The new emperor's first decree upon ascending the throne was to forcibly take his cousin as his

Inside the cold prison, the light was dim, and the air was filled with the foul stench of rust and rotting flesh.

"Da-da-da"

The footsteps were neither fast nor slow, yet captivating and mesmerizing.

The person on the rack was barely recognizable; the prison uniform was stuck to the torn flesh, and the body was covered in wounds. Only the faint rise and fall of the chest proved that the person was still alive.

Lu Shao tossed the red-hot branding iron into the bucket with a "hiss," turned to the person behind him, bowed, and said, "Your Highness, we've used every instrument of torture, but he still won't speak."

Xie Chengyan raised his hand, and Lu Shao bowed his head and withdrew.

He slowly walked into the cell, his spotless black brocade robe standing out starkly against the filthy place.

The man sat on the chair in the cell, his face showing neither anger nor coldness. Instead, he lightly brushed his cuff with his fingertips, a smile playing on his lips.

"I'll give you one last chance," he said, his voice clear and gentle.

Yu Chengzhi struggled to lift his head, his eyes bloodshot and turbid, blood constantly dripping from his mouth. "I have nothing to say... I only ask for... death."

Xie Chengyan didn't ask any more questions. He just clapped his hands twice, and a dozen or so people were brought in from outside the cell.

Men, women, and children instantly filled the small prison cell.

"I have always admired people with backbone." Xie Chengyan's tone remained calm as he glanced at the group of trembling people. "Since Prefect Yu is determined to die, I will naturally grant his wish. However, the road to the underworld is cold, and it would be lonely to walk alone."

He raised an eyebrow slightly and casually pointed to a middle-aged man, "He can go first."

Pointing at a middle-aged man, "Knock out his teeth, chop off his hands and feet, pull out his tongue, don't let him die too quickly."

Not long after, heart-wrenching screams came from the next cell. Yu Chengzhi closed his eyes, unmoved.

"Next."

"No, no! Your Highness, spare me! Your Highness, spare me! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"

The young man was dragged away, and his screams didn't last long before falling silent.

Yu Chengzhi trembled all over, his eyes were tightly closed, and his teeth were clenched so hard they were grinding together, but he remained silent.

One after another.

The stench of blood was so strong it was nauseating, and Yu Chengzhi felt as if his spine had been removed.

"Everyone says the Crown Prince of the Great Zhou is...gentle and benevolent...but today I realize he is actually so...cruel and ruthless!"

A flash of crimson light crossed Xie Chengyan's eyes, but his smile deepened.

He waved his hand, and a new batch of people were brought in, mostly women and children, their terrified sobs filling the air.

A woman held her swaddled baby, who was fast asleep, oblivious to the danger.

Yu Chengzhi's expression finally changed. "Your Highness... this was all my doing. It has nothing to do with anyone else. They know nothing about it!"

Xie Chengyan looked at the child without a trace of pity, and his words sent chills down one's spine.

"When you were successful in the imperial examinations, enjoying your wedding night and surrounded by your children and grandchildren, they enjoyed your blessings. Now that the empire is about to collapse, they will naturally share in the disaster."

"Framing court officials, embezzling tax revenue, colluding with mountain bandits to harm the people—which of these isn't a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family?"

Xie Chengyan stroked the child's face with his fingers, finally stopping at the neck. With just a little force, he could snap the neck.

"Is your grandson a year old yet?"

The woman beside him collapsed, tears streaming down her face, crying, "Master, please tell me! I beg you! Do you really want to watch your grandson die with you at such a young age?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Chengyan's expression turned cold. "Send him down to keep Prefect Yu company."

Then his gaze shifted to the young woman hiding behind the woman.

The Imperial Guards understood and dragged the man away.

The woman's screams echoed through the prison, chilling everyone to the bone.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" Yu Chengzhi's last psychological defenses finally collapsed completely, tears streaming down his face. "Someone instructed me to do this. The accounts are fake, the bandits are in cahoots, and the tax silver... the tax silver wasn't missing at all! It was all a setup by me. I only beg Your Highness to have mercy and spare my grandson's life!"

Xie Chengyan slowly turned around, his tone calm and even, "Was the person who instructed you a protégé or old friend of Prime Minister Ruan? Or... was it Prime Minister Ruan himself?"

Yu Chengzhi was struck dumb, the rest of his words stuck in his throat.

This reaction says it all.

Using the bond between teacher and student to frame their own teacher—how vicious, and how perfectly logical!

"Yu Chengzhi, when you entered officialdom, you were full of ambition, but you were not a good official and you failed to live up to the expectations of Minister Ruan."

He turned away, ignoring the desperate wails behind him.

Now that things have come to this, even without asking, he already guessed that Yu Chengzhi's testimony was insignificant.

As they walked out of the prison, Cao Shen cautiously followed, asking in a low voice, "Your Highness, you were not implicated in the women and children of the Yu family, so why...?"

"I dislike being implicated, but I dislike being coerced by others even more."

Yu Chengzhi had backbone, and that backbone should be crushed inch by inch in despair, until he died without ever seeing hope.

As for the person behind him... he looked towards the direction of the capital.

Father, why did it have to come to this?

Cao Shen felt a chill run down his spine and dared not speak further.

As the carriage drove away, a faint, cool fragrance of pine and cypress filled the interior, but it could not dispel the lingering stench of blood that still clung to Xie Chengyan's nose.

He leaned back on the cushion, closed his eyes, and another face appeared in his mind.

Her bright, expressive eyes sparkled with life. Her mischievous smile when she did something naughty, and her puffed-out cheeks when he made her recite her lessons—every smile and frown made him want to pull her into his arms.

"cousin?"

A sweet voice came to his ears, and he slowly opened his eyes. The person he had been thinking about day and night was right beside him.

He pulled the person into his arms and kissed him.

The little girl whimpered in his arms but didn't try to escape.

Once desire takes hold, it becomes uncontrollable. In the throes of passion, one can no longer suppress the madness within, "Nian Nian... Nian Nian..."

He raised his hand and stained the blood from his fingertips onto the corners of her already red and wet eyes, making her look alluring and seductive. Afraid that the smell of blood would frighten her, he could only hold his arms tightly around her waist, succumbing to her soft voice.

"cousin......"

"Nian Nian, my Nian Nian..."

Just as she was experiencing the warmth and tenderness of a beautiful woman, feeling as if she were in heaven and earth, the carriage jolted to a stop.

The person in his arms had vanished, and the surroundings were no longer filled with warmth, fragrance, and sensuality, leaving only a sense of loss and the unsatisfaction of not having fully enjoyed the dream.

Xie Chengyan rubbed his temples and smelled the purse at his waist.

It has lost its flavor.

"Your Highness, we have arrived."

Cao Shen had served the Crown Prince for many years. As soon as he got out of the carriage, he noticed that His Highness seemed to be in a bad mood. He sighed inwardly, thinking that His Highness was missing Miss Ruan.