The official yamens of the Qing Kingdom could all be used to hold prisoners. In Jingdou, there were even more such places. Counting from the yamens of the Jingdou government, there were as many as seven yamens that had the power to hold prisoners in Qing law. The criminals who were truly involved in court politics, as well as those who had committed the most heinous crimes, were often held in the prison of the Ministry of Justice, the walls of the Supreme Court, and the prison of the Overwatch Council. This was what the common people saw as an abyss and the so-called Celestial Prison that always appeared in books and stories.
Ever since the Overwatch Council was built, this special organization directly under the Emperor had played a powerful, sinister, and terrifying role in court politics. High-ranking officials who had been arrested were often imprisoned there. Powerful figures with unique skills were also locked underground for many years. The level of this prison gradually rose above that of the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court. It became a true Celestial Prison.
The Celestial Prison was near the Overwatch Council. If one walked out of the square and sinister building, one only needed to turn a corner to see the two heavy metal doors. Within the Overwatch Council, there were secret tunnels that led directly to the Celestial Prison. One only needed to walk from the large courtyard behind the Overwatch Council and pass through a small door to reach it.
Regardless of which direction one entered the Overwatch Council's prison, the first scene one saw was a deep tunnel. The cells responsible for holding important criminals were deep underground and tightly guarded. There was no worry that something like a prisoner rescue would happen.
As one went down the tunnel, the air became more and more stagnant, and the lights grew dimmer and dimmer. Although there was good ventilation equipment below, decades of dark and dirty air mixed together. It always gave one a strange feeling of terror and suffocation.
Following the tunnel down to the deepest part, one passed through a few layers of common prison cells and arrived at the lowest cells of the Overwatch Council. The security there was the tightest. What was different today was that the expressions of the officials of the Seventh Bureau responsible for guarding the Celestial Prison were unusually complicated. Furthermore, the entire prison was filled with aces from outside the Council.
For example, aces from the Imperial Army, the Dingzhou army, and the internal court. What made one's heart beat faster was that there were four strangers wearing straw hats and hemp clothing standing coldly on either side of the path leading to the lowest level.
No one knew who these four people were, but they could clearly sense the powerful auras flowing through their bodies. These four people were sent by the emperor in the palace.
The imperial criminal who assassinated the Emperor, Chen Pingping, was currently locked in the lowest level of the Overwatch Council's prison. Perhaps even this terrifying figure had not thought when he had set up this prison that he would one day be locked in here.
The Emperor had remanded Chen Pingping to the Overwatch Council and not imprisoned him in the Palace or placed him in a corner of the Supreme Court. His intentions were clear. If the Overwatch Council truly pitied him, the old Director, and was willing to save him at all costs, then staying in this prison would allow him to see more clearly the thoughts of the officials of the Overwatch Council.
If there were enemies in the world, then let them jump out a little earlier, a little higher. From the first day he sat on the throne, the Qing Emperor had acted according to this method, including the siege of Dong Mountain three years ago and the Jingdou rebellion. All of them were like this. This method of self-confidence to the point of arrogance and paranoia to the point of inducement was probably something only the Emperor, a strange creature at the pinnacle of both worlds, would dare to use.
However, the Emperor had not expected that the nether fire in the heart of the Overwatch Council would be extinguished by Chen Pingping, who was close to death, with one finger. Thus, the tens of thousands of Qing elite troops stationed outside the Overwatch Council were not of use. The aces forcefully stationed in the Seventh Bureau's prison watched their surroundings warily. They still had not found any signs of rebellion in the Overwatch Council.
The underground was damp and dark, but there were no traces of moss on the stone steps or walls. It looked like the Seventh Bureau of the Overwatch Council had taken great care of this place. The light-yellow, specially-made oil torches were burning outside the cells in the deepest part of the prison, illuminating the netherworldly netherworld clearly.
The lowest level only had two prison cells. They had been cut from the granite underground. No one knew how deep or thick the walls were. Right in front of the cells was a heavy metal door. Compared to the two metal doors at the entrance to the prison, it was not much thinner.
This was the most sinister place in the Qing Kingdom. Not many people had the right to be locked up here. Counting from the decades since the Overwatch Council had been built, only one person had been locked up in this cell on the deepest level of the netherworld. That person's name was Xiao En. He had been locked up for decades.
Today, Chen Pingping was also locked up here.
…
…
The metal door to the prison cells was not closed. The light from the fire shone in. One could clearly see all of the arrangements in the cell. There was a bed, a basin of water, and a few other things. It was not as one would imagine, with only weeds, rats, and mud. On the contrary, this cell was very clean. It was just too clean and simple. There wasn't even a cockroach to be seen.
Chen Pingping lay on the bed and breathed slowly. His eyes were tightly closed. His grizzled hair fell messily to the side of his face. Although the wound on his chest had long been bandaged and healed by the imperial doctor, he had lost too much blood. It made this old man's face pale. His breathing seemed to be very laborious. Each time he inhaled, it made his somewhat shriveled chest like an aging machine. After struggling a few times, a sound like broken bellows came from his throat.
On the long wooden bench outside the cell sat four people in order: Yan Bingyun, He Zongwei, the eunuch, and the imperial doctor.
These four people would continue to watch this old man. They would ensure that he would not die. They would ensure that he would not escape. They would ensure that he would remain in his current state of semi-consciousness and near death. They would endure until the court conference tomorrow, when his crimes would be decided. In front of the Royal Palace, under the gazes of tens of thousands of people, he would receive the Emperor's anger.
Yan Bingyun's face was slightly pale. He quietly watched the old man on the bed. No one knew what he was thinking. He Zongwei glanced at him with an indifferent expression. He was not very worried. At this time, the Overwatch Council's Celestial Prison was completely under the control of the military. Even if there were any unstable elements within the Overwatch Council, it was impossible to kill their way to the lowest level and rescue Chen Pingping without a leader.
Looking at Chen Pingping's dying body, He Zongwei furrowed his brows and felt a glimmer of coldness. The beginning of this matter was because of his fear of Fan Xian. The conclusion of this matter had nothing to do with him. His thoughts were slightly perplexed and stern. He didn't know how long it would take for him to reach the end if he continued down this dark path. Even if he reached the end, would he be like the old cripple in front of him and still be unable to die with a full body?
However, He Zongwei had to continue. From the moment the Emperor took a liking to him and had him stand against Fan Xian, he could no longer retreat. That was why he had cried out in shock in the Palace. He had to make sure that Chen Pingping and the Overwatch Council's crimes were real. Only then could Fan Xian, who would not return to the capital in the future, go crazy because of Chen Pingping's cruel death.
All of the civil and military officials in the Qing court were worried that Fan Xian would go crazy. However, He Zongwei hoped that Fan Xian would go crazy. If Fan Xian was truly so cold-hearted and did not care about Chen Pingping's death and the humiliation the Overwatch Council had suffered under imperial power, then he would still be the insufferably arrogant Duke of Danbo, who stood above tens of thousands of people.
Such a vicious and cold Duke of Danbo was not an enemy He Zongwei wanted to face. He Zongwei only hoped that Fan Xian was a hot-blooded young official and would not fall out with the Emperor because of this matter. Only by standing behind the Emperor would he be able to obtain a lifetime of glory, splendor, and wealth.
Just as he was deep in thought, Yan Bingyun suddenly opened his mouth and said, "Scholar He, I wonder who those four people outside are?"
He Zongwei glanced at Yan Bingyun and shook his head. He didn't reply. He knew that he was talking about the four mysterious figures in hemp clothing and straw hats. These four people held imperial edicts. Their authority was even higher than that of the Imperial Army. They were responsible for guarding Chen Pingping. No one knew where the Royal Palace had suddenly found these four aces. He Zongwei didn't know either. Looking at Yan Bingyun, he began to think of other things.
Back then, the Emperor had brought in new blood for the court. The Seven Gentlemen had entered the Palace and received the Emperor's careful instructions. Other than Qin Heng, who had been tragically stabbed to death by the Black Knights' silver-masked Jing Ge because of his family's rebellion, the other six had gradually risen to prominence in court. These young officials were, without question, the Emperor's preparations for the future.
Of these six people, He Zongwei had the highest reputation and status. He was faintly the leader. Looking at Yan Bingyun's frost-like face, Scholar He felt a chill and faint fear in his heart.
What he was most afraid of in his life was people like him, people who were good at choosing powerful factions and hiding themselves. Once they needed to act, they were particularly ruthless. Chen Pingping's assassination attempt on the Emperor had long been prepared by Yan Bingyun within the Overwatch Council to deal with it. This reality shocked He Zongwei. He realized that this Sir Yan junior was also a particularly cold and unfeeling person. Furthermore, it was clear that he knew more about this matter than he did. In other words, the Emperor's trust in him was faintly greater than his own.
Yan Bingyun did not notice what the popular scholar was thinking. He only looked calmly and calmly at the old man in the prison cell with a complicated gaze.
The old man had racked his brains and thought for the Qing Kingdom all his life. He had spent too much effort. Additionally, he had fought desperately on the battlefield many years ago and suffered countless heavy injuries. Half his body had been paralyzed, and his qi and blood were blocked. All of these things added together made the Qing Emperor's foremost strategist grow old particularly quickly. His face, covered in wrinkles and silver hair, appeared particularly old. The life and zhenqi in his body had long dried up.
In the royal study, the Emperor had attacked out of anger. Although he had suffered a heavy blow, he had still controlled his strength. But, that blow from the green porcelain cup had already ended Chen Pingping's life. Without needing the imperial doctor to say anything, Yan Bingyun could tell that the old Director's lifespan had reached its end. If it weren't for the precious medicine in the Palace keeping him alive, the old Director would probably bid farewell to this world before the execution field opened.
As soon as he thought of this, a trace of sadness that was difficult to be noticed flashed across his eyes.
The unconscious Chen Pingping's body suddenly moved. The imperial doctor quickly went forward to take his pulse. After a long time, Chen Pingping opened his eyes with great difficulty and looked around him. It was as if he wanted to confirm where he was first. His dry lips twitched slightly. For some reason, he smiled.
Chen Pingping's gaze was very turbid. There was no longer any light in it. He glanced at Yan Bingyun coldly.
Yan Bingyun also glanced at him. He was similarly cold.
…
…
No one knew how much time had passed in the mountains or underground. No one knew how much time had passed, but the oil torches were still burning without regard for their lives. The people in the Overwatch Council's Celestial Prison, who had not slept all night, all felt a tiredness that was difficult to suppress after surviving the most tense night.
He Zongwei rubbed his eyes and unconsciously gazed out the window. He saw a stone wall. Only then did he remember how many feet underground he was. He smiled self-mockingly. The sound of footsteps came from the stone steps behind the prison room. Following these footsteps, the young eunuch announcing the edict came to the outskirts of the prison room.
He Zongwei's expression became solemn. The imperial doctor's expression relaxed. The expression of the eunuch waiting there tightened. Yan Bingyun remained expressionless. The people responsible for watching the imperial criminal Chen Pingping knew.
The time had finally arrived.
…
…
In the east, the red sun had already leaped out of the clouds and shone warmly on all the buildings in Jingdou. The group of people who had walked out of the Celestial Prison stood in the morning light. Each of them unconsciously narrowed their eyes. After a tense night, nothing had happened. Regardless of whether it was He Zongwei, Yan Bingyun, or the imperial soldiers responsible for guarding, they all felt extremely tired.
He Zongwei gently waved his hand. Under the protection of hundreds of fully armored imperial soldiers, a black carriage stopped at the door of the Celestial Prison. Chen Pingping, still lying on the stretcher, was lifted up again.
Yan Bingyun narrowed his eyes and looked at the brilliant Royal Palace. He knew that the court conference had already begun. The officials of the various ministries were presumably in Taiji Palace angrily denouncing Chen Pingping's treasonous behavior. The crimes the civil officials had prepared for many years finally had a chance to be placed around that old dog's neck.
The imperial criminal Chen Pingping was carried out of the Celestial Prison and headed toward the path of death. The soldiers around him solemnly and nervously assigned the tasks of guarding. Yan Bingyun and his most trusted Overwatch Council subordinates were at the very back. Then, they heard a piece of news.
The old servant who had been by Chen Pingping's side for decades and had driven the carriage to take Chen Pingping back to the capital had also been imprisoned in the Overwatch Council's Celestial Prison last night. Knowing that the master he had served for decades was about to enter the execution field, the old servant slammed his head against the wall and killed himself in the cell. Fresh blood covered the walls.
Hearing this news, Yan Bingyun's eyes became slightly wet, but he forced it down. Raising his face, he no longer looked at the Royal Palace to prevent tears mixed with complicated emotions from flowing down in front of so many people.
He raised his head and saw countless rain clouds arrive out of nowhere. They quickly piled up in the sky above Jingdou and completely blocked out the red sun that had just risen. A patch of darkness enveloped the buildings and trees in the city.
Another bout of autumn rain was about to fall.
…
…
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
