Shen Jue

Everyone knew: if a person entered the residence of the Great Chancellor Shen Jue, they never returned.
Therefore, when a youth in white robes was found in his chambers after an assassination attempt, no one was surprised that he wasn't executed immediately. The Chancellor merely glanced at the prisoner and ordered:
"Lock him up. No one is permitted to approach him without my command."
The youth's name was Bai Yu. He was a student of a secluded school whose masters had secretly aided the empire's enemies for many years. He had been sent to kill the chancellor, but he had failed.
Days turned into weeks. Shen Jue hardly spoke to the prisoner, only occasionally arriving to sit opposite him and silently drink tea. This silence terrified Bai Yu more than any torture could.
"Why aren't you asking anything?" the prisoner finally snapped one day.
"If you wish to speak, you will tell me yourself."
"And if I don't?"
"Then you will live here for the rest of your days."
Bai Yu merely smirked and turned toward the narrow window.
"Do you think that scares me?"
"No," Shen Jue replied calmly. "But loneliness breaks even the most stubborn."
The door closed.
The following days passed identically. Every morning, servants brought food and clean clothes, and in the evening, the chancellor would step into the room for a short while. He asked no questions and demanded no confessions. Sometimes he read scrolls, sometimes he played go by himself, as if the prisoner didn't exist at all.
This drove Bai Yu mad.
"Do you really not want to know who sent me?" he asked sharply one day.
Shen Jue looked up.
"I already know."