Cold-faced Empress

She was extremely angry and her imposing manner was overwhelming: "You all look like honest, ordinary people, how could you do such a terrible thing? Were you all coerced by this beast?"

As she spoke, she poked the bandit leader's body with the hairpin again, creating another bloody hole.

Upon hearing this and being shocked by this method, the bandits were stunned. After exchanging bewildered glances, they all seized the opportunity to back down, kneeling and begging for mercy, each one weeping and saying that they had been coerced by their leader into becoming outlaws.

A group of unruly country bumpkins, who were terrified of even minor officials in Pingcheng, would certainly fear Fu Siying's cold and stern aura. If Fu Siying were to grit her teeth and declare that she would execute them upon her return, they might even be tempted to fight her to the death. But upon hearing that Fu Siying had pardoned them, how could they not hope to survive?

The bandit leader was panting heavily, coughing up blood with each breath. Fu Siying had stabbed him squarely in the throat; he was beyond saving. Seeing his men betray him to save their own lives, the anger emanating from his body was truly overwhelming.

"Huff, huff... Kill, kill..."

Fu Siying scoffed coldly, pointing at the pitiful bandit leader: "Although he's doomed, I'm willing to give you a chance to atone for your sins. Kill him immediately, and I'll exonerate you. Otherwise, how can I and others believe you were coerced?"

The bandit leader's eyes were wide open like dead fish eyes. The other bandits, hearing that they could redeem themselves through meritorious service, looked at their leader who was barely breathing and swallowed hard, hesitant and undecided.

Fu Siying continued, "What, can't bring yourself to do it? Don't worry, the charge of murder won't fall on your heads. Each of you will have a knife. As long as you manage to stab him, it will be considered a success."

Such an explanation would undoubtedly greatly alleviate the sense of guilt felt by these bandits.

Soon enough, some pioneers took the lead.

A bandit with a slightly grimacing face pulled out a dagger and walked towards his boss.

"You beast, you forced me to become a bandit and commit countless evil deeds! Today, a benefactor has come to deal with you; your death is near. Don't blame me!"

Having said that, he plunged the knife down. This stab showed no mercy, striking the elder brother squarely in the abdomen. As soon as the knife was pulled out, blood spurted out.

"Very good!" Fu Siying affirmed. "This beast deserved to die. You have rid the people of a scourge and deserve the greatest merit. What's your name?"

"My name is Huang Hu."

Noting down the man's name and appearance, Fu Siying casually praised, "What a great name, so imposing and powerful. Don't worry, the government will reward you handsomely."

Huang Hu was still trembling. Upon hearing that he had made the greatest contribution and would receive a generous reward from the government, he was overjoyed and immediately knelt down to kowtow deeply in gratitude.

He kowtowed loudly, so he didn't notice how cold Fu Siying's gaze was towards him.

Fu Siying recognized the voice; it was the same person who had instigated the boss to attack her earlier. Not only did he harbor evil intentions, but he also incited others to commit evil, and he was a ruthless person who would kill his leader just to save his own life. How could Fu Siying possibly let such a person get away with it?

"who is the next?"

With Huang Hu leading the charge, the other bandits followed one after another, each stabbing their former leader with a knife.

Fu Siying watched helplessly as the bandit leader was stabbed through the air. At first, it was one person stabbing one at a time, but later the bandits, fearing that their leader would die before it was their turn, pushed and shoved each other to join the attack.

Outside, a fine drizzle fell; inside, blood flowed like a river. The agony of being stabbed repeatedly was perhaps second only to being slowly sliced ​​to death.

Before the bandits could finish, the bandit leader finally breathed his last, ending his life after suffering so much pain and torment, which could be considered a release.

The bandits who hadn't yet stabbed Fu Siying looked at her anxiously, worried that they hadn't accomplished anything.

"Don't be afraid. The rest of you, tell me why you robbed my convoy. If you tell the truth, I'll let you go."

The remaining bandits eagerly revealed what they knew.

In summary, someone from Pingcheng suddenly came to the bandit leader last night to deliver a message, saying that someone in the city was paying them to rob a large convoy leaving the city during the day.

He specifically instructed them not to focus on gold or silver, and said that the caravan consisted of high-ranking officials and their families from the capital. He warned them not to harm anyone, but only to capture and take away one of the women in the caravan.