After swallowing my anger and taking the blame, I became the lucky little queen

Although the dull sound of the wooden stick hitting human flesh made one's scalp numb, there was still no blood on Nian Chengyun's body after the sixth hit.

Qin Zehai couldn't help but become suspicious. His gaze slowly fell on Qin Junyu's feet. Noticing that his toes were spread out, his eyes immediately turned cold.

There are two types of beatings in the court: "beating with heart" and "beating hard". As to which method to use, there are many determining factors, such as the emperor's secret order.

If there are no secret orders or hints, the prisoner has to guess on his own to pass the information to the executioner.

If the emperor just wanted to punish them severely, they had to beat them hard and show some mercy. If the emperor was furious and really wanted to punish them, they had to beat them hard and beat them to death.

The prisoner stood on tiptoe - beating hard.

The prisoner's toes are closed - hit with all his heart.

There was no supervising officer during the court beating, so the emperor had no chance to pass on secret orders. After the dragon case, he was also unable to convey his orders through his toes. However, these two guards of the royal palace "really beat him", and Qin Junyu happened to have his toes spread. Was this really a coincidence?

Rather than coincidence, Qin Zehai believed more in another guess - there were Qin Junyu's people in the Hulin Guard.

Qin Junyu wanted to protect Nian Chengyun, so he hinted to them to fight hard.

Qin Zehai gritted his teeth. He didn't expect Qin Junyu's hand to be so long.

After the tenth blow, Nian Chengyun was already dying and didn't even have the strength to cry out in pain.

His buttocks were covered in blood, and his official uniform was scratched with more than a dozen marks and stained darkly with blood.

The smell of blood filled the entire Mingde Hall. The civil officials felt like vomiting several times after seeing this scene, while the military generals were accustomed to it, but out of compassion, they all frowned.

Seeing that Nian Chengyun was about to die, the two guards hesitated whether to fight again.

After all, beating a prime minister to death in public is no small matter.

But Nian Chengyun’s miserable condition was not enough to appease the emperor.

He was very satisfied with this prime minister who was the best at understanding his thoughts, and even trusted him. That was why he was furious.

The emperor remained calm and said, "Continue."

General Xiao couldn't bear to watch it any longer, so he clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty! Nian Chengyun is old and weak, he really can't stand thirty strokes of the cane!"

The emperor has just said that anyone who dares to plead for mercy will be punished together with the others.

Before he could lose his temper, Qin Junyu said, "Father, I am willing to take the remaining twenty strokes of the cane on behalf of the Prime Minister. Please grant me your approval."

He knelt on one knee beside the torture bench, clasped his hands together, and glanced sideways to meet a pair of desolate eyes.

Nian Chengyun was speechless and his face was as pale as a dead person. He shook his head in pain, signaling him not to do it.

Qin Junyu ignored his suggestive look, looked away, and said, "If your Majesty is still not satisfied, I will give you another thirty strokes of the cane. You will bear all the consequences yourself."

The emperor narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists on the dragon table.

Everyone was nervously waiting for the emperor's answer, hoping that he would agree. They hoped that they could take this opportunity to kill Qin Junyu, or cripple him. That way, the emperor would make him hand over the position of crown prince without anyone else having to snatch it away.

Of course, there were also people who did not want him to agree. After fifty beatings, the person would be useless. A useless person was destined to be drowned in the torrent of history.

Some people are disappointed with Qin Junyu for ruining his life for an old man.

Some people turned jealousy into hatred, jealous that he had such courage and loyalty, jealous that he might use this incident to recruit Nian Chengyun under his command.

Twenty strokes of the cane would not be an exaggeration to make Nian Chengyun work for him for the rest of his life.

Who wouldn't be tempted by such a good opportunity to show off? But none of them dared to take the risk, and they didn't dare to say like Qin Junyu that they were willing to take the punishment in place of Nian Chengyun. If the emperor really agreed, wouldn't that mean exchanging one life for another?

Qin Junyu has this magnanimity, but they don’t.

So much so that when the emperor agreed to use fifty strokes of the cane to get Nian Cheng down from the torture bench, no one said a word.

Nian Chengyun was filled with despair. He raised his trembling arms and tried to grab Qin Junyu's sleeves. However, before he could raise them completely, he closed his eyes, dropped his hands, and fainted.

It was already very good that he could hold on until now after being beaten with ten boards, so it was expected that Nian Chengyun fainted. The ministers did not react too much, with no emotion on their faces and no movement.

Seeing this, General Xiao quickly signaled to the two guards who were on guard nearby, "The emperor wants to punish your highness with a cane, why don't you quickly carry Nian Chengyun out? If you delay the emperor's order, who will be held responsible?"

The two Kirin Guards exchanged glances and looked up in tacit understanding to see what the person above meant.

The emperor did not respond to General Xiao's words.

The guards understood immediately and carried the man out with ease.

The always respectable Nian Chengyun was now being carried through the crowd of civil and military officials like a corpse, a corpse without dignity.

Qin Junyu was glad that he was unconscious.

He got on the torture bench, but showed no fear. He raised his eyes calmly and said to his father calmly, "Thank you, Lord, for your grace."

Then he lowered his eyes.

The emperor raised his hand and the guards began the execution.

They didn't dare to hit too hard, nor did they dare to cover up too obviously, so they could only control the strength as much as possible. Even though they wanted to hit him lightly, by the time the tenth stick came down, Qin Junyu's official uniform had already been torn into pieces, and blood was spreading.

The smell of blood in the hall became stronger.

Qin Junyu remained silent, his brows furrowed and his lips turned pale.

Forty more...

Thirty blows...

Twenty beats...

ten times...

Qin Junyu closed his eyes tightly and was sweating profusely. No one knew whether he was still awake.

Given the situation, the Hulin Guards dared not fight anymore.

If they beat the Crown Prince to death in the hall, both their heads and their clans would be in danger.

General Xiao knelt beside the punishment bench, patted Qin Junyu's back, and called out worriedly: "Your Highness? Your Highness?"

no respond.

Even the emperor was worried. If the news of his son being beaten to death got out, it would have a bad impact on him, the royal family, and even the entire Liuli.

Besides, he just wanted to teach Qin Junyu a lesson and make him remember it, not to really kill him.

After forty strokes of the board, the weak would have died, and the strong would have been disabled or dead. Even if it was a stranger who suffered such torture, it would be unbearable, let alone that the man was one's own son.

The emperor was moved with sympathy, but the emperor's words were final and the imperial decree could not be changed at will. He wanted someone to give him a way out so that he could spare Qin Junyu, but there was no one... not even one...

The two people who understood him best, one was in critical condition, the other was dying. No one in the court, civil or military, could understand what he was thinking at this moment.

For the first time, this emperor, who was high above and looked down upon everything, felt pathetic.

But it soon dissipated.

He is still the emperor above all others, and anyone who opposes him or disobeys him should be punished.

"Your Majesty!" The sonorous and powerful voice gave the emperor some hope again.