Manager Xu had never expected that the first question Chen Dong asked would be about such a vital secret. All of a sudden, even his brain, which had been dull from being frozen all night, became clear. He sat up excitedly, his whole body dazed, and for a moment, he even shivered violently.
They are the ones who did the former crown prince's work.
At that time, the emperor was soft-hearted and listened to the advice of the court officials. He planned to recall the former crown prince. The former crown prince and the former crown princess set out from Shandong under the protection of more than 400 guards... ...
The events of that year happened so long ago that Manager Xu thought that the matter would never be mentioned again in his life. After all, the former crown prince's death had been framed on King Zhuang. Although there was no definite evidence, everyone felt that King Zhuang was related to the former crown prince's death.
But now, Chen Dong actually brought it up again! And he seemed to know him very well, or in other words, he had already determined that he was related to this matter!
Chen Dong admired his expression leisurely, clicked his tongue and raised his eyebrows slightly: "Manager Xu, I just praised you for knowing the times, I guess you really do know the times, right?"
Manager Xu was speechless. His hands and feet were cold. A chill ran from head to toe, making him feel like an ice sculpture in an ice cellar. He forgot how to react.
However, Chen Dong didn't have the patience to wait for him to drag it out, so he winked at the person next to him. A clerk nearby scooped a basin of water from the bucket and poured it over Manager Xu's head, immediately drenching him to the bone.
Manager Xu was so cold this time that his heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys were all frozen. Before he could say anything, Chen Dong spoke coldly: "Manager Xu, you have to think it over before you speak. Who do you want to save? You have already seen the end of Xu Chong. As for Xu Cifu, for him, having this thing or not is just like having too many debts and too many lice, but it is different for you. I have never had much patience. You see, Xu Chong refused to speak, so I simply didn't bother him to speak. The same goes for you. Don't think that it won't work without you. Since I can ask you and mention the name of Umekawa Saburo, you should know that I have other ways. Without you, things will just be more troublesome."
What else did Manager Xu have to say? He was trembling with fear. All the responses and methods he had thought of were useless at this time. He was completely at a loss. After being threatened by Chen Dong, he finally couldn't bear it and slid to the ground.
Chen Dong then snorted coldly and raised his eyebrows: "Are they bandits or Japanese pirates?"
Manager Xu was lying on the ground, his eyes were blurry and he couldn't see anything. He was so anxious that his head was splitting. He was in a state of panic for a while. When Chen Dong was about to stand up, he finally said in fear: "It was the Japanese pirates! It was the Japanese pirates! It was Umekawa Saburo who led people to do it!"
Chen Dong took his foot back, sat at the top and laughed. He looked at him leisurely for a while and hummed, "How come the prince's whereabouts were known to the pirates? The prince was accompanied by more than 400 guards, why couldn't he resist these pirates? Why couldn't the Dengzhou Guards' army be mobilized? Why didn't anyone come to rescue the prince when he was attacked? Why?!"
Each question was like a knife, piercing Manager Xu's heart and almost making a hole in it.
His lips turned pale, he knelt on the ground and trembled, and kowtowed repeatedly with a crying voice: "I'll tell you! I'll tell you! At the beginning, I was ordered to contact Saburo Umekawa, hide Saburo Umekawa and his more than 60 subordinates, and have them ambush on the road that the Crown Prince of Dengzhou must take to return to the capital... ... Waiting for the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess to return to the capital, and then..."
Chen Dong snorted and said to the clerk, "Write it down!"
At the same time, he turned his head and looked at Manager Xu lying on the ground and asked coldly: "Obeying orders, whose orders are you obeying?!"
Having said that, there was nothing to hide anymore. Manager Xu resigned himself to his fate and said, "I obey, I obey the orders of my master... Xu Chong!"
Chen Dong pressed on step by step, walked up to Manager Xu, and even squatted down, looking directly into Manager Xu's eyes: "Well, let me ask you again, why did your master hide the pirates? How could he, an official appointed by the imperial court, be related to the pirates? How did they contact each other? How did you cover these pirates all the way to Shandong? How many people were involved and helped you to escort them?! Tell me now!"
Manager Xu no longer dared to have any fluke mentality. He finally understood that the bodies of Deng Jidong and Shenjiacun were all fake. These people were setting up a trap to lure people in! The eldest grandson of the emperor never cared about the gains and losses of the Xu family. He wanted to investigate the death of the former crown prince!
Manager Xu felt bitter in his mouth, he knew what this meant.
But now he has no way out.
Just as Chen Dong said, if he didn't say it, Xu Chong's example was right in front of him, but was he willing to die? If he was really willing, he wouldn't have been begging for mercy and getting to this point.
Wiping the sweat off his head, Manager Xu endured the pounding heart and the pain like a needle prick, retched a few times, and then collapsed to the ground like a bereaved mother: "I said, I said... our master has been in close contact with the Tong family since he married the eldest lady. Originally, our master was involved in the prince's military training in the enclosure..."
Manager Xu's mind was in a mess, he felt dizzy, his teeth were clattering, and he was shaking uncontrollably. Without thinking, he blurted out all the secrets that he had kept in his heart.
Chen Dong looked down at him from above, and with an indifferent gaze he asked the clerk beside him to write down everything.
By the time the confessions had been copied down, the candlelight in the torture room had been changed several times. Manager Xu no longer had the strength to speak. He had no idea how much time had passed. He just collapsed on the ground with his eyes wide open.
Chen Dong took his testimony, walked up to him, patted his face with the testimony, and woke him up. Then he said calmly: "Sign it. As long as what you say is true, I won't say whether you can save your life, but you still have a mother and children, right? Their lives can be saved at least."
His wife and children have been settled long ago! Manager Xu thought so in his heart, and suddenly looked up and saw Chen Dong's smiling eyes, and immediately understood the deep meaning of Chen Dong's words-----his mother and children were also controlled by Chen Dong and his men! They were indeed well prepared!
Manager Xu lost the last bit of hope in his heart and sat on the ground motionless, like a dying old dog.