The most romantic little emperor

"Do you really know nothing?"

There was an imperceptible sharpness in Qin Hao's tone. His eyes flashed with a bright light, as if he could see through people's hearts. He smiled softly and said, "Tell me, why did you run away?"

Xiangxue's heart tightened when he looked at her. Her eyes were a little vague. She bit her lower lip and whispered, "Your Majesty, I am just a weak woman. What can I do? Yuan Huchen's rebellion is such a big event that I, a little girl, cannot participate in. I was just afraid of being implicated, so I chose to escape."

"Is this really the case?"

Qin Hao's voice suddenly rose, exploding in the palace like thunder. He stared at Xiang Xue with eyes wide open, as if he wanted to dig out all the secrets deep in her heart.

"I have found out clearly that you had disappeared mysteriously before Yuan Hucheng's rebellion. What secrets are you hiding? Tell me everything!"

Xiangxue's body trembled like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind, and she collapsed to the ground. Her face was as pale as paper, without a trace of blood, and her lips were tightly clenched, as if she was under great pressure.

Qin Hao slowly stood up and walked in front of her with steady steps. He squatted down, his eyes revealing a chilling coldness. He stretched out a hand, gently lifted her chin, and a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and threatened: "Tsk tsk, look at this appearance, she is really handsome, no wonder Yuan Hucheng and He Xuan are jealous, it's a pity that such a beautiful face is destined to die."

Xiangxue's heart tightened and she couldn't help but shudder. She didn't know what terrible thing this man in front of her would do next.

"Have you heard of the scorpion pot punishment?"

Qin Hao's voice suddenly became eerie. "That is a truly terrifying torture. You can imagine a living person being thrown into a pit full of poisonous snakes, scorpions, bees, and scorpions. Those poisonous creatures will bite her body crazily until she is in so much pain that she eventually dies miserably."

"And, of course, there is also cooking."

Qin Hao continued, "It's about throwing people into a boiling water tank or oil pan, and then lighting the firewood below. Can you imagine the pain? Every inch of the body is scorched black by the boiling liquid, and then slowly cooked. The screams and wails are so painful that it makes people's scalps numb."

"There are also methods of burning with fire, lighting sky lanterns, riding a wooden donkey, slow slicing, etc. Each of these methods can make people want to neither live nor die. Tell me, which method of death do you prefer?"

When Xiangxue heard this, fear and despair instantly flashed in her eyes. Her legs seemed to have lost their support and she collapsed to the ground, crying softly, "Your Majesty... I'll tell you... I'll tell you!"

Qin Hao raised his eyebrows slightly, feeling a little surprised. He originally thought that Xiang Xue would persist longer, after all, the secret she knew might be of great importance.

However, she gave in so easily. This made him start to doubt the true identity of Xiangxue. Maybe she was just a concubine, an ordinary weak woman, and not the hidden character he imagined.

At this moment, Xiang Xue's mind was already in a state of panic. Her voice was trembling, and with a hint of fear that was difficult to conceal, she cried softly, "Before Yuan Huchen got into trouble, he might have sensed that his action might fail. He was afraid that Su Zhengfang and his son would abandon him and leave him alone, so he gave me a map and asked me to leave early."

"He told me that if the plan failed, he wanted me to hide the map. This way, it could be used as a bargaining chip to check and balance Su Zhengfang and his son, forcing them to be cautious and try to save him."

“But after the plan failed, the Su family father and son began to act. They sent many people to hunt me down and kill me. I… I had no chance to threaten them with the map. I could only flee desperately, hoping to escape.

"I was lucky enough to escape their pursuit. However, the world is so big, and there was no place for me to stay. I wandered around for a while, and then I was caught by your people."

Xiangxue's voice was trembling and fearful, and her eyes were full of panic and anxiety. Being involved in this conspiracy, she had long lost her former calmness and composure.

Qin Hao narrowed his eyes, his gaze like a knife. He took out the map and asked coldly, "This map was given to you by Yuan Huchen, right? Do Su Zhengfang and Su Yong know the existence of this map?"

Xiang Xue shook her head slightly, with a hint of certainty in her tone: "They should know nothing about this. Yuan Huchen once made it clear that he had never revealed the existence of this map to anyone. This is a way out he reserved for himself, in case one day he is abandoned and ruthlessly discarded."

Qin Yun frowned slightly and continued to ask: "So, what does this map represent? Have you ever been to the places marked on it?"

Xia Yan took a deep breath and said slowly: "I have no idea what the map means. Moreover, I have never dared to set foot in that place. I only heard Yuan Huchen mention that the secret hidden in this map is the evidence of the Su family's father and son's crime. Once exposed, it will be enough to put the Su family into an irreparable situation."

Qin Hao's face was solemn, his eyes fixed on the map in front of him. After a moment, he slowly turned to Elder Feng and whispered, "Elder Feng, please take the trouble to gather everyone from the Geography Department to study this map together and determine the specific location on the map, with a focus on the Grand Canal."

The Geography Department is the authoritative department in Daxia responsible for mapping landforms and investigating geography. Their duties are similar to those of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, except that one is to observe astronomy from above, while the other is to observe geography from below.

When it comes to finding dragon points and surveying topography, the people in the Geography Department are experts and have rich experience.

Qin Hao knew very well that the location depicted on this map might hide some unknown secrets, and the people in the Geography Department might be able to see some clues from it.

Hearing this, Feng Lao nodded slightly, with a solemn look on his face. He understood Qin Hao's intention and was well aware of the importance of this map.

So he didn't say anything more, just turned around and left silently.

After Feng Lao left, Qin Hao fixed his eyes on Xiangxue and asked softly, "Xiangxue, calm down and think carefully. Are there any details that you haven't mentioned or things that you have missed? As long as you can confess, it will be considered as making up for your crime and I can give you a lighter sentence."