Sauron’s expression turned cold, and he said: “Your father is already dead.”
The moment these words came out, Yu Wenfa’s gaze finally turned toward his father. He immediately saw a corpse with its head separated from its body.
When his father Yu Wengai died, his eyes still had not closed.
At this moment, Yu Wenfa finally woke with a start, feeling a wave of panic, a wave of fear.
Just now, the moment he saw Ye Feidie, he had been completely blinded by anger. Only now did he clearly see that his father had already been beheaded.
From childhood to adulthood, although he could be considered quite accomplished, he had always lived under his father’s wing. His father Yu Wengai was his greatest backer. Now having lost this backer, he completely became at a loss.
His entire person became utterly without support, chaotic and panicked.
Sauron said: “Yu Wenfa, before your father died, he was willing to exchange his life for you to continue living. Of course, he was certainly using retreat as advance, trying to blackmail me. But I still want to ask, what do you want to do?”
“What do you mean what do I want to do?” Yu Wenfa said angrily.
“Do you want to die, or do you want to live?” Sauron asked.
Yu Wenfa said angrily: “In any case, don’t even think of me begging you for mercy for half a sentence. A true man cannot be bent by force.”
Sauron smiled inwardly. So he wanted to live, but did not want to open his mouth to beg for mercy. He wanted Sauron to proactively spare his life.
This Yu Wenfa was indeed much more contemptible than his father. Yu Wengai had at least tried to deceive Sauron, kneeling and kowtowing, repeatedly calling him young master and old servant.
Whereas this Yu Wenfa before him did not want to lose his dignity, yet still wanted to continue living. Probably in his eyes, his father Yu Wengai’s death should have some value after all.
Sauron looked toward Ye Feidie and said: “He is your husband. To kill or not to kill? You have the final say!”
The moment these words came out, Yu Wenfa immediately looked toward Ye Feidie.
At this time, his psychology should be quite complex. He wanted to continue living, yet absolutely did not want to beg Ye Feidie for mercy.
And Ye Feidie also looked toward Sauron with extreme annoyance. Why must she be the one to decide?
Yu Wenfa immediately cursed at Ye Feidie again: “Slut, if you want to kill then kill. If I furrow my brow even once, I am your grandson.”
Ye Feidie still did not speak.
Yu Wenfa became even more furious: “Slut, kill me then, kill me! Kill me, and you can also fly away with Sauron, your adulterer. You repeatedly say that Zhi Li and Tu Lingduo deserve to die. What difference is there between you, Ye Feidie, and Tu Lingduo? You are both adulterers carrying on illicit affairs, both murdering your own husbands! You and Tu Lingduo are the same, both shameless sluts.”
The moment these words came out, Ye Feidie’s face turned deathly pale, striking the most painful part of her heart.
After learning of Zhi Li and Tu Lingduo’s affair, Ye Feidie had hated Tu Lingduo to the bone, wishing she could skin her alive and pull out her tendons. She felt there was no more shameless woman in this world than Tu Lingduo.
Yet now, was she not also colluding with an adulterer and murdering her own husband?
Seeing this scene, Yu Wenfa’s gaze became even more venomous: “Kill me then, kill me! You slut, collude with your adulterer, murder me your own husband, then the two of you fly away together!”
Sauron narrowed his eyes, discovering that this Yu Wenfa was actually quite clever.
He wanted to live, yet did not want to beg for mercy, so he used provocative words.
Trying to use strong moral coercion to make Ye Feidie spare his life.
Sauron came before Yu Wenfa and squatted down, saying: “Let me tell you the difference between Ye Feidie and Tu Lingduo.”
“First, Tu Lingduo and Zhi Li committed adultery. Ye Feidie did not commit adultery with me. After you two married, she and I have not even met.”
“Second, Tu Liyang treated Tu Lingduo very well, whereas you treated Ye Feidie very badly. After learning of her past romance with me, you repeatedly humiliated her. If not for the fact that your martial arts were evenly matched, you probably would have already committed domestic violence against her. And these years she never committed adultery. Instead, it was you who carried on illicit affairs with other women right in front of her.”
“Third, Tu Lingduo murdered Tu Liyang to seize the Luanyang City foundation. Whereas Ye Feidie reported and exposed you to remove harm for the people. Does she have the slightest benefit? All the gold coins embezzled by the Ye Family must be vomited back out.”
“Fourth, Tu Liyang did no evil, he did not deserve to die. Whereas you father and son, how much military blood did you drink, how much of the people’s fat and cream did you embezzle? The royal city had barely just settled down, and you wanted to rebel once again, letting all living things be plunged into misery. If you had succeeded, how many people in the entire royal city would die? How many houses would be reduced to ruins, how many people would be left homeless?”
Yu Wenfa said sternly: “Sauron, what qualifications do you have to say us? The victor is king, the defeated is the bandit. It is simply that you won and we lost. What qualifications do you have to morally condemn us? You piece of trash, what qualifications do you have to lecture me?”
“Of course I have!” Sauron said sternly: “In the several great battles where I defeated Zhi Li, how many civilians did I harm? In my development until now, have I embezzled even one gold coin of the people’s fat and cream? My private morality cannot be considered high. After having wives like Yan Nai’er and Princess Zhi Yan, I still have a whole bunch of lovers. But toward the Fury Wave Kingdom, I have no shame. Toward the kingdom’s subjects, I have no shame!”
Sauron said in rising anger: “If your uprising this time had succeeded, and you killed me, His Majesty the King, and Princess Zhi Yan, you probably would have supported Zhi You to ascend the throne. By then, he would completely become a puppet. The entire Fury Wave Kingdom would become a colony of Hidden Continent. The Fury Wave Kingdom’s ten thousand li of territory, seventy million subjects, would all be enslaved by Hidden Continent. For your own selfish desires, you did not hesitate to sell out your country, sell out your souls, and you still have the face to speak of Ye Feidie? Her exposing your crimes was a just act for the country and the people.”
This speech rendered Yu Wenfa’s face ashen.
And beside him, Ye Feidie’s complexion gradually returned to normal, her body also regained its warmth.
Honestly speaking, she was not as great as Sauron had described.
The reason she betrayed her husband and father-in-law was truly because of feelings. She had no feelings for Yu Wenfa, yet still had some lingering affection for Sauron.
But from a deeper level of consideration, it did not seem to be completely like this. In her heart, there truly seemed to be a scale, a scale of right and wrong, of justice.
She instinctively felt that Yu Wengai and his son were evil in this matter, whereas Sauron was just.
And at this time, she also knew that the reason Sauron had said so much was not to convince Yu Wenfa, but to remove the knot in her heart.
Ye Feidie calmed down and said to Sauron: “I have decided.”
Yu Wenfa’s body trembled, his face pale as he looked at Ye Feidie.
Ye Feidie glanced at Yu Wenfa and said faintly: “Kill.”
The moment these words came out, Yu Wenfa nearly fainted. Then his face twisted like a vengeful ghost as he said sternly: “Sauron, Ye Feidie, you adulterous couple, you adulterous man and woman. Even if I become a vengeful ghost, I will not let you go.”
Sauron frowned and said: “Yu Wenfa, I have already explained so much to you. Why do you still call us an adulterous couple? Whether the two of us will carry on illicit affairs in the future, I cannot guarantee. But at least up until now, Ye Feidie and I are completely innocent. Why do you still speak nonsense?”
“Adulterous couple deserve a terrible death, deserve a terrible death!” Yu Wenfa continuously roared, his gaze toward Sauron filled with incomparable venomous hatred.
Sauron took a deep breath and said: “I am the Regent Duke. You cursing me comes at a price!”
Then, Sauron coldly ordered: “Someone, cut out his tongue. Throw him into the heavenly prison. After trial by the Black Dragon Platform, sentence him to extreme punishment!”
The so-called extreme punishment was being torn apart by chariots.
The moment these words came out, Yu Wenfa trembled all over, truly about to faint completely.
Two Shadow Pavilion warriors stepped forward, violently prying open his mouth and pulling out his tongue with pliers.
A eunuch chief went to fetch a dagger, swift and decisive, cutting off Yu Wenfa’s tongue.
After cutting it off, they directly branded the root of the tongue with a red-hot iron, preventing blood from spurting out! Then they sealed Yu Wenfa’s mouth with white cloth, not letting a single drop of blood fall to the ground.
And amid this incomparable pain, Yu Wenfa fainted alive, dragged out like a dead dog.
Once a person courts their own death, truly no one can save them.
Tu Lingchen similarly had a wife-stealing hatred with Sauron, a father-killing enmity. Yet now he had completely defected to Sauron, and in the future power structure, he would also have considerable weight.
Whereas Yu Wenfa, not only could he not preserve his life, but had his tongue cut out and was to be torn apart by chariots!
At this time, Zhuang Zhixuan said: “Master, Viscount Ye Jin is crying and shouting to see you.”
Sauron looked toward Ye Feidie. She said in a low voice: “I will withdraw.”
In this matter, she could face Yu Wengai and his son, yet could not face her own father. Even more, she could not face her father’s forthcoming ugly display of flattery.
A eunuch led Ye Feidie out of the study.
Very quickly, Viscount Ye Jin rushed in, kneeling down from several metres away, then crawling into the study on his knees.
“Your subject deserves ten thousand deaths, ten thousand deaths.” Viscount Ye Jin continuously kowtowed, wailing: “I beg Your Grace the Duke, for the sake of my little daughter, spare this old servant’s life.”
Viscount Ye Jin still did not know it was his daughter who had informed on them. He only knew that Sauron and his daughter had once had a romance, hoping Sauron would, for the sake of their past affection, spare his life.
“This guilty subject was blind. Back then I actually obstructed your relationship with my little daughter. Afterwards, my little daughter married into the Yu Family and wept daily. This guilty subject truly regrets it bitterly. Even being your lover or concubine would be much happier than becoming the principal wife of the Yu Family.” Viscount Ye Jin continuously slapped his own face, crying: “This guilty subject truly regrets it bitterly!”
This person was truly shameless to the extreme.
Sauron decided not to let him know it was Ye Feidie who had reported them. Otherwise, he would certainly push his luck.
Instantly, Sauron’s face became incomparably cold, and he said: “Ye Jin, I will only ask you one question. Whether you can preserve your life depends on how you answer.”
Ye Jin trembled in fright and said: “Your Grace the Duke, please ask.”
Sauron said: “These years, exactly how much money have you embezzled? Think carefully before answering. Whether you can preserve your life depends on the number you give.”
Viscount Ye Jin was horrified, instinctively wanting to give a lower number, so that the charge would be much smaller.
But then he thought, perhaps Sauron already knew the exact number. He was simply testing whether he would tell the truth. Once he lied, that would mean death.
Instantly, Viscount Ye Jin desperately kowtowed and said: “This guilty subject deserves death, this guilty subject deserves death. These years I embezzled two hundred thousand gold coins of the people’s fat and cream?”
“How much?” Sauron was genuinely startled.
“Two, two hundred thousand…” Viscount Ye Jin trembled, then desperately thought in his mind. It should be about this much, he was not lying, right? Could it be that even gifts received during New Year and festivals must be counted?
Sauron truly had his eyes opened, utterly amazed!
Viscount Ye Jin, merely a ruined noble! The highest official position he held was merely quartermaster of the Northern Legion and the city guard army.
Just this one position, and he could embezzle two hundred thousand gold coins?
How much was the Northern Legion’s annual military expenditure? It was only around two hundred thousand plus gold coins!
Among the royal city’s nobles and powerful, Viscount Ye Jin completely could not rank! This ability to embezzle was truly f***ing divine!
Sauron waved his hand and said: “For the sake of your daughter, vomit out all the gold coins, and I will spare your life! But whether you must sit in prison until the end depends on your performance.”
Viscount Ye Jin desperately kowtowed and said: “No problem, no problem. I am willing to report and expose others. I am willing to atone for my crimes through meritorious service.”
Sauron impatiently waved his hand, having people take Viscount Ye Jin out. He truly was unwilling to say half a sentence to him.
Just like this, Viscount Ye Jin preserved his dog life.
Perhaps some would say Sauron was abusing power for personal gain, violating the dignity of the law. A person like Ye Jin deserved to be killed ten times over, yet could be spared from death.
People who speak this way are pedantic.
The one who needs to be impartial and incorruptible is Lord Bao, not Emperor Renzong Zhao Zhen.
Moreover, Ye Feidie had accomplished such a great merit. Redeeming her father’s crime was more than sufficient.
…
For Sauron, for the political situation of the Fury Wave Kingdom, the most dangerous day had passed.
Eleven million gold coins of reserves lost and regained. The city guard army rebellion that had nearly erupted was also thoroughly extinguished in the bud.
The entire Fury Wave Kingdom had been on the edge of a cliff, nearly falling into a bottomless abyss. Now it had finally been pulled back, removed from danger.
According to Finance Minister Suofu’s account books, Sauron conducted raids on the homes of the kingdom’s great corrupt officials. On the first day, he raided ten households.
Although this caused unease among the kingdom’s nobles and powerful, it only stirred up some ripples.
On the second day, the imperial guard army raided nine households.
On the third day, the imperial guard army raided six households.
On the fourth day, the imperial guard army did not continue raiding.
All nobles and powerful of the royal city let out a long sigh of relief. Finally, calm was about to be restored.
According to Suofu’s account books, Sauron raided a total of twenty-five households.
Throughout the process, there were scattered resistances. But these nobles did not band together, and having lost the city guard army as the main force of rebellion, these resistances completely could not raise any waves. Merely two thousand imperial guards pacified them.
As for the gold coins confiscated, they were still being tallied. Sauron did not yet know the exact number.
But Gao Yin had already reported to Sauron that this number would far exceed imagination. It was no longer merely enough to get through this crisis.
So Sauron waited with anticipation to see how enormous the results of this raid would be.
…
Inside the heavenly prison, Hidden Continent young master Fang Qingyi had already been starved for four full days. No one had ever come to visit him.
These four days, he only had one bowl of water each day.
He had never experienced the taste of starvation. It truly made one wish for death.
Fang Qingyi felt that even if there were a rat before him right now, he could devour it alive and whole.
In his extreme hunger, he heard a footstep. He desperately hoped it was someone bringing food.
As it turned out, the one who appeared before him was Sauron.
“Sauron…” Fang Qingyi said through gritted teeth: “You have offended the dignity of Hidden Continent. You dare imprison me. Soon you will know what severe consequences there will be. These consequences even your entire family, your entire kingdom, cannot bear. You wait, wait to bear unparalleled misfortune. Your family, your wife and children will bear terrible punishment.”
“Smack…” Sauron slapped him across the face.
Fang Qingyi looked at Sauron in disbelief. He actually dared to hit him?
“Sauron, you…”
“Smack…” Sauron slapped him across the face again.
“Sauron…”
This time, Fang Qingyi only managed to say two words before being slapped back by Sauron.
“Sa…”
Sauron struck with both hands, continuously slapping, beating Fang Qingyi until his head spun and his nose and mouth bled.
“Still able to threaten me, it seems you still have strength, not starved enough yet.” Sauron laughed coldly: “Then starve you for another three days, and I will come talk to you again.”
After speaking, Sauron left.
…
At the same time, two guests arrived at the princess residence.
This was a man and woman, a married couple, practically a match made in heaven.
This man was incomparably handsome, standing tall like a jade tree. His noble and pure bearing even surpassed Sauron’s.
This woman’s body was graceful and enchanting, soft and captivating. Moreover, her appearance somewhat resembled Fang Qingzhuo’s, yet was even more exquisite and gorgeous.
Not only that, this woman’s appearance was gentle as water, yet faintly concealed a trace of seductive charm. She was absolutely a stunning beauty.
She was Fang Qingzhuo’s younger sister, Fang Qingdi.
And this handsome and elegant supreme beauty was of course her husband Ji Mengbai. He was also the adopted son of the Yan Empire royal family, the former lover of the Black Widow Meng Tuoluo, that perfect lover who had abandoned her at the wedding.