Chapter 972: Chapter 972

Zhao Douan glanced at his female colleague and smiled, "It’s just a prisoner’s dilemma."

He briefly explained the concept and then added, "So the purpose of the first round of interrogation is to make this group believe that others might shift the blame onto them to get a lighter sentence. Another purpose..."

Haitang’s eyes lit up, and she interjected, "Another purpose is to use interrogation to identify who is more susceptible to being broken. Sun Honglin is the most timid, so he serves as the breakthrough point. Once he speaks out and provides evidence, you use half-truths to further convince others they’ve been betrayed... Like a snowball effect, the more evidence you accumulate, the higher the chances of successful deceit, resulting in more testimonial evidence in your hands..."

Zhang Han also inhaled softly: "Even if during this process someone stubbornly refuses to speak, you can skip them for now. Once you extract more evidence from others, you can turn back for a second interrogation..."

Ma Yan whispered, "The most important thing is that these testimonies corroborate each other, allowing us to trace back to the source, to determine whether Yuann Li was truly involved in this matter."

The remaining Masters understood the operation and were all surprised, looking at Zhao Douan with amazement in their eyes:

This colleague, acting as "Junior Guardian Zhao," turned out to be an expert at interrogation!

No wonder His Majesty dispatched him to replace Junior Guardian Zhao.

What a formidable character!

Ma Yan marveled internally, Zhang Han secretly admired, and Haitang was eager to compete with him, while also feeling suspicious.

It always seemed... this guy felt familiar.

The interrogation continued.

Two hours later, Zhao Douan organized the testimonies in his hand, took out a new list, and handed it to Qian Kerou: "Go arrest these people tomorrow. No rush; they can’t escape, or if they do, that’s even better."

Ma Yan hesitated for a while before saying, "Isn’t this blowing up too... much?"

Zhao Douan asked with a smile, "Does the Lord think these people shouldn’t be taken?" Googlᴇ search 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⟡𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵

Ma Yan shook his head, "They should be taken. But the method is too crude, even though you have backing from His Majesty, making it difficult for Yuann Li to stop you, yet without solid evidence, capturing so many people today will surely cause an uproar in the court. His Majesty will have a headache, and others might hold back, but the most damnable thing is illegally detaining Peng Wenliang, giving the officials a handle."

The other Masters agreed, "This was too reckless."

Not only them, but the entire Capital bureaucracy considered this new Master too reckless and arrogant.

Going to the Imperial Court of Supervision without legal procedure, forcibly capturing people, this was too taboo, wasn’t it leaving a huge handle for others?

Ma Yan sighed internally, thinking this person is bold and has a knack for interrogation but falls too short of Junior Guardian Zhao.

If Junior Guardian Zhao were here, he would never handle this matter so crudely.

After all... lacks wisdom.

Zhao Douan smiled, stood up, stretched widely, yawned, and said, "It’s late today; let me escort the Lord out. Since His Majesty assigned Lihua Hall to oversee this, no matter how much bloodshed, I’ll bear it alone."

Having said that, he waved his hand and stepped out.

Ma Yan and the others exchanged glances.

"Lord, what should we do?" one Master asked.

Ma Yan rubbed his temples helplessly and replied irritably, "Let him mess around."

That night, Zhao Douan "slept" in the bedroom behind Lihua Hall.

The next day, early morning.

It was a bright sunny day, with sunlight filling the courtyard.

Zhao Douan was practicing boxing in the center of the sunniest courtyard just as dawn broke.

This body can’t cultivate, but as a puppet, the basic foundation is still there.

Zhao Douan estimated it was roughly equivalent to the Mortal Realm.

However, his purpose for practicing boxing wasn’t to strengthen the body but to evenly bask in the sun.

"Solar charging seems doable... worked too long last night, almost exhausted the energy this morning..."

Zhao Douan bathed in sunlight, feeling his cold, numb body gradually warm up, his mouth twitching.

Soon, Jinyi arrived one after another, then went out to make arrests as instructed.

Meanwhile, Qian Kerou brought the latest intelligence from the court:

Yesterday, numerous officials led by Yuann Li entered the palace to see the Empress, who avoided them using closed cultivation as an excuse.

This morning, at court, Yuann Li led nearly half of the ministers, pressured the Empress in the Golden Throne Hall, impeached the Imperial Court, and the petitions against Zhao Douan were like snowflakes, almost drowning the desk before the throne.

Led by students from the Imperial College, the scholars of the Imperial College were making loud public accusations, angrily denouncing the Imperial Court’s arrest without solid evidence, intentionally destabilizing the court.

Some even believed that the purge targeting the Pure Stream Party was a rebel’s vicious plot, and His Majesty was deceived and misled.

"Master, many people outside are talking, some even calling us national traitors."

Zheng Laojiu walked over, handed over the residence report, with a worried expression.

Zhao Douan basked in the sun, waved his hand in dissatisfaction to have Zheng move aside and not block the sunlight, then said, "Just some frost and snowstorm, jesters, ignore them."

However, less than an hour later, Zheng Laojiu ran back, anxious, "Master, bad news, after the court dispersed, dozens of officials, along with a couple of hundred suspect family members, came to the Imperial Court, demanding an explanation. The Lord is hiding now, and they’re heading our way."

Reclining in the chair, sunbathing, Zhao Douan opened his eyes, curiously asked, "Did they come empty-handed?"

"I mean, they didn’t bring any gifts? Bribe me to release people?"

"..." Zheng Laojiu choked, smiled bitterly, "Ever since Mr. Zhao did that thing last year, they don’t dare to bribe for release anymore."