Chapter 31: Into a Political Intrigue Novel, Day 9
Chapter 31: Into a Political Intrigue Novel, Day 9
Chapter 31: The Ninth Day in a Power Struggle Novel
An Yi heard the sound of the comments section in his head once again.
“...”
“Something's off! Really off!”
“So gay!”
“What does the male lead want to do?!”
“An Yi, right...”
“...”
“What kind of reckless words are those from the comment above?!”
“You two are a bit too close...”
“Seriously, is this heading to Brokeback Mountain?”
“What's going on? Does the author have a problem, writing gay stuff in a male-genre novel?”
“...”
An Yi: ...
Speechless.
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Wang Xian was thrown into the deepest, most chilling cell of the Ministry of Justice's prison. Here, sunlight never reached, and only the flickering torches cast twisted, shifting shadows. The air was thick with the stench of rust, blood, and decaying mold.
The jailers, having received implicit instructions from higher-ups, did not torture him. They simply tossed him like a sack of rags onto a stone slab covered with a thin layer of moldy straw.
Wang Xian curled up in a corner, the wound on his forehead already scabbed over, but the fear in his heart was more painful than the wound.
He replayed An Yi's reassuring smile in his mind: “The Lord Grand Secretary won't give up on me... Lord An said it would be fine... it will definitely be fine...” He muttered to himself, as if clutching at the last straw.
“I'm still useful! I have leverage over them! Duan Mingde's shady dealings... An Yi's dark secrets... They wouldn't dare! They absolutely wouldn't dare ignore me!”
He even began to fantasize that perhaps Lord An would soon send someone to rescue him, or that Ge Lian, that brute who only knows how to brandish a sword, would find no substantial evidence and have to give up in frustration.
However, after nightfall, a sharp, indescribable pain exploded without warning in his abdomen.
The pain was as if countless red-hot iron hooks were churning and tearing at his internal organs.
Wang Xian suddenly curled into a ball, letting out a beastlike, agonized howl. Beads of sweat as large as beans instantly soaked his prison uniform. He clutched his stomach and rolled wildly on the ground, banging into the cold stone walls with a thudding noise.
“Uh... ah! Help... help! Someone! It hurts... it hurts so much!” His miserable screams echoed through the silent prison corridor, only to be met with impatient curses from distant jailers: “Stop your wailing! Shut up!”
The intense pain came in waves, each wave stronger than the last.
Darkness swam before Wang Xian's eyes. In a daze, he seemed to see An Yi's face, handsome and gentle, slowly emerging from the shadows of the cell, the familiar, reassuring smile on his lips.
“An... Lord An... save me...” Wang Xian stretched out a convulsive hand, futilely grasping at the illusory shadow.
The next second, the excruciating pain completely consumed his consciousness. His body convulsed violently a few times, then stiffened abruptly. His cloudy eyes bulged as if about to burst, staring fixedly into the endless darkness of the cell ceiling, filled with extreme pain and unbelievable terror.
A mixture of blood and black filth slowly seeped from his mouth and nose, spreading across the cold stone floor.
When the jailer came for the routine morning check and found the corpse, now stiff and cold, he frowned and glanced with disgust at the stiff, cold, foul-smelling body, and then instinctively felt the thick stack of banknotes in his sleeve pocket.
He muttered as a matter of routine: “Tsk, scared out of his wits, caught the noxious prison air, died suddenly.”
Then he hastily scribbled in the register: “Prisoner Wang Xian, died of sudden illness.”
The news of Wang Xian's violent death spread quickly.
“Wang Xian died?”
“I heard he was scared to death, had an acute attack at night and didn't make it.”
“Tsk, that was a mercy, he was spared the torture.”
“Mercy? This is clearly... Hmph, the Grand Secretary's methods are truly effective!”
“Silence! Watch your tongue! Be careful not to bring disaster upon yourself!”
Officials belonging to the Grand Secretary's faction discussed privately, their words filled with awe and unspoken understanding.
Duan Mingde's method of 'cleaning house' was as swift, clean, and ruthless as always.
No one would suspect the ever-gentle and composed An Yi, who remained unflappable in court.
In their eyes, although An Yi held the position of Director of the Chancellery and was valued by the Grand Secretary, he was still young and ultimately just the sharpest and most useful tool in Duan Mingde's hand. The one who wielded the tool was always the unfathomable Grand Secretary Duan.
Even if a few sharp-minded individuals vaguely sensed that Wang Xian's death was connected to Lord An, they immediately suppressed that dangerous thought and kept their mouths shut.
Moreover, news from Cui Wenyuan indicated that Lord An had originally intended to save Wang Xian.
Unfortunately...
Even the most loyal dog, after doing so many dirty jobs for the Grand Secretary, once it becomes a liability, is cast aside like a worn-out shoe.
When Ge Lian received the news of Wang Xian's violent death in prison, he was conducting morning drills on the training ground. The long spear in his hand suddenly stopped, its tip flashing a cold gleam in the early morning light.
“Reporting to the Junior Marquis! Urgent message from the Ministry of Justice: Director Wang Xian of the Budgetary Bureau died suddenly in prison last night!”
He slowly raised his head, his deep, sharp gaze piercing through the thin mist towards the east where the first light of dawn appeared, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth:
“Early in the morning... the news has arrived quite 'timely'.”
“Dead?” Ge Lian's thick brows furrowed. “Not dying earlier or later, but just after this Marquis received the imperial decree to take over the investigation of this case, he 'died suddenly' on that very night? Great, just great! A 'sudden illness' indeed!”
Through this news, he could almost see Duan Mingde's inscrutable old face, perhaps wearing a mocking smile. Was that scheming old thing now smirking with that nauseating, self-assured smile?
And An Yi... was there a look of smugness on his face at this moment?
“What about the body?”
The personal guard quickly bowed: “Reporting to the Junior Marquis, according to the report... it has already been buried.”
“Buried?!”
Ge Lian gritted his teeth: “From the time the death was reported here to the burial, has it even been half an hour?! Dig it up! Immediately conduct an autopsy!”
The personal guard showed a troubled expression and braced himself to report: “Junior Marquis, please calm your anger! Wang Xian's wife, née Li, said that her husband had failed the emperor and the state, committed heinous crimes beyond redemption, and deserved to atone for his sins.”
“Such a criminal... is not worthy of a proper burial. She has already... already had the body cremated! What was hastily buried now is merely a cenotaph.”
“Cremated?” The muscles on Ge Lian's face twitched fiercely, and then he let out a low, cold laugh: “Excellent... truly excellent! Truly masterful! A watertight job, destroying all evidence!”