The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 9 The Villain's Self-cultivation

In the cell.

The girl tied to the wooden frame kept cursing, her eyes were red, and because of her excitement, the chains on her hands and feet made a "clattering" sound, and her joints were rubbed red.

"How dare you!" the jailer shouted, raising the whip in his hand high:

"How dare you disrespect the envoy!"

"Stop it." Zhao Duan stopped the petty official who was trying to take credit for his behavior, and said in a displeased tone that matched his character:
"You don't know how to cherish a beauty. If her delicate skin and tender flesh were damaged, wouldn't it be heartbreaking?"

The jailer smiled and nodded repeatedly, showing a smile that all men can understand. The prison was suddenly filled with an ambiguous atmosphere.

Yunxi felt the other party's teasing, and was shaking with anger. Her chest rose and fell violently with anger, and she cursed:
"You despicable villain! A lackey of the false emperor! Stop pretending, I will kill you or chop you up, all is up to you! I only regret that I was unable to eliminate you in broad daylight!"

Zhao Duan said with great interest:

"You and I are strangers. I am curious why you hate me so much."

Yunxi laughed out of anger:

"The false emperor stole the country, and Zhao Shi was his lackey. Who in the capital doesn't know that you, a traitor, are rampant and tyrannical, bringing disaster to the country and the people? Anyone with aspirations in the world should kill you!"

Hiss... Is the original owner so notorious... Zhao Duan complained in his heart.

During this time, the original owner's bad reputation refreshed his cognition again and again.

But thinking back carefully, the original "Zhao Duan" was indeed a dandy and not a good person.

But in fact, it is not so bad that it would anger God and people.

After all, he has only been in power for a short time, and his activities are limited to the capital. He is indeed domineering and arrogant, but he is still far from being a real villain.

I guess, firstly, it was a rumor, and secondly, it was because of the fame of the "fake emperor".

"You are such a sharp-tongued girl," Zhao Duan waited until she finished scolding him before he slowly walked in front of Yunxi. He gently brushed the girl's fair neck with his fingers, which felt smooth.

Yunxi's delicate body trembled, and she felt as if a cold poisonous snake was crawling across the surface of her skin, causing tiny bumps to appear and fear in her heart.

The next second, Zhao Duan grabbed her jaw with his big hand and said quietly:

"I just don't know if my mouth is tight enough."

"Pooh!"

Yunxi suddenly spat and spit on his face.

The girl had disheveled hair and an unyielding look in her eyes. She stared at him coldly with provocation, making her position clear with her actions.

"Sir! This little bitch..." Zhu Kui, who was standing at the back and acting as a background, was furious.

But Zhao Duan raised his hand to stop him. He stepped back a few steps, wiped it with a handkerchief, and then sat down on a big chair brought in by the jailer. His smile disappeared:
"It seems that if you don't accept my toast, you will have to drink the wine for punishment."

He said calmly: "I want to ask you, how did Zhuang Xiaocheng escape in advance, and how did he escape?"

Yunxi closed her eyes and pursed her lips, looking as if she was refusing to cooperate.

The jailer next to him offered a suggestion:
"Sir, I have seen many prisoners like this. It is useless to waste my breath on them. Just punish them severely. Although our government prison is not as good as the imperial prison, we have all kinds of torture instruments. Just give this person a try, and I am sure that even an iron man will pry her mouth open."

He felt that Lord Zhao was too gentle and kind to women.

However, Zhao Duan said nothing.

He was not pedantic. If the other party was really an unforgivable villain, he would not mind giving him a little shock with the "Ten Cruel Tortures of the Qing Dynasty".

But the problem is, based on the information we have so far, the girl in front of us is not a bad person.

With his "eagle eyes" from years of experience in the system in his previous life, it is easy to see:
This girl was brainwashed by Zhuang Xiaocheng's group of literati rebels, deceived by the fabricated false history, and was full of passion, thinking she was a righteous person fighting against the "tyrant".

Boys and girls of this age are easy to be deceived and exploited.

What she needs is to change her wrong perception.

Of course, the weaknesses of this kind of person are also obvious.

"Zhu Kui!" Zhao Duan suddenly said, "Bring the person in."

"Yes!" The black-clad official turned and left with a grim smile.

Zhao Duan sat on the big chair, resisting the urge to cross his legs, and said to Yunxi who had her eyes closed:

"Are you curious about who I should bring over?"

Yunxi kept a posture of sacrifice at any time, and her small ears moved. Zhao Duan said slowly:
"As far as I know, after the Second Prince's party was defeated and scattered, a group of rebellious officials led by Grand Tutor Zhuang Xiaocheng, who is also your teacher, gathered together the retainers, sorcerers, and warriors who belonged to the Second Prince's party...

In the underworld, an organization was secretly established with the mission of opposing the current emperor. It was called "Kuang Fu She". Ha, the name means "Kuang Fu She Ji"..."

"The Kuangfu Society recruits many thieves. The members call each other brothers and sisters, and they have deep feelings for each other. To the outside world, they call each other brothers and sisters... In this case, since you call Zhuang Xiaocheng your teacher, you should also be a member of the society."

Yunxi remained motionless, but her heart was tense and she had a bad feeling.

Zhao Duan continued:

“After the current saint ascended the throne, he arrested the rebels and supported the society. The court lived up to expectations and arrested some of the society’s famous figures.

Unfortunately, there is a person detained in the government office. If I remember correctly, his code name is 'Qingyun'."

Yunxi suddenly opened her eyes and her expression changed:
"what are you going to do?!"

Just at this moment, scolding and wailing were heard outside the cell door.

Immediately, Zhu Kui dragged in a bloody prisoner with an iron chain.

It was obvious that he had been tortured and there was almost no healthy flesh on his body.

All his nails were pulled out and his face was damaged, but his general appearance could be vaguely judged based on his height and outline. There was an obvious birthmark on his shoulder.

"Sir, the rebel 'Qingyun' has been brought here."

Zhu Kui threw the prisoner and kicked him. The nearly unconscious prisoner screamed, his wound burst open, and blood gushed out.

Yun Xi took a closer look, her eyes were bloodshot, and she cursed:

"You beasts! You running dogs! You will not live a good life!"

Zhu Kui let out a "Hey", raised his big foot, and stomped hard on the prisoner's hand. A crisp sound of bone cracking was heard, accompanied by the prisoner's shrill screams, and blood stained the ground red.

Yunxi cursed until her voice became hoarse:
"Let him go, come at me if you dare!"

Zhu Kui turned a deaf ear to him, took out his sword, held down the prisoner's other hand, and pretended to cut it off.

"Stop!" Yun Xi's eyes were red and tears were streaming down her face:

"Don't touch him! Please... stop..."

Zhao Duan remained motionless and said calmly:
"It is said that the brothers and sisters of Kuangfu Society have deep feelings for each other. Do you want Zhu Kui to stop? It's easy. Answer me a few questions. Otherwise, I will torture him to death in front of you. One is not enough? I will go to other cells to find more..."

"Save me...save me..." The prisoner on the ground spoke in a hoarse voice, his vocal cords were broken and his original voice could no longer be heard.

Yunxi finally collapsed and shouted, "I said! I promise you!"

"Wouldn't it be better if it was like this earlier?"

Zhao Duan smiled and then gave Zhu Kui a look. The latter understood what he meant and immediately dragged "Qingyun" away, taking the surrounding jailers away as well.

In a blink of an eye, there were only two people left in the cell.

……

……

On the other side, Zhu Kui, who was far away from the cell, threw away the chains, wiped his hands in disgust, and said:
"Drag the man away."

The jailer next to him asked in confusion:

"Boss Zhu, didn't the traitor Qingyun commit suicide in prison years ago? This is..."

Zhu Kui used to work in the government office and was an old acquaintance of the jailer. He was used to calling him "boss".

Zhu Kui laughed and said:
"Of course it's fake. They just pulled a criminal from the death row who was about the same height and age as Qingyun, and faked a birthmark on him.

Oh, they were beaten like this, even their own mother wouldn't recognize them, let alone a little girl? And I guess they don't know each other well, so they're not afraid of being exposed."

The jailer was amazed:

"How did you know, sir, that little girl would speak up to save her companions? These people are really weird. They are not afraid of death, but they can't bear to see others being tortured. Tsk tsk..."

"Do you think everyone is as afraid of death as we are?" Zhu Kui laughed at himself.

A complex look flashed across the eyes of this old official who looked ferocious and ruthless. He turned his head and glanced at the cell at the end of the corridor, muttering softly:
"But our Lord Envoy is truly impressive."

Thanks to Huang Ershou for the reward and support~
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(End of this chapter)