Yun Xiao waved her hand, commanding Zi Jun and Zi Yang behind her.
"Check if Lord Shen has any injuries?"
As soon as she spoke, Shen Siyuan's body trembled slightly, and a flash of panic shot through his eyes. This momentary change did not escape Yun Xiao's notice, and a cold smile played on her lips.
All along, she had suspected that Shen Siyuan was the one who had kidnapped her brother that day. This was because she had noticed a detail: when the assassin held a knife to her brother's throat, he clearly held the knife in his left hand, across her brother's chest.
What did this mean?
The assassin was left-handed, and Wen Jianiang, whom she had asked Liu Xing to inquire about Shangguan Lin, was clearly right-handed. Why then had he become the perpetrator? It was obvious he was a scapegoat.
Zi Jun and Zi Yang walked forward, the air frighteningly still.
Shen Siyuan recovered from the suffocating killing intent and struggled, screaming, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what does the Empress mean? Why has she ordered people to search my body? What crime have I committed? I am a high official of the court. How dare she, a mere woman, lay hands on a high official of the court!"
Shen Siyuan's outburst stirred up Yun Xiao's fury.
The Eastern Qin was already hollowed out, and the reason for such corruption was precisely because of these detestable court officials.
Not only did they collude with corrupt merchants, but they had also insatiably become members of the Skull Blood Bandits. It was truly detestable.
Yun Xiao's eyes glinted with cold light. She walked past Zi Jun and Zi Yang, heading straight for him.
The killing intent radiating from her, her eyes like icy torches, shot a daunting gaze at Shen Siyuan. The killing intent surrounding her slowly brought her to Shen Siyuan's front.
Shen Siyuan was usually ruthless, bold, and meticulous, but facing the woman's fierce, chilling, and furious cold air, he felt a sense of dread.
Perhaps death was not frightening, but it was painful and unpleasant to die with one's weakness held in hand.
From the moment he joined the Blood Bandit organization, he knew such a day would come, but he did not want to implicate his family, especially his son, Shen Jinan. Shen Jinan was the son he had after marrying several concubines, the heir to the Shen family.
The more Shen Jinan thought about it, the more anxious and fearful he became. He had originally planned to send his son away and was making preparations. He never expected this matter to happen so quickly and suddenly.
Yun Xiao would not allow Shen Siyuan any more time to think. Her hand suddenly clenched into a fist and struck Shen Siyuan heavily in the stomach.
Shen Siyuan let out a muffled groan, but the woman did not stop. She raised her foot and kicked Shen Siyuan fiercely again, then delivered an uppercut from under Shen Siyuan's jaw, causing Shen Siyuan's head to tilt back. With a "wow," he spat out a mouthful of blood, which contained a loose tooth.
This woman is truly ruthless, the few people in the prison thought simultaneously. Then a thought struck them: be careful in the future, and never offend women. It was no wonder people said it was better to offend a gentleman than a villain or a woman.
Yun Xiao's sinister voice echoed.
"What's wrong with a mere woman? I not only had you searched, but I also beat you, a high official of the court. What can you do to me?"
Her gaze was sharp, like a gleaming steel knife, chillingly severe. Shen Siyuan shook his head, unable to utter a word.
Now that he was bound to a rack, these were not ordinary ropes, and he couldn't break free. Shen Siyuan avoided looking at Yun Xiao and instead looked up at Shangguan Yin, who had been standing in the prison, watching everything with a stern face, and shouted.
"Your Majesty, what crime have I committed to be treated like this?"
Shangguan Yin's eyes were cold, deep, and unfathomable, yet he gazed at him with an unruffled demeanor. Such a gaze was even more terrifying, instilling a sense of despair that could grasp nothing.
"Still not searching?"
With a command from Shangguan Yin, Zi Jun and Zi Yang approached and began to search him from all sides. Besides the injuries inflicted by the Empress, there were also some wounds wrapped in white cloth on his back. As soon as Zi Jun and Zi Yang discovered them, they took a step back and stood at attention.
This time, Yun Xiao did not move; instead, she took a step back.
Shangguan Yin walked forward slowly. Although it was only two or three steps, Shen Siyuan felt his heart leap into his throat, and then it shattered with a "crack."
Now he had only one thought: since he had been caught, escape was impossible. However, sending a message was also impossible. He could only hope his family was vigilant and would escape quickly. He didn't care about anyone else, but his son must escape!
Shangguan Yin leaned forward slightly, his dark hair cascading onto the dragon robe. His jade-like face became a little clearer, but it was shrouded in a veil of bloodlust. A cold, sharp smile played on his lips as he slowly spoke.
"Lord Shen, speak. You should know why we captured you?"
As Shangguan Yin finished speaking, Shen Siyuan frowned and began to curse, "Did that scoundrel Wen Jianiang betray me? Did he?"
In the bedchamber, no one responded to his shouts; everyone looked at him with blank expressions.
Shangguan Yin straightened up and retreated, slowly saying, "You should confess yourself. Besides you, are there other members of the Blood Bandits in the court? And where is the stronghold of the Xishan Blood Bandits?"
"I don't know, I don't know what Your Majesty means?"
Shen Siyuan was still trying to quibble, shaking his head repeatedly, refusing to confess anything.
Shangguan Yin glanced back at Yun Xiao. Yun Xiao nodded, walked to the door, waved her hand, and the people outside nodded. Shen Siyuan could not see these clearly.
But soon he heard a pained moan, followed by a sharp sound of a whip cutting through the air, and then another person cried out in agony, "Father! Mother!"
Others might not know, but Shen Siyuan knew that this was his son, Shen Jinan's voice! His face turned deathly pale, large beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks, and his eyes widened.
Thinking of his son being beaten in the next room, Shen Siyuan wished he could bear it himself. He was in extreme pain and shook his head repeatedly, shouting at Shangguan Yin.
"Your Majesty, what exactly do you want to know? What do you want to know?"
Shangguan Yin's piercing gaze was fixed on him: "Do you answer whatever I ask? Otherwise, I cannot guarantee whether Lord Shen's son can hold on. If the entire Shen family dies, I wonder what Lord Shen is desperately protecting the Xishan Skull Blood Bandits for?"
As Shangguan Yin's words fell, another sound of a whip lashing echoed from the adjacent room. Soon, Shen Jinan's voice could no longer be heard. Liu Xing walked over and reported from outside the door, "Your Highness, he has fainted."
"Splash water on him to wake him up."
Yun Xiao commanded coldly. Liu Xing responded and walked out. Shen Siyuan, already like a madman, shouted, "Your Majesty, I beg you, don't beat him, don't beat him! His wounds haven't healed yet!"
"Whether he's beaten or not is the same; in the end, there is only death. So, maintain your loyalty and protect those Blood Bandits."
This was psychological warfare. Yun Xiao knew that Shen Jinan was arrogant precisely because of his father's doting. Thus, she knew Shen Jinan was still Shen Siyuan's soft spot, making it easy to extract the location of the Blood Bandits.
"What do you want to know? Let me see my son, and I'll tell you everything."
Shen Siyuan was like a defeated rooster. He could not accept his son being beaten to death before his eyes.
Yun Xiao was straightforward and ordered those outside in a deep voice, "Go and bring Shen Jinan here."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Soon, someone brought Shen Jinan over. Shen Jinan was wearing the same white inner garment he had worn when leaving Wanxi Pavilion. Although he had fainted, he was actually unharmed. He had fainted from fright. As for the sound of the whip, it was merely to intimidate Shen Siyuan.
Shen Jinan soon woke up. Upon seeing his father captured, he cried out in panic, "Father, what's wrong? Why were you captured? Your son was counting on you to save me. What should we do?"