Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

Time flies! Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. But in these twenty years, Zheng Yuxiang has never been able to forget the look on Zhong Shufang's face when she passed away.

Now, Zheng Yuxiang has finally gotten the chance to take revenge on his enemies. However, when the moment actually arrived, he was surprisingly calm.

Zheng Yuxiang and Zheng Luoqi stood before the dungeon, silently gazing at everything before them. Zheng Yuxiang's gaze fell upon Wen Lian, who was being tortured beyond recognition.

A guard nearby picked up a basin of cold water and splashed it violently on Wen Lian. The icy water gradually roused Wen Lian from his reverie. He slowly opened his eyes, staring blankly at Zheng Yuxiang standing before him, his face filled with terror: "Who are you people? Why did you arrest me?"

"Do you remember why you were arrested twenty years ago?" Zheng Yuxiang asked directly.

"Twenty years ago? Hahahaha, I haven't shown up outside for the past twenty years. How did you find me?" Wen Lian asked with a loud laugh.

Zheng Yuxiang stared at him with a gloomy expression, a hint of anger and murderous intent flashing in his eyes. He swung the whip in his hand and lashed it fiercely at Wen Lian, the whip making a sharp whistling sound in the air.

Caught off guard by this sudden attack, Wen Lian trembled violently and groaned in pain, "Ah!"

Zheng Yuxiang did not stop what he was doing, but continued to swing the whip, lashing Wen Lian's body again and again. Each lash was filled with murderous intent. Wen Lian's clothes were torn open by the whip, revealing bright red welts underneath.

Wen Lian was sweating profusely from the pain, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing a contemptuous smile.

"No, stop hitting me. Just ask me whatever you want, and give me a quick end," Wen Lian said with difficulty, his voice weak and hoarse.

Zheng Yuxiang stopped whipping Wen Lian and looked at him quietly, his eyes filled with indifference and disgust.

"Twenty years ago, when you were the county magistrate, you provided relief to a group of disaster victims, allowing their female relatives to come to the city as factory workers under the guise of being entertained by others. Did you do this?" Zheng Yuxiang asked coldly.

Wen Lian smiled disdainfully and replied casually, "Yes, I did it. Just a bunch of disaster victims. They should be grateful they caught your eye, sir. So, is there anyone you know among them? Let me guess, a mother? A daughter? Or a wife? Hahahahahahaha..."

After Wenlian finished speaking, he burst into laughter again, the laughter being unusually jarring.

Zheng Yuxiang clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging on his arms, anger burning in his eyes, but he forced himself to remain calm. He needed to stay composed because there were important things he needed to extract from Wen Lian. He knew that the angrier he became, the more smug Wen Lian would be.

Zheng Yuxiang took a deep breath, trying to calm his anger, and then coldly asked, "I really want to know, what value do you have that makes the Wen family protect you so much?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zheng Yuxiang waved for his men to bring up a bucket of mysterious items. The guards were all wearing masks, completely covering their mouths and noses. Zheng Yuxiang and Zheng Luoqi quickly put on their masks as well.

"I hope you can still be this stubborn later," Zheng Yuxiang said coldly, a cruel glint in his eyes.

The guards carefully opened the lid of the barrel, revealing a silvery, water-like substance inside—primordial water, or mercury as it is known today. This liquid emitted a pungent odor, inspiring fear in everyone present.

Just then, two guards entered, carrying a bottle of mercury. They aimed the bottle at Wen Lian's wounds and slowly tilted it, allowing the mercury to flow down the neck and spread rapidly upon contact with the wounds.

Wenlian's body convulsed violently, letting out a painful roar. His eyes were filled with fear and despair, unable to endure this endless torment.

"Spare me, spare my life!" Wen Lian begged for mercy in agony, but Zheng Yuxiang remained unmoved, coldly watching the scene before him.

“Cut off his hands and feet. I don’t want to see him healthy.” Zheng Yuxiang’s voice was cold and ruthless, like a demon from hell.

"Yes," the guards replied. Upon hearing the order, they immediately stepped forward and raised their knives to cut off Wenlian's hands and feet.

"Wait, wait, I'll talk, I'll talk..." Wen Lian looked at the approaching guards in horror and finally couldn't help but speak.

Zheng Yuxiang waved his hand, signaling the guards to stop.

Wen Lian's lips trembled, his eyes were filled with fear, and his voice became somewhat hoarse: "Because...because I have what they want."

Zheng Yuxiang frowned and pressed, "What is it?"

Wen Lian took a deep breath and slowly said, "The Imperial Seal of the previous dynasty."

Zheng Yuxiang's eyes widened, and he asked in astonishment, "The Imperial Seal of the previous dynasty? Why is it with you?"

Wen Lian smiled bitterly: "Hahahaha, there's no such thing as the Imperial Seal of the State. I was just lying to them. For so many years, they've been pressing me about the whereabouts of the seal. If I hadn't said I had the Imperial Seal of the State, I probably would have been abandoned twenty years ago. Hahahahahahaha." After saying that, he couldn't help but burst into laughter again, his laughter filled with endless desolation and sorrow.

Zheng Yuxiang was silent for a moment, then continued to ask, "So why does the Wen family need this jade seal, and why has this jade seal been passed down in the Wen family?"

Wen Lian stopped laughing, his eyes becoming dull and lifeless, as if he had lost all vitality: "Because the Wen family is a remnant of the previous dynasty. Wen Yihong and Empress Dowager Wen are descendants of the previous dynasty's royal family. Over the years, the Wen family has gone through several generations of patriarchs, but the Wen family has always remembered its mission to restore the country. The imperial seal can summon the army of the previous dynasty. It was originally lost when the previous dynasty was destroyed, and was eventually found by the second patriarch of the Wen family."

"The imperial seal has always been passed down among the Wen family, but it was accidentally lost by the previous head of the family. Very few people know about this, so I lied and said that the previous head of the family entrusted the imperial seal to me for safekeeping, so that they could protect me. And so, I have been kept under the watchful eye of the Wen family all these years."

Zheng Yuxiang pondered to himself, feeling that this matter seemed more complicated than he had imagined.

"Then why did you use those disaster victims for people's amusement?" Zheng Yuxiang looked at him with a gloomy face, his eyes were cold, and his voice carried a hint of anger.

Wen Lian laughed, his laughter filled with mockery and disdain: "Hahahaha! They're just a bunch of disaster victims. What do their lives have to do with me? How many officials in this world are clean?" His tone became even more arrogant, as if he had no remorse for what he had done.

"Hmph, you're absolutely insane!" Zheng Yuxiang shouted angrily.

However, Wen Lian was not afraid at all, and instead laughed even louder: "Hahahaha! That's right, I did do a lot of things, but I was never discovered. Why did something happen that one time? It's just that someone used the Wen family as a scapegoat, and I became the scapegoat!" His eyes flashed with resentment and unwillingness.