Remembered

Sun Xin dreamed himself back in San Jing Courtyard, except this time, he was the one reduced to a plaything, tormented by a crowd of ghosts and monsters, some known and some unknown to him.

Terrified out of his wits, he wet himself on the spot. Yet he actually held firm; even if scared to death, he still clenched his teeth and refused to speak.

Not only Xiao Hong and Hong Yan, but even Pan Yun, Xue Shao, and Wu Zhihong began to see him in a new light, growing even more curious about that secret.

"What secret could make him endure such torment without opening his mouth?" Pan Yun asked skeptically. "Even if he colluded with the Sea Pirates, given his rank, at most his head would roll. Early death or late death, wasn't death still death?"

Xue Shao pondered. "Could the crime implicate his entire family?"

Wu Zhihong's heart skipped a beat. "Or perhaps three clans?"

The three exchanged glances. "Perhaps the people they colluded with were not the Sea Pirates. No—rather, it was not only the Sea Pirates, but also the Japanese pirates?"

Colluding with the Sea Pirates and colluding with the Japanese pirates differed by only one word, but the charges were entirely different.

For the former, the punishment depended on the consequences: demotion, dismissal from office, imprisonment, or exile. The worst was beheading. If evidence could be found proving that they had colluded with the Sea Pirates to intercept and kill the envoy delegation, then three clans would be implicated;

But considering that this matter might involve the Sun family and lead back to the Empress Dowager,

Pan Yun was certain that could not be proven.

As for the latter, regardless of the severity of the circumstances, the Grand Ancestor High Emperor had decreed that