He knew very well what His Highness's attitude was towards the General's wife. Although they were ordered to guard outside Yixiu Palace and prevent anything from disturbing what His Highness was doing, they could not afford to offend anyone.
Just as Zheng Quchi was about to speak, he heard another shrill scream from inside the Yixiu Palace, as if he were being tortured. At the same time, someone shouted in terror, "Yuan Xingzhou, your father has just passed away, and you are already committing such atrocities. How utterly depraved!"
Zheng Quchi's eardrums jolted, and after a moment of stunned silence, he no longer hesitated and pushed Pang Min aside: "Get out of the way—"
Wang Feichen scratched his ears anxiously, "Madam, you'd better not go. It's too chaotic inside..."
"Shut up!"
She turned her face, and the deputy commander of the Xuanjia Army strode forward, parrying the two men with a single sword stroke: "If you don't want to die, get out of my way right now! Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless."
At the same time, a squad of Xuanjia soldiers also rushed forward to intercept them. The iron-blooded aura they carried from the battlefield was something that ordinary people could not withstand. Even Pang Min and Wang Feichen felt as if they were being forced to the point of being unable to breathe.
Seeing that Wang Feichen and Pang Min were being controlled and escorted by the Xuanjia Army, Zheng Quchi walked unimpeded to the foot of the road.
The kneeling ministers couldn't help but look up at her. They had been kneeling for so long that they had lost all their energy and spirit, and they had only managed to hold on until now thanks to their will to survive.
They didn't know if the general's wife was their lifeline, but they hoped she was.
Silently, I moved my weary, heavy body to allow her to pass through and walk towards that brutal execution ground where torture was taking place.
Even though Zheng Quchi had mentally prepared herself, she was still shocked by the bloody scene inside when she actually stepped into the Yixiu Hall.
"We...we didn't! He's in the Yixiu Hall! Please, go and save him!"
It turned out that what they meant by saving people was not what she understood at all.
A languid figure sat on the high dragon throne, leaning back in his chair. His expression was relaxed yet his aura was imposing, and his eyes were burning with a sickly pleasure as he stared down below.
Standing to his left and right were two figures she recognized very well; they were Wang Zebang and Wei Yao, who had been summoned to the palace earlier.
The hall was divided into left and right sides by the central axis. On the left side, dozens of civil and military officials were forced to kneel on the ground by guards, while on the right side, Empress Ye and her entourage were bound, including Yuan Chuhua, who was holding a small boy who was sobbing quietly and trembling with fear.
Her gaze finally shifted slowly to the center, where various horrific instruments of torture were laid out, some she recognized, others she didn't. In the middle was a desk with a stack of confessions already signed and stamped with bloody handprints...
Each of these confessions represented a criminal who had been tortured to death. She saw many corpses lying on the ground, including officials in court robes, nobles in everyday clothes, and palace guards and servants.
The blood on the ground flowed from their bodies down to her feet, then slid down the stone steps.
When he realized that someone had trespassed into Yixiu Hall, Yuan Xingzhou raised his eyes indifferently, his cold and indifferent eyes already revealing a murderous intent. However, when he saw who it was, he almost lost his composure and sat up straight.
His sharp Adam's apple bobbed: "...A carpenter's square?"
Wang Zebang and Wei Yao, who had been standing there expressionless like two wooden stakes, changed their expressions drastically the moment they saw the lady appear, looking completely caught off guard.
Zheng Quchi thought that she had originally entered the palace to rescue people, but the people she was supposed to save now seemed to have no need for her help at all. Instead, they were begging for mercy and help while she was applauding them.
She managed a weak smile: "Are you... conducting an interrogation?"
He's really enjoying staying up all night, causing widespread panic, and blocking all outside information.
The various noisy and chaotic sounds that had been emanating from Yixiu Hall seemed to vanish in an instant.
Empress Ye's frantic struggles ceased. Upon seeing Zheng Quchi, a glimmer of hope for survival welled up within her. She cried out, "Zheng Quchi, quickly save me and all the ministers! Yuan Xingzhou has gone mad! He's set up a private torture chamber to force us to confess and submit to execution. He's clearly settling a personal score. He wants to kill everyone who harmed the late Queen and her maternal clan, and he also wants to wipe out all the Yuan clan members who pose a threat to him!"
Having lived in the palace for so long, Empress Ye naturally knew best how to read people's expressions and was also the best at seeing through a person's true nature. The moment she saw Zheng Quchi, she knew that she was different from her and all the other women in the palace.
The clarity and composure in her eyes stemmed from the purity and innocence in her heart. She always had a trusting and benevolent side to human nature, and she was also a kind person. Such a person would seem foolish and easy to deceive to cunning and despicable people, because she would certainly not tolerate others committing murder.
Zheng Quchi: "..." Is he really that ruthless?
"Why did you come to the palace at this hour?"
A fire was burning brighter and brighter in Yuan Xingzhou's heart. He blocked all news because he didn't want her to get involved in this matter, and he didn't want her to see this scene. But who would have thought that the thing he least wanted to happen would happen to him.
He strode into the hall, intending to approach Zheng Quchi, but she stopped him with a shout: "Don't come any closer!"
He froze.
Zheng Quchi couldn't quite describe her feelings. She rubbed her forehead and said weakly, "Do you intend to kill everyone in this hall?"
"no."
Zheng Quchi was taken aback and looked into his eyes.
But then he said with a wicked laugh, "And those kneeling outside too."
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