The messenger's eyes widened as he listened, staring at Ji Zizhao in disbelief.
Ji Zizhao, clearly losing patience, her cold, expressionless eyes devoid of any warmth, said, "Answer me when I ask. If you dare to conceal anything, I have plenty of ways to make you tell the truth."
Zhang Ji knew the Eldest Daughter wouldn't let this go today. He walked over to the messenger with a few men and stood silently beside him.
Ji Zizhao looked at the messenger and paused before continuing, "Tell me what message you sent to the Emperor."
Although the messenger was not a soldier, he was not foolish. He knew very well who the message he delivered to the palace was about. So, after a moment of stunned silence, he blurted out, "You are from the Ji family!"
Ji Zizhao nodded, not intending to hide it.
The messenger, having not expected Ji Zizhao to admit it so readily, glared at her through gritted teeth. "Your Ji family has quite the nerve! To dare commit such a treasonous act! Do you know kidnapping a messenger is a capital offense? Your Ji family is truly finished. Even your neglected wives dare to commit such wicked deeds now!"
Hearing this, Zhang Ji's fists clenched.
Ji Zizhao, however, remained indifferent, looking at the messenger. "It seems you have no intention of cooperating."
The messenger held his head high and sneered, "What are you? Why should I cooperate with you? However, I can tell you one thing. Since your Ji family is about to be annihilated, you might as well tidy yourself up and meet your end with some dignity instead of struggling here!"
Annihilation!
Ji Zizhao tightened her grip on the armrests of the chair, a chill spreading through her chest.
As expected, the Second Prince had not only framed all the men of the Ji family but also intended to leave no one alive!
The Great Wei Kingdom had long been coveting Yulin. The Battle of Luoyi was instigated by the Great Wei Kingdom. Her grandfather, father, and uncles led troops to battle, carrying out the Emperor's orders. How could the Second Prince have dared to strike at the Ji family while the two nations were at war?
Or was it…
That besides the Second Prince and Fifth Prince, others were also aware of this?
Otherwise, how could a mere messenger, who only followed the Second Prince, dare to pronounce the Ji family's death sentence so arrogantly?!
A chill snaked down her spine, and Ji Zizhao's heart grew cold.
She looked at the messenger with chilling eyes, her voice devoid of any warmth. "Beat him! Break every bone in his body! Sever every tendon! Leave none unbroken! Do it right in front of me!"
Zhang Ji had already found this person disrespectful to the Eldest Daughter. He immediately kicked the messenger to the ground and ordered the guards, "Begin!"
Qing Zhu stood silently behind Ji Zizhao, clenching her fists as she looked at her lady's extremely cold eyes.
Kidnapping a messenger, using private torture…
Either of these actions, once investigated, would be a capital offense!
It seemed the lady was risking her life to protect the Ji family and clear the names of the Ji men. But with the Emperor's authority above all, could this matter truly be overturned so easily?
"Does your Ji family know the consequences of torturing me! Is your Ji family not afraid of being exterminated along with their entire clan!" the messenger shrieked, forced to the ground.
"Afraid? Of course, we are," Ji Zizhao said, her eyes cold, radiating an intimidating chill. "I fear I cannot protect the innocent members of the Ji family. Even more, I fear I cannot vindicate the men of my Ji family who fought for the country and wished to serve Yulin wholeheartedly! And before I can do these things… you are the first breakthrough. Strike!"
The framing that weighed down the Ji family was like a mountain, suffocating them.
But as long as she had a breath left, she would turn Yulin upside down to seek justice!
Zhang Ji no longer hesitated. He pressed the messenger firmly under his foot. The guards, following the Eldest Daughter's command, began by breaking the messenger's fingers one by one, then proceeding to crush every inch of bone in his body with loud 'cracking' sounds…
Screams mingled with the crisp sound of shattered bones, emanating from the abandoned wood shed.
The messenger was in pain and shock.
His mind, gradually clearing from the agony, was now confronting a terrifying truth!
This incredibly beautiful woman before him had gone mad…
She wasn't just beating him?
She was killing him!
Amidst the excruciating torment, the messenger lost his former arrogance. He cried out frantically on the ground, "Spare, spare me… I was wrong, I'll tell you anything you want to know, stop, stop beating me…"
Ji Zizhao raised a hand to Zhang Ji, then looked back at the messenger. "Tell me everything you know."
The messenger, writhing on the ground from pain, gritted his teeth and said, as if steeling himself, "I, I am just a small messenger who follows the Second Prince. I don't know much about other matters. B-but I saw with my own eyes that the Second Prince used the military token to order General Ji to defend the front lines with the Ji family men. He said he would send reinforcements in half an hour, but… but the Second Prince suddenly ordered halfway that no one was allowed to provide support. Two hours later, Great Wei occupied Luoyi City. All the Ji family… died in battle."
The Ji family men died bravely in battle, only to be betrayed by their own countrymen!
Even without witnessing it firsthand, Qing Zhu could imagine the ferocity of that moment!!
The Second Prince, Xie Jingxi, sat idly behind, holding the military token, watching the Ji family men bleed on the battlefield, falling one after another…
Ji Zizhao's anger surged, her eyes blazing. "What else?"
"The S-Second Prince gave a death order that no one was to mention this matter. Some soldiers who wanted to speak up for the Ji family were secretly slaughtered by the Second Prince in Luoyi."
A tear silently traced a path down her cheek.
It was anger, and even more, it was resentment!
Ji Zizhao gritted her teeth. "Continue!"
The messenger shivered at her roar, paused, and then said, "Just as the army was about to depart, the Second Prince discovered someone had trespassed into the corpse field. Although his trusted subordinates had turned the person into a hedgehog, the body was never found. The Second Prince, worried about complications, led the army to depart that night. They have now reached Anfu Village and will likely enter Sheng Huang City in two more days."
Two days…
Qing Zhu's body tensed.
Two days was too short a time. It was already too late to do anything.
Zhang Ji's heart sank. He too realized the gravity of the situation.
With such a tight deadline, the Ji family could only watch helplessly as the executioner's blade fell!
Ji Zizhao's entire being was shrouded in a dark cloud.
She understood Qing Zhu and Zhang Ji's worries. But she absolutely could not stand by and watch the innocent women and children of the Ji family be executed!
Suddenly, Ji Zizhao stood up and walked out.
Qing Zhu followed closely behind. "Miss…"