Daughter of aristocratic family

Chapter 369 Jia Ji
The palace had already been closed at this time, and Yun Hao used the golden dragon token to let the guards open the palace gate.

Yun Hao had already reported in advance before taking action, so the emperor did not go to the harem tonight and stayed in the Yangxin Palace.

When the eunuch saw Yun Hao bringing Prince Rong, he stepped forward and saluted, "Lord Yun, His Majesty has been waiting for you."

Yun Hao nodded slightly and signaled the guards to escort Prince Rong in.

The lights in the Hall of Mental Cultivation were on brightly, and the emperor sat upright on the dragon throne with a deep and sharp gaze.

When he saw Yun Hao bringing Prince Rong in, a barely perceptible fluctuation flashed across his eyes.

"Your Majesty, I have brought Prince Rong here." Yun Hao said after saluting.

The emperor waved his hand, signaling the eunuch to withdraw. He looked at Prince Rong coldly, and said with a bit of majesty in his tone, "Lin Jia, do you admit your guilt?"

Prince Rong sneered, "The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. You can kill or chop me up as you wish. Why waste your breath?"

When the emperor heard this, a trace of anger flashed in his eyes, "Do you think I dare not kill you?"

Prince Rong raised his head and looked directly into the emperor's eyes, a mocking smile on his face, "Why don't you dare to kill me? You've killed at least 800 people, if not a thousand. Do you think I'm still a big deal?"

The emperor's face turned pale with anger at Prince Rong's words. He slammed the dragon throne and shouted angrily, "Come here, arrest Prince Rong and put him in the prison!"

Guards immediately stepped forward and dragged Prince Rong out.

Prince Rong did not struggle, but stared at the emperor, his eyes full of anger and unwillingness.

The emperor watched Prince Rong being dragged away, but his anger did not dissipate. He knew that although the rebellion had been quelled, Prince Rong's followers had not yet been captured. "Jingyao, you did a great job this time. I will reward you handsomely."

Yun Hao bowed his head respectfully, "I am only doing my duty faithfully, I dare not ask for a reward."

The emperor was pleased with Yun Hao's modesty. "Lin Jia has many followers. Jing Yao must catch all of Prince Rong's followers in one fell swoop to prevent them from causing chaos in the court and endangering the country."

Yun Hao responded, "I obey your order."

"Go away." The emperor got rid of Prince Rong, who was a big threat to him, and could sleep peacefully.

"I'll take my leave." Yun Hao bowed, took three steps back, turned around and left.

Yun Hao returned to the prison. Jiao Xiao, Jia Ji, Ying Cheng and other exposed cronies of Prince Rong had been taken to the prison and were awaiting interrogation.

Jiao Xiao and Ying Cheng's concubine were much more talkative than men like Jia Ji. Even under torture, they refused to confess.

Jia Ji and others cried out that they were wronged, and as soon as the torture instruments were put on, they shouted, "I confess, I confess."

"Sir Yun, I was forced to do this. Prince Rong forced me to do this! I was forced to do this! I have elderly parents and young children to support. Prince Rong threatened me with the lives of my family members, so I had to obey!" Jia Ji tried to shift the blame to Prince Rong, "Sir, Prince Rong is the mastermind behind all this."

What Ying Cheng and others said was very similar to what Jia Ji said, and there was no useful information at all.

Although Yun Hao had expected that they would not confess easily, he was annoyed when he heard their consistent excuses: "Don't bother with these excuses that you use to coax a three-year-old child. It seems that you won't cry until you see the coffin. Let's torture you!"

The executioner pulled the whip, and it cracked.

Jia Ji swallowed subconsciously, "My Lord, my Lord. Ah!"

Screams echoed in the dark and damp cell. Jia Ji's body was soon covered with blood, and his originally clean clothes became tattered and bloodstained.

His eyes were filled with fear and despair, and he kept begging Yun Hao: "Sir, spare my life! Spare my life! I'll tell you everything! I just beg you to spare my life!"

Yun Hao looked at him coldly, without any mercy in his eyes, and raised his finger, and the executioner stepped back. "Go ahead, tell me everything you know." Jia Ji began to recount his crimes with a trembling voice.

In order to seize the throne, Prince Rong resorted to all means, including bribing officials, framing loyal officials, and even assassinating the prince.

Jia Ji was a sharp blade in Prince Rong's hand, carrying out many shady things for him.

"Prince Rong promised me that as long as I work for him, he would keep my family safe. My Lord, my Lord, I was really forced to do this!" Jia Ji burst into tears, "My Lord, I have an eighty-year-old mother and a crying child."

"Shut up." Yun Hao interrupted him harshly, a flash of disgust in his eyes, "Tell me, which officials did you bribe for Prince Rong?"

When Jia Ji was captured, he did not see Ying Cheng and the others. He did not know that they had been captured. The first person he gave out was Ying Cheng.

The officials he bribed and wooed were of low rank, most of them were fifth or sixth rank officials, who considered themselves to be talented but not appreciated and had not been promoted for a long time.

They longed for higher positions and more power, so Jia Ji took advantage of this and bribed them for Prince Rong.

As Jia Ji narrated, the names of officials came out of his mouth one by one. Without exception, they were all eager for power and were tempted by King Rong's promises, and eventually embarked on a path of no return.

Yun Hao lowered his eyes and asked casually, "Who is Jiao Xiao?"

"Jiao Xiao?" Jia Ji lowered his head, avoiding Yun Hao's gaze. "She was a prostitute. I felt sorry for her, so I redeemed her and kept her outside."

"It seems that you are still unwilling to tell the truth." Yun Hao sneered, and the executioner immediately stepped forward and whipped Jia Ji a few times.

Jia Ji's skin was torn and the pain made him unable to remain calm. He screamed for mercy, "Master Yun, spare my life! I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!"

The executioner did not stop and continued beating without Yun Hao's instructions.

Jia Ji was in so much pain that he almost fainted.

His back and legs were whipped to a bloody mess, and each whip seemed to have left a deep scar on his body.

He begged for mercy loudly, his tears and sweat mixing together and soaking his clothes.

"Lord Yun, please forgive me. I'll tell you everything!" Jia Ji's voice was filled with endless despair and pleading.

Yun Hao looked at him indifferently, as if he was looking at an insignificant ant, "Stop."

The executioner then stopped and stepped aside.

"Jiao Xiao, she is not just a prostitute, right?" Yun Hao's tone revealed a hint of sarcasm, "Otherwise, why would you go to such great lengths to redeem her and even keep her outside?"

Jia Ji was breathing heavily, the pain made it almost impossible for him to speak.

He raised his head with difficulty and said in a hoarse voice: "She, she is a spy from Beidi."

"When did you know her identity? What message did you pass on to her?" Yun Hao asked.

Jia Ji was trembling. He tried his best to calm his breathing and spoke with difficulty: "I also knew her identity accidentally. I overheard her conversation with Prince Rong that day and found out that she was a spy from Beidi."

"I didn't pass on any information to her. I just helped her send some women to be concubines of lustful officials," said Jia Ji.

There was nothing more to ask, so Yun Hao ordered: "Take him to the prison, keep him under strict guard, and wait for his fate."

Two men responded, dragged Jia Ji up from the ground, and escorted him out of the torture room.