Chapter 63 Is He Up to It?

Setting up Xu Yuan was a spur-of-the-moment decision, brought about by a strange twist of fate.

After all, neither Chen Kan nor Li Jinglong had the slightest idea how to interrogate a prisoner.

"Xu Yuan, is he up to it?"

Li Jinglong raised his doubts, clearly still skeptical after witnessing Xu Yuan and Li Yan earlier—how the two had vowed to drag Chen Kan down with them, only to end up dropping rocks on their own feet.

"Lord Marquis, it is a cardinal rule not to let amateurs direct professionals. Neither of us knows how to interrogate a prisoner, nor do we know how to distinguish the truth from a prisoner's lies. As the saying goes, professional matters must be left to professionals. Can Your Grace possibly find anyone more professional than Xu Yuan?"

Chen Kan’s words successfully dispelled Li Jinglong’s doubts.

After all, across the entire Northern Bureau of Security, one truly could not find anyone more professional than Xu Yuan.

And even if there were someone, their status would be lower than Xu Yuan’s.

No matter how rebellious the Prince of Jin was, he still bore the surname Zhu.

If ordinary Embroidered Uniform Guard officers were to conduct the interrogation, leaving aside whether the Prince of Jin would be willing, one feared the figure deep within the imperial palace would not be pleased either.

Xu Yuan, who had just returned to his office after sneezing several times, received a summons from the Commander once more.

Cursing under his breath, Xu Yuan had no choice but to report immediately.

After all, in officialdom, a higher rank could crush a man to death.

Upon arriving at the Imperial Prison, he saw Chen Kan standing beside Li Jinglong, looking at him with ill intentions.

Xu Yuan’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

A sense of ominous foreboding rose from the depths of his soul.

Especially the way Li Jinglong was looking at him—it was a gaze he had never encountered before.

Trust?

Thinking he might be seeing things, Xu Yuan hastily rubbed his eyes, yet the trust in Li Jinglong’s gaze seemed to have grown even stronger.

With a head full of bewilderment, Xu Yuan stepped forward, dropped to one knee, and saluted. "Greetings, My Lord. I wonder what important matter Your Grace has summoned this subordinate for?"

Without answering, Li Jinglong turned to look at Chen Kan, nodding in profound satisfaction.

Chen Kan immediately shot an appreciative glance at Xu Yuan.

One had to admit, based purely on appearances, Xu Yuan surpassed Li Yan by goodness knows how many streets.

With his triad of goat-like whiskers and a righteous countenance, he looked every bit the expert.

"Since everyone is here, let us go."

Li Jinglong stood up and strode toward the depths of the Imperial Prison.

Although a sense of unease gnawed at his heart, since Li Jinglong had given the order, Xu Yuan had no choice but to follow.

After a brief pause, Chen Kan trailed behind them as well.

The three men proceeded all the way to the innermost depths of the Imperial Prison.

The Imperial Prison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was naturally graded into tiers, with different individuals detained on different levels.

Zhu Jixi was locked away in Cell Number Three of the Heaven-tier ward, situated in the deepest recesses of the second underground level.

The prison was categorized using the traditional Thousand-Character Classic sequence of Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow. Anyone capable of being imprisoned in a Heaven-tier cell was either a member of the imperial family or a high-ranking dignitary, holding at least a rank of the second class.

Arriving at the cell door, Li Jinglong displayed his Commander’s tally.

Two guarding Embroidered Uniform Guard officers slowly pushed open the massive iron-plated doors.

Accompanied by a dull, grinding screech, the Prince of Jin, Zhu Jixi—who just a day prior had been enjoying the height of fortune and prestige—came into view.

At this moment, Zhu Jixi sat motionlessly upon the ground like a walking corpse, his features haggard and his eyes hollow.

Noticing Li Jinglong’s arrival, he merely lifted his head for a fleeting glance before lowering it once more.

Until, within his peripheral vision, a familiar face swept past.

"Chen Kan, prepare to die!"

Zhu Jixi was instantly driven mad. He thrust his hands forward as if attempting to choke the life out of Chen Kan through empty space, his expression distorted beyond human recognition while blinding hatred erupted from his eyes.

Chen Kan, walking at the very rear, was startled by Zhu Jixi’s sudden outburst.

He only breathed a sigh of relief upon spotting the iron chains binding Zhu Jixi’s hands and feet.

As for Xu Yuan, he now understood precisely what Li Jinglong had brought him here to do.

His face instantly turned ashen, and his knees trembled uncontrollably.

Observing this, Li Jinglong turned back and glared at Chen Kan with dissatisfaction.

"With you standing here, how is anyone supposed to conduct an interrogation?"

Chen Kan was more than eager for Li Jinglong to chase him away; seeing his chance, he turned and departed without the slightest hesitation.

"Before dawn, I need the complete roster of the Prince of Jin's faction. Otherwise, you can go keep Li Yan company."

Glancing at Xu Yuan, who looked on the verge of tears, Li Jinglong dropped those words and shoved him straight into the cell housing Zhu Jixi.

As the massive iron door slowly slammed shut, earth-shattering shrieks instantly echoed from within the cell.

However, they belonged not to Zhu Jixi, but to Xu Yuan.

Li Jinglong walked over to Chen Kan’s side and, hearing Xu Yuan’s miserable screams, could not help raising a doubtful brow.

"Is he really going to be able to do it?"

Startled by the abruptness of Xu Yuan’s cries, Chen Kan furrowed his brows uncertainly and replied, "I suppose... he should be able to?"

Inside the cell, staring at Zhu Jixi, who prowled like a wild beast, Xu Yuan broke out in a cold sweat.

Ever since Zhu Di re-established the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the prisoners he had interrogated were by no means few. To speak of recent cases, he had participated in the trials of Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, Chen Di, and others who had only recently been executed.

Yet to interrogate a figure of imperial prince rank—this was his very first time riding in the bridal sedan chair, so to speak.

Especially since Ji Gang had given explicit instructions before leaving that the interrogation of Zhu Jixi must be reserved for his return.

Yet now, coerced by a villain, he was about to defy Ji Gang’s direct order. When Ji Gang returned, there was no telling how he would torment him.

How could he not panic?

And yet, failing to interrogate him was even less of an option. Ji Gang might take his life upon his return, but Li Jinglong, waiting outside the door, could take his life right this instant.

As for that piercing scream just now, it had been purely born of terror at Zhu Jixi’s bared fangs and brandished claws.

After waiting for the space of a quarter-hour, Chen Kan’s eyelids began to droop.

Li Jinglong, too, looked as though the god of sleep had possessed him.

Shaking his heavy, dizzy head, Chen Kan decided to slip away.

Anyway, matters had reached this stage; no further mishaps were possible unless Ji Gang could grow wings and fly back to the capital.

"Lord Marquis, there is no telling how much longer Xu Yuan will take with the interrogation. If there is nothing further, this subordinate will take his leave."

With the sleep-god possessing him, Li Jinglong did not catch a single word of what Chen Kan said, merely nodding absentmindedly in response. "Very well."

Emerging from the Embroidered Uniform Guard prison, a warm breeze sweeping across the drill ground helped clear Chen Kan’s head slightly.

From the moment he left the grand prison, he had been endlessly busy securing the release of those unfortunate officials, and had not yet found the time to return home and report that he was safe.

Thus, feeling somewhat more alert, Chen Kan stepped out and made his way toward the Fang residence beneath the moonlight.

Now that Zhu Jixi had fallen, the forces under his command were essentially neutralized.

The threat to Chen Kan’s life had thus dissolved into nothingness of its own accord.

The only thing still causing him a slight lingering concern was Zhu Jixi’s sons residing in Taiyuan.

Until the policy of enfeoffing and reducing regional domains was fully implemented, there was no telling whether those young men might be driven to desperation, mobilizing all remaining assets of the Prince of Jin’s estate to drag him down with them in mutual destruction.

Yet the mere thought that news of Zhu Jixi’s downfall—even if someone rode three horses in relays day and night without stopping—would take six or seven days to reach Taiyuan Prefecture caused Chen Kan’s lingering worries to vanish into the wind.

After all, by the time they learned of the Prince of Jin’s collapse, the imperial commissioners would have already arrived in Taiyuan. With themselves struggling to survive, they would scarcely have the leisure to seek trouble with Chen Kan.