People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 625 Means
"What else do you want to ask?" In the closed room, Guan Hai sat on a narrow stool, staring coldly at Tian Shitou in front of him: "The fraud case has nothing to do with me at all, and my son was just implicated. You don't have any evidence at all, so why are you investigating me!"

Since arriving at the Qingzhou Censorate Yamen, Guan Hai was brought directly into this small room. Such rooms are usually the standard configuration when interrogating criminals.

The furnishings in the room were very simple. There was nothing else except a soft chair. But although the chair was soft, it was not for the prisoner's enjoyment.

In fact, the entire room, from the walls to the floor, was wrapped in thick leather and cotton wool padding, which eliminated any possibility of self-harm or suicide for the prisoners.

Usually, criminals who are at their wits' end, facing irrefutable evidence, or suffering from mental collapse, or having to cover up for others, will take extreme measures to end their lives, and they need such soft-packaged rooms for interrogation.

The methods and tactics of the Censorate had long been no secret in the Xuanxia officialdom. Everyone who embarked on a career in officialdom must have fantasized about whether they would one day end up in prison. Guan Hai certainly had thought about it as well, and now he had actually ended up in prison.

He also knew that in addition to this soft-padded room, the Censorate also had a set of memory recovery techniques that were widely circulated in official circles.

Before coming here, he thought that he probably would not be able to enjoy the great memory recovery technique. After all, a fraud case would not warrant such an investigation by the Censorate. This was a method used only to deal with convicted officials who already had considerable evidence of illegal activities.

The fraud case basically has nothing to do with me. Even if it is really investigated to me, such a big case is actually relatively big. In front of an official of my level, it is nothing. The Censorate will not do such a thing to me because of this.

However, only half a day after he came in, his confidence slowly disappeared because he found that Tian Shitou really had resorted to trickery.

In fact, the methods used by the Censorate were not very cruel. They usually used some small tricks to wear down the will of the criminal officials. Although the intensity was not high, it was a torture, and few people could persist in such a harsh environment.

At this time, the Censorate didn't have to do much. Just asking Guan Hai to stay in the room was enough to make Guan Hai uncomfortable.

There were no young girls to fan him, nor large ice cubes to cool him down. He could only endure the hot and suffocating closed room. After half a day, he was already sweating profusely, and the sweat flowed down like a stream.

Under such circumstances, the constant questioning of the Censorate quickly made Guan Hai fall into a state of exhaustion.

"You have no evidence, but you are just accusing someone of something. You are putting him under house arrest under the pretext of an investigation. This is not in accordance with procedure. I don't believe the Prime Minister would allow you to do this. You must have deceived the Prime Minister in some way!"

Guan Hai could do nothing but keep wiping his sweat. What made him deeply uneasy was an iron gong hung outside the window by Tian Shitou, which was actually a signal.

This means that the Censorate has already started to take action, and it seems that they are not going to let him sleep.

It is believed that this interrogation will probably not take a short time, and during this period, as long as I show any sign of falling asleep, the interrogator outside the window will immediately provide a wake-up service by ringing the gong. The high temperature is already very torturous, and if I can't even sleep, then even an iron man can't stand it.

"Even if you have the power to supervise all officials, that is not a reason for you to act recklessly. If you let me leave now, you still have room to turn back. Otherwise, I will go to the prime minister in person to ask for an explanation for this matter. The consequences then will not be something you can bear!" Although he appeared calm on the surface, he was already beginning to panic inside, and he couldn't help but start threatening Tian Shitou.

However, Tian Shitou had seen this trick countless times. Since taking charge of the Censorate, Tian Shitou had interrogated countless officials. Although the crimes committed by these officials were different, some of their reactions when being investigated were similar.

Although Guan Hai held a high position of power, when he panicked, he looked fierce on the outside but weak on the inside, just like any other official.

Tian Shitou just curled his lips and smiled faintly: "Master Guan, you don't have to worry about the Censorate. It's better to worry about whether you still have a chance to leave. I advise you to cooperate with the investigation and explain the matter honestly. Confess and you will be treated leniently. In the future, when the verdict is made, at least your punishment can be reduced slightly depending on the situation."

Hearing this, Guan Hai, who was already very tired, glared. His anger restored some of his spirit: "I have said many times that the imperial examination fraud case has nothing to do with me. Even if my son is implicated in this imperial examination, you should investigate him instead of me!"

Guan Hai was confident that his hands and feet were clean enough. Even if the Censorate really found out something, it would only be Guan Liang's fault. He could completely keep himself out of trouble. At most, he would be accused of being a bad father, and nothing serious would happen.

Tian Shitou had a calm expression, and his sharp eyes seemed to see through what Guan Hai was thinking.

After the two of them stared at each other for a while, he spoke coldly. "It seems that General Guan has misunderstood. We never said that you were directly related to the fraud case. We will naturally investigate Guan Liang thoroughly. General Guan just needs to cooperate with the investigation. As long as it is found that you have nothing to do with him, we will naturally not continue to embarrass you about this case."

"In that case, you should let me go immediately. Without any evidence, the Censorate has no right to keep a governor under house arrest for a long time!" Guan Liang's spirits lifted, as if he felt hope of escaping the predicament.

Upon hearing this, Tian Shitou was silent for a while, then he laughed softly, his laughter full of mockery.

Guan Hai was stunned for a moment. Although he was extremely angry, he still suppressed his anger at this time and watched coldly what tricks Tian Shitou was playing.

"Don't worry, my lord. We don't need to worry about the fraud case for now, but we still have to make the other cases clear. If you don't explain clearly, I'm afraid you won't have a chance to get out of the Censorate!" Tian Shitou crossed his arms and said to him in a sarcastic tone.

When the words fell, Guan Hai's pupils suddenly contracted. It was then that he finally realized that the fraud case was just a cover-up and the Censorate was here for other matters.

So the question is, what exactly are they fighting for?

Although his heart was in turmoil, Guan Hai tried to calm down: "I don't understand, is there any other case related to me?"

Tian Shitou sneered and listed the crimes in detail like a dish: "Accepting dirty money, shielding subordinates, supporting gangs, killing people indiscriminately, and humiliating women. As the governor of Qingzhou, what have you done in these years? I'm afraid there is no need to tell you one by one, you know it best!"

(End of this chapter)