Daughter of aristocratic family

Chapter 373 Dude
Yun Hao understood a little bit when he saw this. He sneered and said, "What? You are speechless? Or are you hiding something?"

The teahouse owner's face turned pale and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He had heard of the reputation of the Dragon Guards and knew that he could not hide this matter, so he could only speak hesitantly: "Sir, I do have some secrets, but I really have not done anything illegal."

"Oh? Hidden secret? Then tell me, what is the hidden secret?" Yun Hao's tone carried a hint of amusement.

The teahouse owner hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to confess: "In fact, although the business of this small teahouse is slow, there have always been people who secretly support it, so it can survive."

"Secretly funding?" Yun Hao raised his eyebrows. "Who is funding you?"

"I didn't know at first, but later I found out it was... Prince Rong." The teahouse owner said with fear on his face.

The news of Prince Rong's arrest had not spread widely yet, and the teahouse owner was unaware of it. As a businessman, he really didn't dare to offend such a powerful prince.

"Why did Prince Rong fund you? What kind of deal is there between you two?" Yun Hao asked.

"Well, I... I really don't know. Prince Rong just sent someone to deliver the banknotes and asked me to maintain the teahouse's business. Other than that, he didn't give me any other instructions." The teahouse owner suddenly thought of something, "Xiao He was brought here by the person who delivered the banknotes."

"Tell me who are the guests on the fifteenth of every month?" Yun Hao asked casually.

The teahouse owner didn't dare to hide anything and quickly told everything he knew: "On the 15th of every month, many noble ladies would come to the teahouse. Every time they came, they would order the most expensive tea and gather together to chat."

"What are they talking about?" Yun Hao asked.

"I'm just a teahouse owner. How dare I eavesdrop on the guests' conversations? What's more, every time they come, they go to the private rooms on the second floor with the door curtains drawn. I can't hear what they are saying inside at all." The teahouse owner answered cautiously, fearing that he would anger Yun Hao.

"You'd better tell the truth, otherwise, you will bear the consequences." Yun Hao's eyes fell on the torture instruments.

The teahouse owner was so frightened that he trembled all over and said hurriedly, "They were talking about ordinary things. Once, they mentioned a secret in the palace. I overheard it and it seemed like they were sending some medicine into the palace."

Yun Hao narrowed his eyes slightly. This medicine reminded him of how Concubine Rou and Concubine Rong poisoned the eleventh prince.

The Northern Di spies have even infiltrated the palace.

Yun Hao asked, "What else did they say?"

The teahouse owner thought for a moment and replied, "They said that the medicine was brought from Beidi, it is very precious, and only the Beidi royal family has it. They also said that if this medicine is sent to the palace, it will definitely help your majesty live longer."

It’s not the medicine to poison the Eleventh Prince!

It's a joke that the medicine from Beidi can prolong Your Majesty's life.

Yun Hao sneered. The Beidi spies were very ambitious and even tried to control His Majesty with drugs.

He glanced at the teahouse owner and said calmly, "Do you know who sent this medicine?"

The teahouse owner shook his head and said, "I just heard it by chance and don't know the details."

Yun Hao frowned slightly and said, "Wait a minute, medicine, medicine for His Majesty."

An insider in the palace did mention that His Majesty has been taking medicine recently.

Damn it, he actually neglected it. "You continue the interrogation."

Yun Hao took the confession of the teahouse owner and went to the torture room where the waiter named Xiao He was being interrogated. The executioner was whipping Xiao He, but when he saw Yun Hao coming in, he stopped and said, "Sir."

"Did he confess?" Yun Hao sat down on the chair.

"He was very stubborn and kept saying that he was just a waiter in the teahouse and knew nothing." the interrogator replied.

"Use severe punishment." Yun Hao gave the order coldly.

The executioner received the order, put down the whip and took out a thorn whip. The whip was covered with barbs. Once it hit the body, it would tear off pieces of flesh, causing extreme pain.

Xiao He was tied to the rack, and when he saw the whip, a trace of fear flashed in his eyes. When the whip was hit, he screamed.

The executioner kept calm and whipped Xiao He twice more. Xiao He was covered in blood. "I, I confess."

"Tell me what you know." Yun Hao didn't ask any specific questions.

Xiao He's voice trembled as he began to tell everything he knew, "I was originally a waiter in another teahouse. One day, a man who looked like a manager gave me some money and asked me to work as a waiter in Ju Ming Lou."

"They asked me to keep an eye on the shopkeeper and report to them if I found anything wrong."

Xiao He swallowed and continued, "They told me to pay attention to the shopkeeper's words and actions, as well as the people he comes into contact with. If the shopkeeper talks to anyone suspicious or behaves in an unusual way, I will report it to them immediately."

"What unusual movements did the shopkeeper make?" Yun Hao asked.

"Once, the shopkeeper wanted to invite Commander Xie of the Discipline Army to come in for tea, saying that he had something important to tell him. Commander Xie didn't agree, and the shopkeeper seemed very disappointed. Later, the shopkeeper tried to invite Commander Xie several times, but was rejected every time."

Yun Hao frowned and asked, "Anything else? Did the shopkeeper mention any special things or people?"

Xiao He tried to recall, "The teahouse's business was not good, but the owner was not in a hurry at all. He even stared at the female guests who came to the teahouse to drink tea and eavesdropped on their conversations."

Yun Hao narrowed his eyes slightly, "Didn't you report this to those people?"

"There's nothing much to say about this. It's normal for men to stare at beautiful women. Those people are only more interested in whether the shopkeeper has talked to anyone suspicious." Xiao He said truthfully.

"Didn't you eavesdrop on their conversation?" Yun Hao asked.

"I'm a worker. I have to work. If I don't work, the boss will scold me." Xiao He said.

"Which teahouse did you work in before?" Yun Hao asked unexpectedly.

Xiao He was stunned and couldn't answer for a moment.

"What? Is this question difficult to answer?" Yun Hao's voice was as cold as ice.

"I work as a waiter at Yuanfu Teahouse." Xiaohe replied.

"How long have you been working here? How much do you earn per month?" Yun Hao continued to ask.

"It's more than a year, and the wages are half a dollar." Xiao He replied with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Your lie will be exposed by just asking this question, so why bother saying it?" Yun Hao raised his finger slightly, and the executioner whipped the river with a whip, taking off another piece of meat.

Xiao He almost fainted from the pain, "Please spare my life, sir. I will tell you the truth."

Yun Hao did not let the executioner stop, and the executioner whipped Xiao He twice more, and Xiao He fainted from the pain.

The executioner sniffed his breath and said, "He's still alive."

After saying that, he poured ice water on the man to wake him up.

The half-dead Xiao He asked weakly, "Sir, can you tell me how I was exposed?"

"Jiao Xiao." Yun Hao paused, "Or Gou Liu."

"So she was the one who betrayed me." Xiao He sneered, "Women are unreliable. No wonder you didn't even let go of my teeth when you arrested me."

"She confessed a lot. I asked you only to confirm what she said." Yun Hao lied to him.

"I am from Beidi. I sneaked into the capital a year ago. I saw that this teahouse was in a remote location and had poor business, so I spent some money to the owner and used this place as a base."

"How many people do you have under you? How do you contact each other?" Yun Hao asked.