Chapter 126 The Punishment

"Ah!!" With a scream, Xu Zi'an suddenly sat up.

He covered his face, unable to believe it, staring at Xie Jin Yan in extreme horror, and in the next moment, he wanted to escape from the East Palace.

But how could Xie Jin Yan give him the chance?

This damned thing dared to try to harm A-Wu; pouring a face full of boiling water on him was letting him off easy.

Seeing Xu Zi'an trying to run, Xie Jin Yan immediately shouted, "Someone, hold down this criminal Xu Zi'an for me!"

As soon as Xie Jin Yan's words fell, two guards rushed in and pressed Xu Zi'an to the ground. Feng Yuan also immediately pried open his bloodied mouth and poured in that bowl of dark medicine.

Xu Zi'an had already been scalded with blisters all over his face, and even his neck was covered in scars. He was panicked with pain, and his mouth still had blood from Xie Jin Yan's kick. Now, being灌入 that bowl of hot medicine was almost the end of him.

The burning and excruciating pain mixed together, hurting him so much that he howled like a ghost.

However, Xu Zi'an had not yet recovered from the scalding and the excruciating pain of the wound being soaked in medicine when ten needles were inserted into his fingernails.

The so-called ten fingers connected to the heart, Xu Zi'an was in so much pain that he almost fainted.

His entire face flushed red, and he let out a pig-slaughtering scream. He no longer had the stubbornness he had before and immediately cried and begged Xie Jin Yan for mercy, "Ahhh! My hands, my hands! Your Highness, spare me! Spare me!"

"I confess, it was me, it was me who framed the Crown Princess! But that was all because I listened to Qiu Shiyi Niang's instigation! She said the Crown Princess is a demoness, a demoness who will bring disaster to the country. This humble subject is also for the sake of the Wei Dynasty..."

Heh, begging for mercy while not forgetting to bite his Shijie (Senior Apprentice Sister) again; it seems the punishment is still too light.

Xie Jin Yan snorted coldly and asked him with profound meaning, "A demoness?"

"Even if my Crown Princess is truly a demoness, that should be handled by the Emperor and Empress. When is it the turn of a mere Marquis's son and a lowly harlot like Qiu, who has an affair with a married man, to comment?"

"Come! Bring the torture!"

Xie Jin Yan was expressionless. After speaking, he elegantly sat back in the main seat.

The next moment, two guards immediately brought over the torture tools. The wooden boards tightened, instantly deforming Xu Zi'an's fingers, and blood flowed all over the ground through the cracks.

Xu Zi'an howled in pain, and a strong smell of blood instantly filled the hall. Xu Zi'an's finger bones were almost twisted, and his once handsome face was also ravaged beyond recognition.

Because of his violent struggles, his hair, which had been tied up with a white jade hairpin, was scattered. His whole person was disheveled, looking ferocious and embarrassed. He no longer had the appearance of a handsome young man from the capital; he was completely a wild, clawing ghost.

But even after torturing him to this point, Xie Jin Yan didn't seem satisfied and ordered someone to sprinkle salt on his wounds.

Xu Zi'an, who was originally in so much pain that he was about to faint, was awakened again by the intense pain. He trembled all over, unable to utter a complete sentence, and kept begging Xie Jin Yan for mercy, "Your Highness, this subject knows his mistake, this subject deserves to die ten thousand times. Please, Your Highness, spare this subject for the sake of the Sixth Princess."

"Spare you? Wouldn't I lose face?"

Xie Jin Yan chuckled and, seeing that Xu Zi'an really couldn't take it anymore, instructed the guards, "Alright, take a break for now, but don't kill him."

"Thank you, Your Highness, thank you, Your Highness..." As soon as Xu Zi'an heard that Xie Jin Yan was finally willing to let him go, he breathed a sigh of relief, endured the pain, and tried to get up and leave.

However, before he could stand up, he heard the Crown Prince in the seat snort and lightly say to the woman beside him, "Hey, after all, if we just kill him like this, those who are scheming and intend to harm Shijie won't see it. What do you think, Shijie?"

"Why don't we strip him naked and hang him on the city wall?"

"It doesn't seem very deterrent to hang him on the city wall..."

Xie Jin Yan scratched the back of his head, looking troubled, and said lazily to Xu Zi'an, who was trembling on the ground, "Xu Si, tell me, how should I deal with you to achieve the effect of killing the chicken to scare the monkey?"

Hearing this, Xu Zi'an didn't speak, only stared at Xie Jin Yan with fear in his eyes, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

If he had previously thought of using the aristocratic family to threaten Xie Jin Yan, and using his status as a quasi-brother-in-law to coerce Xie Jin Yan not to pursue the matter, then at this moment, he only wanted to live.

In the past, because of Xie Rui Zhi's relationship, no matter how many mistakes he made, Xie Jin Yan never punished him severely.

Therefore, even though there were rumors outside that Xie Jin Yan was absurd and ruthless, Xu Zi'an didn't take it seriously. But at this moment, he truly experienced Xie Jin Yan's viciousness.

He also truly understood that, although that Yu Shi was just an orphaned daughter of a merchant, she held a very important place in the Crown Prince's heart.

Looking up at Xie Jin Yan, Xu Zi'an's lips trembled violently, his mouth incoherent, crying and begging, "Your Highness, this subject... this subject truly knows his mistake..."

"Know your mistake? I don't see it at all?"

"Alright, Xu Si, don't push the responsibility onto others. Whether it's you, your elder sister Xu Fengxia, or your lover Qiu Shiyi Niang, none of you can escape." Xie Jin Yan put away the smile on his face, coldly glared at Xu Si, and ordered the guards beside him, "Stuff his mouth, he's annoyingly noisy."

After speaking, his gaze fell on Yu Qing Wu beside him.

At this moment, her face was expressionless, and he couldn't see any fear from the bloodiness.

However, her hands hidden under her sleeves were covered in a layer of cold sweat.

Yu Qing Wu always knew that Xie Jin Yan was vicious, but when she truly saw it, she couldn't help but be horrified.

Just like how she had personally killed Yang Cheng and used poisonous insects to plot the deaths of two lecherous thieves without leaving a complete corpse, she was still afraid when she did these things.

Yu Qing Wu's expression was calm, but her fingers trembled slightly.

Xie Jin Yan frowned, his phoenix eyes staring gently at the woman's bright but fearful face, gently grasped the soft hand under her sleeve, and lowered his voice to ask her, "Shijie, I told you earlier, you wouldn't be able to bear it. Do you want to go inside and rest?"

Being called out like this, Yu Qing Wu suddenly came back to her senses.

Her eyes trembled slightly, avoiding the pool of blood in the center of the hall, and pretended to be strong, "It's alright, this concubine hasn't never seen such a scene before. Besides, this concubine is the victim today, so naturally, she should be here."

"Your Highness, the Sixth Princess and Xu Fengxia have arrived." Before Yu Qing Wu could finish speaking, Feng Yuan had already entered the door, followed by Xie Rui Zhi and Xu Fengxia.

Xie Rui Zhi was so frightened by the scene that she staggered and almost fell. Xu Fengxia almost fainted.

As soon as Xu Zi'an saw Xie Rui Zhi, he immediately pounced on her, shouting at her inarticulately with a gruesome face, "Princess, save me!"

Pfft, suddenly, a muffled sound.

Before Xie Rui Zhi could react, she saw a thick yellow liquid slowly flowing out from under Xu Zi'an's legs.

Immediately, a strong stench mixed with the smell of blood filled the air.