Ping Zhao Lu

Chapter 110 Confusion

Xu Zhouye was speechless and could only silently take his own clothes and prepare to change.

Just as he was about to take off the layers of clothing, he seemed to have thought of something and suddenly stopped. He looked at the emperor who was smiling and staring at him with interest, "Don't mess around anymore."

Chu Yunxiao smiled faintly, and at the same time stretched out his hands, gently undressing Xu Zhouye, "It's just a change of clothes, why is the Queen so nervous?"

Xu Zhouye didn't appreciate this. He quickly slapped away Chu Yunxiao's hand that was untying his belt and said, "I'll do it myself!"

Being treated like this, Chu Yunxiao did not get angry but laughed instead. His deep eyes flashed with a playful light, and he chuckled softly, "I won't eat you."

Hearing this, Xu Zhouye continued to take off his clothes quickly and replied indignantly: "Your Majesty, I dare not believe your words."

Chu Yunxiao chuckled again upon hearing this, and moved a little closer to the person in front of him. He lowered his voice and tried to defend himself: "People have seven emotions and six desires. Isn't it normal for people to find it difficult to control their emotions when they are deeply in love?"

"Haha." Xu Zhouye sneered.

At this moment, he completely ignored the fact that he was only wearing a thin inner garment. He stood up without hesitation and landed on the emperor's body like a light butterfly.

Then he lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze falling unabashedly on that unspoken spot, and jokingly said, "Your Majesty's love is truly... overflowing at any time."

Seeing this, Chu Yunxiao quickly reached out and hugged Xu Zhouye tightly, as if afraid that he would suddenly leave. He stared at the person in his arms and whispered, "That's just lust for you alone."

When Xu Zhouye heard this, his heart trembled, and a strange feeling instantly surged into his heart.

However, he quickly came to his senses, raised his hand and gently pushed the person who was getting closer to him.

Seeing that Chu Yunxiao was about to hold his tempting lips, Xu Zhouye turned his head away at the right time and complained in a low voice: "So this is how the so-called outing out of the palace works..."

Chu Yunxiao was not surprised by his reaction. Although he did have some thoughts of teasing the person in front of him, he finally forced himself to endure it.

He slowly turned his head and looked towards the window, a faint smile on his lips as he asked, "How about we take the water route instead?"

Xu Zhouye's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he nodded hurriedly in response, "Enjoying the scenery on a boat is truly elegant!"

Seeing that he agreed so much, Chu Yunxiao's smile became even brighter.

Then he raised his hand and gently put on Xu Zhouye's clothes one by one.

After being dressed, Xu Zhouye gently slid down from Chu Yunxiao's legs, picked up the clean and tidy clothes beside him and handed them to Chu Yunxiao, saying with a smile: "Your Majesty, do it yourself."

Chu Yunxiao was helpless, "You just don't trust me?"

"Of course." Xu Zhouye answered without thinking.

He would never change this person's clothes easily now.

When I think of the experience of my hands being sore before...

Must be stopped!

Chu Yunxiao seemed to see through Xu Zhouye's thoughts. While he was slowly changing his clothes, he said in a slightly teasing tone, "I don't trust the Queen either. She is the most hypocritical. She resists with her mouth, but her body is very honest. Not only that, she is also difficult to serve. Sometimes she asks me to go faster, sometimes slower, and sometimes..."

Hearing this, Xu Zhouye's face flushed red instantly. He quickly raised his hand to cover Chu Yunxiao's wanton mouth, and at the same time, he pretended to be angry and shouted, "Your Majesty, stop talking!"

Chu Yunxiao easily moved his hand away, still wearing that cynical smile on his face, and then said unscrupulously: "I think that the Queen is asking for so much. Why not next time... you take the field yourself, so that I can experience it..."

"You wish!" Xu Zhouye was so angry at the shameless emperor in front of him that he was almost speechless.

Ever since their relationship became closer, Chu Yunxiao became more and more presumptuous in front of him. He dared to say anything without caring about his image or the occasion.

*

Imperial Prison

Zhuang Yan's face was gloomy as he trudged to the rusty cell door. With the sharp grinding sound of the key in his hand, the cell door slowly opened.

The cell was dimly lit and filled with a damp and decaying smell.

The middle-aged man lying with his back to the door seemed to notice the sound of the door. His body trembled slightly, then he quickly sat up and looked vigilantly at the figure slowly walking towards him.

The middle-aged man had a dusty face, messy hair, and tattered clothes, looking very disheveled.

When he saw that the person coming was Zhuang Yan, a hint of surprise and uneasiness flashed in his eyes.

"Sir, have you caught that man?" Li Yaocheng, who was covered in dust and dirt, couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked anxiously.

Zhuang Yan's face was as gloomy as water. He nodded expressionlessly and said coldly, "Well, the successful capture of the suspect this time is thanks to the important clues provided by you, Yao Cheng!"

When Li Yaocheng heard this, his heart suddenly tightened and a thin layer of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead.

His eyes began to wander around, flickering, and he couldn't help but mutter in a low voice: "How...how could it be..."

Although Li Yaocheng's voice was very low, Zhuang Yan caught his words with his keen hearing.

Zhuang Yan frowned slightly, staring at Li Yaocheng with a sharp gaze, and raised his voice to ask, "What's going on? Li Yaocheng, the suspect has been apprehended, which should be a cause for celebration. But why are you so distraught and heartbroken? Is there some hidden secret here? Don't forget, this is a great opportunity for you to make amends!"

Faced with Zhuang Yan's aggressive questioning, Li Yaocheng's face became increasingly ugly.

He stammered and couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time. The sweat on his forehead slid down his cheeks.

After a long silence, he finally mustered up the courage and stammered again, "Sir, have you truly and truly caught that man?"

"Of course! How could this be false?" Zhuang Yan said angrily, his voice unconsciously rising a few degrees. "What do you mean? Are you giving us false information?"

Hearing Zhuang Yan's question, Li Yaocheng panicked and hurriedly waved his hands and shook his head in denial, "No, no, no... My Lord, you have misunderstood. How dare I fool you..."

But he really didn't dare to conclude whether he was really captured by the Chief Justice's men.

After all, the person who had been in secret contact with him before had vowed that he would definitely not show up at Qixiang Pharmacy at noon today, and he would also specially arrange people to disguise themselves as target persons to deliberately mislead the arrest personnel sent by the Supreme Court.

Therefore, Li Yaocheng was really caught off guard by the sudden news that the person had been arrested.

I had originally thought that if I wasn't caught, I had already prepared my response in my mind, thinking about how I could cleverly get away with it.

However, what he never expected was that the other party actually told him directly that the man had been caught...

What's going on here?

Could it be that he was being tricked?

Li Yaocheng's eyes flickered and his thoughts were in a mess.

Zhuang Yan, who had been observing Li Yaocheng's every move, snorted coldly upon seeing him like this. Then, he said in a cold tone, "Since you've provided crucial clues, there's no need to worry too much. You should know that selling counterfeit medicine is a violation of Wei law. Those with serious offenses are punishable by death. Those with accomplices can be spared the death penalty by actively confessing their guilt... Given your current situation, we can handle it with discretion."

However, when these words reached Li Yaocheng's ears, he couldn't help but feel guilty. Although he pretended to be calm on the surface, his heart was already churning like a raging storm.

Regardless of whether the information he had provided was wrong or not, judging from the current situation alone, the expressions and attitudes of the people in the Court of Justice seemed to be confident and sure of victory.

They seemed to have successfully captured the key informant. If this was true, then the current situation was obviously extremely unfavorable to him and was extremely pessimistic.

As expected, just as this thought flashed through his mind, Zhuang Yan suddenly added, "What if that person provides some valuable information that doesn't match what you've said before... or, in other words, if investigation reveals that he's not the crucial figure you claimed he was, then not only will it be difficult for you to keep your official position as Medicine Minister, you might even lose your head!"

After all, Li Yaocheng was old and his physical condition was not as good as before. Now, frightened by Zhuang Yan's harsh words, his heart suddenly began to beat violently and irregularly.

No matter how terrified he was, he would never dare to risk his life and property. Therefore, even when faced with Zhuang Yan's questioning, he still gritted his teeth and refused to tell the truth.

Seeing this, Zhuang Yan just shook his head helplessly, sighed softly, and said, "Forget it, forget it. Since you are so ungrateful that you don't even want to seize this precious opportunity to survive, then I can only pass it on to someone else who knows how to cherish it. You know, if you insist on keeping silent, there will always be someone willing to stand up and tell the truth..."

When he said this, Zhuang Yan's eyes narrowed slightly, and his gaze lightly swept towards the torture room next door.

All that could be heard was the occasional blood-curdling scream from behind the tightly closed door. The sound seemed to come from the evil spirits in the depths of hell, suffering endless torture and pain.

"Did you hear that?" Zhuang Yan's lips curled up into a cold, mocking smile as he spoke to Li Yaocheng, who was already pale with fear beside him, "The person imprisoned in there is the key figure we went to great lengths to capture today. Tsk, tsk, tsk... Listen to those miserable cries, I'm sure they've used all kinds of extremely cruel torture. In my opinion, it won't be long before he'll obediently reveal the whole truth."

Having said that, Zhuang Yan once again turned his gaze back to Li Yaocheng, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes, and continued slowly, "As for you... just wait..."

Li Yaocheng was shaking all over like a leaf in the wind, with beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.

He opened his eyes wide and looked at Zhuang Yan in horror. His lips trembled as he tried to say something, but his throat seemed to be tightly gripped by an invisible hand, and he couldn't utter a complete syllable for a long time.

Finally, at the moment when Zhuang Yan was about to leave the torture chamber, Li Yaocheng could no longer bear this life-threatening pressure. He collapsed to the ground like a deflated ball, begging for mercy: "No... no, sir! Please spare my life! I am willing to confess, I know I was wrong, and I promise to tell you everything truthfully. Please have mercy on me, sir!"

Zhuang Yan paused, a smug smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.