Even emperors have it tough, so don't be too picky about the entries.

"How are you taking care of the Empress Dowager?!"

"What are you all standing there for? Send the Empress Dowager back to the palace for treatment!"

Chen Shao got angry, and a group of people knelt down in front of him with a thud.

"If anything happens to the Empress Dowager, I will hold you all accountable!"

The Empress Dowager was carried back to Kunning Palace by several palace maids.

Chen Shao watched them go for a while before throwing away the butcher knife in his hand.

He went straight to the Imperial Study.

As soon as he left, the entire imperial kitchen breathed a sigh of relief.

"Holy crap, His Majesty is even better at butchering pigs than I am! What's going on?"

"That last stab was incredibly fast, ruthless, and steady; it takes at least twenty years of experience to execute."

"I heard that before His Majesty ascended the throne, he was not favored by the emperor and had to fend for himself for his meals. Was that when he honed his culinary skills?"

...

While the discussion was raging over there, Chen Shao had already returned to the Imperial Study and was waiting for Bai Bingbing.

A moment later, Bai Bingbing stepped across the threshold and walked in.

He walked to the imperial desk and knelt on one knee.

"Your Majesty, the matter at Xuanwu Gate was a dereliction of duty on my part."

"I was drawn away by a rape and murder case, but I couldn't find any clues. I was itching to use my skills... so I neglected to listen to the news from inside the palace."

"Please, Your Majesty, punish us."

"Stand up and speak."

Chen Shao said very generously:

"The duties of the Embroidered Uniform Guard include arresting and investigating, which is part of your job, so it's not considered dereliction of duty."

"But now, I need you to do something important."

"Yuwen Hualong, the commander of the Imperial Guards, who is also the Empress Dowager's younger brother, I want you to secretly transfer him to the Northern Garrison Prison without alerting anyone. Can you do that?"

The Empress Dowager has fainted. To show his loyalty, Yuwen Huagu stays at home and reflects on his mistakes (by playing a song with a concubine).

Bai Bingbing clasped her hands in a fist salute without hesitation and said:

"If I cannot do it, I will offer my head as punishment!"

"Go, I'll be waiting for you in the imperial prison. Be quick."

The two split up.

Chen Shao rushed out of the palace with Wu Song in disguise.

It's been a while since I last visited the Northern Garrison Prison.

He remembered the last time he came, the soldiers were gambling lazily at the gate, and he spent some loose change to sneak in.

But things are very different now.

The guards at the gate stood ramrod straight.

The torches on both sides of the passageway crackled and popped.

The jailers were all busy with their own tasks, and everything was in good order.

"With Bai Bingbing in charge, the Embroidered Uniform Guard finally began to resemble the emperor's personal guard."

...

Bai Bingbing is very efficient.

Not long after, the door to the interrogation room was pushed open, and a burly man, bound hand and foot, stepped in, carrying a burlap sack over his head.

Bai Bingbing threw him to the ground and casually ripped off his hood.

He revealed a square face that bore a five or six-point resemblance to Yuwen Huagu, but was younger.

Military Commander Yuwen Hualong.

His large, round eyes glared at Chen Shao, and after Bai Bingbing pulled the rag out of his mouth, he immediately began to curse:

"Chen Shao! How dare you arrest this general?"

"I am the commander of the Imperial Guards, directly under the Empress Dowager. How dare you!"

Wu Song smiled next to Chen Shaochao.

"See? I told you he was a fool."

Wu Song nodded in deep agreement.

"It's truly foolish. To dare to be so stubborn even when death is imminent is just asking for a beating."

Chen Shao suddenly grabbed Yuwen Hualong's hair and pulled him up sharply.

"Yuwen Hualong, submit to me, or I will make you regret ever being born."

The name Yuwen Hualong sounds promising.

He's completely different from his cowardly older brother.

Despite such a threat, he showed no fear whatsoever.

Instead, a ferocious smile appeared on his face.

"Come on, let me see how you'll make me regret this! Chen Shao, when the Empress Dowager wakes up, the first thing she'll do is look for me. You're in big trouble!"

"Are you even a man?"

Chen Shaosong released him and looked at Bai Bingbing.

"Commander Bai, what are the various forms of torture used in the Imperial Guard's prison?"

Bai Bingbing stood with her hand on her knife, speaking expressionlessly.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, according to the severity, the first level is caning. Ordinary caning only injures the skin and flesh, but the caning in the imperial prison uses a hollow iron rod filled with mercury. One blow will tear the skin and flesh, but the bones will not break. It can cause unbearable pain but will not make people faint."

Yuwen Hualong laughed heartily:

"Too weak, too weak! I've been in the military since I was eight years old. What haven't I seen? Is this all the renowned Northern Garrison Command is capable of?"

Bai Bingbing continued:

"The second type is washing and cleaning, using an iron brush dipped in boiling water to scrape off the skin and flesh, starting from the limbs and working from the outside in. The victim remains conscious throughout the execution."

Yuwen Hualong didn't take it seriously and said disdainfully:

"Hahaha, a mere wash and grooming? If I uttered a sound, I wouldn't be a man."

"Then we'll remove the intestines to hook them into the abdomen..."

Chen Shao felt like vomiting just listening to it.

Even a tough guy like Wu Song had his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

He put himself in that shoes for a moment, and it seemed he couldn't resist it either...

Ke Yuwen Hualong laughed even louder.

"If you were afraid of this, the Empress Dowager wouldn't have let me command the Imperial Guards. Come on, hit me! Let me show you what the most valiant man in the world is!"

Chen Shao looked at Bai Bingbing, puzzled.

"Can he really hold on?"

The latter looked at Yuwen Hualong carefully for a while, then nodded helplessly.

"This kind of person seems to be immune to pain, and doesn't seem to be faking it."

"Hahaha! Unless you kill me directly, you, Chen Shao, either storm the capital or obediently apologize to me."

The Imperial City is the culmination of the efforts of the Great Yan Dynasty. Its walls are extremely high and exceptionally sturdy.

If they try to launch a direct assault, half of Chen Shao's men will die.

He gritted his teeth and said:

"Is there anything else?"

"Peel it."

"It might scare a three-year-old."

"Boiled alive"

"Don't forget to feed me a piece before I die."

hiss--

The group of people all gasped in shock.

This person... is truly a pervert.

"Extermination."

"No problem."

"Light the sky lantern!"

"It should taste good."

Bai Bingbing suggested one, but Yuwen Hualong scoffed.

She was truly at her wit's end.

"Your Majesty, castration is the only option."

This time, Yuwen Hualong's laughter was even louder.

"Hahaha, Your Majesty, why don't you take off my pants and take a look? If I still have something, why would the Emperor Emeritus have assigned me to such a position in the first place?"

The commander of the Imperial Guards had many opportunities to enter and leave the emperor's harem.

If the emperor were to encounter someone with malicious intentions, he could become a father every year.

Wu Song refused and grabbed it.

As expected, it was completely empty.

"Then castrate him a few more times!" Chen Shao said fiercely.

"Come on, I want to relive that feeling too."

Absolutely!

For the first time, Chen Shao felt a sense of powerlessness.

Even when facing the Northern Barbarian army besieging the city, or when I was alone against the Dragon Subduing Gang, I never felt this way.

How can this be good?

How do you deal with this stubborn thing that won't listen to reason?

Yuwen Hualong grew even more smug as he looked at the expressions on their faces.

He grinned:

"You can try them all, from headbands and tin snakes to blood eagles and human pigs."

Chen Shao: "..."

Bai Bingbing: "..."

Wu Song: "..."

The three exchanged a glance; this man was truly the most valiant man in the world.

"If there's no other way, let's just fast forward to the honey trap. Maybe I can't resist it."

(Something came up at home today, so I'm a bit late. There's more to come. I'll be writing until 3 a.m. tonight, as much as I can, and I'll watch the World Cup while I'm at it.)