Chapter Ten: A Contest of Wits

  In a secret room of the Yao Jia mansion, Yao Jia and Zhao Gao were staring at each other with gloomy faces.

  Yao Jia's face turned gloomy as he said, "I'm done for this time. The Emperor has seen through our scheme and I fear we'll die without a place to rest our bones!" His face revealed a look of horror.

  Although Zhao Gao furrowed his brow, his face was extremely cold and calm! Zhao Gao looked at Yao Jia with a hint of amusement and said coldly: "What's the panic? Things haven't reached the point of no return yet! Maybe there's still a way to make up for it!"

  Yao Jia's spirit was lifted upon hearing this, and he exclaimed with great joy: "Lord Zhao, what good plan do you have? Speak quickly!"

  Zhao Gao thought for a moment and said, "Li Si is an intelligent person, he should have figured it out. If he doesn't confess to our involvement, we will definitely do our best to help him escape from prison. However, if he does confess to our involvement, although we will also suffer the consequences of being beheaded, he won't be able to escape either! So you don't need to worry about our safety for now!"

  Although Yao Jia listened to the reasonable words, he was still very anxious and said: "The adults may be right, but the Qin law is very strict, Li Si is a spoiled child, and Feng Jie has always been at odds with him. I'm afraid he may not be able to hold on!"

  Zhao Gao took a deep breath, his cold and ruthless eyes gleaming as he said: "So the plan to rescue Li Si must be carried out quickly, it can't be delayed. I've got it!" Zhao Gao's spirit suddenly lifted! Yao Jia was overjoyed and asked: "What is the plan?"

  Zhao Gao slowly said: "Let Li Si confess immediately!" Yao Jia let out a startled cry of "Ah", and almost fell to the ground, crying and laughing at the same time: "Sir, if Li Si confesses, won't we be on a path to death?"

  Zhao Gao looked at Yao Jia with dissatisfaction, furrowed his brow and said: "My intention is to let Li Si take all the blame for framing Han Fei, then in prison write a letter to the emperor explaining himself. The letter must list all his own mistakes, without mentioning any merits. Of course, apart from this matter of framing Han Fei, everything else must be minor issues, otherwise it would be seeking death!"

  "Your Excellency means...?" Yao Jia seemed to have understood. Zhao Gao smiled slyly and said, "Firstly, if Li Si voluntarily pleads guilty, Feng Ji will not be able to increase his punishment. Secondly, the Emperor is a very stubborn and arrogant person. If Li Si tries to curry favor with him, he may provoke the Emperor's wrath and suffer a fatal disaster. However, if he only confesses his crimes, it may remind the Emperor of their past relationship and grant him amnesty! As long as Li Si is acquitted and released, we two will naturally be at ease!"

  Yao Jia was overjoyed upon hearing this, but suddenly had a hint of doubt: "Will the Emperor really not investigate us two even though he knows we were also involved in this matter?" Zhao Gao smiled leisurely and said: "Firstly, Li Si has taken all the blame, so the Emperor wants to pursue it but can't find any grounds. Secondly, the Emperor still can't do without us two, after all, Han Fei is just an outsider, his position isn't high enough to require that we two be eliminated. So once the Emperor pardons Li Si, the matter will pass!"

  Yao Jia was overjoyed, with a flattering expression on his face: "Sir, you are truly wise and far-sighted, rarely seen in the world. I am far inferior to you!" Zhao Gao also smiled complacently and said: "Don't worry, as long as I'm here, nothing will happen to you!"

  "Hah——!" A night owl-like wail echoed through the sealed room!

  In the great prison of the Court of Judicial Review, in a dark and damp dungeon, a furnace was burning fiercely, several irons were being heated to red-hot, and iron racks were emitting painful screams, "hissing" and making a loud noise! On the walls and floor around, hundreds of various torture instruments were hung or piled up, with bloodstains on many of them, still emitting a faint smell of blood, filling the entire dungeon!

  Feng Jue, the deputy of the Imperial Censor, sat behind a wooden barrier with a gloomy face. Beside him were over ten burly men from Guanzhong who looked like wolves and tigers. Li Si, on the other hand, was dressed in prisoner's attire, his hair disheveled and his complexion pale, standing before Feng Jue. Because of Li Si's position as one of the top three officials in the country before he was imprisoned, he received special treatment according to the law and did not wear heavy shackles.

  "Cough!" Feng Jie coughed lightly and began the interrogation: "Li Si, I have been ordered by His Majesty to interrogate you about the case of framing His Majesty's noble guest, Han Fei. If you don't want to suffer physical torture, then confess everything, including the plot and all your accomplices!"

  Li Si was an old court official, and he had said this intimidating speech to himself countless times, so he wasn't afraid of Feng Jie. He let out a cold laugh and said: "Feng Tingwei is indeed very proud of himself now, isn't he?"

  Feng Jie's face sank, and he said coldly: "Li Si, don't think about making excuses or mocking me. Think carefully about how you can get through this! Tell me, are you going to confess honestly or do I need to help you?" Feng Jie was a straightforward person who had long been disgusted by Li Si and Zhao's treacherous behavior of forming cliques and gangs. He hated them so much that he wanted to put Li Si to death immediately and make him never turn over again!

  Li Si, such a cunning person, had long expected that Zhao and others would have already made arrangements to rescue him outside the prison. Now his most important task was to delay time, so he couldn't help but pretend to sigh and say: "Lord Feng, Li Si took a wrong step, and it's too late for regret! But now I'm trapped in a big prison, and my status is vastly different from yesterday's. My mind is all confused, and I don't know where to start. Why not give me a day to think about it, Lord? Tomorrow I will confess everything truthfully!"

  Feng Jie was an upright person, without so many twists and turns. Seeing Li Si willing to confess, he believed it to be true. Coldly, he said: "Alright, I'll wait for one day. If you don't confess tomorrow, beware of my severe punishment! Take Li Si away and put him in a special prison cell, strictly guard him! Without my written permission, no one is allowed to visit Li Si!" "Yes!" Everyone obeyed the order together!

  Watching Feng Jie's receding back, a cold smile involuntarily appeared on Li Si's pale face!

  In a hotel not far from the outer wall of the Imperial Prison, there was a private room near the window. Inside the room were two people, none other than Prince Fusu and the warden of the Imperial Prison!

  Fu Su looked at the prison guard who was bowing and nodding, smiled and said: "No need to be so formal, sit down!" "Yes, yes!" The prison guard carefully sat down, but his body leaned forward, maintaining a humble attitude!

  Fu Su poured himself a cup of wine and said: "Today, Feng Tingwei interrogated Li Si, how was the situation?"

  The prison officer did not dare to conceal the truth, and told the situation clearly like a bamboo tube pouring out beans. Fu Su heard this and immediately furrowed his brow, somewhat surprised: "This Li Si is also an old cunning person, how could he so easily agree to confess? Why does he want to delay for a day by pretending to be unclear in mind?" Suddenly, Fu Su came to a realization: "This guy is stalling for time, waiting for the rescue of Zhao and others!"

  Fu Su only wanted to send Li Si to the eighteenth level of hell with one move, how could he give him a chance to turn over? He hastily said: "You quickly return to prison and strictly guard Li Si, do not let anyone approach! As long as this time can overthrow Li Si, I will surely heavily reward!"

  "Yes, yes, I'll do my best! In the great prison, without the permission of Lord Ting and myself, no one can see that guy!" The jailer's face was full of fawning color, showing his loyalty.

  Fu Su nodded, took out a string of pure white pearl necklace from his sleeve, and smiled: "This is a reward for you, do a good job for me, I won't let you down!" "Yes, yes!" Looking at the dazzlingly white pearls, Dianyu was instantly stunned!

  After returning to the prison, he stared at Li Si tightly, ensuring that no one dared to approach Li Si. Seeing that it was almost evening, the gate of the heavenly prison had been closed, and the jailer couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief: "Good, the mission is complete! It seems that Master Li will have another heavy reward in the future!" As soon as the jailer thought of the glory and wealth within reach, his eyes were filled with flashing gold stars.

  Dinner time arrived, and a prison guard brought in a stack of food boxes into the special prisoner's cell! The warden took a glance at him and saw that it was the usual person delivering food, so he didn't pay attention. Currently, the only person being held in the special prisoner's cell is Li Si, so his meals are exceptionally good. When the food container was opened, there were roasted chicken, braised pork belly, vinegar fish, spare ribs, and even a jug of fine wine! This kind of treatment could only be enjoyed by someone like Li Si, who was a high-ranking official in the country; otherwise, ordinary prisoners would be lucky to get a bowl of thin gruel.

  The prison guard carefully placed the wine and dishes, cleaned up the food box, and just as he was about to leave, he suddenly lowered his head and winked at Li Si. Then he said loudly: "Sir, eat slowly, the flavor is very unique!" Li Si's eyes lit up, and he nodded in understanding: "Hmm, you can withdraw!" The prison guard withdrew!

  Li Si understood that this must be the person sent by Zhao Gao to deliver a message. So he pretended to be calm and continued eating and drinking seriously. Sure enough, it wasn't long before Li Si found a small bamboo tube in the abdominal cavity of the roasted chicken! Li Si remained expressionless and quietly hid the bamboo tube in his sleeve. After finishing the meal, Li Si let out a satisfied belch and said: "You people, take away the leftovers, I want to rest!"

  The jailer hastily called two prison guards to help Li Si clean up the mess, then retreated with respect. The jailer looked at the sky and saw that it was already late, the heavenly prison had closed, and no one should come again. So, he ordered the prison guard to lock the main gate of the special cell, and took the key to sleep!

  When the night was deep and the people were quiet, Li Si hastily took out a bamboo tube from his bosom, and under the dim yellow candlelight, he carefully examined the white silk inside. After finishing, Li Si's face showed joy, and he secretly rejoiced. To prevent leakage of secrets, Li Si rolled up the small piece of white silk into a ball and threw it onto the candle flame, burning it to ashes and destroying all traces.

  Then, Li Si lay down on the comfortable big bed and began to secretly plan how to deal with Feng Jie.

  Note: Li Si didn't die that quickly, otherwise Li Si wouldn't be Li Si and Zhao Gao wouldn't be Zhao Gao. Book friends, don't blindly guess and accuse the author of this and that! Today I plan to update two chapters to impact the weekly rankings top ten. Book friends, if you like it, please give a few more points or add to your collection, thank you!