abcnovels
Chapter 180
Chapter 180
Chapter 180
The Imperial Prison was not as gloomy and cold as the Imperial Dungeon in the Palace, but it was also the place where felons were detained in the capital.
Since Pang Shao entered this place, he had not lived in peace. Huo Wujiu’s soldiers had been trained, and they were best at torturing prisoners of war.
They let Pang Shao suffer bone-chilling pain all day long, but also let him hang onto his consciousness and breath. Hence, he was awake all day, and never passed out, let alone die.
Pang Shao had no idea how many days had already passed.
Upon entering the prison, the stench of blood blew onto their faces. Huo Wujiu frowned in displeasure. Then, when they were approaching the cell, he held Jiang Suizhou’s shoulder.
“Wait a minute,” he said.
Jiang Suizhou was clueless, but still stopped in his tracks.
Huo Wujiu strode forward, approached the cell door and took a look. Then he frowned unhappily as if he had seen something unclean.
Afterward, he raised his hand, and several soldiers came forward.
The soldiers were busy for a while. Huo Wujiu retreated, naturally took Jiang Suizhou’s hand and led him inside.
Jiang Suizhou followed him and entered, then turned a corner, facing the cell where Pang Shao was held captive. The bloody smell was too distinct. When Jiang Suizhou looked inside, he saw Pang Shao sitting askew on a haystack in the corner of the cell. His shoulders were drooping, and a piece of cloth was his only cover.
Meanwhile, there was already an empty chair placed at the door of the cell, with soldiers lined up behind.
“This is…” Jiang Suizhou looked at Pang Shao, and then at Huo Wujiu, and asked in confusion.
Huo Wujiu faintly replied, “It’s nothing. Just sit.”
Needless to say, he was afraid that the person who had executed the torture would look terrible and dirty Jiang Suizhou’s eyes.
He had witnessed a lot of them himself, not to mention that Pang Shao had been held in prison for a whole month. He knew all too well what a filthy place this was, and what a miserable sight a tortured person looked.
He had been exposed to countless one, so he could treat it as air. Even eating while interrogating prisoners was not a problem to him.
But what kind of person was Jiang Suizhou? He was the cleanest and the most timid white rabbit in his heart.
Even if Jiang Suizhou was not as courageous as he thought, he didn’t want him to see such a thing.
Hearing this, Jiang Suizhou glanced at Huo Wujiu and then at Pang Shao.
At this moment, Pang Shao’s gloomy eyes were locked on him. With blood oozing from the cloth on his body, it was clear at a glance that Huo Wujiu was covering up something.
Jiang Suizhou did not contradict Huo Wujiu, but just let him lead the way. He sat down in the chair.
“Pang-daren,” he said, “How have you been?”
Pang Shao laughed, his voice horribly hoarse.
“Are you satisfied?” he asked.
Jiang Suizhou, however, slowly shook his head.
“It’s this Prince’s turn to ask you. Pang-daren, are you satisfied with what has happened so far?”
Pang Shao laughed coldly. His raspy voice smacked of an evil ghost crawling out of hell.
“Being framed by you to this point, I am naturally satisfied beyond belief,” he replied.
But Jiang Suizhou gently smiled and said, “Daren, do you still not understand now? The one who caused you this is not this Prince, but you yourself.”
Pang Shao looked daggers at him.
Jiang Suizhou was totally undaunted. He calmly continued, “Wasn’t it you who sent Huo Wujiu to this Prince’s manor? Wasn’t it you who pushed this Prince to the brink of death step by step, forcing me to fight back? Daren, everything I have done, everything Huo Wujiu has done, is all thanks to you. Everything you have done has just backfired on you.”
Pang Shao, however, argued, “What a cunning tongue you have. Now that things have reached this point, you’re still saying this. Aren’t you afraid that after death, I will come to claim your life?”
Huo Wujiu made a discontented tsk sound and stepped forward to open the cell, as if he wanted to rush in to punish him.
Jiang Suizhou grabbed him and yanked him back.
He clearly could not drag Huo Wujiu, but he paused, and still obediently retreated.
“Are you just going to let him talk nonsense?” Huo Wujiu gnashed his teeth.
“A person who is guilty of monstrous crimes can’t turn into a malevolent ghost to demand somebody’s life,” Jiang Suizhou said indifferently. “Now, I am only claiming your life on behalf of the people you killed.”
He looked at Pang Shao and then added.
“You should know how much money is piled up in your coffers, right? You have a clear inventory about those silver, but what about the people you killed? Do you know?” he asked. “If you don’t, this Prince can count them for you. Can you count those in the court who disobeyed you, the ministers who stood in your way, the people who were displaced because of your corruption, and the refugees who starved to death in the locust plague because of your greed?”
Pang Shao sneered.
“Do you still need to count the number of ants crushed to death?”
“That’s why you were caught and detained here for so long, with no one to voice your grievances, and no one to rescue you, only lackeys dispersing when you fell from power,” Jiang Suizhou said softly.
“Oh, there may still be,” Jiang Suizhou changed his words. “The late emperor, Jiang Shunheng, isn’t he an ant? He’d been waiting for you to return to save him until death. He believed in you until he died that you’re the uncle he could rely on the most.”
Only then did Pang Shao’s gaze flickered.
Jiang Suizhou surveyed him quietly.
Even though he felt that Jiang Shunheng was a bit pathetic, Pang Shao was a consummate bastard. This bastard had no compassion and shame. The only way to really drive him to grief was to let him personally hear how his building was collapsing.