Just as Xie Pinggang was about to be sentenced, his superior arrived.
Looking at the person that Xie Pinggang had arrested, he was furious, “Xie Pinggang! Do you know who you have arrested?! This person is going to take the examination soon!”
“I know, that’s why I arrested him. I suspect that he is an imposter!” Xie Pinggang was calm.
He had already caught him. No matter what, he had to get a ruling.
If he was wronged, he would have his head severed.
Moreover, since he dared to capture him, it was definitely not only because of what Xie Qiao said, but also because he had thought of many odd things.
For instance, the first time they met was at a brothel. At that time, Wen Lancheng gave his new poem to the ladies. The ladies looked at him with admiration and asked him what the poem meant. What did he tell them?
The expression on his face when he explained it was like…
It was like when he was reading the poem out loud from memory!
It was not vivid at all, and there were occasional pauses!
He had seen other scholars recite their poems. Each and every one of them was as if they had taken aphrodisiacs. They talked endlessly, full of confidence!
Even if they were very reserved, there would be a hint of madness in their eyes.
This person was obviously different from other scholars!
Also, when they drank together earlier, this man had asked someone to serve a pot of tea.
The tea scalded his hand. Other than the pain, he did not show the slightest sign of worry…
The imperial examination was coming up in a few days. A normal scholar would attach great importance to his hands, but he did not care at all. The weather was cold, and his hands were so cold that they were red. He did not even know where to hide…
In such a situation…
Coupled with the issues that Xie Qiao had mentioned, that was why he dared to capture him.
However, it was useless to say these things out loud. It was just his one-sided opinion. The superior would only think that he was crazy.
“Quickly release him. Do you know how chaotic it is out there now? Do you want to be taken to the imperial court tomorrow?!” The superior asked again.
He did not dare to provoke Xie Pinggang. After all, he had the Crown Prince backing him.
Just as he thought of the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince came.
He stepped into the torture room with his gold-threaded black boots. He glanced at Xie Pinggang and asked, “What crime did this person commit?”
Xie Pinggang restrained himself in front of the Crown Prince, “Your Highness, this person’s behavior is different from ordinary scholars, so I captured him and interrogated him.”
Zhao Xuanjing nodded.
Then, he looked at Wen Lancheng in front of him and said, “Mountains far away, with chaotic clouds surrounding it. Green Mountain at dawn… Tell me what’s the second part of the poem.”
After a long time, the tied man said nothing.
“Recite the third chapter of the Literature Collection,” Zhao Xuanjing said again.
The person across from him still said nothing. He opened his mouth, but he looked like he could not bring himself to say it.
Zhao Xuanjing snorted, “Great. Minister Xie has good judgement. Interrogate this person thoroughly. Even if he isn’t pretending, he must be a fraud in the exam room. If he doesn’t give an explanation within two hours, chop off these fingers one by one and feed them to him. If he is still alive two days later, chop off his head, stuff it in his stomach, then throw him to the wolves.”
The official’s face trembled.
“Yes, sir!” Xie Pinggang replied excitedly.
He was thinking of getting someone to bring a few books so that this man could recite them!
The Crown Prince was brilliant. He could ask questions without any books. Amazing!
“Your Highness…” The official was in a difficult position.
“Why are you trembling? With me here, I will protect you all,” Zhao Xuanjing’s expression was calm as he glanced at the criminal.
