Skinning Temple

"Duke of Song, please hand them over to me."

Zhu Yuntong did not say how he intended to deal with them. He merely wanted to take them away. Feng Sheng would learn what he intended to do when the time came.

If he killed them in the army camp, Zhu Yuntong worried whether he would be able to leave it alive.

The thought of killing hundreds of people still left Zhu Yuntong somewhat dazed. He had never seen so many dead people, but in this ancient era, as Butcher Zhu's imperial grandson, he would have to face it sooner or later.

"Yes!"

Feng Sheng asked no further questions.

With his intelligence, he could more or less guess the outcome. Butcher Zhu would never spare them.

Still, if a bunch of men who showed no respect for the Imperial Grandson died, so be it. Lan Yu had survived only because Zhu Yuntong had knelt yesterday and begged Old Zhu to spare him, staking everything he had on that plea.

"Please lead the way, Duke of Song!" Zhu Yuntong added.

They left the city and soon reached the army camp outside it.

To his surprise, Zhu Yuntong saw that Chang Sheng and the others had all come. The entire group of military commanders from Huaixi was waiting in the camp. This was his first direct encounter with them, and most of the men before him were his relatives.

"That grandfather of mine left me far too much!"

Zhu Yuntong thought to himself that most of the people connected to Chang Yuchun really were his relatives.

If he could win them over and put them to good use, they would undoubtedly become his greatest support. But they were wild and unruly, and might not submit to him.

Whether he could win them over depended on Zhu Yuntong's own ability.

"Greetings, Your Highness, Third Imperial Grandson!"

Everyone spoke in unison.

"Uncle, everyone, there's no need for such ceremony!"

Zhu Yuntong hurried forward. The necessary courtesies still had to be observed.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

They spoke in unison again.

Zhu Yuntong asked, "Uncle, why have you all come too?"

Chang Sheng said, "We haven't had a chance to talk to you. When we heard you were coming here, we agreed to come together and see you."

In truth, they did not think much of Lan Yu's Sworn Sons either. They had not come to save them.

To them, Zhu Yuntong was what mattered most.

"We are all willing to support Your Highness, Third Imperial Grandson."

Cao Zhen, the Marquis of Jingchuan, came forward from behind and declared loudly, "The Second Imperial Grandson has the civil officials' support, and the Third Imperial Grandson has ours. Rest assured, Your Highness!"

"Rest assured, Your Highness!"

Once again, they spoke in unison.

"Good, good!"

Zhu Yuntong smiled faintly and added, "You are all my elders. There is no need for this. I came here today on Imperial Grandfather's orders, so I cannot linger. Let me finish my task first."

"Of course!" Chang Sheng said.

"Men, bring them all out."

Feng Sheng called out loudly.

Those several hundred men were all bound, their faces ashen.

They seemed to know what fate awaited them.

Feng Sheng and the others understood perfectly well that disrespecting the Imperial Grandson and leading troops into the city to intercept him was already a capital offense. There was no point in pleading for mercy. Doing so might only drag them down as well.

"Take them away!"

Zhu Yuntong barked the order, exchanged a few more pleasantries with the others, and left the army camp.

He had brought enough members of the Embroidered Guard today that escorting several hundred men back would not be difficult.

All these men were bound and had gone hungry for nearly two days. Even though they knew they were doomed, they had no way to resist and were led away like men who had lost their souls.

"For now, this matter is settled."

Feng Sheng cautioned them, "Keep your subordinates in line from now on. Don't cause any more trouble for the Third Imperial Grandson."

"Naturally!"

Fu Youde nodded. "We all support His Highness, Third Imperial Grandson. We absolutely must not cause him trouble."

After that, they dispersed.

Seeing that his young nephew already carried himself with such authority despite his tender age filled Chang Sheng with pride.

As long as Zhu Yuntong wanted it, Chang Sheng would push him onto that seat even at the cost of his own life. That was his promise as an uncle.

"Your Highness!"

Jiang Jue said, "There are too many of them. If we take them back to the Military Investigations Office, we won't have room for them all."

Zhu Yuntong glanced at the five hundred or so men following behind and asked, "What would you suggest, Lord Jiang?"

Jiang Jue was the expert in such matters.

Naturally, Zhu Yuntong would listen to an expert's advice.

"Find somewhere outside the city and dispose of them."

Jiang Jue had received his orders long ago and knew that not one of these men would survive. They only needed somewhere to dispose of them. He added, "His Majesty has ordered us to establish Your Highness's authority. When the time comes, we will help you spread the news."

After some thought, Zhu Yuntong said, "Find somewhere with a few spectators before killing them."

"How about the Skinning Temple?"

That was where Old Zhu had once skinned people and stuffed their hides with straw.

"That will do."

Zhu Yuntong knew of the Skinning Temple and thought it suited their purposes perfectly. He also wanted to see the human skins hanging there.

It was certainly cruel, but as Butcher Zhu's grandson, he could hardly remain someone who had never witnessed such a scene.

"Go to the Skinning Temple."

Jiang Jue ordered, "Bring those three men out of the Military Investigations Office's prison as well."

They soon reached the Skinning Temple.

It was only a small temple, with the Earth God enshrined inside.

As soon as Zhu Yuntong entered, he saw the human skins hanging from the beams and piled on the floor. The sight was horrifying and made his scalp prickle. As a modern man who had transmigrated here, he had never seen anything like it.

Fortunately, he had a fairly strong stomach and found it easier to accept. After taking a moment to recover, he no longer felt particularly troubled.

It was said that newly appointed officials had to come here to view the human skins before taking office, so that fear would take root in their hearts.

But human greed knew no bounds.

No matter how terrifying the Skinning Temple was, when the urge to embezzle struck, they still could not resist.

The Skinning Temple was not out in some remote wilderness. With so many of them gathered there, they soon attracted the attention of quite a few passersby.

Jiang Jue made all the Sworn Sons and Private Troops kneel, then read out their crimes.

There truly were few decent men among Lan Yu's Sworn Sons. Accustomed to throwing their weight around in Yingtian Prefecture, they had frequently bullied the common people. As the passersby listened to the Embroidered Guard read out their crimes, every one of them applauded.

They really do deserve to die!

Zhu Yuntong emerged from the temple and thought this resignedly as he saw the passersby's reactions.

Only Lan Yu could have gotten away with it. Anyone else who dared keep so many Sworn Sons and commit so many offenses would have been dealt with long ago.

"Your Highness, we've brought them."

A member of the Embroidered Guard returned to report.

Zhu Yuntong looked up and saw three prison carts bringing Li Liangping and the other two men out from the city.

The moment they saw the Skinning Temple, their faces turned pale. They could already imagine their fate.

"Bring them forward."

Zhu Yuntong gave the order.

The three of them were soon kneeling before Zhu Yuntong.

"Where's the saber?"

Zhu Yuntong asked.

Jiang Jue froze for a moment. Does His Highness intend to do it himself?

He could only place his own saber in Zhu Yuntong's hand.

Zhu Yuntong gritted his teeth and threw caution to the wind, raising the saber and hacking at Tang Da's neck. Blood flashed, then gushed from Tang Da's throat as he fell to the ground, his eyes wide.

Li Liangping and Zhang Zhou followed in quick succession, each struck in the neck by a single slash of Zhu Yuntong's saber.