Volume Two: Great Men and Petty Men — Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Retrial of Feng Five

Huang Ming’s face showed no anger; he simply watched Feng Wu calmly. He pulled over a stool and, looking down with a composed air, observed the deceiver who was sprawled on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly and begging for mercy.

The more unruffled he remained, the greater the pressure on Feng Wu. The man trembled violently, his voice quavering as he pleaded, "Young Master Huang... I was truly... truly forced into a corner, which is why I... I deceived you..."

"As long as you admit it, it seems you aren't beyond redemption," Huang Ming said in a measured tone, though the weight of his presence bore down heavily on the man.

Feng Wu shuddered again. It was as he feared: his petty schemes had long been seen through by Young Master Huang, which was why he had someone intercepted just as he was about to flee. "I confess my guilt, Young Master Huang, please, spare my life..."

"I might spare you, but you must tell me the truth. If there is one more lie, I will hand you over to the Embroidered Uniform Guard. You will then learn exactly what it means to wish you were dead."

The words drifted softly into Feng Wu’s ears, turning his face pale. Yet, a flicker of hope ignited within him. He hurriedly prostrated himself and said, "Ask whatever you wish, Young Master Huang. As long as it is within my knowledge, I will answer honestly this time. I dare not utter another falsehood."

Huang Ming’s gaze settled heavily upon him. "Raise your head and look me in the eyes as you answer."

He intended to draw upon his years of interrogation experience from his previous life, watching the man’s micro-expressions as he questioned him. After being deceived once before, Huang Ming dared not let his guard down regarding this fellow.

Feng Wu did not hesitate. He slowly raised his head, meeting Huang Ming’s eyes with a mixture of guilt and desperation. "Please, show mercy, Young Master Huang..."

"Tell me, why did you use such lies to deceive me that day?"

The very first question made Feng Wu deeply uneasy and distressed. But seeing a hint of impatience in Huang Ming’s eyes, he gave a start and explained, "Forgive me, Young Master. I was forced by the circumstances to lie. If I had told you the truth, you might not have believed me, and if you had grown angry, I would have been the one to suffer."

"Ha, and what truth could you have told that I wouldn't believe?"

"It is... the truth is that I acted against you because... because I was hired by someone else with money. I didn't know who you were, so I acted on my own accord; it wasn't some order from a high-ranking official at all. Furthermore, that person never revealed his identity; he only gave me ten taels of silver. I happened to have a gambling debt at the time and needed that silver to save myself, so I... I..."

Huang Ming narrowed his eyes. If not for the fact that the man’s expressions showed no sign of deception, he would have found it hard to believe this was the truth.

So, Feng Wu was telling the truth? The reality was so bizarre that he had feared Huang Ming wouldn't believe him, leading him to cast suspicion onto the seemingly more logical target, Censor Liao Kui—this was the "survival wisdom" of a small-time crook, perhaps?

As for taking a man’s life for a mere ten taels of silver, it was unimaginable to Huang Ming. But for a jailer, it became entirely rational. Ten taels was several months' salary; what did it matter if he killed a prisoner in the dungeon? He would simply report it as a brawl between inmates, and the City Guard would never bother to investigate. In the prisons of the day, human life was as cheap as grass.

Feng Wu, having told the truth, was filled with dread, his body trembling as he feared Huang Ming would not believe his account. Even so, he held his ground, not daring to lower his head or shift his gaze, continuing to look directly at Huang Ming.

After a long silence, Huang Ming spoke again: "Do you remember the age and appearance of the person who paid for my life?"

"I dare not forget... He was in his twenties, not yet thirty. He looked cultured and refined, just like a young master from a wealthy family. It was precisely because of this that I dared not defy his wishes..."

Huang Ming raised his eyebrows. A name immediately jumped to mind: Ying Huo. Considering the timing, the motive, and the description, this cultist of the White Lotus Society was the prime suspect. And that man, having been captured by the Embroidered Uniform Guard again after assassinating Commander Nie Qingyao, had been tortured relentlessly by the furious guards until he spilled everything, after which he had been secretly executed.

So, even if he wanted Feng Wu to identify the man, it was no longer possible.

Exhaling a long breath, Huang Ming nodded slightly. "I will take it that you are telling the truth. We can set this matter aside for now."

"Thank you for your magnanimity, Young Master Huang..." Feng Wu was overjoyed and immediately kowtowed again.

"Don't be so quick to kowtow. I ask you again: where did you get those five hundred taels of silver? Don't tell me people have been paying you to silence prisoners lately?"

"Of course not! This five hundred taels is..." Feng Wu reflexively started to speak, then realized the gravity of the admission and cut himself off abruptly.

"Hm?" Huang Ming’s face darkened. "Look up and answer honestly."

After a moment of internal struggle, Feng Wu made his choice. Meeting Huang Ming’s gaze again, he said, "I will tell the truth. This five hundred taels... I extorted it with a friend..."

"Extorted?" Huang Ming was taken aback. This fellow really would do anything for money.

"Yes. I knew that sooner or later, you would see through the lies about the first matter, so I planned to flee the capital. But one needs money to survive when leaving one’s home..."

"You certainly are thorough," Huang Ming remarked, feeling speechless. "So you teamed up with a partner-in-crime to extort money?"

"Exactly... Actually, it wasn't my idea, but his. He had long discovered that Imperial Physician Meng had a massive secret, so he wanted to team up with me to blackmail him. I had many reservations before and dared not do such a thing. But this time, I needed the money to leave the capital, so I stopped caring about the risks. We worked together once, and we really did manage to squeeze a large sum of silver out of that physician."

"Wait, who is this friend of yours? And what secret did this Physician Meng have that you managed to get your hands on?"

In his agitation, Feng Wu hadn't been clear. Pressed by the question, he hesitated before saying, "My friend’s name is Jiang Yi; he is a servant at the Imperial Academy of Medicine."

A jailer from the South City Guard and a servant from the Imperial Academy of Medicine—they were of the same social stratum, so it made sense they would be friends.

Feng Wu then hesitated further: "As for the secret, Jiang Yi didn't tell me the specifics. He just had me back him up and threaten the man. In the end, Physician Meng was forced to comply and handed over fifteen hundred taels of silver. I received five hundred..."

Originally, Huang Ming had only asked out of idle curiosity, but upon hearing that the physician had surrendered such a large sum of money, he became genuinely interested. "Changfeng, have the Guard Commander come over here."