"I know." Zhao Huan said lightly.

Bai Qingsheng was shocked: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this person is an intrusion of the imperial court."

"So what? I wanted to overturn the Yun Tianyuan case. However, Yun Tianyuan insulted Taizu and Taizong, so I put the matter aside. But Yun Tianyuan is dead, so the disaster has not affected his family. It has nothing to do with Yunniang."

Bai Qingsheng was startled, and Yunniang also looked up at Zhao Huan in surprise, feeling infinite gratitude in her heart.

Zhao Huan continued, "Take Du Huachang away!"

The guards took Du Huachang to the back room to prevent collusion. Separate interrogations were a common practice in the government office.

Zhao Huan continued, "Bai Qingsheng, tell me about your story. Your brother-in-law Du Huachang has confessed. You embezzled more than just two hundred taels of silver from Yun Niang's family. According to Du Huachang, the amount of silver he gave you alone was no less than ten thousand taels. You're just a small county magistrate, and you embezzled such a huge amount. Should I skin you alive or not?"

Bai Qingsheng's heart was broken and he said angrily, "This idiot!"

"Tell me, Mr. Zhang from the east city gave you two houses, Mr. Li gave you his concubine, Mr. Zhao the butcher gave you two hundred acres of fertile land, and Mr. Liu from the cloth shop spent three thousand taels repairing your ancestral tomb. And yet, the entire county of Fengxian only pays a mere nine hundred taels in taxes to the court each year. You wrote to the court, claiming Fengxian was impoverished and the people couldn't make ends meet. It turns out you embezzled all that money for yourself."

Bai Qingsheng panicked and trembled, "Did Du Huachang instruct us to do this?"

Zhao Huan nodded gently: "Yes, I told him that if he confesses everything, I will spare his life."

Bai Qingsheng kowtowed seven or eight times, "Your Majesty, I confess everything. Du Huachang is even more greedy than I am. He relies on his father, Du Zhong, the military commander of Jingdong, to do whatever he wants, bullying the kind. He even forced a young girl to death."

Now it was Zhao Huan's turn to be surprised. He didn't expect that the trial would uncover another case. Looking at Fan Zha, Yamen and others around him, they also had surprised expressions on their faces. It seemed that they didn't know the connection between the two.

"Oh, Bai Qingsheng, tell me. If you tell me the truth, I can consider leaving your body intact."

The ancients placed great importance on leaving an intact body after death. Those who were tortured to the point of being torn apart by torture, such as beheading, lingchi (slicing a thousand pieces of meat), quartering, or beheading, would not rest in peace even after death. They would become a ghost, forever unable to be reborn, or be condemned to the eighteen levels of hell. However, leaving an intact body offers hope for reincarnation after death.

Bai Qingsheng gritted his teeth and said angrily, "If you won't let me live, then we'll all die together! Your Majesty, some time ago, Du Huachang took a fancy to a family named Yang in Caiduo Town. They had a sixteen-year-old daughter named Yang Qiqiao. Du Huachang wanted to take her for himself. But she refused to obey him, so Du Huachang forced himself on her and raped her. Unable to bear the humiliation, she committed suicide by jumping into a well."

"What!" Zhao Huan hated the idea of ​​usurping the power of decent women. This son of a bitch, Du Huachang, actually did something so outrageous and insane. "Go on!"

Bai Qingsheng continued, "Well, Du Huachang knew he had gotten into trouble, so he went to the military camp that night to find his father, Du Zhong. To prevent the Yang family from filing a complaint with the government, his father immediately sent people to exterminate the entire Yang family at night."

"How do you know about this?" Zhao Huan stopped smiling and stood up, looking at Bai Qingsheng coldly.

Cao Dongsheng, Linghu Yunlong and others were shocked. Whenever Zhao Huan had this cold expression, it usually meant that he wanted to kill someone.

Who knew that Bai Qingsheng was so frightened that he dared not speak. He knelt on the ground with his legs shaking as if he had been electrocuted, and his whole body was soaked as if he had been drenched in rain.

"Bai Qingsheng, I'll give you one more chance. Tell me everything about this case, otherwise I'll make you live a life worse than death!" It seemed that Zhao Huan was really angry.

Bai Qingsheng's voice changed, his upper and lower teeth chattered. He stammered and opened his mouth as wide as he could, but no sound came out.

A little stimulation was needed at this time. Linghu Yunlong walked over and slapped him twice on the fat face. Bai Qingsheng finally calmed down and started to entertain.

"I, the guilty minister, deserve to die. I, the guilty minister, deserve to die. I, the guilty minister, was also involved in the defilement of Yang Qiqiao that day."

The moment these words were spoken, the whole room erupted in an uproar. Everyone's face was filled with shock. "Ranger annihilation"—what a filthy, disgusting word.

Everyone's faces ranged from stunned to shocked, some contemptuous to angry. Zhao Huan's eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth as he spoke word by word, "I once ordered the abolition of lingchi, but now, I'm making an exception for you and Du Huachang! Come, take the two of you to Caiduo Town and find Yang Qiqiao's home. Right at the Yang residence, lingchi these two beasts to death at the door! Five hundred cuts, one less, and I'll chop off the executioner's head!"

Everyone was shocked; this was considered a severe punishment. Lingchi, slicing with five hundred cuts, was rare even in the Song Dynasty. Worse still, if the executioner made even the slightest mistake, they would lose their head. In other words, if Bai Qingsheng died after less than five hundred cuts, the executioner would be beheaded.

"Your Majesty." Nangong Lian'er was frightened. He didn't expect Zhao Huan to impose such a heavy sentence, but for this beast, it was what he deserved.

Zhao Huan sat down slowly: "Bring Du Huachang up here!"

At this time, the guards brought Du Huachang out of the inner room. Although he was gagged and unable to speak, he could hear every word Bai Qingsheng said in the hall clearly. When he was brought to the main hall, he glared at Bai Qingsheng and shouted, "Fool! I don't have any other tricks except for the two hundred taels of silver, you fool!"

Bai Qingsheng was stunned, realizing he had been tricked by Zhao Huan again. Zhao Huan said coldly, "That's right, I deceived you again. Mr. Zhang gave you two houses, Mr. Li gave you his concubine, Mr. Zhao the butcher gave you two hundred acres of fertile land, and Mr. Liu from the cloth shop repaired your ancestral tomb. I found out about all these. It's easy to investigate such cases in a small county. Officials all have political enemies. Some of them wish you would die sooner, so it's not difficult to investigate those around you who didn't benefit from it."

There really was nothing more serious than death. Bai Qingsheng was no longer afraid of the fact that he was the emperor. He pointed at Zhao Huan and said, "You, you, you!" His fingers trembled and a mouthful of blood spurted out.

Zhao Huan snorted coldly, "Bai Qingsheng, I will use your flesh and blood to pay tribute to the spirit of the Yang family girl in heaven!"

The guards took the two men away and sent them to the death row, and would take them to Caiduo Town for execution by slow slicing on a later date.

"Wu Ge!"

"I am here!"

"Take the guards with you to the Jingdong military camp and take the military commander Du Zhong to Fengxian County. I want to interrogate him personally!"

"As you wish!"