Yu Jingchen felt distressed by Nan Zhiyun’s appearance, but these people could not be kept. He had never liked to keep individuals who might become future trouble.
"If Yun'er cannot bear to see, shall we go inside?" Yu Jingchen asked.
"No, no need to go in, Your Majesty. They are just two children, they pose no threat," Nan Zhiyun pleaded, trying to intercede.
Yu Jingchen looked at Nan Zhiyun without speaking. The Empress Dowager also looked over, seemingly curious about Yu Jingchen's actions.
"What good would it do if Yun'er spared them? With no kin or connections, and being the offspring of convicted criminals, it may not be a good thing for them," Yu Jingchen stated, still firm.
Nan Zhiyun could not answer. But in the next moment, as if struck by an idea, she took out the golden token Yu Jingchen had given her: "Your Majesty... this is what you gave me. You said, with this, you would agree to anything. So... could you spare these two children? Just these two children," Nan Zhiyun implored.
Yu Jingchen was not surprised by Nan Zhiyun's gesture. His Yun'er was still too kind. Very well, his promises to her had to be kept.
"Take these two children away," Yu Jingchen conceded.
Nan Zhiyun was overjoyed at his response. She breathed a sigh of relief as the children were carried away.
"Send them to Hè'ān Palace, and have Chun Hua and Dong Yuán watch over them," Nan Zhiyun added. The person carrying the children glanced at Yu Jingchen. Seeing no objection, they followed Nan Zhiyun's instructions and took the children to Hè'ān Palace.
The children's mother, seeing this, shed tears and kowtowed profusely to Nan Zhiyun. There were many children among the condemned, but Nan Zhiyun could do nothing more. She buried her face in Yu Jingchen's embrace, no longer able to watch.
"Take them away," Yu Jingchen's voice was as cold as ever, as if devoid of emotion. At this moment, Nan Zhiyun seemed to understand Yu Jingchen more deeply. Yu Jingchen was a qualified emperor, but never a benevolent ruler, nor a good person. He was cold-blooded and ruthless, cruel and bloodthirsty. No wonder everyone feared him...
After the officials' families were led away, only the ministers and Yu Jing'an remained. Yu Jing'an had collapsed on the ground, but it was clear Yu Jingchen did not intend to deal with him yet. After all, the main antagonist was to be saved for last, wasn't it?
Moreover, aside from treason, in her previous life, Nan Zhiyun had died by his sword.
"Then let us proceed one by one. After today, tomorrow I shall have this compiled into a storybook, and let the storytellers recount it to the world, telling them what kind of person I am, and what the end of treason is like..." As soon as Yu Jingchen finished speaking, guards pulled a minister from the crowd at random.
"For the first one... bestow the punishment of 'combing'," Yu Jingchen seemed to have genuinely considered it.
The moment his words fell, someone brought the instruments of torture. The minister was stripped of his clothes and laid on the torture bench. A metal-handled comb filled with sharp blades began to scrape upwards from his ankles. If it became dirty, it was rinsed with salt water from a bucket – how convenient...
Screams echoed incessantly, but Yu Jingchen savored them. Nan Zhiyun trembled at the sounds. Yu Jingchen did not suggest sending her back, but instead held her tighter and covered her ears, though it had little effect.
The first person's flesh was stripped bare, revealing bone, and he had breathed his last.