Chapter 125: Charges

"Is that really what he said?"

At the Prince's Mansion, Zhao Xu narrowed his eyes slightly after hearing Liu Fu's words.

He had feigned death merely to try his luck; he had not expected to be able to uncover the true mastermind behind the scenes.

He had not expected Yuan Li to be so impatient, revealing his true colors.

"Yes. Before leaving, Yuan Li even had this subordinate pass a message to Your Highness, saying that his Yuan Family is not to be trifled with. It seems that from now on, the Prince's Mansion and the Yuan Family will not even be able to maintain a facade of harmony," Liu Fu said, knitting his brows.

To him, the Yuan Family and the Zhang Family could not be spoken of in the same breath.

The Zhang Family was merely a Rich Clan in Yan Commandery with no influence at the imperial court.

The Yuan Family, however, was different; a daughter of the Yuan Family was an Imperial Concubine in the palace, and her son was the current Sixth Prince.

Coupled with the Yuan Family's power in Yanzhou, they could deal with Yan Wang from both the imperial court and Yanzhou.

"If this general may speak, tearing off the mask is for the best. Being hypocritical is too tiring. Whether they come with soft tactics or hard, let them come," Chang Wei said. "For these years, the Yuan Family has dominated Yanzhou, relying on the fact that the Emperor is far away to feign compliance while acting in opposition, treating Yanzhou as their own private property. Now that they see Your Highness growing stronger day by day, how could they sit idly by? Sooner or later, it had to come to this."

Zhao Xu nodded.

Yuan Li's actions on this trip revealed his ambition; he wanted to seize his industries and take his army—how sinister!

Moreover, the fact that he had defeated the Northern Di people this time likely made it even harder for him to sleep or eat in peace.

That was why he had been so impatient to send an assassin to take his life.

Now that the assassination had failed and he had been humiliated by Liu Fu, he was likely even more hateful toward him.

Furthermore, just as Chang Wei said, after this battle, his existence had reached a point where the Yuan Family could no longer ignore him.

Since that was the case, let him come; he wanted to see what kind of ability he had.

Besides, he was a dignified Imperial Prince, the orthodox line of the Great Song; how could he bow and scrape before the Yuan Family? That would be too disgraceful.

Since he had now assassinated him, having made the first move, he should not blame him for making the next.

"Liu Fu, go immediately to interrogate Zhang Kang. Make him confess all his crimes, sign the confession, and press his thumbprint. This Prince intends to impeach Yuan Li," Zhao Xu said.

"Yes, Your Highness." Liu Fu was slightly excited; he had been waiting for this day to interrogate Zhang Kang.

Living in fear of Zhang Kang all these years had been a truly unpleasant experience.

He would certainly deal with Zhang Kang properly.

Zhao Xu continued, "Also, in these past few days, quite a few officials and generals have been acting dishonestly. You two should also clean up your own houses."

"This general is guilty," Chang Wei said, his face full of shame.

It was not just one or two generals who had been escorted to him by soldiers.

"This subordinate is also guilty," Liu Fu said, lowering his head. Many officials had reported their colleagues to him, and he was just about to deal with them.

"This cannot all be blamed on you," Zhao Xu said.

Over these past few months, the changes in Yan Commandery had been drastic.

In order to stabilize his power in Yan Commandery as quickly as possible, the selection of talent had indeed been somewhat hasty.

At the same time, some people were simply capable of sharing wealth but not adversity.

A portion of them had been exposed during this war against the Northern Di.

Another portion had been exposed by his feigned death.

Now, taking advantage of this great victory and the unification of Yan Commandery, it would be good to purge the officialdom and the army.

This would be beneficial for his future governance in Yan Commandery.

Having settled this matter, the two took their leave of Zhao Xu and returned to their respective duties.

Liu Fu arrived at the Government Office and went straight to the Prefecture Office Prison.

Since his arrest, Zhang Kang had been kept in the innermost cell.

Liu Fu gave an order, and the jailers brought Zhang Kang out of the cell and into the interrogation room.

"Let me go, let me go! I am the son-in-law of the Yuan Family. When the Prefect Yuan arrives, you will still have to let me out. When that time comes, I will certainly not let you off!"

Zhang Kang cursed all the way as he was dragged into the interrogation room by the jailers.

Pinned to the ground by the jailers, he looked up at the person behind the table and his heart skipped a beat when he saw it was Liu Fu.

"Do not count on your father-in-law; he just came and has already left," Liu Fu said, looking at Zhang Kang with eyes full of contempt. "His Highness has ordered this official to interrogate you. I advise you to honestly recount your crimes one by one, lest this official resort to torture."

"Nonsense! Prefect Yuan will definitely save me!" Zhang Kang continued to struggle and shout loudly.

Liu Fu narrowed his eyes. This Zhang Kang was still living in the dream that he was the Commandery Governor of Yan Commandery and the son-in-law of the Yuan Family.

He nodded to the jailers.

The jailers immediately tied Zhang Kang to a chair, and another jailer brought over a red-hot iron and pressed it against Zhang Kang's chest.

"Sizzle... Ah..." A sound of searing flesh rang out, and Zhang Kang let out an inhuman scream.

"This official asks you: will you speak or not?" Liu Fu's gaze was chilling.

During the time the Zhang Family controlled Yan Commandery, who knew how many wronged souls had perished in this interrogation room?

Now, he would make Zhang Kang pay his debts.

Having lived in luxury and comfort for over a decade, Zhang Kang had never suffered such agony.

The searing, intense pain on his body made him almost faint.

But he clung to a sliver of hope: that the Yuan Family would come to save him.

Thus, he threatened, "Liu Fu, you had better think clearly. This Yanzhou belongs to the Yuan Family. It is easy for Yan Wang to deal with us Zhangs, but it will be difficult to deal with the Yuan Family. If Yan Wang loses, your life will be over. If you are willing to defect to the Yuan Family, I guarantee you wealth and glory for the rest of your life."

"Bah! Do you think I care about such things? Let me tell you, Zhang Kang: I follow Yan Wang precisely so that one day I can wipe out wicked Rich Clans like you! Continue the torture until he speaks!" Liu Fu stood up and slammed the desk.

Hearing this, the jailers picked up the branding iron again, and the screams rang out once more.

"I'll speak, I'll speak!" The second wave of pain was even more intense than the first, and Zhang Kang could not bear it any longer.

Liu Fu felt even more disdain. In his view, Zhang Kang was ruthless when relying on power to bully others, but now that he was subjected to a little torture, he could not take it—it was truly contemptible.

"You had best tell the truth. His Highness has already investigated your crimes clearly. If there is any inaccuracy, this official will let you try some new punishments." Liu Fu smiled grimly.

Zhang Kang shivered, and after the jailer brought a brush, he began to write while trembling.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhang Kang dropped the brush and sat dejectedly on the ground.

Liu Fu picked up what Zhang Kang had written, and the more he read, the angrier he became.

Finally, he flicked his sleeves and said to the jailers, "Take him back and guard him strictly; he must not be allowed to die, otherwise you will be held accountable."

"Yes, Lord Tutor," the jailers replied with a start, bowing.

Carrying Zhang Kang's confession, Liu Fu went all the way to the Prince's Mansion and handed the confession to Zhao Xu.

"So that's how it is..." Zhao Xu glanced over it and suddenly understood.

"I didn't expect this Zhang Kang to be an informant planted in Yanzhou by the Northern Di; all these years he has been responsible for the trade between the Northern Di and the Yuan Family. During this Northern Di Autumn Hunt, he not only helped the Northern Di but also helped the Yuan Family plot against His Highness." Liu Fu's face turned pale with anger, "I never imagined there would be such shameless people in the Great Song who would betray their country and defect to the enemy."

Zhao Xu sneered and nodded, "Once this confession reaches the Imperial Court, I would like to see how the Yuan Family will argue their way out of this."

Then, he said, "Right, to avoid any complications, tomorrow we shall behead Zhang Kang and the core members of the Zhang Family in Dong Shi to make an example of them."

"Yes, Your Highness," Liu Fu said, bowing.

After tomorrow, the Zhang Family, the most powerful Rich Clan in Yan Commandery, will be wiped out in Yan Commandery.