Dingyang Imperial Palace.
Meng Yutong rode in a carriage toward the depths of the palace in a proper manner. As they passed Heavenly Prosperity Hall, she suddenly heard a burst of scolding, along with the sound of chains dragging across the ground.
Her Divine Sense passed through the carriage curtain, and she saw six people from the Cautious Punishment Office, sabers hanging at their waists, escorting three prisoners toward the city gates.
"Move! Fucking move faster!"
Smack—!
A whip lashed down, instantly splitting someone's skin and flesh open.
Meng Yutong's brows drew together slightly. Where were the people from the Cautious Punishment Office taking those prisoners?
Wouldn't executions normally be handled within the Cautious Punishment Office?
"Lady Ziyan, are those people from the Medical Path?" Meng Yutong asked curiously.
"No!" Seeing her curiosity, Murong Ziyan kindly explained, "They embezzled funds, abused the law, and stole from the very stores they guarded in enormous amounts. They'll be taken for their homes to be confiscated shortly. Once that's done, they'll be sent into exile!"
"Ah! Why wouldn't they just be decent officials? Their monthly stipends were more than enough to keep them fed. How much money could possibly count as enough?"
"They put on such airs when receiving gifts, yet they refused no one who came bearing them... Over two hundred thousand Spirit Stones, they dragged their entire families down with them!"
"Luckily, this is the era of the Female Emperor's supreme rule. If this had happened in Martial Emperor's time, anyone caught for corruption would practically be skinned and dismembered. There wouldn't even be anywhere left to exile them to!"
Murong Ziyan stood beside the carriage window. As she explained, she used her Divine Sense to observe Meng Yutong's reaction inside.
Sure enough, upon hearing that, Meng Yutong's heart tightened, and