The cold and lonely basement cell was dark and damp.
Wang Qin sat on the ground with disheveled hair. His brocade clothes were already stained with dust, and he had lost all the temperament of the son of Xunyang prefect.
When Lin Jiangnian caught him, he was in the Liuxiang Tower, making love with the courtesan Piaoxiang, blissfully rapt. In the blink of an eye, he was a prisoner. Lin Jiangnian's guards roughly wrapped him up in his clothes and stuffed him into a sack before taking him back.
The guards under his command were all rough and tumble veterans who had served in the Linzhou army and had no idea how to handle a blow. Furthermore, upon learning that Wang Qin had nearly killed His Highness, they were even less pleased with him.
If Lin Jiangnian had not specifically emphasized not to kill the person, Wang Qin would probably be dead now.
But even so, his treatment was not much better.
At this moment, Wang Qin in the cell saw Lin Jiangnian appear in front of him again, and the look of fear on his face could not be hidden.
He had only met Lin Jiangnian once in the prefectural governor's mansion, and only then did he learn from his close confidants that the fair-skinned man in front of him, who looked like a scholar, was actually the legendary Prince Lin, which was completely different from what was described before.
Wang Qin had met Lin Hengzhong once before, and in his impression, the Prince of Lin was a dark-skinned, bearded man, resembling a wild beast. Who could have imagined that his son would be so handsome?
This inevitably made Wang Qin feel a little jealous.
Before this, he was jealous of Lin Jiangnian's engagement with the eldest princess. In his imagination, Lin Jiangnian should look similar to his father, a dandy boy with ordinary or even ugly looks... If the marriage was not arranged by the emperor, how could he be worthy of the eldest princess?
This is consistent with everyone's stereotype of people in wild places like Linzhou.
But who could have imagined that this Prince Lin was actually such a man with both good looks and aura? This made Wang Qin look like a clown.
The fire of jealousy burned fiercely. When Wang Qin discovered Lin Jiangnian's existence in the secret room in the back mountain, he became bolder and developed the intention to kill him.
So, everything fell into place!
Seal the secret room, poison it, destroy it...
In one go, he completely buried all the secrets about the Wang family and the Prince Lin in the secret room.
I thought everything was settled!
Until yesterday, when Lin Jiangnian appeared alive in front of Wang Qin, Wang Qin was terrified, panicked, shocked, and dazed... His head felt like it had been hit hard by something, and he was dizzy.
Lin Jiangnian, not dead?!
A feeling of despair like the end of the world suddenly surged into Wang Qin's heart. Before Wang Qin had time to think about what to do, he was caught by Lin Jiangnian.
"You, what do you want to do?"
Inside the cell, Wang Qin stared with a pale face at Lin Jiangnian who had opened the cell door and stepped into the cell. He gritted his teeth and said, "Do you know what you are doing?!"
"oh?"
Lin Jiangnian raised his eyebrows: "Then tell me, what is this prince doing?"
Wang Qinqiang suppressed the fear in his heart, gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice: "If you dare to kidnap me, my father will not let you go."
Lin Jiangnian looked at Wang Qin, who was still trying to threaten him in this situation, and sneered, "How would your father know that it was this prince who kidnapped you?"
"Your father probably still thinks that this prince is dead, right?"
Wang Qin's face became even uglier.
yes!
His father and second uncle now believed that Lin Jiangnian was dead, but Lin Jiangnian was not dead at the moment. Once this news spread, it would definitely catch the Wang family off guard. What if...
No matter how stupid Wang Qin was, he realized the seriousness of the matter.
"You, what on earth do you want to do?!"
Wang Qin gritted his teeth and stared at Lin Jiangnian with a panicked look on his face: "I, I have no grudge against you, why, why are you..."
"No grudges or hatred?"
Lin Jiangnian glanced at him and asked, "Are you treating me like a fool?"
Wang Qin was shocked, knowing that the Prince of Lin in front of him was not easy to fool, but he was sure that Lin Jiangnian had no evidence. He gritted his teeth and said, "I don't know you well and have only met you once. How could I harm you..."
"The Chamber of Secrets incident... has nothing to do with me!"
Listening to Wang Qinyi's righteous and sophistry words, Lin Jiangnian looked him up and down and said in surprise: "I really didn't realize that you are so stubborn!"
Wang Qin snorted coldly, "I know you're the Prince of Lin, a noble man. Our Wang family can't afford to offend you, but don't go too far... I have no grudge against you. You kidnapped me, aren't you afraid that my father will report you to the court?"
Lin Jiangnian looked at him with interest, and nodded with a smile: "Scared!"
Wang Qin was delighted: "Why don't you let me go?!"
"But the prerequisite is that your father must have evidence!"
Lin Jiangnian smiled and said, "How can your father sue me if he has no evidence?"
“Who said no?!”
Wang Qin snorted coldly: "I am the evidence!"
"you?"
Lin Jiangnian laughed and said, "That depends on whether you can get out alive."
"You, what do you mean?!"
Hearing this, Wang Qin froze and looked up at Lin Jiangnian. Seeing Lin Jiangnian looking at him with a smile on his face, for some reason, it seemed playful and cold.
Like... there's some kind of murderous intent.
Wang Qin's hands and feet suddenly turned cold, and his face turned even paler: "You, you want to kill me?!"
Seeing that Lin Jiangnian didn't say anything, the fear in Wang Qin's eyes became more and more obvious: "You, don't do anything rash, I, I'm warning you..."
Wang Qin subconsciously took two steps back with a look of horror.
Now that he has fallen into Lin Jiangnian's hands, if he really kills someone to silence him... then he won't even have a place to cry and regret.
"I, I am the son of the governor of Xunyang. I, my father only has me as his son. If you dare to kill me, you will be in great trouble..."
"miserable?"
Lin Jiangnian was very interested: "Tell me, how tragic is it?"
Wang Qin's heart trembled. Did he really have this idea?
Wang Qin warned with a stern expression, "If I die, the Wang family will not let you go. My father will never let you go. Even if you are the Prince of Lin, my father will never let you go. If we fall out, it will not benefit your Lin family at all..."
"Also, the imperial court will definitely not let you go... If I die, you, you will definitely suffer the same fate..."
"I'm warning you, don't mess around!"
“…”
Wang Qin was obviously a little frightened.
Right in this basement, he cried out to heaven but no one answered him, what if he really died here?
That’s so unfair!
However, Lin Jiangnian still smiled and said, "Do you think this prince would care about these things?"
Wang Qin's expression became increasingly grim: "You, what do you mean?"
"It's common knowledge that this prince is an unlearned dandy, a millennium-old scourge... You've probably heard about what this prince did in Linzhou, right?"
As Lin Jiangnian spoke, he stepped closer to Wang Qin and chuckled, "In everyone's eyes, no matter what I do, it's all within reason... let alone just killing you?"
"What does the son of a mere Xunyang prefect count for?"
"Do you think you're worth anything?!"
Lin Jiangnian's tone was very light, as if he was explaining an ordinary matter.
His expression was calm and his tone was relaxed.
But when Wang Qin heard these words, his face changed drastically, he was terrified and angry!
Humiliation, naked humiliation!
As the son of the prefect of Xunyang, he was a powerful figure in the world of Xunyang County. From childhood to adulthood, who didn't call him "Young Master" and give him some face?
I'm used to being admired and treated as superior, but now, I'm being humiliated. What does that mean?
Isn’t he, the son of the Xunyang prefect, worthless?
Why isn't it considered a thing?!
Wang Qin wanted to defend himself angrily, but when the words came to his lips, he saw Lin Jiangnian's sneering expression, and the anger in his heart seemed to stop abruptly.
Instead, there was deep fear.
He finally realized something, and his voice trembled a little: "You, you really want to kill me?!"
Lin Jiangnian walked up to him, squatted down, and said with a half-smile: "You and your second uncle almost took my life. Do you think I should take revenge?"
"If it were you, would you seek revenge?"
Wang Qin was silent.
If it were him, how could he not seek revenge?
Wang Qin's heart sank suddenly and his eyes became more and more frightened.
"Of course, I don't usually hold grudges. If you're willing to listen to me, I might consider sparing your life. How about that?"
Wang Qin was stunned and stared at him in shock and disbelief.
"Will you let me go?"
"That's right."
"What are the conditions?" After a brief surprise, Wang Qin quickly realized that things were not that simple.
"Just be obedient!"
Lin Jiangnian said calmly, "This prince likes obedient people."
Wang Qin was silent and gritted his teeth: "What do you want me to do?"
Lin Jiangnian looked him over and said, "If this prince is not mistaken, your Wang family is plotting a rebellion, right?"
As soon as these words came out, Wang Qin's face changed instantly, and he subconsciously denied it: "No, no..."
"Our Wang family is loyal to the core, and even more so to the imperial court..."
Lin Jiangnian interrupted him impatiently and sneered: "Don't talk nonsense to me, believe it or not, I will beat you up."
Wang Qin gritted his teeth and stared at Lin Jiangnian: "What on earth do you want to say?"
"Why did your Wang family rebel?"
Wang Qin's face turned extremely ugly.
broken!
Lin Jiangnian is not dead, and the biggest secret of their Wang family is exposed.
Faced with Lin Jiangnian's questioning, he had no idea how to defend himself.
In the end, he could only grit his teeth and say, "Our Wang family is loyal to the court and has absolutely no intention of plotting..."
“Bang!”
A slap in the face landed accurately on Wang Qin's face.
Wang Qin screamed, fell to the ground, and wailed in pain.
Lin Jiangnian wiped his palms with some disgust and glanced at Wang Qin on the ground: "Do you really think that this prince is joking with you? If you dare to talk nonsense again, this prince will send you to the palace to be a eunuch!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Qin, who was lying on the ground whimpering and twitching, felt a chill in his lower body. A trace of resentment flashed in his eyes as he lowered his head, and his eyes were particularly vicious.
The humiliation we suffer today will be returned a hundredfold in the future.
"stand up."
Lin Jiangnian spoke lightly.
Although the tone was light, it made Wang Qin feel cold all over.
He struggled hard and slowly got up, his already messy face almost swollen.
"Answer this prince's question. Why did your Wang family rebel?"
Wang Qin lowered his head, his whole body trembling: "I, I don't know..."
"Um?"
Lin Jiangnian narrowed his eyes and spoke in a long tone.
Wang Qin trembled with fear, a flash of resentment in his eyes, and he immediately explained: "This, these things are known to my father and my second uncle. I, I don't know the reason..."
Lin Jiangnian stared at him for a few seconds and clicked the picture: "Okay, I barely believe you. Next question..."
"You are just a Wang family, just a small county governor. How dare you have the idea of rebellion?"
"Tell me, who is the power behind your Wang family?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Wang Qin's expression changed obviously, and he became frightened and hesitant.
Lin Jiangnian stretched out his hand, and Wang Qin trembled with fear: "I, I don't know..."
"have no idea?"
Lin Jiangnian stared at him for a few seconds and sneered, "Since you don't know, there's no point in keeping you around, right?"
Wang Qin's pupils widened, and before he could say anything, he saw Lin Jiangnian slowly stand up.
"Someone come!"
Two guards walked into the cell behind him.
"Punish Prince Wang!"
Two guards came closer: "Your Highness, what kind of punishment?"
"Castration!"
Lin Jiangnian said calmly, "Young Master Wang is so delicate and tender, it would be a waste for him to stay in Xunyang City. Send him to the palace to be a eunuch."
The two guards were stunned. Sent to the palace to be a eunuch?
Isn't this just...
After a brief moment of confusion, the two guards quickly reacted, stepping forward one on the left and one on the right, ready to punish him.
Wang Qin's whole body was cold, his pupils were wide open, and he was terrified.
Are you serious?
He, he really wants to come...
Wang Qin was completely shocked when he saw the two guards skillfully taking out various sharp knives.
He, he doesn't want to be a eunuch!
Even if he died, he would not accept such an insult.
"No, no, don't... help..."
Wang Qin struggled desperately, but was easily picked up by the guards beside him and tied to a rack nearby.
The next second, Wang Qin's pants were pulled off and his lower body felt cold.
Wang Qin was enveloped by overwhelming fear. His whole body was shaking violently and he was filled with despair.
At this moment, he finally broke down.
If he really gets castrated, it will be all over!
Even if he can take revenge in the future, he will never be a man again!
Wrapped in fear, Wang Qin's mind went blank and he completely collapsed.
"Don't... spare me, I'll tell you, I'll tell you..."
"I'll tell you everything..."
"Wait a minute."
Lin Jiangnian waved his hands, calling out to the guards who were about to attack. Looking at Wang Qin, who was tied to the wooden frame and on the verge of collapse, he sighed, "Tell me, are you a cheapskate?"
"You won't tell me when I ask you nicely. Do you have to do this before you'll be honest?"
“…”
At this moment, Wang Qin was terrified, and his eyes were full of fear when he looked at Lin Jiangnian.
vicious!
This person is really vicious!
This Prince Lin is so despicable!
They actually used such despicable means to deal with him.
Damn it!
Even though he felt extremely unwilling, Wang Qin had no choice at this moment.
Facing Lin Jiangnian's indifferent gaze, the guards around him who were eyeing him covetously, and the shining knives in the guards' hands, it seemed as if they would castrate him at any time.
Wang Qin felt cold all over, and finally gritted his teeth in fear.
"Yes, Third Prince!"
“…”