"I think he was really pitiful. He was raised by me, the murderer of his mother, and he always thought I was his mother, trying every way to please me. But a bastard is a bastard. Every time I see him, I want to strangle him to death. Later, he may have realized the reality and stopped getting close to me.
"And your father, you thought he was my son, and you were cold and disgusted with him. Your beloved Jiao Niang's child grew up in such an environment. It's really a sin to think about it."
Although she said so, there was no trace of regret in her tone. Instead, it was full of gloating pleasure.
Cui Huo didn't say anything, but just gasped rapidly and heavily, as if he couldn't breathe.
"Why, you can't bear it anymore? I still have a lot to tell you. Did you know that when he was three years old, he had a high fever and was about to die? I asked someone to invite you over, but you sent them away, saying you were busy. You don't care about your own child, so I don't care about his life or death. Just let him have the fever, and it would be best if he died. But he was lucky, and the fever subsided on its own.
"When he was five years old, he wanted you to play with him. I told him that your father loved playing hide-and-seek the most, and if you went to hide in his study, he would definitely play with you. He really ran to your study and hid there. When you found him, you got really angry and severely punished him, not allowing him to eat dinner and putting him in solitary confinement.
"When he was seven years old, he contracted smallpox..."
Cui Huo: "That's enough! Zhao Pei, stop talking..."
The tone was pleading.
Zhao: "Why, are you heartbroken? Cui Huo, you deserve this. Just because he is my child, you can do this. You have ignored him for so many years. The relationship between father and son is as cold as ice. This is all caused by you! If you care about him a little bit, he will not treat you as a father like a stranger."
Cui Huo vomited blood with a "pu" sound.
Zhao: "I have put him in jail for poisoning your father and trying to usurp the position of Territory Lord. He is now in that cold and damp prison. Whether he can survive depends on you."
Cui Huo's voice was extremely weak: "What do you want?"
Zhao: "You know what I want. As long as you are willing to hand over the Suzaku Order, I will let him live. How about that?"
Cui Huo: "I won't give you the Suzaku Order... so just give up on this idea."
Zhao was not angry either, her tone was calm: "Really? Then I'll just have to make him suffer a little."
After a while, Zhao's voice sounded again: "Go, cut off one of that bastard's hands and bring it to me."
Aunt Zhao: “Yes.”
Small courtyard.
In the room, Lu Xiuyun and the other two were anxious.
"This evil old woman is actually going to chop off my father's hand. No, I have to stop her!" Cui Yue was about to rush out.
Shen Yizhi held her back, "Have you forgotten that you are under house arrest? If you rush out without caring about anything, you will be caught. Here, stick this invisibility talisman on your body and I will take you out."
Cui Xi said: "Sister Zhizhi, I want to go too!"
As the eldest son in the family, he should stand up at this time.
Shen Yizhi glared at him: "What if both of you go to your aunt? What if Cui Yunhuang comes again?"
Cui Xi stopped talking.
"Just stay here and accompany your aunt. Yue'er and I will be back soon."
Shen Yizhi left some talismans for Cui Xi to use for self-defense, and took Cui Yue to the prison.
On the way, I sent her a message: "No matter what you see when you get there, don't say anything. Stay calm, okay?"
Cui Yue was about to agree, but when she thought about her instructions, she swallowed her words and squeezed her hand hard to show that she had taken note.
Shen Yizhi took Cui Yue and used the earth escape technique to enter the prison and emerged from Cui Shizhen's cell.
Of course, both of them were invisible, so they didn't scare him.
Cui Yue looked at her father and a feeling of bitterness welled up in her heart.
In the past, what she heard most was how frivolous and dissolute her father was when he was young. When she was old enough to remember, her father was also idle and did not do any serious work all day long. She never imagined that he suffered so much in his childhood.
She wanted to hug him so much.
As if sensing her thoughts, Shen Yizhi set up a double barrier around her, blocking her sight and sound. "Go ahead."
Cui Yue temporarily removed the invisibility talisman, took a few quick steps to Cui Shizhen, and threw herself into his arms: "Dad..."
Cui Shizhen was shocked. "Yue'er, why are you here?"
He hurriedly pushed her out: "This prison is so dangerous, hurry up and leave, it will be bad if someone finds you."
Cui Yue just hugged him tightly and didn't let go, choking and saying, "I won't leave. Sister Zhizhi brought me here, and no one found us."
Only then did Cui Shizhen realize that Shen Yizhi was also in the cell.
There was a sound of footsteps coming this way. Shen Yizhi thought it was Nanny Zhao coming, so he hurriedly explained to Cui Shizhen why he and Cui Yue were here, and slapped an invisibility talisman on him.
When Madam Zhao came outside the cell, what she saw was Cui Shizhen lying on a straw mat.
"Bring the man out." she said to the jailer.
The warden of this prison had long been replaced by Zhao's own man, and now the entire prison was under her control, so the jailer had no objection to what Madam Zhao said, and he went in directly with another jailer to bring Cui Shizhen out.
He was taken all the way to the torture site.
"Cut off his right hand." Nanny Zhao ordered the jailer.
The jailer was stunned for a moment, and wondered in his heart, "Madam Zhao, is this an order from the old lady?"
Although there are rumors that the master is not favored by the old lady, it is not necessary to chop off one of his hands, right? Zhao Mama glanced at him and said, "Why, are you questioning my false order from the old lady?"
The jailer dared not to do that and denied it immediately.
He picked up the machete and walked towards Cui Shizhen, "Master, I'm sorry!"
With a wave of the knife, Cui Shizhen's right hand was chopped off.
"ah--"
Even though the jailer had witnessed many bloody things, he was still a little scared.
Aunt Zhao, on the other hand, looked calm and lifeless the whole time, not even raising her eyelids.
It seemed as if cutting off a person's hand was a very common thing to her.
The jailer glanced at her and felt a little tingling on his scalp.
"What are you still standing there for? Find a box to put this hand in."
Nanny Zhao ordered the jailer.
The jailer did not dare to delay and quickly found a box and put the bloody hand in it.