allonlinenovel Chapter 648 I confess! I confess everything!
Chapter 648 I confess! I confess everything!
Xiang Fei was tied to the rack, and no one treated his dislocated arm.
Yang Shaofeng sneered and said, "Are you going to confess honestly, or wait until you're tortured before you confess?"
Xiang Fei stared intently at Yang Shaofeng and said angrily, "Your grandfather is no match for me, so I admit defeat today. However, don't even think about getting a single word out of my grandfather!"
Ok?
grandfather?
You're absolutely awesome!
You're planning to be a generation older than Old Deng!
Yang Shaofeng laughed in anger, and waved his hand at Limpy Wu and Chang Xiaojiu, the commander of the Imperial Son-in-Law's personal guards: "Just leave them alive."
Chang Xiaojiu grinned maliciously, ordered someone to bring a basin of water and a stack of papers, soaked all the dozen or so papers, and then smeared them directly onto Xiang Fei's face.
"Commander Xiang, please don't even think about biting your tongue and committing suicide."
"That kind of death is just a hoax."
"Actually, it won't help even if you bite your tongue into eight pieces."
Chang Xiaojiu seemed oblivious to Xiang Fei's flushed face and frantic struggle. Instead, she calmly smeared several more pieces of paper on Xiang Fei's face, then picked up a pair of pliers and clamped down on Xiang Fei's right fingernails.
"Don't rush. You have ten fingers, and I'll have to pull them out one by one. After that, I'll sprinkle another layer of salt on them. By the way, the salt is the finest refined salt from the Dengzhou Saltworks. This is the kind of salt that Your Excellency usually eats. Commander Xiang, you can't say that you've been treated unfairly this time, can you?"
Ten fingers connected to the heart.
Xiang Fei struggled wildly in pain, making whimpering noises, while Chang Xiaojiu calmly pulled out Xiang Fei's fingernails. Another guard from the Prince Consort's mansion seized the opportunity to rub salt into the wound on Xiang Fei's hand.
After pulling out the nails of five fingers in a row, Chang Xiaojiu then ripped off the paper pasted on Xiang Fei's face, allowing Xiang Fei to catch his breath.
Before Xiang Fei could even catch his breath, Chang Xiaojiu, that scoundrel, pasted the paper back on.
"Commander Xiang is a tough guy."
While plucking Xiang Fei's left fingernails, Chang Xiaojiu said with admiration, "I've met quite a few self-proclaimed tough guys, including gentry, officials, and Japanese traitors."
"However, usually before all five of their fingernails have been removed, these people will confess honestly."
"Commander Xiang was able to hold out until he had a second hand, which shows he was tougher than them."
Xiang Fei glared fiercely at Yang Shaofeng, struggling frantically while making whimpering noises.
You want me to confess? Well then, go ahead and ask! But you've covered my mouth!
Chang Xiaojiu completely ignored Xiang Fei. After pulling out all ten fingers, he had someone take off Xiang Fei's boots, took a small hammer, and smashed it heavily on Xiang Fei's toes.
"This is the first one."
"There are nine more after that."
"After smashing your toes, the next step is washing them."
"Oh, Commander Xiang probably doesn't know what 'washing' means. It means first scalding your fur with boiling water, then brushing the flesh off with an iron brush, sprinkling salt on it, then scalding it with boiling water again, brushing it again, sprinkling salt again, until you get to the bone."
Chang Xiaojiu spoke casually, but Xiang Fei fainted immediately, and even his pants were soaked.
"Wow~"
A bucket of cold water was poured over his head, and Chang Xiaojiu immediately stood up. First, he ripped the paper off Xiang Fei's face, then he reached out and patted Xiang Fei's cheek, mocking, "Can't even take it?"
Xiang Fei was panting heavily, but Chang Xiaojiu shook his head slightly and sighed, "It seems that Commander Xiang still doesn't intend to confess."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Xiang Fei shouted, "I'll confess! I'll confess everything! Whatever you want to ask, I'll tell you!"
Chang Xiaojiu shook his head with regret.
Yang Shaofeng sneered and said, "Speak, who is involved in this child abduction case? Tell me everything you know, and I can give you a quick death."
Xiang Fei smiled bitterly, staring at Yang Shaofeng and asking, "You act so madly, don't you leave yourself any way out? Who knows if the torture I suffered today won't fall on you?"
As Xiang Fei finished speaking, Chang Xiaojiu and Bo Wu's expressions changed drastically, but Yang Shaofeng sneered and said, "What the hell is going on? You still have the mind to sow discord here?"
Zhu Chongba, that old scoundrel, was indeed not a good person. He was petty, had a bad temper, and would resort to outright robbery if he couldn't outsmart someone.
But Old Deng still has some sense.
Even if he was criticized by censors and officials, as long as their criticisms were reasonable, Lao Deng could humbly accept them.
He doesn't treat his son-in-law very well; he likes to kick people at the drop of a hat, which is a very bad habit, and he refuses to change it.
While inwardly grumbling, Yang Shaofeng glanced at Xiang Fei and asked, "Tell me, who contacted you about this child abduction? Who did you contact? Who was involved? Is there any evidence? And what is the whereabouts of those children?"
Xiang Fei barely managed to raise his head and replied, "The person who contacted me was Yang Zhongyuan, the son of Yang Yuanqing from Ji'an. I also contacted the magistrates of Jimo and Jiaoxian, as well as Zhang Shanzhi, the deputy commander of the Shandong Provincial Military Command, and Liu Luzi, the assistant commander."
"The person who handled this in the middle was my brother-in-law, Hu Cheng."
"However, the correspondence was burned after it was read, leaving no evidence."
"The money was also used to purchase land in my hometown in Hu Cheng's name."
"As for the children, I don't know either."
Yang Shaofeng scoffed and asked, "What about the Lingshan Guard? How many people were involved?"
Xiang Fei spat out a mouthful of blood and said, "Both of the Lingshan Guard magistrates were involved. Liu Er had already committed suicide out of fear of punishment before you arrived, and the other, Wang Xiaowu, fled and his whereabouts are unknown."
"Chen Da, commander of the front thousand-household garrison; Luo Guaizi, commander of the left thousand-household garrison; Ke Er, commander of the right thousand-household garrison; and Zhao Ergou, commander of the central thousand-household garrison, were also involved."
"The others were unaware of it."
Yang Shaofeng nodded, then suddenly took a few steps closer, slapped Xiang Fei across the face, and asked, "I'll ask you one last question—you said you still have wounded, crippled, and dead soldiers and their families to take care of, so you're trying to make money."
"But can you tell me, now that you've made money, why is your life better while theirs remains unchanged, and why are several families even willing to farm for you as tenants?"
"Is this what you call taking care of me?"
……
The situation in Lingshanwei has changed.
Commander Xiang Fei was arrested, Deputy Commander Liu Er committed suicide, and another Deputy Commander Wang Xiaowu fled in fear of punishment. The commanders of the four thousand-household offices (front, left, right, and central) were arrested, and several centurions were also arrested and taken to the Commander's Office. Only four fourth-rank commanders, two fifth-rank garrison commanders, one seventh-rank official, plus clerks, clerks, granary magistrates, and granary deputy magistrates were left, barely maintaining the normal operation of Lingshan Guard.