; on the other, it gave themselves grain to fund their rebellion. One could say it was a fine plan that killed two birds with one stone."

"But because of His Majesty's arrival, certain people began to panic. His Majesty started investigating the disaster-relief grain, and they grew afraid, so they thought to assassinate His Majesty and start a rebellion."

At this point, Xu Xianchun looked at the Kong Mansion's chief steward with a cold sneer and said: "But these people were too stupid. With just them, they thought they could commit treason against heaven itself? Utterly overestimating themselves!"

"Once caught, they confessed everything after a bit of questioning—they didn't have your backbone. They gave up the Wenxiang sect's contact point in Jining city, and they also named the mastermind behind this grain trafficking: your Kong family."

"So this official followed the trail and arrested your Kong family's manager in Jining city, a man named Kong Shangli. After some questioning, Kong Shangli confessed everything as well. These men had no real ability and none of your backbone—rather a pity, really."

Listening to Xu Xianchun's words, the Kong Mansion's chief steward raised his head, his face showing suspicion and a measure of fear.

Xu Xianchun did not stop and continued: "So this official brought men and arrested you as well. This matter implicates the Kong family, and this official could hardly be without fear."

"While my men were arresting you, I went to see the Duke Yansheng."

At this point, Xu Xianchun's tone carried a mocking laugh, and his gaze held pity as he looked at Kong Shangsheng, continuing: "The Duke Yansheng is far more sensible than you. See this jade pendant? The Duke Yansheng gave it to me."

After saying this, Xu Xianchun took out a jade pendant and dangled it before the Kong Mansion's chief steward, continuing with a smile: "There's also a letter here—written by the Duke Yansheng to you. Want to know what it says? With your intelligence, you should be able to guess, shouldn't you?"

"Show him the letter." After saying this, Xu Xianchun handed the letter to Cui Yingyuan, signaling him to show it to the Kong Mansion's chief steward.

Cui Yingyuan did not dare be slow. He hurriedly took the letter, walked before the Kong Mansion's chief steward, and unfolded it for him to read.

The Kong Mansion's chief steward opened his eyes wide and quickly read through the letter, the expression on his face growing ever more ferocious.

By the time Kong Yinzhi was still writing this letter, Xu Xianchun had already read its contents.

The contents of the letter were exactly as he had said — using Kong Shangtan's family as a threat to force the Kong family's chief steward, Kong Shangsheng, to confess.

After the letter was retrieved, Xu Xianchun said with a smile, "Do you understand now?"

"To be frank with you, I've already reached an agreement with the Duke Yansheng. This matter is for you to confess to. They've already written out the confession over there — all you need to do is press your fingerprint on it."

"The Kong family naturally has nothing to do with this matter. Everything was done by you. You harbored treacherous intentions, you colluded with the rebels of the White Lotus sect, you plotted rebellion — and then you will be convicted, and your entire family will be arrested."

"Because you are a member of the Kong family, the execution of nine generations of kin is out of the question, but execution of the entire household is still possible. The most important thing for a family is to stay together in full — once all your family members are dead, you'll have companions on the road to the Yellow Springs."

"I've beaten you for this long, not because I wanted you to confess, but just to put on a show for outsiders. In a moment, all you need to do is admit the crime, and this matter will be settled. It's late at night, and I'd like to get back to rest sooner rather than later."

Having said this, Xu Xianchun yawned and said with a smile on his face, "Someone. Untie him. Let him sign and affix his seal."

"Yes, sir." Cui Yingyuan acknowledged the order and promptly had someone untie the Kong mansion's chief steward, then brought over the prepared confession and a brush, handing them directly in front of him.

The Kong mansion's chief steward looked at the confession, and his body immediately began to tremble.

He raised his head and glared viciously at Xu Xianchun, eyes bloodshot, lips quivering — he wanted to curse at him, but could not open his mouth.

"What's the matter? Weren't you refusing to confess? All you wanted was to protect the Kong family. Now you've gotten what you wished for — what else is there to consider?"

"Hurry up and sign. The sooner this is done, the better for both of us." Xu Xianchun said in a casual tone.