I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 151 Choose One

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

A light breeze blew in through the window, bringing a slight chill.

Shang Bao Si Qing slumped on the ground, looking at the young man behind the desk in shock.

The young man was wearing soft black pajamas, with his long jet-black hair hanging down behind him. He lazily supported his chin with one hand, and there was a hint of weariness on his face, as if he had just gotten out of bed.

He yawned and said to Xie Hui, "Show him the thing."

Xie Hui, who was waiting on the side, threw a doll in a black robe and it rolled to the feet of Shang Bao Si Qing.

Shang Bao Si Qing instinctively looked down, and when he saw what it was, his heart trembled.

How could this deadly thing be in the hands of the Jinyiwei?

Xiao Jingfan's sleep was not good to begin with, and he was woken up after finally falling asleep, which made him feel very bad. He glanced at Shangbao Siqing and tapped his slender fingers on the table, "You made a villain to curse me, how many heads do you have to chop off?"

"I dare not." Shangbao Siqing prostrated himself on the ground, his body shaking uncontrollably due to fear.

"I think there is nothing you dare not do." Xiao Jingfan threw a few booklets and hit him on the head.

Shang Bao Si Qing was shaking even more violently.

Xiao Jingfan said coldly: "Pick it up and have a look."

Shang Bao Si Qing first looked up at him cautiously, then reached out to pick up the three booklets and looked closely at the folded parts.

At the same time, Zhou Yuande came in quickly and reported: "Your Majesty, the assassin that Lord Xie captured has confessed."

Upon hearing this, Shangbao Siqing immediately turned around, obviously wanting to know who was so cruel as to send an assassin to kill him.

The image of the servant's tragic death kept flashing before his eyes. If the Jinyiwei had not arrived in time, he would have become a corpse in the snow.

When he thought of this possibility, he couldn't help but tremble his teeth, feeling angry and scared.

Zhou Yuande glanced at him and said, "The instigator is Prince Cheng."

"Prince Cheng?" Shangbao Siqing looked puzzled, "Why did he send someone to kill me?"

Zhou Yuande squinted at him and said, "It's about a fatal incident four years ago."

"Life-threatening matter?" Shang Bao Si Qing was stunned. His eyes swept over the detailed record and seal book in his hand. Suddenly, he had an idea and his face turned paler than the falling snow outside.

——It’s over! After all, the truth cannot be hidden, and the matter of the blank imperial edict has finally been known to His Majesty.

He was originally wondering why the Jinyiwei showed up in time when the assassin attacked at night. It turned out that His Majesty had already found out about this matter, so he sent the Jinyiwei to monitor him and find evidence of his guilt.

He didn't notice it at all!

Thinking of this, Shang Bao Siqing felt his scalp tingling, and the look he gave Xiao Jingfan showed even more fear.

How could he have misjudged such a powerful person? If he had handed the imperial edict to this person...

Before he could finish his thought, Xiao Jingfan said coldly, "Do you want to explain it yourself or do you want me to do it for you?"

The evidence is right in front of us, there is no point in making excuses.

Shangbao Siqing bowed down and said: "I am guilty of death. Four years ago, I..."

He slowly talked about the old incident four years ago that always appeared in his nightmares and woke him up in the middle of the night. He told him who were the people involved and what they did, without any detail.

Xiao Jingfan had been shocked by the inner voice once, and now when he heard Shangbao Siqing say it himself, he was not surprised, but full of anger. His dark eyes were as deep as a lake, brewing a storm in silence. Xie Hui and Zhou Yuande were already dumbfounded, and even suspected that they were listening to some Arabian Nights fairy tale.

The imperial edict with the seal was stolen, and two copies were stolen. One copy went to Prince Cheng, and the other was in the hands of the remnants of the fifth prince. If they used these two copies to cause trouble or even turned them into the late emperor's will to usurp the throne, wouldn't that be...

The two men couldn't help but break out in cold sweats and didn't dare to think any further.

The Shangbao Siqing's forehead was sweating as he spoke. He wiped it with his sleeve while stealing glances at the emperor, trying to see if he had a chance to seek leniency.

The more I look at him, the colder I feel.

Your Majesty has only seen this expression on his face on the first day of court. At that time, the royal steps were stained with blood, which has not been wiped clean yet.

Xiao Jingfan paused while writing down the name, and looked up at Shang Bao Siqing who had stopped talking: "Have you finished explaining?"

Shang Bao Si Qing shrank his neck and nodded.

Xiao Jingfan put down his pen and blew away the wet ink on the paper: "Skinning, quartering, all five punishments, or slow slicing, choose one."

His nonchalant tone seemed as if he was not asking Shang Bao Si Qing to choose how he would die, but to choose a dish he liked from four dishes.

Shang Bao Si Qing really cried this time. Seeing that he had explained everything in such detail, couldn't he just give him a quick death?

"Can't choose?" Seeing that he remained silent for a long time and just kept crying, Xiao Jingfan was annoyed and glanced at Xie Hui, "You choose for him."

Xie Hui's fingertips trembled, looking at Shang Bao Si Qing's tearful face, he thought for a moment, and said to him: "I will choose Ling..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Shang Bao Si Qing interrupted him crying, "I choose to be torn apart by a chariot!"

Xie Hui is really a cruel and vicious guy. He even wants to torture him to death. At least he should consider the friendship between colleagues!
Xie Hui raised his eyebrows and respected his choice for the sake of his colleague.

He cupped his hands to Xiao Jingfan and said, "Your Majesty, I choose to be torn into pieces by a chariot."

Xiao Jingfan didn't care about Xie Hui's little thoughts and shouted to the air: "Ajiu."

A black shadow flashed, and Xiao Jiu knelt on the ground: "Please give me your orders, my lord."

The voice is very young, probably no more than twenty years old.

Zhou Yuande and Xie Hui had often seen secret guards and didn't think anything of it, but Shang Bao Siqing was frightened by the sudden appearance of the man in black. He thought it was another assassin, and he stopped crying and started hiccuping, one after another, and couldn't stop at all.

Xiao Jingfan thought that the person who dared to steal the imperial edict must be extremely daring, but he didn't expect him to be so useless. He waved his hand in disdain and said, "Lock him up in the dark cell and don't let him die."

Shang Bao Si Qing was stunned. He didn't have to be torn to pieces right now?
Why do I feel so happy all of a sudden?

Xie Hui looked at him sympathetically. Is this guy stupid?

He might be useful as a witness in the future, so they naturally won't let him die now, and they certainly won't let him off easily.

Not to mention the daily fear of being torn to pieces, even a saint could be tortured to death in the dark prison. After Shangbao Siqing went in...

Xie Hui couldn't bear to think any further. He watched Xiao Jiu knock Shang Bao Si Qing unconscious with a knife, carry him away, and silently lit a row of candles for him.

He turned to look at the emperor and asked, "Your Majesty, how should we deal with the people in the Fan Mansion?"

Xiao Jingfan glanced at the puppet on the ground that was pierced with silver needles, and felt uncomfortable. He said listlessly, "Fan Chen attempted to kill the emperor with such a wicked trick as witchcraft. His crime is unavoidable and he shall be punished by being torn apart by a chariot. All male members of the Fan family over the age of seven shall be beheaded on a chosen day, and those under the age of seven shall be exiled to Nurgan together with their female relatives and shall not be redeemed. All confiscated property shall be put into the national treasury, and anyone who dares to resist shall be killed without mercy."

Xie Hui was a little surprised that the entire clan was not executed, but he didn't say much and just took the order to do his job.

There was silence in the hall for a while. Xiao Jingfan rubbed his temples, wanting to sleep but not feeling sleepy at all. He rolled up the paper with names written on it and handed it to Zhou Yuande: "Follow the rules."

"I obey your order." Zhou Yuande took it with both hands, only to feel that the light paper in his hand weighed a thousand pounds.