I have been a county magistrate for ten years. My subordinates insist on giving me a yellow robe.

"Someone, come! Strip this rebellious son and hang him up!"

Duanmu Xiongtu's forehead veins bulged, and he slapped Duanmu Yuanchen twice in the face.

clap clap!

Two slaps in the face stunned Duanmu Yuanchen.

"Your Highness, we are sorry for the offense." The two old eunuchs quickly stripped Duanmu Yuanchen naked, leaving only his innermost layer of underwear, and tied him up with ropes and hung him directly on the beam.

Duanmu Xiongtu's face turned grim as he found a whip from somewhere, swung it twice, and then hit the garden railing with one whip, breaking the wooden railing into pieces.

Duanmu Xiongtu was quite satisfied that his strength was still as strong as before.

"He is cunning, unlearned, neglects his studies, and acts recklessly..." Duanmu Xiongtu read out the charges against Duanmu Yuanchen in a dignified tone, and slowly walked towards Duanmu Yuanchen with a whip in his hand.

"Father! Father! I know I was wrong! I know I was wrong, and I promise I won't do it again!" Duanmu Yuanchen panicked. It looked like he was really going to come this time. If he got whipped, his skin would be torn to pieces!

"It's too late for you to say anything now. Come, call the imperial physician and be ready to rescue at any time." Duanmu Xiongtu shouted murderously.

After a while, two white-haired old men hurried over carrying boxes.

Duanmu Yuanchen felt mixed emotions. No matter what, it seemed that his father couldn't bear to beat him to death. This was fatherly love.

"You two tell me, if someone faints, how can we wake him up directly? Demonstrate it on the prince!" Duanmu Xiongtu shouted sternly.

The two imperial doctors did not dare to delay and immediately pointed to several major acupoints on Duanmu Yuanchen's body.

"Your Majesty, just hit these spots hard, and they will wake up immediately, no matter if they are unconscious or fainting from the pain."

Duanmu Xiongtu cracked his whip twice: "Alright, both of you watch carefully, you must not let the prince faint."

"Father, father, I know I was wrong. I'm just a child. You can't do this to me!"

"Doesn't the book say that if a son is not taught well, it is the fault of the father? You should think more about your own reasons!"

Duanmu Xiongtu's forehead veins bulged. Are you still considering my own reasons?

Did I ask you to cultivate immortality? Or did I ask you to be distracted from your job?

The Crown Prince's tutor has found a lot of talents for you and sent them to the Eastern Palace, but this rebellious son still doesn't know what's good for him.

There is no way out now. A filial son is born under the stick.

Beat! He must beat her to break Duanmu Yuanchen's already distorted character.

"Snapped!"

"Clap! Clap!"

"Ahhh! I was wrong! Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs!"

"Ah! Father, please stop hitting me. I won't do it again!"

"The most ruthless emperor's family!"

"What?!" Duanmu Xiongtu's eyes turned red. He even shouted such words from the most ruthless imperial family. What a rebellious son!

Although he was extremely angry, Duanmu Xiongtu was still quite skilled in controlling the whip, and each whip hit Duanmu Yuanchen's buttocks accurately.

In just a short moment, Duanmu Xiongtu had already whipped more than ten times. He stopped and let Duanmu Yuanchen take a break.

The two doctors looked at the whip that had fallen to the ground and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, the ground is not clean. Your whip has already touched the ground. If you hit the prince with it, it will easily cause the wound to become infected."

Duanmu Xiongtu was also stunned for a moment: "What should I do?"

The two doctors exchanged glances before raising their hands in greeting. "Your Majesty, please use strong liquor as a disinfectant to soak the whip. This will not only keep it clean, but also disinfect it before it's used on the Crown Prince."

Duanmu Xiongtu's eyes lit up: "Good idea, come on, bring up some wine!"

A moment later, two young eunuchs brought in a barrel of strong liquor.

Duanmu Yuanchen rolled his eyes when he saw this scene, and almost fainted from anger on the spot. Beating and disinfecting at the same time, it was unexpected that they could come up with such a vicious method.

Just as Duanmu Xiongtu was about to take out the whip after soaking it, a report suddenly came from a distance.

"Your Majesty, the Eastern Depot Commander-in-Chief, Chen Liu, requests an audience."

Duanmu Xiongtu was startled, glared at Duanmu Yuanchen fiercely, and put down the whip for the time being.

"Xuan."

"Call Chen Liu to the emperor!"

Duanmu Yuanchen, who had escaped the disaster, burst into tears. Chen Liu, who was jogging towards him from a distance, suddenly became extremely cute.

"Your Majesty! A secret report has come from the East Factory." Chen Liu said, holding the paper in both hands.

Duanmu Xiongtu frowned slightly: "What's the matter?"

Chen Liu looked around, and several young eunuchs and imperial physicians immediately retreated.

"Your Majesty, at Tianxia Restaurant, Liu Qingfeng, the son of the Liu Chang family, and Zhao Ming, the son of the Zhao Tiannan family, were beaten."

"According to the informant, the beating was horrific."

A trace of surprise flashed across Duanmu Xiongtu's face. "In Tianxia Restaurant? In the inner city? Someone actually dared to cause trouble there. Who did it?"

Chen Liu excitedly handed over the portrait in his hand and said, "Your Majesty, please look, it was created by the three people above."

Duanmu Xiongtu picked up the portrait, his expression was a little frozen, and he put it down after a long time.

"Why did Jiang Yuan come to the imperial capital? Did he have a transfer order?"

"Your Majesty, yes, it is a document from Tian Wenqian of Luoyun City. He did not break the rules by coming here, and he came with Bai Shantian, the old man of the Bai family."

"How could Jiang Yuan have a relationship with the Bai family?" Duanmu Xiongtu felt a little unbelievable.

The Bai family was an aristocratic family that had stood firm since the previous dynasty. How could Jiang Yuan, a mere eighth-rank county magistrate, possibly know them?

"Your Majesty, not only that, according to my humble investigation, Jiang Yuan came here this time because Bai Shantian brought Bai Jingyun, Bai Wei and others to Taiping County in person."

"Before coming here, I have already investigated Jiang Yuan's identity and background in detail. There seems to be quite a mystery surrounding this guy." Chen Liu said in succession.

Duanmu Xiongtu nodded slowly: "Tell me about it."

"Your Majesty, twenty-four years before the previous dynasty, Jiang Yuan, at the age of sixteen, passed the imperial examination and became a top-ranked Jinshi. His father, Jiang Qiao, was appointed Governor in his early years, but was later demoted to Taiping County for unknown reasons."

"Jiang Qiao met Bai Shantian in his early years, and the two were engaged as children. Now it seems that the Bai family wants to invite Jiang Yuan to come and marry Bai Wei."

Duanmu Xiongtu smiled faintly and couldn't help but praise: "A sixteen-year-old Jinshi, I never thought that Jiang Yuan actually has such talent."

"But why is the top three Jinshi only an eighth-rank county magistrate?" A new question soon appeared in Duanmu Xiongtu's mind.

According to the imperial examination system, it is not uncommon to have three-class Jinshi, but they all come from the same Jinshi background.

Above that, there are the second-class Jinshi, and the top three in the first class, the top scholar, the second-class scholar, and the third-class scholar.

But Jiang Yuan was only sixteen years old at the time, so this seemed quite terrifying.

It is not an exaggeration to describe him as a child prodigy. It is extremely unusual that such a rough gem would end up in a remote town.

"Your Majesty, this involves a case from the previous dynasty. According to the secret book, not only was Jiang Yuan affected, but his father was also dismissed from his official position."

"But it's been a long time, and many people are no longer around, so I don't know the details yet."

After Duanmu Xiongtu sorted out his thoughts, he said calmly: "Since Jiang Yuan has the Bai family to protect him, there is no need to deliberately protect him."

"Chen Liu, you can handle this matter as you wish, but remember, don't reveal your identity."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Chen Liu responded and turned away happily.

Boy, if you fall into my hands, I will show you how I torture you!

At this moment, Jiang Yuan, who was far away at the Tianxia Restaurant, sneezed several times. He rubbed his nose and muttered, "Who's thinking about me?"