Before Xiuying came to her senses, Sufang took out a jade hairpin from her sleeve, waved it in front of her with a ferocious expression, and said sternly:
"Why is my hosta under your pillow?"
In addition to the burning pain on her face, a sense of humiliation suddenly surged into Xiuying's heart.
As a daughter of a second-ranking official, she has been reading scriptures since she was a child, and is well versed in theft and other shameful behaviors.
She had never suffered such humiliation.
Touching the red, swollen and bleeding half of her cheek, Xiuying couldn't help but shed tears.
"Speak, you shameless thief."
A palace maid accomplice beside Sufang shouted loudly and even kicked Xiuying.
It was obvious that they were working together to vent their anger.
"Are you thinking of stealing someone else's hosta when you see it?"
"We haven't had a thief in our clothing bureau for a long time, and now one finally appears."
"???"
There was a lot of chattering in the room, and several of his accomplices pretended to accuse him.
Everyone's eyes and words are like iron awls, eager to prick the bitch in front of them with holes.
Xiuying, who was huddled in the corner and crying, was trembling like a puppy on the verge of despair.
Sufang sneered cruelly, with a hint of smug satisfaction at the corner of her mouth.
"Don't think that many of us are bullying her, just leave her to Aunt Hu."
She was already dissatisfied with Aunt Hu, and this time she was deliberately looking for trouble to create a problem for the manager.
The maids in coats from the neighboring cells all rushed in after hearing the sound.
They listened to one side of the story and condemned Xiuying one after another.
Xiuying is hard to explain and is isolated and helpless.
She buried her head between her knees helplessly and sobbed.
If there is any commotion in the dormitory here, it will easily alert Aunt Hu, who is in charge, and the two aunts in charge.
After a while, Xiuying was taken to the side hall of the east room of Huanyi Bureau by Sufang and the others, and she knelt on the ground.
Aunt Hu's face darkened with anger when she heard this, she gritted her teeth and said:
"Yun Niang, can you plead guilty?"
"This slave does not plead guilty."
A clear voice echoed over the side hall.
Although the tone is not hard, the words are sonorous.
At this time, Xiuying had stopped crying.
She felt that even if she died now, she couldn't be cowardly and humiliated.
This is the most basic integrity of her life.
"Slave dog, you stole something but you still talk hard."
Aunt Ye next to her shouted sternly.
Everyone suddenly felt strange. How could the little palace maid, who was usually submissive and submissive, dare to resist tonight?
"This bamboo basket fell over under your pillow. How do you explain it?"
Facing Aunt Hu's question, Xiuying didn't know how to respond.
She usually works slowly, and every time she is the last one to finish her work, it is already dark when she returns home. She eats some leftover soup and rice, then falls down and goes to sleep.
This hairpin is clearly framed.
But she had no evidence or witnesses.
"This slave is wronged, mama. This slave has never seen this hairpin before. I swear to God, I didn't steal it."
"You stole it and you want to deny it, Aunt Hu, you must uphold justice."
Sufang felt guilty and hurriedly intervened to put pressure.
"Shut up Sufang, did I let you talk?"
Aunt Hu raised her eyes and scolded sternly.
She looked at Xiuying who was kneeling on the ground stubbornly, and after a while she sighed and said:
"Mother Yun, the hairpin was found under your pillow. There are several palace people nearby who can prove that this person has both stolen goods. I can only send you to the Criminal Punishment Department and ask the Supervisor for review."
Seeing this situation, Grandma Hu made a guess in her mind.
Over the years, this kind of shenanigans have happened frequently in the palace.
It is quite common for eunuchs and maids to form gangs with each other, eliminate dissidents, and frame up people.
But the person in front of him was neither a relative nor an acquaintance of him, and Sufang and others were flirting with several eunuchs in charge of the palace.
If you offend them, you will have nothing good to gain.
"Tie up Yun Niang and send her to the Criminal Division."
Aunt Hu forced herself to order.
"yes."
Poor Xiuying couldn't resist and was at their mercy.
"I was wronged, wronged... ugh..."
She kept crying and grunting all the way.
The Shenxing Division is a yamen that specializes in punishing eunuchs, eunuchs, and maids, which is very terrifying.
It is said that if you go in standing and come out lying down, you will die or be disabled.
As for a disabled palace man, it would be better to be executed directly, which would save a lot of pain.
Sufang and the others tied up Xiuying and escorted her to the Shenxing Department.
…
At the entrance of the Shenxing Department, many palace maids and eunuchs had already gathered around.
They sighed while listening to the interrogation inside.
In the evening, the eunuch on duty at the Shenxing Department was named Lu.
"Yun Niang, if you plead guilty on the spot now and promise not to do it again in the future, I can give you a lighter sentence and give you twenty beatings. Otherwise, you will be punished with a heavy punishment."
Supervisor Lu was used to seeing things like this with dirty hands and feet, so he had no interest in it.
What's more, the person she stole from was a low-class palace maid in the same room, and she didn't steal the master's belongings.
But to be served with severe punishment is equivalent to torture to death.
"This slave refuses to admit his guilt. I am unjustly accused, my lord."
Xiuying would rather die than surrender.
Everyone was shocked, even Supervisor Lu was shocked.
When most people come here, it’s too late to kneel down and beg for forgiveness.
Now, the eunuch in charge had already made a decision, but she dared to push him back on the spot.
This will end badly.
Sure enough, Supervisor Lu snorted angrily:
"You dare to speak harshly when you are about to die. If I don't follow the rules of the palace, how can I convince everyone?"
"Come here, tie this bitch to a pillar and execute her."
"yes."
The two execution eunuchs picked up Xiuying and dragged her to an execution pillar in the center of the hall.
There was already a pool of dark black wet blood there.
Obviously, punishment had just been carried out before.
Xiuying turned pale with fear, sweating profusely, gritting her teeth and shutting up, trembling all over.
"Dad, mother...the baby is here to accompany you..."
She whispered that she just wanted to die quickly, not to be slowly tortured to death.
"stop."
A shout came from the crowd at the door.
The person who walked in with the sound was a cold and upright young man wearing a crimson official robe.
"Oh, isn't this Mr. Xu from the East Palace? What kind of wind brought you here?"
Seeing that the person coming was Xu Qin, the Young Master of the East Palace, Superintendent Lu was stunned and hurriedly greeted him.
Although Supervisor Lu is an eunuch, he is also an internal official of the fifth rank.
He entered the palace at the age of seven. He is thirty-six years old this year, much older than Xu Qin, and he is considered a veteran in the palace.
But when he saw Xu Qin, he was respectful, nodded and bowed.
For no other reason than that Xu Qin is the Queen's nephew and a popular figure around the Crown Prince.
If you offend the Queen or His Royal Highness, it's not a big deal. I'm afraid you don't even know how to die.
"It's not the wind, it's the people."
Xu Qin looked at Xiuying who was tied to the torture stake and cooed.
"She... is your... match?"
Supervisor Lu glanced at the palace lady in confusion and found that she was indeed a stunning beauty.
He reacted immediately.
Could it be that this cold-faced young man Zhan Shi secretly fell in love with the female member of the criminal family?
Of course, it was impossible for Xu Qin to answer Supervisor Lu's questions head-on.
