Wan Er! "Pei Tan's voice rang out as he stood up from the table, his eyes fixed on the girl with a complex gaze.

  Jing Wan'er was about to leave without saying a word, when Pei Tan's expression turned solemn: "Stop, Wan'er."

  Jing Wan'er didn't even bother with Pei Tan, and instead walked forward with her head down.

  Suddenly her wrist was caught by someone, with a gentle yet firm grip. Pei Tan's voice sounded again beside her ear: "Wan Er."

  Jing Wan'er refused to turn back, her silent back facing Pei Tan, with emotions surging in her downcast eyes.

  Pei Tan did not dare to let her go recklessly, but for a moment he couldn't think of anything to comfort her.

  Shen Xingwen said it's best not to let Jing Wanyi and Hu Chao meet, now I understand, Jing Wanyi will want to kill Hu Chao.

  Forcing the three senior officials to try the so-called elixir is simply deranged.

  No wonder if Hu Chao didn't confess, nobody would have thought it was like this.

  Pei Tan looked at the girl in front of him: "Hu Chao's words can't be trusted." Moreover, he brought up this matter now, what kind of intention is unknown.

  Jing Wan'er slowly turned around and looked at Pei Tan: "Sorry, sir, don't stop me."

  Pei Tan saw the resistance in her eyes and naturally sensed the bitterness in her heart at this moment, even if he couldn't fully understand it, he could feel about six or seven parts of it.

  "I will go with you."

  Jing Wan'er's eyes flashed with surprise, "Sir?"

  Pei Tan let go of Jing Wanyan's hand and turned around, looking at Shen Xingwen, "Since Hu Chao has arrived, I should also meet him."

  Pei Tan, as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, has never seen a defendant up to now.

  Shen Xingwen looked at Jing Yuane with a profound meaning and said: "Since the adults want to meet, Shen Mou naturally has no objection."

  Jing Wan'er was stunned for a long time, and her eyes were slightly moist.

  Pei Tan's first time stepping into the Great Prison, since he took office, several cases he handled were all bizarre and absurd, either the dead "came back to life" or died by suicide on the spot, not a single one could be properly locked up in the Great Prison.

  In this big prison now, Hu Chao enjoys special treatment.

  At a glance, Hu Chao was seen hanging in the middle of the big prison, Jing Wanyi's eyes were shocked, Shen Xingwen had already gotten used to it. He stood in front of Hu Chao who was half dead and said: "Hu Chao, look who has come."

  Hu Chao's eyelids twitched slightly and then slowly opened.

  At that moment, Jing Wanyu's chest heaved as she clenched her teeth to control her emotions, until a hand pressed on her shoulder, gently pushing her behind him.

  Hu Chao's eyes were blurry, and as he slowly turned around, he saw a stranger in a blue-green robe, with long fingers exposed at the cuffs. The air in this damp prison had a rusty smell, but on this man's body, he detected a faint, elegant fragrance.

  Hu Chao narrowed his eyes, although he had never seen Pei Tan before, but as soon as he came out

  Now this young man, combined with folk rumors, knew who it was.

  Shen Xingwen's hands were loosely tucked into his sleeves, a hint of a smile playing on the corners of his mouth.

  "The Duke of Dali Temple wants to see you personally. How much value is left in your life will be known soon."

  Hu Chao obviously had gotten used to facing Shen Xingwen, he chuckled softly and said, "You want me to confess? I've already confessed everything. Not even the Minister of Justice or the Three Departments' joint trial could get me to say anything more."

  Shen Xing's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he snorted: "Is that so? But I think you still have some secrets that haven't been spilled."

  Shen Xingwen's eyes were cold and indifferent.

  Jing Wanyi stood behind Pei Tan, sizing up Hu Chao. Just looking at Hu Chao's appearance, he seemed to be unscathed, but his face was pale and lifeless.

  "Besides, what can you do even if I tell you?" Hu Chao suddenly sneered.

  Jie smiled, "I've already told you, the prince's petition is hidden in the Ministry of War's residence. Do you dare to go get it?"

  Pei's eyes flickered, and when he looked at Shen Xingwen, Shen Xingwen stepped forward, pinching Hu Chao's jawbone. "That's right, but you haven't confessed yet, where the thing is hidden in the Shangshu Mansion."

  The Ministry of Works occupies an area of 100 mu, and finding a letter the size of a palm in such a large place is like searching for a needle in the ocean.

  So this was Hu Chao's cunning. He sneered and stared at Shen Xingwen, saying: "It's been too long, I forgot."

  Shen Xingwen's hand slowly clenched into a fist and asked Hu Chao: "It seems you're really not afraid of death?"

  Hu Chao suddenly turned his head to look at Pei Tan, with a bright light in his eyes. "You Da Li Temple have been abusing private punishments, extorting confessions by torture. I will report you to the Emperor!"

  Shen Xingwen's face flashed with anger.

  For these three days, Hu Chao had clashed with him countless times, but this time with Pei Tan present, it was obviously not the same.

  As expected, Pei Tan's voice rang out: "Let him go."

  Shen Xingwen stiffened and loosened his grip, Hu Chao chuckled.

  Pei Tan's gaze fell on Hu Chao's thin face, and he was already certain that the things Hu Chao had brought up were not good-natured in his heart, or he thought it didn't matter to bring them up.

  Hu Chao said slowly: "It seems that the great temple master is still a person who understands things."

  He finished speaking and his gaze fell on Shen Xingwen again, sneering: "I almost thought the Temple of Great Justice was just letting a sixth-grade deputy take charge."

  It can be seen that in just a few days, Hu Chao has already hated Shen Xingwen.

  Shen Xingwen stared at him without saying a word or making any excuses, because if he lost his composure in just a few words, he wouldn't be able to interrogate Hu Chao for three days in this dark and windowless place.

  Pei Tan looked at Hu Chao: "Is there really such a thing as the Crown Prince's letter?"

  Hu Chao glanced at Pei Tan, seemingly disdainfully saying: "There is. Otherwise, you think I relied on what to survive all these years."

  Enough to make Zong Chuke apprehensive for three parts, it can be seen that the letter must have also written something about Zong Chuke's affairs...

  It seems that Hu Chao's testimony about Prince Chen's petition is likely to be true.

  Hu Chao sneered: "How about it? Now that I've surrendered, dare you hand me over to the Ministry of Punishment or kill me?"

  Obviously, Hu Chao was very cunning. He knew that according to the rules, sentencing had to be sent to the Ministry of Punishment for approval, which was the procedure for convicting a criminal.

  Pei Tan looked at Hu Chao, this man was once a person in front of the emperor, and it's not an ordinary person who can be easily dealt with. He said: "This case has already been decreed by His Majesty, and the full authority is given to the Grand Court for investigation and handling. As for you, there is no need to send you to the Ministry of Punishment again."

  This saved a step, Hu Chao puffed out his chest, seemingly taking rapid breaths.

  Zhang Jiucheng definitely did not trust the Ministry of Punishment from the beginning, and directly eliminated the possibility of the Ministry of Punishment intervening from the root cause.

  Pei Tan looked at Hu Chao and said after a while: "Zong Chuke must not have thought of it, the thing he was looking for with all his heart is hidden under his eyelids."

  It's imaginable that this handwritten letter can make many people in Chang'an lose sleep, and it's also the reason why the Crown Prince case still affects many people in Chang'an after twenty years.

  Hu Chao was clearly pleased with himself, imprisoning him in this dungeon and forcing him to reveal the secrets he had hidden for many years. But what could these people do to him even if they knew?

  Hu Chao burst out laughing.

  Shen Xingwen stood coldly by, "Hu Chao, as long as you haven't left the prison gates of Dalit Temple, everything about you is at my mercy."

  A piece of meat on a chopping board is nothing to be proud of. The past three days have been enough for Hu Chao to remember for the rest of his life.

  Hu Chao stared at Pei Tanxiao. Since Pei Tanxiao arrived, he seemed to ignore Shen Xingwen.

  It's as if he knew that this young man in front of him was the soul of the Dali Temple.

  Pei Tan's voice was soft and seemingly casual as he said, "If the whereabouts of the handwritten letter were to be revealed to the Shangshu Fu, do you think Shangshu would spend the whole night digging up his entire mansion just to find this letter?"

  Hu Chao's smile suddenly stopped. His shoulders trembled slightly, and he dared not believe what he was seeing in Pei Tan.

  Shen Xing's eyes lit up and he suddenly looked at his own Temple Master with a deep and meaningful smile.

  Pei Tan looked at Hu Chao and said, "What do you think?"

  Hu Chao suddenly said fiercely: "You dare?" This seemed like a challenge.

  "Why don't you dare?" Pei Tan said lightly.

  Hu Chao's eyes were bloodshot and staring, as if trying to find some weakness on Pei Tan's face. But he unexpectedly discovered that this man was even more elusive than Shen Xingwen, who had tortured him for three days.

  "Presumably, Minister Zong would want to find the prince's thing more than anyone else in Chang'an. Even if you don't say it, the Minister's residence is after all Minister Zong's old nest, and searching for something in one's own familiar old nest..."

  "Things, no matter how well hidden they are, he has a good chance of finding them."

  Hu Chao's face showed a fierce tremble, more unbearable than the three days of torture he had endured. He stared at Pei Tan, his voice cracking for the first time: "How dare you let the Shangshu Fu find something like this? No...you wouldn't dare..."

  Pei Tan said, "Since the Dali Temple has no chance of finding the Taizi's will from the Shangshu Mansion, rather than letting the will be buried forever, it would be better for the Shangshu Mansion to personally go and find the thing. At least the Dali Temple may still have a few chances."

  It's clearly a decision worth taking a gamble on, after all this will is so important, even if it means rushing to get there first.

  Hu Chao's breathing was heavy, what more need be said? Once the will appeared in the world, and it fell into Zong Chuke's hands...

  He's done for... He's the only one who will definitely be done for...

  Pei Tan looked at him, and perhaps there was still a chance for Dalit Temple to gamble, but Hu Chao was gone.

  "No... you can't do this..."

  "Reason? Give me a reason."

  Hu Chao was breathing heavily, clearly struggling, and he had already shown signs of defeat. Hu Chao raised his scarlet eyes: "In exchange for the whereabouts of the Crown Prince's letter, you let me truly leave Chang'an."

  The letter was his lifeline, and once he handed it over, he would have to find another way to survive.

  Pei Tan was speechless for a moment.

  Hu Chao sneered again: "How? Is this condition excessive?"

  He didn't ask for gold or silver, nor did he ask for a pardon in court. He only asked to leave Chang'an, this prison that had trapped him for many years.

  Shen Xingwen looked at Pei Tan, who was now in charge here. He wouldn't say much more. However... if Hu Chao had proposed this condition to him three days ago, Shen Xingwen's lips would have curled up into a sly smile.

  Using a small amount of money to achieve a big goal, exchanging four taels for a thousand pieces of gold, he can naturally let Hu Chao go if it serves the purpose of cracking the case.

  Everyone was waiting for Pei Tan to speak, and for some reason, being protected by Pei Tan like this, the turbulent emotions in Jing Wanyu's chest gradually subsided, even her desire to find Hu Chao and fight him to the death had faded.

  She stared blankly at Pei Tan, seemingly understanding what his response would be.

  Pei Tan shook his head and said to Hu Chao: "The Supreme Court will not make any deals with the defendant for any reason."