Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

Dali Temple

When the bailiffs were arresting people, Cui Bianxu specifically instructed them not to arrest Lai's wife and children, but to interrogate these two first. If nothing could be found out, they could proceed. Otherwise, the woman and children would start crying, and the prisoners in the Dali Temple prison would probably protest.

The mother and son of the Lai family were imprisoned separately. Cui Bianxu went to Lai's mother's place first. The jailer said that the old woman had a foul mouth. She seemed to be afraid of being seen and covered her face quietly with a cloth. But when she arrived at the Dali Temple, she started yelling, saying that the people in the Dali Temple were trying to kill for money, and that she had taken money to exchange for her family's meat, but then she changed her mind and arrested them again.

She was old, and the jailers didn't dare to use too much force at first. Otherwise, she would be accidentally crushed to death before they even tried her, and she would definitely have to suffer the consequences. It took them quite a while before they finally got her into the cell.

At first she was still yelling and crying, but after being locked up for a night, she became quiet. The main reason was that the jailer thought she was too noisy and didn't even give her any prison food. It was already cold and she had nothing to eat or drink, so naturally Lai Lao Niang couldn't make any more noise.

When Cui Bian was narrating the story, she was lying on the hay, groaning and crying out every now and then, but the jailer ignored her. She looked so energetic when he came, and it seems that even after he died, this old woman would still be alive!

"Take her to the torture chamber, including her son."

Unlike modern times where human rights are emphasized and comprehensive evidence is needed to handle cases, at that time, the officer in charge of the case felt that there was something wrong with you, and looked for clues from some less rigorous evidence, and then made the criminal confess.

Therefore, when it comes to the criminal justice issues of ordinary people, the chief officer in charge of the case has great power.

Most mothers always feel sorry for their children, so they bring Lai Da over with them. If Lai's mother dares to resist, she can just punish Lai Da.

The jailer was very quick. Cui Bianxu and Wang Leisheng were picking and choosing among the torture instruments in the torture room. Not long after the charcoal brazier was lit, the mother and son of the Lai family were brought in.

As soon as the mother and son met and saw that her son was fine, Lai's mother burst into tears: "My son, did they give you food?"

Lai Da was also very excited to see his mother. He nodded repeatedly after hearing this: "Yes, yes, I gave her a Hu pancake and a bowl of fried cabbage residue!"

"what?!"

Lai's mother was struck by lightning. Her stomach had been rumbling all night and she was wiping away tears, worrying about whether her son had food to eat. So she was the only one without food?

How could she be willing to do this? She immediately got angry again and started cursing: "You bastard, everyone has food to eat, why don't I have it?!"

There were two leaders sitting inside, so how could the jailer tolerate her being so presumptuous? He slapped her so hard that she spun around in a circle, and the chains on her body made an ear-piercing sound.

Cui Bianxu rubbed his ears. Wang Leisheng was smart this time and went out to scold him: "Why don't you drag him in and tie him up? The iron is already burning red, just waiting for them to taste it. What are you wasting time on?"

"Iron, branding iron?" Lai Da immediately panicked, trembling and unwilling to go in: "Shang, Shangguan, iron, iron..."

Lai Lao Niang didn't dare to scream this time. She tried to run away, but the jailer grabbed her chain and pulled her back. She was dragged on the ground into the torture room. Seeing this, the jailer who was escorting Lai Da cursed him for being so good at showing off. He kicked Lai Da on the butt without showing any weakness and kicked him in.

He didn't hold back when he kicked Lai Da. Lai Da was too old to be killed by a kick. However, he hadn't eaten much meat for many years and didn't have much meat on his body. It was just a little pain in his butt. He let out a roar and went in.

Lai Lao Niang wanted to rage again, but just as she was about to open her mouth, she saw a room full of cold torture instruments, which she didn't know what they were used for. She was so scared that she couldn't speak, and her legs couldn't stop shaking. Before she could react, she was dragged and tied to a wooden frame by the yamen runners.

"What, what is going on?" At this moment, she was really scared. She moved her eyes to the only person sitting in the room and saw clearly that this person was the one who paid money to buy meat from his family that day. She thought to herself that this was not good. It turned out that being an official was a difficult thing to do. He gave her family money and tied her up the next day.

Cui Bianxu waited until both mother and child were tied up before signaling Wang Leisheng to take action.

In the prison system at that time, this method was a basic operation. Without asking any questions, they would torture the person first, then ask questions. If the person didn't answer, they would continue to torture him.

Wang Leisheng didn't torture them right from the start. After all, it wasn't certain whether the two men from the Lai family were related to the murderer. If he used torture, they would either die or be crippled. As for the iron branding iron that he had just used to scare them, it was useless for the time being. Instead, he took a small, very smoothly shaved bamboo board, about one meter long.

This kind of bamboo board has been soaked in some other way and is very tough. When it is whipped on a person, it will create a beautiful arc with each rise and fall. Although this thing is not very thick, it is very painful when it is whipped on the body. As long as each hit can be accurately hit on the same part, and within five hits, the person being punished will be torn into pieces.

If they encountered someone who refused to confess, they would use this kind of bamboo board to torture the prisoner's buttocks. The prisoner's buttocks would burst like pork. There would be bleeding at first, but the prisoner would not lose his life easily, and there would be no need for medical treatment. The next day, a transparent liquid would flow out of the buttocks.

If someone refuses to confess within a few days, some officers will become annoyed and simply throw him into a cell to die.

Wang Leisheng was particularly skilled at using this thing. Three hits were enough to break Lai Da's chest.

When Lai's mother and son saw that he did not take the red-hot iron brand but only a bamboo board two fingers wide, they breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. But the next second, the bamboo board fell on Lai Da's left chest, and his clothes were torn instantly. The silk cotton mixed with grass fluff flew into the air immediately.

Cui Bianxu held his breath calmly and leaned back slightly. This thing was very dirty.

Before Lai Da could utter his first scream, the second blow of the bamboo board landed accurately on the same spot on his left chest. This time, a big hole was torn in his clothes on his chest, revealing the yellow flesh inside.

His screams were even more intense than before, and he struggled uncontrollably to escape. Lai Lao Niang's eyes were bloodshot, and she thrust her whole body forward, screaming non-stop: "Ah! Stop! Dalang! Dalang! Ah!"

Cui Bianxu was obviously unhappy: "Wang Sizhi, are your hands numb?"

"Please forgive me, young master." Wang Leisheng tightened the bamboo board in his hand, took a step forward with his right foot, turned his wrist slightly twice, took a stance, and struck with all his strength in a more silky posture than before!