Chapter 169: Interrogation
The words were crude, but they rang true. Unlike some people who preached one thing but did another.
Fu Tingyun's nose tingled with emotion as she smiled and said, "I was just worrying about what to do if Zuo Junjie refuses to cooperate. Thankfully, Uncle Yang has given me a great idea!"
Yang Yucheng and Jin Yuanbao were taken aback and both turned to look at Fu Tingyun.
Her gaze was clear and bright, her expression earnest and sincere—anyone could tell she meant every word.
The two couldn't help but exchange a smile.
Zuo Junjie, whose head was still ringing from Yang Yucheng’s slaps, had a face swollen like a steamed bun as he curled up and groaned.
Yang Yucheng stepped forward and kicked him a few times. "Stop playing dead, you bastard. Get up and answer the questions."
Zuo Junjie stiffened his neck and shouted, "Fu Tingyun—"
Before he could finish, Yang Yucheng delivered several more kicks.
Zuo Junjie broke out in a cold sweat from the pain, begging repeatedly, "Stop, stop! I won’t dare again, I swear!"
"You’re really pushing your luck," Yang Yucheng spat on his face. "If it weren’t for my sister-in-law needing to question you, do you think you’d still be breathing?" With that, he stomped on Zuo Junjie’s face and ground his foot. "Speak properly. If you dare spout nonsense again, I’ll show you what real pain feels like!"
The rough gravel of the cellar scraped against Zuo Junjie’s face, leaving bloody streaks of varying depths, sending waves of sharp pain through him.
Zuo Junjie widened his eyes, glaring hatefully at Fu Tingyun.
Fu Tingyun merely smiled faintly, a trace of disdain flickering between her brows. "Zuo Junjie, why did you frame me?"
"I didn’t frame you," Zuo Junjie retorted, his eyes flashing with venom. "The undergarment was a gift from you—it was just a case of 'fair lady, gentleman’s desire.' If you didn’t want others to know, I could’ve kept my mouth shut. Why accuse me of framing you?"
Fu Tingyun’s face flushed with anger.
Yang Yucheng moved to kick him again, but Fu Tingyun stopped him.
She stared coldly at Zuo Junjie. "Do you even realize that because of you, Mo Xiang died, Zhe Liu died, Jian Cao died, and even Xue Rong—the little girl in my room who hadn’t even grown her hair out yet—died? And yet, even now, you refuse to admit your wrongdoing and continue to slander others with your lies. How could the Fu family have raised such a disgrace like you?"
"If you want to know why the Fu family raised a disgrace like me, you should ask your uncle," Zuo Junjie sneered, his lips twisting mockingly. "If it weren’t for the Chastity Memorial Arch, would the Fu family have fed and clothed me? Would they have paid for my education? Don’t act so high and mighty—what the Fu family gave me wasn’t even a tenth of what my elder sister sacrificed. This is what I deserved, what my sister paid for with her entire life!"
"As for those maids’ deaths—was it really because of me? Or was it because of you? If you hadn’t looked down on me and refused to marry me, would they have been dragged into this mess? When you point fingers at me, shouldn’t you also reflect on yourself?"
Faced with such shameless distortion of the truth, Fu Tingyun felt that any further words would be wasted.
But Yu Wei couldn’t hold back any longer. She stepped forward, pointing at him and shouting, "You’re utterly despicable!"“When I’m speaking to your mistress, who gave you, a lowly servant, the right to interrupt?” Zuo Junjie sneered. “Has your mistress fallen so low that she can’t even maintain such basic decorum?”
“You scoundrel!” Yu Wei stepped forward, ready to lash out at him. “How dare you insult Madam—”
“Yu Wei,” Fu Tingyun called her back. “When a man has no shame, nothing is beneath him. He’s already shameless—arguing with him is pointless.”
Yu Wei glared at Zuo Junjie’s indifferent expression, stamped her foot in frustration, and turned away.
Fu Tingyun then asked him, “Zuo Junjie, have you made up your mind not to speak?”
“I’ve said all I needed to say. What more do you want from me?” Zuo Junjie scoffed. “Do you expect me to help you frame someone? Too bad—I, Zuo Junjie, am not that kind of man. You’ve miscalculated!”
“Such silver-tongued deceit!” Fu Tingyun mocked. “But the one who’s miscalculated here is you! Don’t think that just because you refuse to talk, I have no other means. Have you forgotten? Your wife is still in the Fu household! And from what I’ve heard, Aunt is furious that she secretly helped you escape and has made her move to the Tingxiang Pavilion in the back garden. You grew up in the Fu family—you should know that place well. Surrounded by water on three sides, it’s damp and cold in winter, swarming with mosquitoes in summer. Even the more respectable maids wouldn’t live there…”
Zuo Junjie remained unmoved.
Fu Tingyun felt someone tug at her sleeve.
She turned and saw Jin Yuanbao looking at her.
“What is it?” she asked softly.
Jin Yuanbao hesitated, then murmured, “Sister-in-law, this Zuo Junjie is cold-hearted and shameless. No matter how much you question him, it’s unlikely he’ll reveal anything. Perhaps… we should try another method…”
“Another method?” Fu Tingyun frowned. “What do you mean?”
Jin Yuanbao exchanged a glance with Yang Yucheng, looking slightly embarrassed. “Perhaps… perhaps torture…” he said cautiously, watching her reaction.
A warmth spread through Fu Tingyun’s heart.
They wanted to help her, knew her approach was ineffective, yet feared leaving her with the impression that they were cruel. That was why they hesitated. But despite that, they still chose the best course of action for her.
Without hesitation, she replied, “Then let’s do as you say—torture it is!”
Jin Yuanbao and Yang Yucheng brightened. “The cellar is cramped and stifling. Why don’t you rest upstairs, Sister-in-law? Just tell us what you need to ask—we’ll handle it.”
Their concern for her only strengthened her resolve.
Besides, this was her own matter to face.
Fu Tingyun gathered her courage. “Let’s question him together!”
“How can that be?” Yang Yucheng protested.
But Jin Yuanbao thought for a moment and nodded. “Very well, we’ll interrogate Zuo Junjie together.”
“Jin Yuanbao!” Yang Yucheng shot him a disapproving glare.
Jin Yuanbao said solemnly, “Catching Zuo Junjie is just the beginning. There are things we can help Sister-in-law with, but others she must face alone. This will help her build courage.”
Yang Yucheng fell silent.
Fu Tingyun was deeply grateful.
After a moment’s thought, Yang Yucheng went upstairs and returned with a wooden bench and a pair of pliers. Then he tied Zuo Junjie firmly to the bench.When Jin Yuanbao tugged at Fu Tingyun's sleeve, Zuo Junjie's heart was in his throat.
He knew that falling into Fu Tingyun's hands would mean no good end for him.
But judging by Fu Tingyun's attire, her residence, and her manner of speaking and acting, Jin Yuanbao and Yang Yucheng must be her husband's men. His only chance now was to stubbornly deny everything, betting that Jin Yuanbao and Yang Yucheng would relay his words to her husband, sowing suspicion in the man's mind and causing him to withdraw his support from her... Only then could Zuo Junjie confidently escape.
Zuo Junjie strained his ears, desperately trying to catch their conversation. Unfortunately, Yu Wei and A Sen stood in the way, and their voices were too low—he heard nothing.
When he saw Yang Yucheng enter with a pair of iron pliers, a sense of foreboding washed over him. The feeling intensified when Yang Yucheng tied him to the bench.
He struggled frantically. "What are you doing? Let me go! Don’t be fooled by this woman, Fu Tingyun..."
Yang Yucheng listened, then gave Zuo Junjie’s cheek a hard slap, leaving it bright red. "I told you—answer whatever my sister-in-law asks. If you answer poorly, I’ll teach you what it means to be beaten." He smirked, a hint of mockery in his tone. "And now, I’m about to beat you!"
That smirk, along with the bizarre way he was tied down, sent a chill down Zuo Junjie’s spine.
"No, no, no!" he cried in terror. "I’m telling the truth! I’m not lying—"
"I never said you were lying," Yang Yucheng raised an eyebrow, looking at him as if he were an idiot. Then he lifted the iron pliers and snipped them twice in the air with a sharp click-clack .
Zuo Junjie’s blood ran cold.
Yang Yucheng grinned. "Sister-in-law, you can start questioning now."
Fu Tingyun wasn’t sure what he was planning, but since he said they could begin, he must be ready.
"Zuo Junjie!" she said sternly. "I’ll ask you one more time—why did you frame me?"
Zuo Junjie hesitated, his eyes fixed on the pliers in Yang Yucheng’s hand.
If he changed his story now, wouldn’t that prove he had been lying?
Gritting his teeth, he said, "I didn’t frame you—"
Before he could finish, Yang Yucheng crouched down, grabbed his hand, and with a sickening snap , snipped off the tip of his little finger.
The pain was excruciating—like fire shooting straight to his heart.
Zuo Junjie let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Fu Tingyun had never witnessed such brutality. Her heart pounded in terror, and she instinctively shut her eyes. But remembering her earlier resolve, she forced them open again—though she couldn’t bring herself to look at Zuo Junjie’s hand.
Yu Wei turned ghostly pale, trembling as she clung to Fu Tingyun’s arm.
Yang Yucheng, Jin Yuanbao, and A Sen, however, remained unfazed. Yang Yucheng even mused idly, "I’ve heard that without a thumb, a man can’t write. Wonder if that’s true?"
"Don’t cut my thumb! Please, don’t cut my thumb!" Zuo Junjie begged in abject terror."Then answer my sister-in-law's question quickly!" Yang Yucheng suddenly lost his temper, standing up and stepping on his back. "Let me tell you, a person without a thumb might not be able to write, but at least they can still walk. But if I break your spine, you'll be spending the rest of your life lying in bed eating, drinking, and shitting!" As he spoke, he pressed down hard with the tip of his foot.
Zuo Junjie let out a miserable scream.
"I'll talk, I'll talk!" Like a drowned dog, he had completely lost his earlier bravado. "This really wasn't my doing—it was Yu Da Gongzi, that top graduate of the Jiaxu imperial examinations, Yu Jingxiu. He made me do it."
Fu Tingyun stood frozen in place.
Yang Yucheng and Jin Yuanbao exchanged glances.
"You're lying!" Yu Wei shrieked sharply. "How could it be Young Master Yu? How could it possibly be him?"
Yang Yucheng crouched down, but before he could do anything, Zuo Junjie cried out sharply, "It's true, it's true! Young Master Yu wanted to break off the engagement with the Ninth Miss, but his elders would never agree. He had no choice but to come up with this plan. And he promised that if it succeeded, he'd ensure I passed the Presented Scholar exams..."
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Got home today and scheduled the chapter release early... O(∩_∩)O~
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(End of Chapter)
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