"Your Highness, please calm down. They are all with me. They rushed in when they saw me being taken away."
Yuan Zhao naturally knew that the four of them were together, so she just murmured discontentedly a couple of times.
But she was still a bit annoyed. After all, there were secret guards all around the princess's mansion, yet these people had easily broken in as if it were unguarded. Those secret guards were so useless.
"Alright, Lady Shen. I don't mean to blame you all."
Yuan Zhao then called someone and had a few more chairs brought over. The group sat in the courtyard.
Hong Chaoyang whispered to Shen Qing, "Your Highness the Princess? Is this little girl the princess here?"
Shen Qing nodded. "Yes."
Hong Chaoyang was extremely curious about Yuan Zhao. In the Nine Desolate Continent, the strong were respected. They followed those with high cultivation levels.
Hong Chaoyang had only read about emperors and princesses in story - books. Now that there was a real princess in front of her, she curiously sized her up.
Yuan Zhao noticed Hong Chaoyang's gaze. She sat up straight generously, allowing her to look. Every gesture was full of grace. Even the simple action of picking up a teacup was pleasing to the eye.
Seeing Hong Chaoyang's appreciative gaze, Yuan Zhao was also filled with joy.
While allowing Hong Chaoyang to look at her, she was also sizing up the other three besides Shen Qing.
She had seen cultivators and sect disciples before, but in her eyes, those people were full of arrogance and looked down on everyone. In the eyes of cultivators, ordinary people were just commoners who could be crushed with a wave of their fingers.
But it was undeniable that sect disciples and cultivators were all very good - looking.
If Shen Qing and Hong Chaoyang had known what Yuan Zhao was thinking, they would have immediately retorted that there were also many ugly people in the Nine Desolate Continent.
"Shen Qing, are these all the helpers you've brought? You've met the Ling family. What's your next plan?"
Shen Qing thought for a moment and then said her plan, "The next step is to find evidence to clear the Ling family's name."
The Ling family had lived among ordinary people for a long time. They relied on the trust of the monarch and the people. So, if they wanted to get the Ling family out of the prison, they had to clear their names.
Although they could simply break into the prison and rescue the hundreds of people, the stain on the Ling family would never be washed away.
If so, the Ling family probably wouldn't want that either.
The Merit Stone had only glowed once in Shen Qing's hand and then returned to its dull state. Shen Qing had to put it back into the box.
Yuan Zhao's shoulders slumped weakly, and there was a hint of disappointment on her face. "Everyone in the court knows that the so - called evidence against the Ling family was fabricated. When a man is determined to frame another, he'll always find a pretext. With the emperor and the national master having the final say, it's extremely difficult to clear the Ling family's name..."
"So we'll use a ruse," Shen Qing said playfully, blinking her eyes.
Seeing that Shen Qing had an idea, Yuan Zhao's complexion improved.
"You have an idea, right? Tell me quickly!!"
Shen Qing shifted her gaze to Xue Ling and showed a meaningful smile at the corner of her mouth. "Next, we'll have to trouble Master Xue Ling."
Xue Ling shivered suddenly and immediately had a bad feeling.
"What do you want to do?!"
Shen Qing's smile grew wider. "Tomorrow, we'll be on the main street..."
...
The next afternoon, the jailer selected five young members of the Ling family and took them to the execution platform on the main street.
Today, they were going to impose the branding punishment on these Ling family members.
The branding punishment meant using a red - hot iron to burn the prisoner's body until the skin and flesh were charred, causing great physical pain.
When they were tied to the wooden posts, the young members of the Ling family had their upper clothes removed and were bare - chested.
They all had more or less wounds on their bodies. One member of the Ling family had a long wound on his chest. The wound showed the red flesh and was so deep that the bone could be seen.
Shen Qing, Yuan Zhao, and Hong Chaoyang were sitting in a private room of a teahouse where they could watch the execution platform. They were constantly paying attention to the area around it.
When Yuan Zhao saw the Ling family members being tied up, sadness and anger couldn't be concealed on her face. Obviously, she knew these Ling family members.
"Father is being too unreasonable. Why does he believe the national master's words and pick a few young members of the Ling family for punishment every day?!"
"These people are all Yun Chuan's cousins. Their wounds were all caused by the demons when they were saving the common people. If it weren't for the Ling family, how could father sit safely on the throne? He's so muddle - headed!"
Yuan Zhao gritted her teeth, and her words were full of indignation for the Ling family.
Shen Qing had to comfort her, "We'll definitely rescue all the Ling family members."
"Yeah! We definitely will!"
Yuan Zhao shifted her gaze to the common people around the execution platform. There were people she had arranged there.
Today, they were going to use this execution platform as a stage and put on a good show.
When Shen Qing thought the time was right, she slightly parted her lips and murmured softly, "It's starting..."
Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, "Why do we only pick a few people for punishment every day? In my opinion, we should increase the number. Otherwise, how can we appease the people's anger?!"
"That's right! The Ling family is extremely guilty. What is His Majesty waiting for? Why doesn't he execute them immediately?!"
The echoing of a few people stirred up the emotions of the on - looking common people. They all shouted, asking for more Ling family members to be punished.
The officials on the high platform showed meaningful smiles when they heard the common people's requests.
The leading official stepped forward and shouted to the common people below, "Dear folks, I've heard your requests. I'll report them to His Majesty soon. The Ling family is extremely guilty. I believe His Majesty will surely agree with what you've said and increase the number of people to be punished!"
Hearing this, the common people all clapped and cheered.
The young members of the Ling family on the platform all turned pale. They looked at the common people they had guarded for generations in disbelief.
They hadn't done anything wrong, yet they had ended up like this. They were even despised by the people they had saved. Now they were extremely heart - broken.
The shouting of the common people made the officials' eyes sparkle with excitement. The leading official didn't even wait for the right time. He immediately raised his hand and ordered the execution to start.
The hot branding irons were brought up. The common people near the execution platform immediately felt the scalding heat wave hitting their faces.
"Today's punishment is the branding punishment. Special branding irons will be used to burn the words 'criminal' on the faces of the prisoners. Execution, start!!"
At the official's order, the executioner immediately took out the branding irons from the charcoal fire and stood in front of the Ling family members.
The young members of the Ling family already knew what they were going to experience next. They were too weak to defend the Ling family anymore. They all closed their eyes and waited for the hot iron to touch their skin.
The common people all stared with wide eyes, looking forward to seeing the Ling family members suffer.
The branding iron slowly approached the Ling family members' faces. At this critical moment, a strong wind swept in. The branding irons in the executioner's hands were all attracted by an unknown force and flew out of his hands. The branding irons all landed at the feet of the officials on the high platform.
A voice sounded as if it were coming from the sky, "Wait a moment!"