The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 184 Reward and Punishment
Just as Zhu Zai suddenly stood up and cursed at Li Miao.

Inside the Forbidden City.

Wang Zhi was kneeling at the gate of the Qianqing Palace, shirtless.

A eunuch holding a whip in his hand walked tremblingly behind Wang Zhi.

This whip was made of twisted wire, as thick as a finger, with numerous barbs on it. There was a faint fishy smell coming from the gaps in the wire, and if you looked closely, you could see hair and dried meat mixed in.

Even the Jinyiwei would shake their heads when seeing this thing. If it was used for torture, the prisoner would be beaten to death before he could even open his mouth.

The eunuch holding the whip knew it too.

But he didn't dare to disobey the order.

After hesitating for a while, he suddenly raised his hand and whipped Wang Zhi on the back.

Swah——

In an instant, a wound as open as a baby's mouth was left on Wang Zhi's back.

Wang Zhi gritted his teeth suddenly, cold sweat broke out on his face, but he spoke in anger.

"Don't hold back!"

"Master, this!"

The eunuch holding the whip turned pale. Wang Zhi had already dispersed his celestial energy, and now he could only resist a little more than an ordinary person. If he didn't hold back, Wang Zhi would probably be beaten to death!
"Do you want to kill me!?"

Wang Zhi said with gritted teeth.

"You've been with me for so many years, why haven't you made any progress?"

"If you leave me a breath, I can still live! If you hold back, you and I will both be guilty of deceiving the king, and both of us will die!"

"beat!"

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, the eunuch closed his eyes and whipped Wang Zhi on the back with all his strength.

wow-

The flesh and blood were torn off and splashed on the ground. Wang Zhi's back suddenly revealed white bones, and one could even see the wriggling internal organs inside.

Wang Zhi’s eyes went dark.

Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
The whip made a sharp whistling sound and continued to tear off Wang Zhi's flesh and blood.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, the emperor took out a pill from a box and waved his hand. A palace maid beside him presented him with a jade bowl filled with half a bowl of water.

This bowl of clear water was sent from the "Chenglu Terrace".

This terrace was built in the palaces of emperors of all dynasties. It is usually a stone-carved immortal holding a jade plate to the sky, implying receiving the sweet dew from heaven.

But in the imperial garden of Emperor Jiajing, the people holding the jade trays were not stones, but people, dozens of young girls.

Every morning, these girls stood on the stage holding jade plates, allowing the dew to gradually gather in the plates. After gathering, the dew would be clarified and used to feed the emperor medicine.

Moreover, these girls were not allowed to wear seasonal clothes, but had to wear thin palace costumes to show their sincerity in seeking nectar from heaven.

One person froze to death this morning.

But, so what? As long as it doesn't delay His Majesty from taking the medicine, then he dies, and no one cares.

The emperor took the bowl of dew, looked inside, and frowned.

He casually sprinkled the bowl of dew on the ground.

Perhaps the bowl of dew was not clear enough, or perhaps it was stained with the smell of the palace maid's menstrual blood. In any case, the emperor said calmly, "Change another bowl."

He was not an emperor who was unaware of the sufferings of the people. He knew that it was not easy for those young girls who were having sex with them. It was just that mistakes were bound to happen, so he did not pursue the matter.

The palace maid hurried out to pass on the message, and a moment later, another bowl of dew was sent over from the terrace.

The emperor then picked up the pill and put it into his mouth.

At this time, the whistling sound of whips outside the palace also stopped.

The eunuch came in and reported: "Your Majesty, we still need seven more lashes. Wang Daban has fainted."

The emperor nodded: "In that case, let's forget it..."

"Find a priest who can heal wounds and give him some treatment. When he wakes up, have him come to see me."

"Yes."

The eunuch took the order and left.

The emperor closed his eyes and took a nap.

After a while, the sound of Wang Zhi's staggering footsteps was heard outside the door.

He was not wearing any clothes, revealing a wound on his back that had only healed a little bit and was still slowly oozing blood. He was pale, and he slowly walked to the emperor's feet, then fell to his knees with a plop.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty." "Forget it."

The emperor closed his eyes and waved his hands.

"Be more careful in the future. I didn't mean to punish you, but rewards and punishments must be clear. According to the previous rules, I will spare you seven lashes. Don't blame me."

Although the inner court was decided by the emperor, there were certain rules for rewarding and punishing eunuchs passed down by successive emperors. The emperor did not give eunuchs more whippings.

However, there was no rule of using whips made of twisted wire before.

"I dare not..."

Wang Zhi didn't dare to look up.

The emperor waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to mention this matter again, and continued.

"However, since the last 'furnace tripod' is lost, then we can only get it from 'there'."

After hearing these words, Wang Zhi's expression suddenly changed.

But he had just messed up a job last night, and his injuries from the torture had not yet healed. At the moment, he really didn't dare to persuade her anymore. His lips moved and made a slight sound.

"Your Majesty..."

He didn't dare to say any more.

But the emperor knew what he meant. He opened his eyes and glanced over coldly.

"Don't use clichés like 'shaking the foundation of the country'."

"I don't want to move, but those big sects have been hiding for these years, and there is not a single person in the world."

"If I don't use those people... then should I use you?"

Wang Zhi broke out in a cold sweat and his mind raced.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, there are more! There are celestial beings, right in Shuntian Prefecture, right inside and outside the capital!"

"We should use the celestial beings of the Ming Cult."

The emperor snorted coldly.

"That's easy to say, don't you think I haven't thought about it?"

"There are only two days left until New Year's Eve. The Ming Cult is used to being caught. Can you catch them in two days?"

"Although Zhu Zai is not on the same page as me, he is capable of doing the job. He hasn't been caught yet, how can you catch him?"

"No, your majesty, there is no need to catch it."

Wang Zhi said quickly.

"Last night, before Xue Jinxi attacked and hurt someone, I heard a strange noise. Just as I was about to go up to check, I was interrupted by Xue Jinxi. Later, I was afraid of making another mistake, so I did not leave 'there'."

"But, afterwards, I asked the guards. They blocked four people outside the mausoleum. Their faces were all disfigured. They were clearly assassins who came to investigate the mausoleum."

"Eunuch Huang stopped them. They were about to surround them, but they were killed by a celestial being with the 'Great Nine Heavens Palm'. The four were also rescued. The man was wearing a bronze mask, and judging by his stature, it was Ji Tianrui!"

This was the first time the emperor heard this. After Wang Zhi reported that the "furnace tripod" was lost, he went to be punished and did not have time to talk about this matter.

He pondered for a moment and said.

"Could someone be pretending to be Ji Tianrui?"

"No, Your Majesty."

Wang Zhi lowered his voice.

"The only one who knows the secret of the imperial mausoleum is the Yang family."

"The only one who knows that method is Ji Tianrui. Although I don't know who the current Ji Tianrui is, the two are obviously closely related."

"So, the only person who would go to the imperial mausoleum to investigate is the Ming Cult. Plus that unique bronze mask, the person last night was definitely Ji Tianrui!"

The emperor nodded.

"So, what do you want to do?"

Wang Zhi had already prepared a speech in his mind and spoke it out without hesitation.

"Please enter the urn!"

"On the pretext of a shortage of manpower in the capital on New Year's Eve, the imperial mausoleum guards are being withdrawn and sent back to the capital. They are ordered to be sent back after New Year's Eve."

Wang Zhi told the story slowly and clearly.

"The Ming Cult's villains are desperate this time, sending all their disciples here as abandoned pawns to confuse the public. That's why they haven't been able to find Ji Tianrui. But no matter what, the Jinyiwei should have caught all these abandoned pawns who are confusing the public in two months."

"Whatever conspiracy the Ming Cult villains have, it will only last within these two months. They don't have much time left."

“Even if they know it’s a trap, they still have to come in obediently.”

(End of this chapter)