Chapter 378
Movement
Chapter 378 Movement
After being interrogated all day, he was now in the dungeon, feeling cold, tired, and hungry.
During the day, food and water were provided, but when the officials who came to question him all acted as if they were enforcing the law impartially, Wu Yuanwai repeatedly made explicit and implicit statements about his identity and the Prince of Lu behind him, but they all turned a deaf ear. Naturally, he knew that something was wrong.
He dared not eat or drink, fearing he might be drugged, and endured until the very end.
When being interrogated, his mind was very tense, and he had no energy left to think about anything else. But now, sitting alone on the floor of the cell, in the damp, cold, and indescribable musty smell, Master Wu couldn't help but start thinking.
Possessing prohibited military equipment or imperial robes is a crime that cannot be pardoned even if one is granted a pardon.
He took the blame himself, without implicating the prince, and even managed to secure an opportunity. Given the capabilities of the Prince Lu's mansion, once they receive the news, they will definitely take action within the next day or two.
Even if he can't be released immediately, he can at least be transferred to a different prison where he can live more comfortably, and once things are in order, he can regain his freedom.
This matter has blown up so much that I don't know if the prince will ask me to go to another state to lay low after I get out of prison.
With his family and businesses all in the capital, and being of advanced age, Master Wu was naturally unwilling to abandon his family and business.
You still have to grit your teeth and spend a lot of money to take good care of your son. If that doesn't work, you can only ask your own mother to step in – she is your wet nurse who raised you. Even if she didn't do anything special, she did work hard. You can't refuse her pleading for your son, can you?
Having sorted out this point, his anxiety eased somewhat, but the hunger in his stomach was hard to suppress. He couldn't help but swallow, glancing at the steamed bun by the door, but managed to hold back.
People won't starve to death in a day or two.
But if someone ate something bad, countless people would die from poisoning or disease in the dark, secluded places of prison.
He endured the hunger and forced himself to sleep, but he couldn't fall asleep until midnight. Then he heard noises outside.
Someone is speaking in hushed tones.
"Is this the one?"
The voice sounded familiar, like that of an official in the Kyoto government office.
He immediately sat up and looked towards the cave entrance.
The people outside were talking to someone, and then there was a soft "click" as the prison door was pushed open from the outside.
A man carrying a lantern in one hand and a food box in the other entered the room and greeted him with "Master Yuanwai" as soon as he saw him.
The room suddenly went from dark to bright. Master Wu quickly covered his eyes and it took him a while to adjust. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that a cloth had been laid on the ground at some point, and a lot of food was placed on it.
There was no wine, but there was plenty of chicken, duck, fish, and meat, as well as drinks.
The man greeted them a few times, then handed them something and whispered, "Sir, the Prince sent me to deliver a message to you. He has already found someone to help you. He wants you to be patient for a day or two before you can leave."
He then asked, "During today's interrogation, you didn't reveal anything significant, did you?"
When Master Wu heard him ask the question, he did not answer until he took the item from the other man's hand, looked closely at the lantern, and saw that it was a jade pendant that Prince Lu often wore. He felt relieved and then answered.
"Please rest assured, Your Highness, I know what to do!"
He paused, then said, "Three meals a day goes without saying, and also clothes and bedding, send some over quickly—this prison cell is really no place for a human being to stay, it's the right thing to do to change my room as soon as possible!"
Without any hesitation, the person opposite said, "I'll go and tell them right away, so that the master won't suffer any injustice!"
As he spoke, the man pointed to the food laid out on the ground and said, "Sir, please have a few bites first, and I will call someone to clean it up later."
Despite being starving, Master Wu did not immediately eat what was on the ground. Instead, he grabbed the man and asked him a lot about the situation outside and the state of the court.
The man replied to each of them, saying that there were many impeachments, but they weren't too troublesome.
"It's just a few pedantic scholars, some censors, and some idle outsiders saying a few words. It's nothing serious. The storm will blow over in a few days. They've made a fuss about it so many times before and nothing happened. It's not a big deal."
With that, he took the jade pendant back, found an excuse, and hurriedly left.
Upon hearing the door close and the footsteps receding into the distance, Master Wu didn't think much of it. He pondered how to proceed once he was out, then sat down on the ground and began to eat and drink.
About fifteen minutes later, before they had even finished eating, a jailer rushed over and took everything away, but never brought back the bedding.
The dungeon was already cold and damp, but at midnight it became even colder, making one's teeth chatter. Master Wu huddled up, not daring to lean against the wall—it was even colder against the wall. He was getting impatient and was about to go to the door to call for help when suddenly he felt something pull hard on his navel, causing a sharp, cramping pain in his stomach. At first, he thought it was just a chill, or perhaps he had eaten too much after a day of hunger and his stomach couldn't adjust. But after huddling in his stomach for a while, his old legs and back went numb, and the pain in his stomach not only didn't improve but actually worsened.
Knowing something was wrong, he opened his mouth to call out, but he was too weak to make a sound, and his stomach was cramping terribly.
The pain came on so suddenly that it made Master Wu realize something was wrong.
He carefully recalled the actions of the officials and thought about the jade pendant of Prince Lu. As he gradually came to his senses, he felt a chill run through him from head to toe. He hurriedly reached into his throat, pounded his stomach, and desperately vomited to the side.
After vomiting, he struggled to climb toward the door, banging on the bars and shouting, but after shouting for a long time, not only did no officials come to check, but the cells on either side were also completely silent, as if no one was inside.
"Help! Someone help me! I have something to say, something important to say! I... I have a secret treasure... Help! Someone's dead!"
He kept shouting incoherently, but the more he shouted, the more desperate he became.
Why did the prince order someone to poison him?
Whom have I been enduring all this time for?
If I had known this would happen, I would have confessed everything I knew earlier. Maybe the government would have sent people to protect me and I could have lived a few more days!
He clearly knows so many secrets; if someone were to ask him now, he would not hide a single one, as long as he could save his life.
He also has a vast fortune, newly acquired pills, a house full of beautiful concubines, and another beauty he was about to get his hands on but hadn't had time to enjoy...
If he could live, he would give up everything and want nothing else!
As long as I don't die a pathetic death in prison!
No matter what he thought, the pain in his stomach kept getting worse, sharp and piercing, as if someone was stabbing his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and stomach with ten thousand sharp knives, and his intestines and stomach were being chopped into a lump of minced meat. The pain was so intense that Wu Yuanwai's consciousness became blurred. In his confusion, he seemed to hear footsteps and the sound of a door opening.
He tried to open his eyes, but he had no strength left.
Faintly, someone shouted, "Help! Help! Something's happened!!"
***
Master Wu felt as if a veil had been placed over his ears, and his body no longer belonged to him.
His throat burned, and his stomach ached so badly it felt numb, but the pain was not to be ignored.
My anus also hurts; it's the same kind of pain as my throat, like it's been burned by fire, and it's still burning now.
He tried to open his eyes, and almost at the same time, he smelled the odor.
It had a strange smell, a medicinal smell, and a foul smell—the stench of excrement.
He had barely opened his eyes and hadn't even seen his surroundings clearly when he heard shouts: "He's awake! The prisoner's awake! Quick, call a doctor!"
When the doctor arrived, examined him, gave him acupuncture, and prescribed medicine, Master Wu lay in bed, still unable to understand what had happened.
His voice was terribly hoarse; each word felt like someone was grinding pebbles down his throat, causing excruciating pain. Yet, he couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with me? When will I get better?"
The two doctors opposite each other exchanged a glance.
"With proper care, it will take some time before there's any improvement..."
An inspector nearby hurriedly asked, "Can we begin the interrogation now?"
"Given the patient's condition, it's best to rest as much as possible. If we absolutely must examine him—I'll leave the needle in to stimulate him a bit, but that might make recovery even more difficult later on..."
Master Wu was physically weak and slow to react. When the doctor came over with the needles, he cried out in a hoarse voice, "I'll talk! I'll talk! Don't stick the needles in! Don't stick the needles in!"
No sooner had he shouted than he realized something was wrong—perhaps due to his excitement, he lost control, and with a muffled thud, a stench immediately seeped out of his pants. His groin was wet, and his back was wet too; it felt as if he had been sleeping in filth.
He finally realized where the smell he had just been smelling was coming from.
"I...I want to confess! I want to confess!!"
Master Wu used almost all his strength to finally make a sound.
(End of this chapter)