I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

“There is…,”

Cui Ke’s thoughts raced, unable to think of anyone to blame on the spot, when suddenly a suggestion whispered into his ear.

“Who is usually close to the Dean?”

“Secretary Cui!”

Cui Ke hurriedly responded, “Not long ago, Secretary Cui and the Dean played chess together and discussed many matters. Afterwards, the Dean sent messages to scholars in various places to discuss politics…”

“Good, very good!”

Zhou Yi praised repeatedly before asking, “Is Young Master Cui related to Secretary Cui?”

Cui Ke replied, “Our ancestors are from the Cui Clan of Nanyang, but our families have been separate for nearly a hundred years. We don’t associate privately, so there’s hardly any relation.”

Zhou Yi’s eyes narrowed slightly as he turned to the clerk.

“Recorded.”

The clerk bowed in response, placing the written testimony in front of Cui Ke for him to sign and stamp.

Cui Ke glanced at the testimony, which had turned “playing chess” into “plotting in secret” and fabricated a dialogue, replete with phrases like “incompetent ruler” and “betraying one’s ancestors.”

Below it was mentioned “Cui Clan of Nanyang,” suggesting the instigator behind the scenes might be from the gentry of Jiangnan!

“This…”

Cui Ke felt dizzy with fear, but to save his family, he finally pressed his handprint on the testimony.

“Don’t worry about the Cui Clan of Nanyang, our house will surely save your life. If you don’t pass the imperial examination in the future, you can come to the Inspectorate to work!”

Zhou Yi ordered his men to drag Cui Ke away and then pointed at another scholar.

“What’s your name?”

“Pah, you eunuch dog!”

This scholar had recovered from his initial panic and stood upright before Zhou Yi, spitting a thick glob of saliva and sternly rebuking him with an air of righteousness.

“We scholars are not afraid of life and death; don’t expect me to frame an esteemed scholar of the academy!”

“Good, good, good!”

Zhou Yi wiped the spittle from his face, a vicious gleam in his eyes, and said coldly, “Magistrate Wen, I would like to see the torture methods of the prison guards in the celestial prison.”

“As you command.”

A chill went down Magistrate Wen’s spine, immediately understanding Zhou Yi’s anger and promptly going to find the executioners himself.

After a short while.

Four guards carried in a large tub filled with clear water, accompanied by others carrying many pieces of charcoal.

A soap-robed scribe followed closely beside Magistrate Wen. He appeared to be no more than seventeen or eighteen, with a pale, gaunt face, kneeling before Zhou Yi with three prostrations and nine bows of respect.

“I am Li Chao, my family has been prison guards for five generations, at your service, Inspector!”

Zhou Yi nodded slightly, “I tasked you with interrogating the prisoner; what’s the tub for?”

Li Chao replied, “This is a form of torture I devised, where a person is placed in water to be boiled alive. Keep adding wood to the fire, and the person inside will watch themselves cook!”

“Ha ha ha! The old saying goes, there’s a top scholar in every field, and you, my man, have conceived quite a punishment indeed. A man of true talent,”

Zhou Yi said with a smile, “Proceed expertly. If it proves effective, you will be handsomely rewarded!”

“Thank you, Inspector.”

Li Chao stripped the scholar and threw him naked into the tub, the water rising just over his neck, leaving his head above the surface.

Underneath the tub, the charcoal was lit and soon warmed the water.

The scholar lost his earlier defiance as the water temperature steadily rose, his skin turned red from the heat, and he couldn’t help but let out sharp cries of agony as he struggled frantically in the tub.

“My lord, spare me! Spare me! I’ll confess, I’ll confess…”

Li Chao’s face lit up with pleasure, asking for instructions, “My lord, this man is willing to confess. Shall we take him out for questioning?”

Zhou Yi leisurely sipped tea, watching the bubbling tub, and slowly said.

“The fellow has a foul mouth. Let him simmer a bit to cleanse the taste!”

A quarter of an hour passed.

The scholar’s screaming gradually ceased, his body was scorched, and the dungeon was filled with the smell of cooked meat.

It was then that Zhou Yi commanded, “Bring him out.”

The guards hauled the nearly lifeless scholar out and threw him before the other prisoners, who were so scared they all knelt down. Such torture was unheard of.

“Now, one by one tell me, who instigated the academy’s political discussions?”

Zhou Yi said coldly, “Don’t make false accusations; our office handles cases with order, logic, and solid evidence!”

“I’ll tell, I’ll tell, I’ll tell…”

Immediately, a scholar called out, “My lord, Sun Jijiu, the Dean of the Imperial Academy, is an old friend of the Dean. He openly criticized the new policies of the Imperial Court at a banquet held at his home half a month ago, stating that the Emperor’s land survey was tyrannical!”

“This time the academy deliberations must have been instigated by Sun Jijiu from behind the scenes!”

“This man once wrote ‘Shang Li,’ in which he heaped praise on the Great Merchant’s laws and rites, most likely related to remnants of the previous dynasty…”

No need for scribes to make things up this time—the scholars have already sorted out the evidence and happily signed and sealed their confessions.

Zhou Yi asked, “What is your name?”

The scholar answered, “Sir, my family name is Lin, my given name, Fu.”

“I find you pleasing to the eye. Would you be willing to take up a post at the Inspectorate?”

Zhou Yi said, “The head of the Judicial Interrogation Office starts at a rank of sixth grade, specializing in fabricating charges for prisoners. The bigger the crime, the better; our house fears not the big cases, only the lack of them!”

Lin Fu was overjoyed upon hearing this, as after more than ten years of study, he had only just passed the imperial examinations.

Even if he were to become a jinshi, who knew how many years it would take to be promoted to the sixth rank!

“I pay my respects to Supervisor-Duke; this official will surely do his utmost!”

Zhou Yi said, “Have someone unbind Mr. Lin immediately.”

Bent at the waist, Lin Fu hurried to Zhou Yi’s side, glaring malevolently at his former classmates and whispered, “Supervisor-Duke, that one named Lu Ling is a distant relative of the Lu family from Jiangnan…”

“That one named Xu Jing has a sister who became a concubine to the Minister of Revenue, Li Shilang; the two families visit each other often…”

“That Pei Yun, he is a wealthy businessman from the capital, dealing in medicinal materials. Last year, while drinking with him, he boasted in his drunken state that he had sold medicinal materials up north…”

Lin Fu listed them one by one, betraying his classmates entirely, adept at concocting charges, whether true or false.

Seeing this, the scholars dared not hesitate, confessing in a contest to be the first.

“Mr. Lin is truly a pillar of the Imperial Court!”

Zhou Yi praised him repeatedly, hands holding a thick stack of confessions, leaving anyone to admit that Yuntai Academy had been involved in partisan activities.

At that moment.

An eunuch hastened into the dungeon and whispered a report to Zhou Yi.

“Eunuch Li on duty at the Diligent Administration Hall has sent a message. Dozens have submitted petitions against you, with Minister Cui leading the protest kneeling outside the hall, pleading for His Majesty to purge the corrupt and execute the traitor to the nation!”

“We’ve only been arresting people for half a day, and already dozens have submitted petitions? And they say this is not a faction?”

Zhou Yi slid the confessions into his sleeve, ordered the careful guarding of the scholars, and headed straight to the imperial palace with a dozen guards.

…

Diligent Administration Hall.

In the cold winter wind, a dozen officials knelt,

With Minister Cui at the lead. Hearing footsteps, he turned and saw the hurriedly approaching Zhou Yi and couldn’t help but scold.

“Traitor to the nation, everyone has a right to execute you!”

“Traitor? I’m afraid I cannot bear such an accusation.”

Zhou Yi replied coldly, “His Majesty’s land surveys are for the benefit of the common folk. Minister Cui out of selfish desire, actually incited scholars to oppose it. I think you seem more like the traitor!”

Minister Cui retorted angrily, “When have I ever incited the scholars?”

“You may take it up with His Majesty.”

Zhou Yi shook the confessions in his hand while waiting for the palace eunuch to announce his arrival. Bowing, he entered the hall, sliding on his knees all the way in front of the Orthodox Emperor, performing three prostrations with nine bows, exclaiming long live the Emperor.

“What audacity you have!”

The Orthodox Emperor berated loudly and grabbed the inkstone from the corner of his desk to throw at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi dared not activate his True Qi to defend and did not dodge, allowing the inkstone to smash into his forehead and immediately blood began to flow.

“This servant acknowledges his guilt!”

One must never refute the words of the Emperor, so even with the confessions in hand, Zhou Yi first admitted guilt, continuously knocking his head on the ground, staining the floor with a large patch of fresh blood.

Seeing this, the Orthodox Emperor’s anger somewhat subsided, “Speak, why the massacre of the scholars?”

“Replying to Your Majesty, agents from the Inspectorate uncovered a secret faction manipulating for their gain, attempting to incite the scholars to gather outside the palace gate, pressuring Your Majesty to rescind the edict on land measurement.”

Zhou Yi held high the confessions with mostly fabricated, slightly truthful allegations.

“Upon hearing the news, I immediately led troops to surround Yuntai Academy, but the head of the academy, realizing the situation was exposed, actually led the scholars to assault the officials of the Inspectorate.”

“In the heat of the moment, a bloody incident occurred, a result of my inadequate supervision. Please punish me, Your Majesty!”

Eunuch Yuan took the confessions, giving Zhou Yi a deep look.

The Director of Rituals kept a close watch on Zhou Yi and his associates. With many informants placed within the Monitoring Censorate, the rapid spread of the academy’s bloody incident throughout the court indirectly had Eunuch Yuan to thank.

In recent years, Zhou Yi’s rise to power had been too swift; who knew if one day he would set his sights on the Director of Rituals, so it was best to strike first!

The power within the Eunuch Affairs Directorate was finite; more for Eunuch Yi meant less for Eunuch Yuan.

The Orthodox Emperor quickly shuffled through the confessions, his expression growing darker by the page.

“Partisan machinations, a calamity to the nation and its people!”

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