Exile? A mad, wicked woman empties the national treasury to escape famine.

After all that commotion, Bao Taiyan was barely hanging on. Upon hearing Ji Yunshu's words, he flinched in fear.

"If I tell the truth, will you really spare my life?"

"Of course! I always keep my word. If you don't believe me, I can swear it on."

As she spoke, she raised her finger.

"I swear, if Judge Bao tells me the truth, I will spare his life; if I go back on my word, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death."

"Well, Judge Bao, are you willing to talk now?"

Bao Taiyan took a deep breath, a struggle flashing in his eyes, and finally gritted his teeth.

"The Xiao family's affairs are related to me, but I definitely didn't kill them! When I arrived there, almost everyone in the Xiao family was already dead, only a few were barely alive. They died before I could even call a doctor. This... it's not my fault!"

Ji Yunshu...

"So how's your investigation going all these years? I heard you've been investigating the Xiao family massacre, but you haven't found a single lead. How could a county magistrate like you have investigated for so many years and still have no leads? Is it really that you have no leads, or have you found some but are afraid to speak up? Or perhaps you're just too lazy to deal with it because you embezzled the Xiao family's property and you're afraid others will find out!"

Bao Taiyan endured his discomfort, his speech trembling with pain.

"No, no, no clues, really no clues, no clues at all. I'm just a lowly county magistrate. What could I possibly find out about such a big case? I haven't found anything. As for the Xiao family, they've been wiped out. Their property is useless just sitting there, so I simply moved it to the yamen. That's normal. No matter where you put it, if the whole family is wiped out and there are no descendants to inherit the property, then the property will inevitably be confiscated. What I did is perfectly reasonable."

As Bao Taiyan spoke, he frantically scratched his body, his skin and flesh were torn and bloody, blood flowed down his body, and he was sweating profusely from the pain.

Ji Yunshu sneered.

This tight-fitting packaging makes it impossible for him to speak without leaving any room for error.

It seemed to make sense, but her intuition told her that it wasn't that simple. Since the matter was kept so tightly under wraps and there were some things she didn't want to talk about, she decided to leave it at that.

She was just passing through Dongyang County and had no intention of staying there for long, so these things didn't concern her much.

If the package hadn't been so tightly sealed and hadn't been so greedy, angering her, she wouldn't have discovered these things.

"What about the five hundred taels of silver I gave you during the day?"

Bao Taiyan hurriedly took out the five hundred taels of silver notes that Ji Yunshu had given him earlier that day from his bosom and handed them to Ji Yunshu.

Ji Yunshu glanced at the silver note with disgust. It was fine when she gave it to him during the day, but now it was covered in bloodstains and looked disgusting. She turned her head to Xie Lin beside her and gestured for him to take the silver note.

Schelling...

Waaaaah...

Your Highness, do you think I don't find it dirty even though you think it's dirty?

Moreover, this is a five-hundred-tael silver note! How could the princess complain about the money?

He resignedly stepped forward and took the five hundred taels of silver notes from Bao Taiyan's hand.

Seeing that it was almost dawn, Ji Yunshu had no intention of lingering here any longer. She reached into her spatial storage and took out several packets of itching powder, handing them to Xie Lin and asking him to sprinkle a packet of itching powder on the people on the ground.

The crowd stared wide-eyed in horror. Even a tiny dose of the medicine was enough to make them feel this bad. If a whole packet of it were poured on them, would they even be alive today?

The bag was too tightly sealed, and they panicked.

"Hey, you just said you'd spare my life! You swore a solemn oath that if you went back on your word, you'd die a horrible death, struck by lightning!"

Ji Yunshu picked at her ear, looking completely unconcerned.

May he be struck by lightning and die a horrible death?

She never took such oaths seriously.

"Oh, then let God strike me dead. I have a clear conscience. God has eyes, and if He wants to strike you down, it's you. You have a good reputation in public, but you secretly demanded five hundred taels of silver from me for the city entrance fee. A corrupt official like you should have been struck dead long ago!"

Regarding the Xiao family's affair, you say you haven't found any evidence, and I won't argue with you. But I'm certain there's more to the story than meets the eye. You know something about it, but you're unwilling to investigate, and you've even become a accomplice in covering it up. A corrupt official like you deserves to be struck down by lightning!

As she spoke, Xie Lin had already poured all the itching powder she had given her onto everyone, one packet for each person this time.

The effects of the itching powder are evident to all, and many people are terrified.

They all scrambled over to beg Ji Yunshu for mercy, but Ji Yunshu nimbly dodged them all.

The room was filled with people, and the smells of urine, feces, and blood were mixed together. The weather was hot, and the smells hit Ji Yunshu right in the head, making her feel nauseous and want to vomit.

The two waited for another half hour, and by then it was already broad daylight. There were already quite a few people on the street, some shouting and others strolling around, and the once quiet street gradually began to liven up.

The officers and soldiers who had gone back to rest also returned to the yamen one after another. They did not rush to the backyard, but instead opened the yamen gate as usual.

Ji Yunshu and Xie Linyin were hiding in the shadows. When the time was right, the two returned to the backyard. Ji Yunshu took out a lighter from somewhere, lit it, and threw it into the house where they had stayed the night before.

The floor inside the house was covered with wine, which instantly ignited upon contact with fire.

The people on the ground were exhausted from the ordeal and could only watch helplessly as the fire raged, unable to move. They could only pray that the people outside would find them soon and come in to put out the fire.

Bao Taiyan was heartbroken. How could so many things have happened in just one night!

Who were those two people last night? They were so capable! They entered the government office without a sound and even managed to get them into this state. It seems he's destined to fail here today!

After setting the fire, Ji Yunshu and Xie Lin quickly returned to the street. Seeing wisps of white smoke rising from the government office, Ji Yunshu hid in a corner and shouted towards the street.

"Help! Help! The government office is on fire! Help! I heard that last night, Lord Bao invited some of his men to hold a lavish banquet in the government office, indulging in singing, dancing, and extravagance. They accidentally knocked over the candles!"

"Everyone, hurry and put out the fire! Put out the fire!"

It was morning, and the streets weren't too noisy, but Ji Yunshu's shout was heard throughout the streets and alleys, causing people to exchange bewildered glances.

"What? Lord Bao is throwing a lavish banquet, indulging in song and dance, living a life of extravagance and debauchery?"

"How could that be! Lord Bao is usually the kindest person, always thinking of us common people. Now that the famine is so severe, even his government office is struggling to afford food. How could he possibly have the money to throw a lavish banquet!"

"That's right, I don't believe it, I don't believe it! Judge Bao isn't that kind of person! Let's go, let's go see!"