Chapter 173 Give your Majesty an explanation!
“Ah Er!”

When the familiar voice sounded in the torture room, Gao Linxiang’s heart trembled, and his face was filled with joy. He turned around and said, “Brother!”

But when he looked back, he found that the person standing in the torture room was not only his elder brother Gao Qirui, but also someone he did not expect –

Left Prime Minister, Wu Yong!
Although Gao Linxiang had long since resigned from his official position and was now just a commoner, he had served the Third Prince Ji Yunrui for so many years and was already familiar with the inside and outside of Kyoto. How could he not recognize this powerful prime minister?
Even though he had a different stance from Wu Yong, he did not dare to act like a spoiled brat when facing this important figure and just stood aside obediently.

But I started to have doubts in my heart.

How did Big Brother and Prime Minister Wu get together?
Could it be that in order to rescue himself from the Astronomical Observatory, the Third Prince even lowered his dignity to beg Prime Minister Wu?

Or… in order to save himself, my elder brother secretly surrendered to Prime Minister Wu?
When Gao Linxiang was confused, Wu Yong glanced at Gao Qirui beside him and said coldly: “I have already explained the matter to His Majesty the Third Prince. His Majesty sent you here. Do you know what to do?”

Gao Qirui’s eyes turned red, he clenched his teeth, and clasped his fists towards Wu Yong: “Your humble servant… understands.”

“Okay, then I won’t disturb you two brothers from reminiscing about the past.”

Wu Yong nodded, then walked out of the torture room without looking away.

When passing by Gao Linxiang, he hurriedly bowed his head and saluted. It was not until the door of the torture chamber was opened that he secretly raised his head and watched Wu Yong’s departing back.

When the door of the torture chamber was closed again, Gao Linxiang let out a long sigh of relief, and his tone became relaxed. He walked towards his eldest brother: “Brother, why is Prime Minister Wu here? From what he said, did the Third Prince come forward to ask Prime Minister Wu to save me?”

“Your Highness must have sacrificed a lot to save me. I really… don’t know where to put my face.”

“Brother, I admit defeat this time. At worst, I won’t want Kyoto City anymore and I’ll go back to the Western Desert…Brother?”

He talked a lot, but there was no response from his brother, so he looked at him in confusion.

But what he saw was his eldest brother’s red eyes and a look of grief and despair on his face.

Gao Qirui quickly lowered his head and wiped the corners of his eyes. When he looked up at his younger brother, he forced a smile and said, “A’er, I have something to ask of you.”

Gao Linxiang felt a bad omen in his heart, and gritted his teeth and said, “Is Your Highness going to punish me? This time I was wrong. No matter what punishment Your Highness gives me, I will accept it.”

“Come here and sit down.”

Under the guidance of Gao Qirui, Gao Linxiang sat behind a desk.

On the table, a piece of rice paper was spread out, with a paperweight pressing down the top edge of the paper.

The ink has been ground in the inkstone next to it.

Gao Qirui lifted his sleeves, reached out to pick up the brush on the pen holder, dipped it in the ink in the inkstone, and then handed it to Gao Linxiang.

Gao Linxiang looked at him in confusion, but still subconsciously took the brush.

“I said, write it down, don’t miss a single word, don’t make a single mistake.”

Gao Qirui’s voice was as calm and gentle as possible, but beneath his calm words he seemed to be suppressing some emotion.

Gao Linxiang keenly sensed that something was wrong and couldn’t help but said, “Brother…”

“Do it!”

It was not until Gao Qirui roared as if he had exploded with emotion that Gao Linxiang dared not ask any more questions and quickly picked up his brush and put it on the rice paper.

Gao Qirui was speechless for a long time, until the ink dots from the pen tip spread on the rice paper, he slowly opened his mouth:
“In the 47th year of Tianwu, the lieutenant officer of the Western Desert Army’s foreign slave camp, Ge Shuhan, conspired with the common people to lead 5,000 foreign slaves to disguise themselves as ‘red-haired ghosts’ and march to the Xiqu and Zhetong areas…”

As he wrote this, Gao Linxiang’s hand holding the brush began to tremble uncontrollably.

He looked at Gao Qirui in disbelief: “Brother!”

But Gao Qirui’s face was filled with indifference. He reached out and pressed his shoulder, saying coldly, “Keep writing.”

Gao Linxiang had no choice but to continue writing.

This is a confession. It describes how he, under the coercion of the captain of the foreign slave camp under the command of the Western Desert Army, had the foreign slave army disguised as an alien tribe invading the territory of Daqian, burning, killing and looting the border of Yongzhou, and even kidnapping the good people of Yongzhou, and how he lured a direct descendant of the Western Desert Zhou family into the slave trade…

“…I know that I have committed a grave sin, and now I can only die to atone for my crime. I hope Your Majesty will remember my merit in reporting this crime and only kill me, and spare the lives of my three clans!”

“The sinner Gao Linxiang kowtows and begs for mercy!”

When the last word landed on paper.

Gao Linxiang seemed to have all the strength drained out of him, and the brush in his hand fell to the table with a clang.

His whole body began to tremble, and cold sweat kept pouring out.

Gao Qirui walked around behind him, put his right hand on his shoulder, his eyes full of sorrow: “The case of trafficking innocent people…cannot be suppressed any more.”

“His Majesty doesn’t want to investigate further, but he wants a way out now…”

The Yi Slave Camp of the Western Desert Army was the mastermind, and Gao Linxiang and a direct descendant of the Zhou family were accomplices… This is the excuse that Prime Minister Wu is asking for on behalf of His Majesty!

The Third Prince admitted it.

Then Gao Linxiang…should also admit it.

Gao Qirui pulled out a roll of white silk from his sleeve, slowly wrapped it around Gao Linxiang’s throat, closed his eyes, and tears flowed down his cheeks: “A-er, I can’t do anything!”

He gradually increased the strength in his hands, and the white silk was wrapped around both sides, getting tighter and tighter…

Gao Linxiang’s body arched like a shrimp, and his hands kept reaching for his throat, trying to tear off the white silk wrapped around his neck.

His eyes widened, his tongue gradually stuck out, and he made a sound that was not like a human voice: “Uh…”

“Ah Er, don’t blame my brother!”

Gao Qirui’s eyes were filled with tears, but the strength in his hands became stronger and stronger.

He could feel Gao Linxiang struggling, until the strength of his struggle became weaker and weaker…

When Gao Linxiang’s hands fell limply, Gao Qirui let go of them, hugged his brother’s still warm body, and cried loudly.

……

Wu Yong waited outside the torture chamber for a long time, listening to the wailing coming from inside.

His face remained unmoved, he just waited quietly.

After a while, the door of the torture room opened and Gao Qirui walked out holding a piece of paper with wet ink.

He walked to Wu Yong in a daze and handed him the paper with wet ink: “This is my Highness’s instructions to Prime Minister Wu.”

Wu Yong took it, glanced at the contents on the paper several times, and finally landed on the bloody handprint on the corner of the paper. He nodded with satisfaction, put it into his sleeve, and then looked up and said to Gao Qirui: “This is not an explanation to me, this is an explanation to His Majesty.”

After saying that, he stood up and was about to leave.

But at this moment, Gao Qirui spoke to keep him.

“Wu Xiang.”

Gao Qirui’s face was still covered with tears, but his expression was no longer mournful. His eyes were filled with hatred: “Now that things have come to this, I only have one thing to ask.”

“What’s the matter?”

“Who on earth…told the news to Prime Minister Wu?”

(End of this chapter)