Honghuang: Creation of the Green Lotus, the beginning of the Three Pure Ones

Chapter 309 Daji Presents the Torture at the Nine Palaces
Inside the Nine-Room Hall, a group of civil and military officials were whispering among themselves, discussing the assassination attempts on Bi Gan and Shang Rong the previous night.

Only when Emperor Xin appeared in the Nine-Room Hall did the civil and military officials fall silent and respectfully bow and pay homage to him.

After saying "Rise," Di Xin spoke directly: "Last night, my uncle and the old prime minister were assassinated."

"If it weren't for Consort Su providing the miraculous medicine, Uncle Wang and the old Prime Minister would have already died at the hands of that assassin."

"Therefore, I have decided to elevate Consort Su to the rank of Imperial Noble Consort. Marquis Su Hu of Jizhou will be granted the title of Imperial Father-in-Law. Su Quanzhong, son of Marquis Su Hu of Jizhou, will be appointed to a post in Chaoge City."

When Emperor Xin uttered these words, the entire court was taken aback. After all, the news they had received was that both Bi Gan and Shang Rong were already dead.

Hearing that Daji had actually saved Bigan and Shang Rong, some people were disappointed, while others were happy.

As for the emperor's bestowal of the title of Imperial Concubine upon Daji, no one stood up to object. After all, an Imperial Concubine was not the Queen.

Seeing that his ministers did not object, Emperor Xin turned his gaze to Wen Zhong and said, "Grand Tutor, the King of Pingling in the East Sea has rebelled, so I will not personally lead the expedition this time."

"I hope the Grand Tutor can pacify the East Sea as soon as possible, restore peace and order to our Great Shang, and free the people from the ravages of war."

Wen Zhong nodded and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, this time when I lead troops to the East Sea, it will take at most two or three years, and at least a year and a half to quell the rebellion."

Di Xin nodded, "With the Grand Tutor leading troops to the East Sea, the military affairs of the court will be fully managed by King Wu Cheng, Huang Feihu."

"As for the Grand Tutor's choice of generals for this expedition, it is entirely up to him. All the generals and vassal states of our Great Shang will obey his command."

Wen Zhong nodded and returned to his seat. He didn't say anything more, and the selection of a general was not discussed in the Nine-Room Hall.

Then E'lai stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the city gates of Chaoge are now closed. It's a pity that we still haven't found the murderer who assassinated the King's Uncle and the old Prime Minister."

Upon hearing this, Di Xin flew into a rage and cursed E Lai as a useless wretch. He also ordered E Lai to find the assassin, even if it meant digging three feet into the ground.

Upon hearing this, E Lai looked troubled and finally said to Di Xin, "Your Majesty, the homes of ordinary people were already searched last night."

"Now only the homes of court officials remain to be searched. After all, without His Majesty's decree, this humble general dares not disturb you gentlemen."

Upon hearing this, Di Xin slammed his palm heavily on the low table in front of him, shattering it into pieces.

"While I believe that none of you ministers here would harbor an assassin, who can guarantee that an assassin won't secretly infiltrate your residences?"

"If any of my ministers are assassinated by assassins, it will be your dereliction of duty, E'lai. Can you bear that responsibility?"

E'lai was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and said to Di Xin, "This humble general knows his mistake. This humble general will immediately take men to search the residences of all the lords. We will absolutely not allow what happened last night to happen again."

Di Xin nodded. "Then hurry up and go. If that assassin escapes, don't blame me for taking your head."

E'lai nodded and turned to leave the Nine-Room Hall.

At this moment, Di Xin spoke up, "My dear ministers, searching your residences is for your safety. You must cooperate fully."

After speaking, Di Xin rose and walked out of the Nine-Room Palace, leaving behind a group of civil and military officials looking at each other. Some of them were naturally not worried about E Lai searching them, after all, they had a clear conscience and had nothing to fear.

But some people were on tenterhooks. Of course, this doesn't mean they were connected to the assassins.

Rather, it was because there were far too many shady things in their home. If Di Xin discovered this, even if they hadn't colluded with assassins, he wouldn't easily forgive them.

Unfortunately, they have no way to refuse now. If they refuse E'lai's search of the mansion, Di Xin can use the pretext that they are colluding with assassins to force them to meet with Mei Bo.

For a time, many civil and military officials were filled with trepidation. They headed out of the Nine-Room Hall without hesitation, hoping to make some preparations in advance.

Little did they know, this was precisely Emperor Xin's objective. He wanted to use this opportunity to seize the ill-gotten gains of corrupt officials and bring them into the national treasury.

At the same time, the entire city of Chaoge must be slaughtered, with heads rolling everywhere. Let the whole world know that Di Xin is a tyrant.

This was only the first step in Di Xin's entire plan. The next step was to find Jiang Huan from Queen Jiang's presence.

So they kept watch for three whole days, and E'lai searched every home of the civil and military officials in the entire city of Chaoge.

In the end, even Huang Feihu started leading his men to cooperate with E Lai. In the end, the assassin wasn't found, but the corrupt official was imprisoned for a day.

Emperor Xin was furious and immediately wanted to exterminate the entire family of those corrupt officials. However, he was dissuaded by Daji.

"Your Majesty, these corrupt officials have plundered the people's wealth, causing countless people to be displaced and die tragically. Such heinous crimes cannot be redeemed by death alone."

“The punishment of concubines can not only punish these corrupt officials, but also serve as a warning to other officials, so that they will not dare to commit corruption again.”

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xin was overjoyed and immediately asked Daji, "My beloved consort, what do you think is the best way to deal with them so as to serve as a warning to other officials?"

Daji then took out a piece of brocade and spread it in front of Di Xin. "This torture is called 'Paolao'. The instrument is about two zhang high and eight chi in diameter. It has three fire gates at the top, middle and bottom. It is made of copper, like a copper pillar, and the inside is heated red with charcoal."

“Strip those corrupt officials barefoot of their official robes, bind them with iron chains, wrap them around a bronze pillar, and brand their limbs and bones with hot irons. In no time, the smoke will dissipate and their bones will turn to ashes.”

The moment Daji uttered those words, the entire Nine-Room Palace fell into complete silence. Everyone broke out in a cold sweat, thinking to themselves, "Daji is truly a venomous woman."

Upon hearing this, Di Xin burst into laughter, "Fortunately, I brought my beloved concubine with me to court today, otherwise, where would I find such instruments of torture to punish those corrupt officials?"

Then Di Xin spoke directly: "Fei Zhong and You Hun, I order you to make this instrument of torture within three days and place it outside the palace."

"I will have those corrupt officials branded with hot irons in front of the people of Chaoge. As for their entire families, you can take them to the mines."

Fei Zhong and You Hun simultaneously gave a resounding "yes" and guaranteed that the torture device would be completed within three days. Then they turned and headed out of the Nine-Room Hall.

Di Xin then directly embraced Daji's waist, got up and headed out of the Nine-Room Palace, completely ignoring the expressions of the court officials.

All that remained were the court officials, trembling all over. Some were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

(End of this chapter)