Wangfu Shenyuan

Xia An's legs were unbelievably weak, he was whipped fifty times, and it was still a torture hall, just by the name, he knew it was a terrifying place.In his mind, he couldn't help but think about the various torturous punishments he had read about in books.

Take caning as an example. I don’t know who invented the barbed whip. When it is whipped on a person, the barbs will penetrate into the skin, and then when the whip is pulled away, the barbs will take away a small part of it. The skin and flesh, so when the whip is pulled down, what is pulled out is a bloody wound.

In addition, the whip is soaked in pepper water or salt water overnight before execution. When the execution is executed, the victim will suffer more pain than pouring pepper water or salt water after whipping, and the time will be longer.Because pepper water or salt water can follow the whip quickly and deeply into the wound.Xia An thought miserably that even using a whip soaked in vinegar was not something he could bear.

Just ordinary cowhide whips, willow whips, and rattan whips, any whip will make people's flesh and blood bruised, and it is certain that the flesh and blood will be bloody after fifty whips.

Xia An was dragged on the way to the execution hall, thinking about whether he should break free from the shackles and hit him to death, so as to avoid such a crime.But he didn't have the courage, and when he finally reached the gate of the execution hall, all he could do was tremble and sigh.

The guard threw the man on the cold floor of the execution hall, reported the type and number of the punishment, and left.Immediately, someone came over to support Xia An, tied his limbs to the wooden frame, and waited for the director of the execution hall to personally imprison him.

It is a rule set by the prince that the supervisor personally imprisoned the sentence, which prevents the subordinates from privately using the punishment or cutting corners.Of course, it is impossible for the prince to appoint only one supervisor. For the sake of fairness and justice, there are as many as three supervisors in the execution hall.

The three supervisors sat on the painted wooden chair opposite, their cold expressions immediately made Xia An feel the pressure of the coming pain.His hands were tied tightly, but his ankles were not very tight, so his legs shook violently, and his feet struggled desperately.

A supervisor laughed and said, "This kid is probably going to be in the torture hall for the first time. He is terribly scared. If we don't greet him well later, it will seem that we can't live up to his expectation."

The other frowned: "I see that his clothes have a lot of background, if we don't find out who this person is and why he was punished, I'm afraid we will be implicated."

The remaining one nodded in agreement: "Yes, if this dress is damaged, we can't afford to pay for it with our lives."

"We can't beat this clothes. If you beat him, you will offend the master. This punishment has to be beaten again. In my opinion, you have to take off his clothes before you beat him."

Although Xia An was afraid, his mind was still working.At this time, my thoughts turned, and I said along the way: "No, the supervisors forgive me, the slave is not wearing anything underneath. The prince said that the slave is naked and dirty, so he put a piece of clothes on the slave." This dress is the meaning of the prince, so I can't take it off.

Xia An thought carefully, the prince punished him because he was naked and dirty the eyes of the master, if the supervisors knew the reason, they would not be afraid of dirtying their own eyes, they would definitely take off their clothes and beat them.

Since the guards didn't explain it clearly, the supervisors definitely didn't dare to ask the prince, so at this time Xia An said that he was not flat.Naturally, he didn't want to be stripped naked. He blushed once exposed to the punishment, and the supervisors would be beaten severely if they took off their clothes, which was very uncomfortable.

"Then you have to think about it." The supervisor who said this was the one who said that he wanted to treat Xia An well and suggested taking off his clothes before hitting him.Later, Xia An came to the punishment hall to be "diligent", and gradually became acquainted with this supervisor, and knew that this supervisor named Cheng Dafang was cunning and deceitful, his mind was contrary to his name, he studied various punishments, and specialized in torture. happy.In Xingtang, Cheng Dafang is actually the real supervisor, and the other two are extremely afraid of his methods.

Cheng Dafang really did as he said, he thought about the time for half a stick of incense before getting up from his seat, sighing step by step, and went into the next room, not long after, he came out with a short thin whip in his hand.

The supervisor sitting on the left is surnamed Meng, with the original meaning of the word.He was originally a scholar, but for some reason he entered the punishment hall of the king's mansion, and his heart is the softest. Seeing that Cheng Dafang came out with a soft scale whip, he hurriedly stepped forward to stop him: "Brother Cheng, don't worry, look at that young man." He is still young, and the aftereffects of whipping with soft scales will have a great impact on the rest of his life. Hearing what Yudi said, he rolled up his trousers and gave him fifty lashes on his calf."

"Brother Meng pity him for his young age, but I want to treat his evil mind well. He dares to fight us in the execution hall. You can see that he is trembling all over, but his eyes don't turn to listen, and he speaks cleverly. Boy At this age, it is best to discipline him carefully, so that he will be obedient and not make mistakes in the future."

Xia An bit her lip, not daring to say any more.

Seeing him like this, Meng Yuanyi was even more sympathetic, and still stopped him, saying: "There is no need to use a soft scale whip for discipline. If the child's internal organs are all destroyed, how will he live in the future."

Xia An saw that Meng Yuanyi was talkative, but he didn't dare to intercede. Even though he heard the great power of the soft scale whip, his teeth trembled, but the one holding the whip didn't seem to like people's attention. If you move, you will probably die even worse.

"Since I have brought this whip, there is no reason to take it back."

Xia An's eyes widened in horror, and he couldn't help but look at Meng Yuanyi, who was also helpless.But he heard Cheng Dafang say: "However, I don't want to greet his belly. Come here, pull up his trouser legs, be careful, don't damage the prince's clothes."

There are no important internal organs on the legs, and the beating is severe, but it only hurts the muscles and bones, and it is better to suffer a little punishment than to injure the internal organs.Xia An closed her eyes and bit her lower lip.Suddenly a cloth towel was stuffed into his mouth, Xia An immediately realized that he was afraid that he would bite his tongue and kill himself because of the pain, and couldn't help being even more frightened.

"Relax, or it will hurt you to death." Cheng Dafangkong flicked the whip twice, and the wind of the whip was crisp.

Xia An trembled, and in order to divert his attention, he whispered back in his heart: Is there anyone who is tortured who can relax when facing the instrument of torture.If you are tied up, let me whip two whips to see if you can relax.

But soon, Xia An no longer felt the fear.Pain, only pain.People say that the ten fingers are connected to the heart, but hitting the calf is also connected to the heart.Xia An couldn't help screaming, the sound was miserable, Meng Yuanyi turned his head and couldn't bear to look any longer, Cheng Dafang was very calm, the pause time between each whip was the same, and the place where each whip fell would never repeat.

Xia An couldn't yell very quickly, at the beginning he could count, but by the fifth time he could only yell, and then he couldn't even utter a sound after he didn't know how many times.

The boy in the execution hall untied the ropes that bound him, losing his support, Xia An fell forward, but fortunately Meng Yuanyi was quick to support him.

Xia An tried hard to open his eyes, and glanced at his legs. It was strange, it was not bloody and bloody as imagined, but his skin was a little red.But it hurts so much, how come there is no wound?

Perhaps seeing Xia An's doubts, Meng Yuanyi took the initiative to explain: "This is the soft scale whip. Its power lies in that it does not hurt the surface when beating people. People who have been subjected to this punishment will never be able to tell from the outside. , but it will double the damage to the internal organs. Fortunately, your calf was hit, and I will help you see if you have injured your bones."

Meng Yuanyi pinched and tapped on both of Xia An's legs, and Xia An was sweating all over again in pain, only to hear Meng Yuanyi say happily: "My child, your muscles and bones are fine, and you will be fine after half a month of care." Turning his head to Cheng Dafang, he said: "Brother Cheng is a master, I admire you."

Cheng Dafang nodded faintly, said "Excellent praise", and then told the boy: "Where are you going to send the prince after you say the punishment?" Many people were sent here, and they were beaten all covered in blood. Going to the mountains, the dogs, wolves, leopards and other beasts in the mountains came out to fight after smelling the blood. This is the performance that the prince likes to watch most.

The boy replied: "It is said that the hair was sent to Si'en Courtyard."

Meng Yuanyi hurriedly waved his hands: "How can there be a way out once you go in there? Normal people can't stand it, let alone a half-grown child who has been punished."

Xia An was terrified, what kind of place is Si'en Courtyard, would it be worse than the courtyard he is currently in?He doesn't want to die.

"My lord ordered, how dare I refuse to obey. Go and ask the people from Si En Yuan to come and fetch it."

The servant got Cheng Dafang's order to go out and hire someone.Meng Yuanyi pursed his lips in thought, Xia An was helped to sit on the chair, a servant poured him a cup of herbal tea, and he took it up and drank it down.

"If that's not the case, you go back to the Si'en Academy first. I know an imperial doctor in the palace. When it's dawn, ask him to apply some medicine for you. I can speak to the director of the Si'en Academy. It's not a problem for you to rest for two days."

After Xia An heard this, he was very grateful to Meng Yuanyi, but he didn't have the energy to say more, so he just nodded and said "thank you" to Meng Yuanyi.

Xia An was taken aback when the person who led the people from the Si'en Academy came in.He sat in the chair and thought wildly for a long time, fearing that he would be taken to a place worse than the prison he was in now.So, when he saw Ah Fu stepping into the execution hall with a face full of complaints, he let out a big sigh of relief.

"I've seen the three directors. The servant, A Fu, is the deputy director of the Si'en Academy, and he was ordered to come and lead the people."

Ah Fu knows the rules very well, speaks politely, and is much better than other people in the courtyard. This is the first time Xia An knows that Ah Fu is the deputy steward of the courtyard. At first, he wondered that even if he works in the kitchen and is a slave of the family, his status is higher than others. A little higher, but it shouldn't be so bossy to others.

Of course, it was also the first time that Xia An, who was belatedly aware of it, knew that the courtyard where he had lived for less than half a month was the Si'en Courtyard, a place that everyone in the palace considered unlivable.However, Xia An was living a good life. If he hadn't run out to wash his clothes and take a shower in the middle of the night with his head getting hot today, he wouldn't have been whipped, and he could still live a boring, tiring but safe life every day.

"It's him." Cheng Dafang pointed at Xia An with his chin.

Ah Fu glared at Xia An, and said, "Get up, follow me."

Xia An stood up, couldn't stand still, wobbled and sat back in the chair.Ah Fu looked like he didn't know him, and had no intention of stepping forward to help him.This made Meng Yuanyi even more distressed. He personally helped Xia An and handed Xia An into Ah Fu's hands.

Ah Fu didn't dare to accept it, took Xia An, and listened to Meng Yuanyi's instructions: "This child is quite popular with me, please take care of him. Manager Han is familiar with me, so I will talk to him, If you have any inconvenience in the future, you can come to me." Ah Fu hurriedly thanked, when no one made a mistake, the head of the punishment hall owed him a favor, and he might be able to save half his life in the future.

Ah Fu took the people away.Cheng Dafang looked at Meng Yuanyi for a while and said, "You are too soft-hearted in doing things today."

"It's just that the child is pitiful."

Director Liu Ziwen, who had been silent all this time, sighed: "If brother Meng's youngest son is still alive, he would be so old at this time. Brother Cheng, you can take more care of him."

"I don't mind. It's just that what other people in the palace think, it's important for Brother Meng to preserve himself."

"Young brother understands."

After leaving the door of the execution hall, Ah Fu did not let Xia An go.Xia An is very grateful, you know, he is being supported to walk now, every step is like walking on the tip of a knife, the pain makes him sweat profusely.

Ah Fu saw some clues, and asked: "What kind of punishment did the director of the punishment hall use on you? Why is there no bleeding, and your face is so pale?"

"A whipping that doesn't hurt the inside."

Ah Fu didn't delve into it, but took a closer look at Xia An's face: "I don't know if it's because you were tortured today, or because of the moonlight, but your face is not as ugly as before. The color of the place has faded a lot.”

Xia An raised the corners of his mouth, and said perfunctorily, "Probably because of his pale face." In fact, he fell badly the day he entered the mansion, and his face was bruised and blackened, which naturally disappeared after a long time.But living on the Datong bunk for a few days, I saw men and men get rid of each other several times, and before entering the mansion, Mrs. Wang carefully told him to protect himself in this respect, so he got up early every day and put mud on his face. Ashes and leaf sap.When washing clothes today, I simply rinsed my face. Although I couldn't wash it off completely, it was naturally not as dirty as usual.

When the two returned to Si'en Courtyard, it was already dawn and everyone was getting up. Ah Fu led Xia An to knock on Manager Han's door first.After knocking on the gong, Guanshi Han just lay down and opened the door quickly. Seeing Xia An's face, he asked in surprise, "What's wrong with you? Ah, this is the prince's clothes, right? How did it get on you?"

Xia An said: "Last night, I wanted to wash my clothes and take a shower. Who knew that I happened to meet the prince. The prince thought that I was indecent and dirty the eyes of the master, so he sent me to the torture hall to receive fifty lashes."

"Oh, fifty lashes, but it looks good to you."

Ah Fu interjected, "What's the matter? Cheng Dafang executed the sentence himself, and he was injured inside." Guanshi Han sighed again, but he didn't say anything else, and he didn't let him into the room.A Fu knew that there was a shortage of people in the venue, and Manager Han didn't dare to let anyone take a break at will, so he took out Meng Yuanyi's words and said: "Director Meng personally explained that Xia An has his eyes, and we need to take care of him. Director Meng also Said, I will come to tell you in person in person."

After hearing this, Manager Han had no choice but to say, "Okay, then you can raise Xia An for two days."

Xia An was grateful to Ah Fu in his heart. Although Ah Fu often didn't give him good looks, he didn't treat him badly in everything, and instead helped him a lot.

After lunch, Meng Yuanyi brought the imperial doctor of the palace into Si'en Hospital.The imperial doctor gave Xia An a prescription, and Meng Yuanyi handed it to Ah Fu to cook, and also gave Ah Fu a consistent copper coin, asking him to cook the medicine for Xia An in the past few days.

Xia An held Meng Yuanyi's hand, and his eyes were already wet. He didn't expect a stranger to be so kind to him. "Superintendent Meng's great kindness, if the slave can repay you, the supervisor can just order."

Meng Yuanyi didn't refuse, and said along the way: "Okay, you need to take care of yourself quickly so that you can help me with things."

"Well, my health has always been very good, and my illness will recover quickly." Xia An frowned, and suddenly held Meng Yuanyi's hand tighter. Meng Yuanyi looked at him, only to hear him say embarrassedly: "Meng Yuanyi Supervisor, this slave still needs help, please help me one more time if you are kind."

Meng Yuanyi patted his head, and said softly: "Tell me, but it will take a lot of trouble for me to arrange you out of Si'en Courtyard. The prince just demoted you to come in, so I have to wait for the limelight to pass."

"No." Xia An shook his head and held on to Meng Yuanyi's hand, "I want to ask the imperial doctor to look at the injury of a friend of mine. He is seriously injured and has a high fever." After finishing speaking, see Meng Yuanyi just looked at him and didn't express his opinion. He felt anxious, and begged: "I know it's too thick-skinned to trouble you like this, but I can't leave the palace to ask for a doctor, and I don't want to see the imperial doctor. If it weren't for the fact that there is no way out, my slave I dare not open my mouth to beg you. Really, I beg you." Xia An anxiously wanted to get out of bed and kowtow to Meng Yuanyi.

Meng Yuanyi stretched out his hand to hold down Xia An, then turned to the imperial doctor and said, "I have to trouble the imperial doctor once more, since I'm here, let's show them all."

Doctor Wang said with a smile: "No wonder you love this child, his temper is like yours."

Xia An was overjoyed, and hurriedly begged Ah Fu to call in Zheng Da who was chopping firewood.Ah Fu sighed, went out and called Zheng Da.Zheng Da limped in, and when Xia An said that the imperial doctor was going to treat him, he couldn't help but smile from ear to ear, and hurriedly rolled up his trouser legs to show the imperial doctor.

"It was hit by a big rock, and it has been half a month now." Zheng Da reported his injury to the imperial doctor.

The imperial doctor pondered for a long time before asking slowly: "When did you start to have a fever, have you taken medicine?"

"I started to have a fever on the third day after I was injured. I took medicine and went to the mountain to pick it myself. The medicine is called Mowei in the local dialect of our hometown. It can reduce the fever, but I always take it intermittently, and it still doesn't work."

The imperial doctor was silent for another moment, which made Xia An and Zheng Da feel uneasy. The imperial doctor slowly came to a conclusion: "This leg is serious."

Zheng Da was stunned for a while, and said anxiously: "No way, you know our yard, if you are disabled, you will be sent to the back mountain to feed the dogs, I don't want to die."

"But if you keep your legs, your life will be endangered sooner or later. If you stay in the morning for a few more days, I can still... well, it's all life." The imperial doctor was also helpless.

There was silence in the room, and finally Zheng Da forced a smile to see off the guests: "Forget it, I'm dying, please trouble everyone."

The imperial doctor is a benevolent doctor, and said: "I will help you prepare a secondary pharmacy, and you can delay it for a while. You don't need to worry about money, and there are no good medicines. There are all in the palace."