Zi Cheng and Xiao Feng stood before the prison cell, while the others remained a short distance away, heads bowed, careful not to listen or see what they shouldn't.
The man in the cell had his tendons severed, his hands and feet bound with iron chains, and a special device fitted to his mouth, allowing him to speak but preventing him from taking his own life.
"The Emperor and Prince Ming Rui have investigated for so long, and finally, we have caught you, the mastermind," Zi Cheng said sternly, looking at the man. "Should I call you Meng Ronghua, or Du Maoshun?"
Meng Ronghua raised his head and chuckled, "Your Majesty may call me whatever you wish. A name is just a name, the most useless thing, much like my childhood self."
Zi Cheng felt no pity or sympathy for this man, only hatred and anger. "I have investigated you. You were born to an outside concubine. Before returning to the Du family, you used your mother's surname, Meng Ronghua. Once you finally returned to the Du family, your father forcibly changed your name and made you sever all ties with your birth mother."
A bone-chilling hatred flashed in Meng Ronghua's eyes, his face contorted. "Yes. I didn't want to. I wanted to live with my mother. For that, I received a brutal beating and was locked in the woodshed for three days and three nights without food or water."
"Does Your Majesty know why the Du family, which was not short of sons, would accept me, the son of an outside concubine, back into the family?"
Zi Cheng nodded, indicating he knew. "It was to ward off disaster for the Du family's eldest legitimate son, who had passed away many years ago. The eldest legitimate son of the Du family had been sickly since birth. His mother tried many methods, and finally, a Taoist priest declared that a male relative with a compatible birth chart was needed to absorb the disaster for him."
"So, that's how you had the chance to return to the Du family."
Meng Ronghua laughed maniacally. "The Du family is a wicked and selfish clan! My mother was originally the daughter of a humble family and was already betrothed. But my father, worse than an animal, took a liking to my mother's beauty and snatched her off the street, defiling her."
"What's more detestable is that the beast wouldn't even grant my mother the status of a concubine, forcing her to be an outside concubine. He even caused the death of my maternal grandfather's entire family. My mother originally wanted to leave with my maternal grandfather and the others, but she became pregnant with me. If it weren't for me, how would my mother have survived? That's why, from a young age, I swore that I would make everyone in the Du family pay the most agonizing price!"
"Does the Du family have such great influence?" Xiao Feng asked.
Zi Cheng explained, "The Du family were merchants, quite wealthy. Moreover, the Du family had good relationships with many other families, and they offered their daughters as concubines to some court officials, which is why they never faced repercussions."
Xiao Feng understood and pouted, "None of these people are good." He mused that this must have happened during the previous Emperor's reign, which would explain it. The previous Emperor's reign was notoriously chaotic, with court officials solely looking out for themselves.
Zi Cheng patted his head and looked coldly at Meng Ronghua. "In order to get revenge, you endured humiliation for many years, step by step seizing power within the Du family and eliminating your enemies."
"But some people in the Du family were innocent..."
Meng Ronghua declared loudly, "No one in the Du family is innocent! They all deserve to die, all deserve to die!" His face was filled with hatred. "What I remember most clearly are my mother's weeping and sorrowful face, and her words of wanting to die multiple times. If it weren't for that beast, my mother would have had a happy and fulfilling family, and my maternal grandfather's family wouldn't have died!"
He then tilted his head. "Does Your Majesty know how my mother died? When I was brought back to the Du family, my mother was already gravely ill. I begged that beast to save my mother, but he refused, saying that keeping a useless person like my mother was a waste of food."
"A waste of food, ha! Not long after I was brought back to the Du family, my 'good' elder brother personally told me that his mother had hired several ruffians to serve my mother, killing her alive, and then burning my mother's remains to ashes and scattering them in countless places."
Zi Cheng frowned. After confirming Meng Ronghua was the mastermind, he had investigated the Du family. The Du family had committed countless heinous acts and caused the deaths of innumerable people. During the previous Emperor's reign, not only were these matters ignored, but people even helped to cover them up.
"Later, you made Madam Du and her eldest legitimate son suffer the same torment?"
Meng Ronghua laughed with extreme madness. "Yes. Didn't Madam Du like to use this method against those concubines and women from outside? I made her taste the experience of being served by countless ruffians, and I made her eldest legitimate son watch it all firsthand."
"At that time, hearing their screams and pleas made me feel incredibly good. However, I felt it wasn't enough. So, I made Madam Du see how her most cherished eldest legitimate son was played to death by a group of women!"
Xiao Feng looked at this man with disgust. It was this man who had committed so many wicked deeds.
Zi Cheng had investigated these matters. "I don't understand. You wanted to deal with the Du family and those officials who harbored them. Why did you harm innocent people? Your mother and maternal grandfather's family were so innocent, yet they were killed. Why did you harm innocent people?"
Meng Ronghua froze for a moment, seemingly not expecting the current Emperor to say such a thing. "They were innocent..."
Zi Cheng signaled for a eunuch to bring chairs. He and Xiao Feng sat down before continuing, "Your mother and maternal grandfather's family were so innocent, yet they were killed by the Du family. So why did you harm innocent people?"
"No one is innocent!" Meng Ronghua suddenly blurted out, his eyes wide. "In this world, no one is innocent. I am clearing out the trash, clearing out the trash. Does Your Majesty understand?"
Zi Cheng could see that this person had long gone mad, driven insane by the Du family. "Are you trash then?"
Meng Ronghua nodded without hesitation. "I am a big piece of trash. Originally, I thought that after clearing out the trash, I would commit suicide, but alas, my wish could not be fulfilled."
Hearing this, Zi Cheng understood that there was no point in saying more to this person. "Meng Ronghua, I will not let you die. I will keep you in the imperial prison for the rest of your life, never to see a sliver of sunlight, alone until you die."
"Only then will it be fitting for the wicked deeds you have committed."
Meng Ronghua never expected that after capturing him, the Emperor would not kill him but imprison him for life. "Your Majesty, kill me! Kill me! I await Your Majesty to kill me!"
Zi Cheng let out a cold snort. "I know you are not afraid of death, and I know you desperately wish to die. Therefore, I will not kill you. I will keep you imprisoned like this for the rest of your life."
"From time to time, the prison guards will attend to you. The punishments from the Ministry of Justice will be experienced by you one by one. Rest assured, my Imperial Hospital will keep you alive, preventing you from dying."
Meng Ronghua's pupils contracted violently. He shook his head forcefully. "No, no, no! Your Majesty, please kill me, please kill me!"