Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 189

Having been tormented by chilli peppers for an entire night, Xia Shuang Cheng could not even form a proper sound.

His mouth hurt terribly and he could not tell whether it was his tongue or his lips that were in pain. His lips were swollen like sausages. Those yamen officers had forced chilli peppers into him throughout the night, the spiciness making his tears and snot flow together, his whole face swelling up before they finally stopped.

Seeing Yun Ke sitting before him with such calm indifference, Xia Shuang Cheng felt both terrified and panicked. He had already begun to understand that Yun Ke would absolutely not let him go.

Why had his father still not come to rescue him? Had they already decided to abandon him?

They could not do that!

Yun Ke looked at Xia Shuang Cheng with a smile, “It seems that your Xia family is quite wealthy. Your father has thrown a great deal of money at the yamen. Handful after handful. Even this prince was a little tempted.”

Hearing this, Xia Shuang Cheng immediately became agitated. He tried to open his already impossibly swollen mouth. He uttered a few muffled sounds, each unclear. The moment he opened his mouth, saliva and bl00d flowed uncontrollably out, making Yun Ke glance aside slightly.

“You want to ask how much money it would take for this prince to release you, don’t you?” Seeing Xia Shuang Cheng so anxious, Yun Ke asked with a smile.

Xia Shuang Cheng was stunned at first, then nodded quickly. A faint glimmer of hope lit in his heart.

If money truly could make Yun Ke release him, he would pay no matter how much.

“Heh,” Yun Ke gave a light chuckle. “How much do you think you’re worth?”

Xia Shuang Cheng raised two fingers quickly.

“Only 20,000 taels?” Yun Ke curled his lips in disdain. “You underestimate your own value far too much, legitimate heir Xia.”

Xia Shuang Cheng shook his head violently.

“200,000 taels?” Yun Ke raised an eyebrow.

Xia Shuang Cheng nodded hurriedly.

“A mere 200,000 taels. What can that buy?” Yun Ke said with a laugh. “It’s not even enough to buy your arms and legs.”

Xia Shuang Cheng shook his head again and looked at Yun Ke, as if to say ‘name your price’.

Yun Ke took out a sheet of paper from his robes. “This prince had some time on hand and investigated a little. Your Xia family has quite a number of estates, both in the capital and the outskirts, registered under your name,” Yun Ke said slowly. “Why not transfer all of these estates to this prince’s princess consort as compensation? This prince might then consider your case.”

Too ruthless!

Within the capital and its outskirts, there were twelve estates under Xia Shuang Cheng’s name. Each estate, if valued at 100,000 taels, would total at least 1,200,000 taels. And these estates were worth far more than that.

Xia Shuang Cheng hesitated slightly, but for the sake of his life, he had no choice but to nod.

Yun Ke had already prepared a transfer document, with every estate’s location and size listed clearly.

Seeing Xia Shuang Cheng nod, Yun Ke smiled faintly. He instructed Li Sheng to bring a brush and place it in Xia Shuang Cheng’s hand, before handing him the contract.

Xia Shuang Cheng read it carefully, his heart filled with reluctance.

Estates could be regained, but he only had one life. For the sake of survival, Xia Shuang Cheng could only endure the pain and sign his name. Finally, Li Sheng even held his hand to press down his fingerprint on the contract.

“Your Highness, it is done.” Li Sheng handed the signed contract to Yun Ke. Yun Ke glanced at it, then tucked it into his robes.

Xia Shuang Cheng jerked the iron chains binding his hands frantically, meaning, ‘you’ve taken the estates, now release me!’

“This prince has just finished considering,” Yun Ke looked at Xia Shuang Cheng with a faint smile. “Although you’ve apologised to this prince’s princess consort, and even if she can forgive you, this prince cannot. These twelve estates can be viewed as something you offered to calm this prince’s princess consort’s shock. But you injured her, harmed her, and crippled her hand. This prince intends to settle this score with you properly!”

Hearing this, Xia Shuang Cheng was utterly stunned, then began struggling like a madman.

Yun Ke, you bastard, you tricked me!

His throat made rasping noises, his eyes bloodshot. He wanted to break free of the chains and grab Yun Ke.

But his body, weakened out long ago by wine and debauchery, had no such strength. After a moment of wild thrashing, he was only left panting heavily, exhausted.

“Are you finished?” Yun Ke asked as Xia Shuang Cheng gradually stopped struggling. He continued unhurriedly, “This prince counted. You lashed my princess consort a total of 46 times. Therefore, this prince will remove 92 pieces of your flesh. Not much, merely double. This prince had originally intended tenfold, but looking at your frail body, you couldn’t survive 460 cuts. See, this prince is already giving you face.”

At Yun Ke’s words, Xia Shuang Cheng began struggling again wildly. He could no longer speak, his throat only producing hoarse, guttural sounds. His eyes were bloodshot, and the corners of his eyes looked like they were about to burst from his struggles.

“So energetic. Hopefully you can hold on in a little while.” Yun Ke waved his hand calmly. Li Sheng stepped forward. Yun Ke said, “After each piece is cut, stop the bleeding. Use ginseng to keep him alive. He mustn’t be allowed to die.”

“Yes.” Li Sheng gave a cold smile. Torturing people was a compulsory skill for an imperial guard. It seemed he had never had occasion to use it on anyone since mastering it.

With the wounds on Wang Yan still vivid in his mind, Li Sheng would show no mercy to Xia Shuang Cheng.

He took up a small knife, curved at the tip. Under the torchlight, it glinted with a faint bluish glow. The knife had been treated with fire and was spotlessly clean. Since the prince wanted the man alive, he could not let him die.

Even imperial guards were meticulous!

Seeing Li Sheng brandish the knife in front of his eyes, Xia Shuang Cheng’s legs went weak from terror. Had he not been tied to the cross-shaped wooden stake, he would have collapsed into a pile of mush.

“Coward!” Li Sheng scolded. “Did you never think you’d end up like this when you were tormenting others?” Then he delivered the first cut, slicing a strip of flesh from Xia Shuang Cheng’s forehead.

The wound was small, but the pain was real. At the very first cut, Xia Shuang Cheng let out a howl like a pig being slain.

He struggled desperately, flinging his head. Bl00d sprayed with his movements, two drops landing on Yun Ke’s cheek.

Yun Ke frowned slightly and wiped the bl00d off with his fingertip. “Hold his hair,” he said impatiently.

“Yes.” Several men stepped forward to restrain Xia Shuang Cheng whose eyes bulged in terror, almost bursting from their sockets.

The second cut sliced across his face, then the third, the fourth… Cut after cut fell. Bl00d streamed endlessly down Xia Shuang Cheng’s face and body. At first he screamed and struggled with all his strength, but gradually his voice weakened. His throat had gone hoarse, unable to produce any sound. Several times, he fainted from pain, only to be forcibly awakened by secret methods used by the guards.

As Yun Ke instructed, the guards forced the ginseng decoction down his throat to keep him alive. Even so, by the end, Xia Shuang Cheng was barely breathing, far too weak from the pain to even open his eyes.

After a long time, Li Sheng came to report, “Your Highness, 92 cuts have been made. Not one more, not one less. All completed.”

“Mm,” Yun Ke nodded, then rose slowly, his eyes icy cold. “Stop the bleeding. He mustn’t be allowed to die so quickly.”

“Yes.” Li Sheng cupped his fists.

Yun Ke left the torture chamber, visited the Ministry of Justice once more, then returned home to the residence.

He had intended to go directly to Tong Xin Courtyard, but smelling himself, he noticed a faint scent of bl00d on his clothes. So, midway he returned to his own chambers.

After ordering water to be prepared and taking a bath, Yun Ke finally went to see Gu Yu Qi.

Seeing Yun Ke return, Yan Zhi and County Princess Jia Xi rose to take their leave.

“Ah Nan, I’m back.” After the others left, Yun Ke crossed the room in a few quick steps and sat beside the bed next to Gu Yu Qi. “How are you today? Does the wound still hurt?”

Gu Yu Qi felt amused. “It stopped hurting yesterday. Why would it hurt today?” she said.

Seeing his wife smile, Yun Ke could not help feeling delighted.

He took out a thick stack of property transfer deeds. “These are for you.”

Gu Yu Qi lifted her hand slightly but felt a sharp pain in her wrist. Her expression dimmed. She gave Yun Ke a self-mocking smile. “Look at me, I keep forgetting my hand is ruined.”

Yun Ke felt a sour pang of sorrow and pain in his heart at Gu Yu Qi’s words. He took Gu Yu Qi’s arm and gently placed her hand flat. “I’ll definitely find a way to heal you.”

“Mm.” Gu Yu Qi did not believe it, but still nodded lightly. “Actually, in my hometown, there’s technology for this. Most of the hospitals can perform the procedure.” she said.

“Hospital?” Yun Ke blinked.

“Yes, rather similar to the medical halls here,” Gu Yu Qi smiled lightly, “They can treat many patients. There are advanced instruments and doctors trained in medical academies there. You might not believe it, but in my homeland, even a damaged heart can be replaced. They can put in a healthy one to replace an unhealthy heart.”

Yun Ke nodded, though inwardly he was stunned. She had said her homeland was very far away. Now she said they could easily treat severed hand tendons, even replace hearts. In the past, Yun Ke would never have believed such words, but he had seen with his own eyes the whale Gu Yu Qi described in their past life, and had even brought its skeleton back to the capital and buried it with his coffin. So now, hearing Gu Yu Qi say this, Yun Ke could not help but believe her completely.

Although he did not know where Gu Yu Qi had come from, he felt that if she ever returned to her homeland, he would never be able to see her again.

“I’ll find a way to heal your hand here!” Yun Ke said stubbornly, each word earnestly enunciated to Gu Yu Qi.

“Okay.” Gu Yu Qi could not be bothered to argue. Whatever he said, so be it. Agreeing was simpler.

Receiving Gu Yu Qi’s response, Yun Ke finally allowed his tightly wound heart to relax.