The Empress Kneels in Her Palace to Admit Her Mistakes After Slaying Her Ways in the Female-Oriented

Tonight, Huai'an City is destined to have a sleepless night.

For this battle, the Demon Suppression Division mobilized almost all its personnel, including all the elites, such as Su Jin, Xie Changfeng, Fu Moyu, and Bai Xi.

They launched a swift and decisive attack.

Cooperate with the soldiers.

In just half an hour, they captured all the members of the Love Mutual Aid Alliance who had been causing trouble in Huai'an City in the past few days.

They were escorted away like chicks and sent to prison.

"There are just too many people, way too many..."

The jailer looked on in despair as people kept arriving, even though he had already received orders to prepare early and find a way to expand the prison.

But how could he expand in such a short time? He simply increased the number of people in the prison and created as many cubicles as possible.

Where can all these people be accommodated?

"Sirs, there are too many people. This place really can't accommodate everyone."

"What's there to be afraid of?" Xie Changfeng, who was in charge of discipline here, said with a smile, "This place is like... well, you know, if you squeeze in, there'll always be someone there."

"Besides, they'll probably only stay one night. If it really comes to it, we can just cram them together."

Upon hearing this, the jailer trembled, understood the meaning, and was too frightened to speak further.

The many men and women who were being escorted along were already terrified, and when they heard this, some of them understood it.

They all instantly turned pale.

He begged for mercy frantically.

"My lord, spare us! We were just playing a trick on you!"

"My lord, I was wrong, I was wrong, I was really wrong! I shouldn't have joined the Love Aid Alliance, I wouldn't have dared to slander the Duke, and I certainly shouldn't have disturbed others. Please, my lord, spare my life!"

"Let me go back! Let me go back! Huai'an City has always been a place where love reigns supreme. How could it have turned out like this?"

……

Xie Changfeng snorted coldly, too lazy to pay attention to these people.

Do you realize you were wrong now?

Why did you go early?

Wait until tomorrow to see the machete!

He checked everyone one by one to make sure they were all put into prison, and then he went to see for himself.

Although it was incredibly crowded, at least men and women were separated. Judging from this point alone, which was specifically mentioned by the Duke, it was far better than Yunjing.

The Duke's benevolent care addressed the most basic dignity of being human.

But what Yun Jing instigated was all to mislead the masses and wreak havoc on the world.

"S-Sir..."

A young man's voice rang out from the side, urgent and almost tearful: "This place is so small and cramped! We two grown men can't even lie down comfortably at night!"

Oh, you've actually picked one?

Xie Changfeng turned his head and saw that the cell boss had used the cramped corner of the wall to partition off a tiny space.

Clearly, the jailer's original plan was to only allow one person to be crammed in, but due to the urgency of the situation, he had no choice but to cramm in two men.

But Xie Changfeng just smiled coldly.

"Can't lie flat? Then fold it up!"

"So much to do!"

Having finished his task, he turned and left to report back to Su Jin. After a flurry of activity, the sky was beginning to lighten.

A golden hue swept across the dark mountains, bathing Huai'an City in a golden light, and the sky visibly brightened.

Huai'an City is bathed in clear skies and fresh air!

Su Jin stretched and stood up, saying to Xie Changfeng, Fu Moyu, and Bai Xi, "Have you almost finished organizing the materials?"

"That's about it."

"Alright, let's get ready to go to the yamen. Today... Huai'an City is sure to be very lively."

Su Jin's guess was correct; Huai'an City was indeed bustling today.

The three-day deadline had arrived, and countless citizens of Huai'an City flocked to the gate of the yamen to witness the trial presided over by the city lord himself.

The crowds were so huge that Su Jin almost couldn't squeeze in. She had to go through the back door and use a special passage to get in.

City Lord Xu Xia also arrived early, with Yun Wanyi by his side. Both of them had serious expressions and were very nervous.

When the appointed time arrived, Xu Xia slammed his gavel and announced, "Bring in the prisoners Xu Qin and Zhou Zhi!"

In a short while, Xu Qin and Zhou Zhi were brought to the front of the hall.

Xu Xia glanced at the two of them coldly and delivered the verdict directly.

"Xu Qin, with poison, intentionally harmed another person's rare and precious steed, disturbed the general, delayed important military and national affairs, and spread rumors to mislead the public."

"Multiple offenses combined, sentence:..."

"The Immediate Execution Technique!"

"Execute at noon!"

Xu Qin's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

The words "immediate execution" struck her heart like a heavy hammer, shattering all her previous delusions.

He cried out in anguish, "My lord, I... I was wrong, I was wrong..."

Before she could finish speaking, the bailiffs on both sides dragged her out.

"Zhou Zhi..."

Xu Xia looked at this man who had once been in charge of criminal matters in the city, whose status was far above his own and who had a good reputation as an official, and his eyes flashed with anger.

The verdict was announced: "Zhou Zhi, as an official appointed by the imperial court and the head of criminal justice in this city, you have not thought of being loyal to the emperor and loving the people, nor of upholding the law. Instead, you have promoted heretical books, spread false doctrines, disrupted public morals, violated ethical norms, acted out of personal feelings, and wronged the law!"

"Disorderly marriages destroy families, corrupt family education sever lineages, harm livelihoods and impoverish the people, invisibly harm the people of a city, and plunge a region into ruin!"

"According to the law: Spreading heresies and misleading the public is punishable by strangulation!"

"A wrongful judgment deserves execution!"

"He who corrupts public morals shall be banished for three thousand miles!"

"Dereliction of duty, dismissal and caning!"

"Multiple crimes will be punished concurrently: immediate execution by beheading, confiscation of all property, and exile of wife and children three thousand miles away!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhi swayed violently and fell to the ground.

He died for the principles he believed in, and his death was not a pity. However, the fact that he implicated his relatives and family members caused his heart to collapse.

However, in contrast to his miserable state, the many commoners at the government office cheered with joy at this moment.

"By the righteous and just Lord, Zhou Zhi, this villain, has finally been executed."

"With Zhou Zhi dead, we'll all have better days ahead in Huai'an City!"

"We kowtow in gratitude to the Duke for redressing our grievances!"

Amidst the tremendous roar, Xu Xia felt a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration

Having lived in Huai'an for so long, when had he ever seen the people so united? But with the arrival of the Duke, this situation had occurred for the first time.

He calmed the turmoil in his heart and had the scribe record everything, combining it with the irrefutable evidence he had collected, making this trial, which was of symbolic significance to Huai'an City, an irrefutable case.

then……

Continue with the sentencing!

"Bring all members of the Huai'an City Love Alliance to the hall!"

Another uproar ensued as all the leaders of the Love Mutual Aid Alliance were brought to the hall, where they crowded together and knelt on the ground.

However, these people were no longer the same as they were two days ago, chatting and laughing, passionate and indignant, demanding justice from Ren Tianye. Now, they were all trembling, and some even smelled foul.

He was clearly terrified.

But faced with their miserable state, Xu Xia showed no mercy whatsoever.

The verdict was pronounced directly.

"Qi Xing gathered his cronies, set up his own rules, controlled speech, and led the crowd to surround and humiliate anyone who expressed dissent, spread rumors and trouble, ruined people's reputations, and cut off their livelihoods."

"This constitutes spreading rumors and misleading the public, false accusations and framing, gathering crowds to disrupt the market, insulting and causing death; the crimes are heinous, and according to the law..."

After a pause, Xu Xia looked coldly at Qi Xing.

The most prestigious person in this mutual aid alliance was now slumped to the ground. Xu Xia coldly said, "According to the law, immediate execution!"

Boom!

Like a thunderclap!

Young Master Qi fainted immediately.

However, this did not stop several constables from dragging him out, quickly loading him into a prison cart, and preparing to send him to the market.

Xu Xia did not spare the other leaders in the hall either, and dealt with them all.

The core members were all given one hundred strokes of the cane, had the word "falsely accused" tattooed on their faces, and were exiled three thousand miles away, never to return to their hometowns for the rest of their lives!

All those who actively participate will be punished with eighty strokes of the cane, five years of penal servitude, and exile to hard labor without pardon or permission to return home!

Those who echoed this sentiment were all given sixty strokes of the cane and paraded through the streets for three months.

……

On stage, the cases were being judged one by one. Backstage, Su Jin sat upright in a chair, listening. Xie Changfeng and the others beside her couldn't help but slightly curl their lips.

"I was thinking of handing it over to our Demon Suppression Division, but Xu Xia judged it, which means we lost a lot of merit."

Su Jin glanced at him sideways.

Xie Changfeng immediately shut up. After all, he knew that this was a major event concerning the reconstruction of Huai'an City, and that the best results would come from the personal involvement of the city lord.

So, it's just a rant.

However, when he saw that the verdict was almost finished being announced in court, he became somewhat agitated.

He said, "The verdict is over. Next, shouldn't we burn down the Hongluan Wenyuan Pavilion?"

"I'd like to try that!"

The floating fish and Bai Xi beside them were in the same posture.

The building should be burned down.

They...want to do it themselves too!

……