Li Su handed the box in her arms forward, and the three ministers' expressions were extremely strange.
It had always been them who painstakingly searched for clues from witnesses and convicts, and they had never seen a witness prepare the evidence so completely.
They couldn't help but curse Jiang Dingkun internally for being meddlesome and dragging such an unfathomable person into this.
However, their faces remained calm. Without changing their expression, they raised a hand and said, "Someone, please invite Dean Chen to take a look."
Entrusting the matter to a subordinate, Gu Siqing said to Lu Qingwan, "Jiang Dingkun has been accusing you, but he hasn't produced any strong evidence. Doctor Lin, are you willing to confront him face to face?"
"Since this commoner has come, of course I am willing." Lu Qingwan's clear and cold eyes met Gu Siqing's. "However, Jiang Dingkun assaulted me first and then slandered me. Can you allow me to confront him myself?"
"You confront him yourself?" Gu Siqing's expression clearly showed his disapproval. "What do you intend to do?"
Lu Qingwan did not hide her purpose. "This commoner has no personal vendetta against Jiang Dingkun. He has no reason to resent me so much. I just want to ask him why."
A witness making such a request in front of three court officials was undoubtedly unreasonable. But for some reason, Gu Siqing actually agreed to her request. "Yes, but I and the other two officials will be present as observers. That is the bottom line."
Lu Qingwan nodded happily. "Naturally. Since Lord Siqing can fulfill this small request of this commoner, I will not make it difficult for you. However, while I confront Jiang Dingkun, please do not appear in his line of sight for the time being. Is that possible?"
Gu Siqing nodded without thinking. "Yes." With that, he directly signaled the guards at the door, "Open the door."
Lu Qingwan was still suspicious why the dignified Dali Temple Minister would so easily agree to an unreasonable request from a mere commoner. It was only after entering the low iron gate that she realized that even the torture chambers of Dali Temple had their own unique design.
The torture chamber was sunken. Standing at the entrance, one could easily see everything inside through what resembled a ventilation opening. The Dali Temple Minister raised his chin slightly. "Chen Hu, take Doctor Lin inside." The guard named Chen Hu stepped forward, and Lu Qingwan followed him in.
As she had expected, Jiang Dingkun was indeed imprisoned in the torture chamber. In the gloomy and terrifying torture chamber, the horrifying torture instruments hanging there were enough to send chills down one's spine.
Jiang Dingkun was bound to a torture rack, his body crisscrossed with whip marks and burn scars from the branding iron. It was evident that the Dali Temple Minister had used all available methods to extract results quickly, yet this man had not yielded. His bones were indeed tough.
At that moment, Jiang Dingkun was hanging his head, appearing to be unconscious. Lu Qingwan stood about five paces away from him and said coldly, "Wake him up."
Besides the unconscious Jiang Dingkun, there were only her and Chen Hu in the cell. Logically, Chen Hu, as a Dali Temple officer, should be the dominant one between the two. Yet, when Lu Qingwan spoke, he inexplicably complied. He picked up a water ladle nearby, scooped up the thick salt water from a large vat, and splashed it onto Jiang Dingkun's face.
Jiang Dingkun, suddenly doused with salt water, felt cold and in pain, and immediately woke up. He instinctively wanted to curse, but upon seeing Lu Qingwan standing before him, he froze, then let out a cold laugh. "They actually found you? Lin, you harmed me like this, and you still dare to appear before me? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
Having endured torture all night and now splashed with salt water by Chen Hu, the pain and cold made Jiang Dingkun's voice not very loud. But his ferocious tone, coupled with his contorted expression, made it easy to feel his bone-deep hatred for Lu Qingwan.
Lu Qingwan was utterly speechless. "Jiang Dingkun, I believe I have no enmity with you. What's wrong with you that you hate me so much? If I weren't so clear-headed, remembering everything I've done, I'd almost think we had a blood feud or a stolen wife! I haven't even blamed you for almost killing me and slandering me for harming Prince Jing. Yet you're the one hating me first. Can you explain clearly how I offended you to make you hate me so intensely?"
Lu Qingwan said she wanted to confront Jiang Dingkun, but in reality, there was nothing for them to confront. Before yesterday, whether as the Regent Princess or as Lin Sa, she had never even met Jiang Dingkun, let alone had the chance to incur his wrath. Agreeing to confront him at Dali Temple was merely to seek an explanation. Having said this, she felt she had achieved her goal.
To her surprise, Jiang Dingkun, upon hearing her words, struggled as if he had gone mad, lunging towards her like a wild beast. Bound securely to the rack, Jiang Dingkun naturally couldn't reach Lu Qingwan, but this only made him more enraged!
"No enmity? Lin, I'm telling you, the enmity between us is immense! You, a mere doctor, without evidence, told His Majesty that Prince Jing had difficulty having offspring. Do you know that your words ruined Prince Jing's bright future! He could have inherited the throne, with boundless prospects. It was all you, you bastard, who lied and harmed Prince Jing! You deserve to die, you deserve to die..."
His angry demeanor made Lu Qingwan feel that even if she had ruined Jiang Dingkun's or his son's future, he wouldn't have been this furious. Only Prince Jing could make him act so drastically.
Lu Qingwan was puzzled. "Prince Jing has always had problems with his lineage. But since I could diagnose his illness, I could also cure him. How did I harm him? As for you, what is your relationship with Prince Jing? Is it worth it for him to assault someone and commit such a heinous crime?"
After so much build-up, this was the question she most wanted to ask. As soon as Lu Qingwan finished speaking, she held her breath and waited. As long as Jiang Dingkun spoke, she would know why he did all this. The person he injured was the First Prince of Yun Qiang. If they didn't provide a reasonable explanation to Yun Qiang, the pressure would fall on Feng Xi Wu again. She thought that if Jiang Dingkun's reason was somewhat justifiable, and considering she had saved Hu Yan Che so many times, she might be able to negotiate and prevent the matter from escalating.
She never expected that Jiang Dingkun's answer would make her almost gag with frustration. Jiang Dingkun roared like a lunatic, "What do you know? Prince Jing is my benefactor, the savior of my entire clan! A dragon has its scales; touching them means death! You, of all people, should not have lied and harmed Prince Jing! When Prince Jing saved me, I swore that I would live for Prince Jing for the rest of my life. Lin, go to hell!"
He struggled like an out-of-control behemoth, and suddenly, with a crash, he broke free from the restraints of the torture rack and charged towards Lu Qingwan.