The Ming Dynasty's henchmen, working from nine to five

Chapter 17 Torture and Forced Confessions

"I'm in a bad mood today..."

"One of the painters was a great scholar who was studying at Chongzheng Academy. He was a student of Tang Yin and was skilled in meticulous brushwork and heavy colors. He has recently become quite famous in Kyoto."

"That Tang Yin, Tang Bohu, who created the 'Four Beauties' painting?"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

"Have him wait in the lotus garden; I'll be there shortly!"

Princess Jing'an touched the crooked hair ornament on her hair bun and hurriedly returned to her boudoir to tidy up her makeup and change her clothes.

Princess Changning finished the last piece of pastry on her plate, took out a red silk handkerchief, and slowly wiped the corner of her mouth.

Then, she got up, stretched, and turned to instruct Li Zhong:

"There are many cats in the manor, so we need to find a few people to take care of Lord Shen's parrot. Please arrange this as soon as possible, Steward Li, so that nothing goes wrong."

"Yes, Princess!"

Princess Changning nodded slightly, picked up the book, and walked away slowly with her hands behind her back.

......

"Lord Shen, we've arrived!"

"That thief is locked up here!"

Da Hu led Shen Lang through a maze of turns until they arrived at a secluded courtyard.

Shen Lang looked around and asked, "Was that thief highly skilled in martial arts?"

It was a very small courtyard, but it was guarded by thirty or forty guards.

It was surrounded by layers upon layers, completely impenetrable.

Da Hu touched his nose and said awkwardly, "Last night, we injured hundreds of brothers trying to capture him. This guy is quite skilled."

Shen Lang nodded slightly: "Let them disperse. Go back and guard your positions. Even though it's daytime, we can't be careless."

"Yes, sir!"

Da Hu responded and dismissed the guards, then followed Shen Lang into the courtyard.

In the corner, a lean man with bulging temples was tightly bound with hemp rope, staring intently at Shen Lang and his companion with a sinister gaze.

Shen Lang pulled the gag out of his mouth and cut to the chase: "Speak, who sent you?"

As he spoke, a barely perceptible glint of light flashed in Shen Lang's eyes.

Torture and forced confession LV10, activated!

From now on, he will be able to instantly discern the truth from falsehood in every word the suspect utters!

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

The lean man sized Shen Lang up and down, then spat dismissively, "Get lost!"

"I won't talk to the government's lackeys!"

Da Hu whispered in his ear, "Sir, this man is very stubborn. We interrogated him all night last night, but we couldn't get anything out of him."

Shen Lang frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.

The reason for this was not because of what the lean man said, but because of his identity.

Shen Lang was all too familiar with this kind of rough-and-tumble atmosphere; back in Lin'an County, he dealt with this kind of people every day.

A ruthless bandit, a desperate outlaw.

The mark found in the side courtyard yesterday has been identified as being left by a local gang in Yujing, who claimed it was placed under orders.

It had absolutely no connection to the lean man in front of him.

The two assassins who followed Princess Changning must have come from a powerful and influential family.

In other words, three different groups of people were eyeing the Jing'an Prince's Mansion.

The situation was far more complicated than he had anticipated.

"Are you silent because you're scared of me?"

"Then get lost and stop getting in my way!"

Shen Lang pulled himself out of his thoughts, looked at the lean man with a sneer on his face, and said gently:

"I heard your bones are very strong. I'm curious, how strong are you saying they are?"

"I hope you can still smile later."

LV10 interrogation techniques can not only distinguish the truthfulness of a suspect's statements, but also accurately display the suspect's physiological state.

This means that, if Shen Lang so desires, he can keep the suspect in a state of heightened awareness, allowing them to experience the most extreme pain.

This is the forced confession method used in "torture to extract confessions".

Honestly, this feature is a bit abnormal.

Shen Lang never uses this method lightly, unless the person being interrogated is a heinous criminal.

And coincidentally, the ruthless, lean man in front of them belonged to this category.

......

After one incense stick has burned.

Shen Lang wiped his hands and calmly walked out.

Big Tiger followed closely behind, but he was in a different state; his legs were trembling and his face was pale.

As soon as I stepped over the threshold, I couldn't help but grab the wall and vomit all over the floor.

Seeing his expression, Shen Lang smiled and said, "That's how interrogations and torture are. You'll get used to it."

Da Hu said awkwardly, "I'm just a guard working in the Prince's mansion, it's best not to get used to it..."

Shen Lang said, "You heard it just now. This person is a wanted criminal who has been on the imperial court's wanted list for a long time."

"Inform the Princess and have him sent to the Ministry of Justice."

"The Ministry of Justice?" Da Hu hesitated. "Sir, aren't you going to investigate the mastermind behind him?"

Shen Lang said, "He wasn't lying; he really didn't know the true identity of the mastermind behind it all."

"But there's no need to worry, I have my own considerations."

"Take him away first, but be careful, leave him alive, don't kill him."

"Yes, sir!"

The tough guy wasn't so tough after all; he was now a lump of mud. Big Tiger carried him away, carrying out his orders.

Shen Lang did not linger and left the Prince's Mansion, heading straight for the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters.

......

"Brother Shen!"

When Liu Baichuan saw Shen Lang enter, he greeted him warmly.

Shen Lang cupped his hands slightly and said directly, "Brother Liu, there is an important matter that I need your help with."

"Could it be related to the assassins who raided the Prince's mansion?" Liu Baichuan's expression turned serious.

Yes, but not entirely.

"Brother Shen, let's discuss this in detail inside."

Liu Baichuan raised his right hand in a gesture, leading Shen Lang into the inner hall.

"Commander Zhou has led his men to investigate the origins of the assassins and won't be back for a while."

"Brother Shen, please have some tea."

Liu Baichuan poured Shen Lang a cup of tea: "Yesterday I heard that you abandoned the Princess and the County Princess, and went home as soon as it was past dusk. Commander Zhou was furious on the spot!"

He gestured towards the empty main hall with his lip: "Look, the tables are all smashed."

"If it weren't for the garrison commander's influence, he would have punished you then and there!"

"You'd better be more careful from now on. After all, no matter how powerful Lord Zhang Xian is, he can't overcome the iron discipline of the army!"

"Brother Liu, you misunderstand. I have absolutely no connection with the Garrison Commander."

Liu Baichuan smiled without saying a word, and filled Shen Lang's teacup: "I wonder what business Brother Shen needs my help with?"

Shen Lang said, "Last night, a group of desperados broke into the Prince's mansion with the intention of committing wicked deeds."

"Another thief?" Liu Baichuan exclaimed in surprise, his voice immediately rising: "Are the Princess and the County Princess alright?!"

"He's alright, just a little shaken."

"That's good, that's good."

Liu Baichuan breathed a sigh of relief: "We absolutely cannot let Commander Zhou find out about this, or he'll smash this little government office to pieces..."

Shen Lang said, "It's alright, I've already found out where these people came from."

He briefly recounted the interrogation process and his own speculations.

After hearing this, Liu Baichuan's brows furrowed deeply: "Three groups of people are eyeing Princess Jing'an..."

"Hmm, this is a bit tricky!"

"Brother Shen, would you like me to help make connections and find a few brothers to go to the Prince's residence to help out?"

"There shouldn't be any problem. Although I'm not very talented, I still have some influence."

As Liu Baichuan spoke, he got up to go out and look for someone.

Shen Lang grabbed him, but instead of refining him instantly, he simply shook his head:

"Brother Liu, don't worry. Adding more people won't solve the problem. That's not why I came here."