Chapter 20

The distance from the hall to the outside was not long. However, the young man with chains on his hands took nearly the time of one incense stick to walk it.

Chu Yuanzheng was forced to kneel on the ground. Seeing him arrive, he almost burst with rage: “You wretch, what do you want? The key? Dream on! Let me tell you, you were born a bastard, and those chains were made especially for you. They should stay on your hands until you die, you scum!”

Mingzhu let him curse, his face showing no emotion. He dragged his legs, step by step, under the hateful gazes of everyone in the Chu family until he stood in front of Chu Yuanzheng and said woodenly, “The key.”

“Wretch!”

“You should be able to handle this dagger.” Feng Yaoguang followed him out, handing Mingzhu a plain-looking dagger. “Grand Princess said if he doesn’t cooperate, you can cut off one of his hands. This dagger can cut through iron like mud. You can try it.”

Mingzhu stretched out his pale, thin hand and took the dagger from Feng Yaoguang.

“You wretch, dare you?” Chu Yuanzheng’s pupils shrank, and he instinctively tried to retreat.

However, two strong soldiers held his shoulders tightly, making it impossible for him to move.

“Chu Mingzhu, you can’t do this.” Chu Yuanxiao hurriedly said, “Calm down. I’ll have my father put your name in the family register. Big brother won’t torment you anymore. There is a key for the chains. Wait… I’ll have someone find it. It’s been so long. Big Brother might not even remember where he put it. Chu Mingzhu, don’t be impulsive. Let’s talk this out…”

“So you are afraid of death, pain, and disability.” Mingzhu seemed to discover a new world, finally showing some emotion on his face as if surprised. “I thought you were fearless, like wooden people who don’t feel pain or fear… but it turns out you’re not.”

Chu Yuanzheng’s eyes showed embarrassment and anger as he roared, “You wretch dare to mock me? It seems the lessons I gave you were not enough—ah!”

A scream rang out as Feng Yaoguang stomped on Chu Yuanzheng’s right hand, causing him excruciating pain, his face turning pale and twisted.

“It seems my lessons were not enough either.” Feng Yaoguang smiled slowly, his eyes cold and piercing. “Mingzhu, I’ll help you. Just this hand, cut it off.”

Mingzhu looked down at the hand underfoot.

It was this hand that had wielded the whip countless times, treating him like livestock.

It was this hand that invented various tortures just to hear him scream and break him.

It was this hand that wielded power in the Chu family, tormenting him like an ant, day after day, making life unbearable for him and his mother.

This hand, day and night, was like a nightmare that followed him everywhere.

Mingzhu gripped the dagger and drew it from its sheath, the cold light flashing before his eyes. He instinctively closed his eyes, then, with fierce determination, stabbed the dagger into his hand.

“Ah—” The scream pierced the sky, chilling those who heard it.

The air seemed to freeze.
Time seemed to stand still.

The other two Chu family sons, who were also being held, turned pale. Their vision darkened, and their faces lost all color. Some even fainted from fear.

“Yuanzheng! Yuanzheng!” Madam Chu rushed out of the hall, her face pale with fear, “Yuanzheng!”

Even Li Dean couldn’t help but rush out, and his heart shattered at the sight.

Chu Yuanzheng was drenched in sweat, his body trembling uncontrollably. A scream had rendered his throat hoarse, and he looked as if he had been pulled out of water.

Feng Yaoguang signaled with a turn of his head. Two soldiers stepped forward to stop Madam Chu from approaching Chu Yuanzheng.

Mingzhu, seemingly exhausted, weakly fell to his knees. However, he did not give up or try to get up. Instead, he slowly rotated the dagger embedded in Chu Yuanzheng’s wrist, grinding it bit by bit…

“Ahhh!” Chu Yuanzheng let out another piercing scream, the sound of his agony chilling to the bone.

Mingzhu, however, seemed to be engrossed in some fascinating game, focusing intently on the dagger in his hands, gripping it with both hands and applying more and more force, completely ignoring Chu Yuanzheng’s screams that had torn his throat, his entire body writhing in pain.

Two soldiers held Chu Yuanzheng’s shoulders, forcing him to endure the torture without being able to struggle.

Feng Yaoguang’s expression remained unchanged, but his gaze toward Mingzhu had clearly shifted from mere observation to deep contemplation. He seemed to understand the purpose behind Donghuang’s orders for Mingzhu to carry out these actions.

At the same time, a sense of crisis arose from within him. The once prestigious Chu family had now become a scene of carnage. The screams echoed continuously, Chu Yuanzheng fainting from the pain, only to be awakened by Mingzhu’s relentless cutting, and then fainting again, repeating this cycle until Chu Yuanzheng’s hand was finally severed from his wrist, bloodied and mangled, the cut far from clean.

Chu Yuanzheng’s face turned deathly pale from the pain, and he finally passed out completely.

The soldiers responsible for confiscating the Chu family’s property carried out boxes of gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, and valuable items.

Feng Yaoguang ordered a slightly larger brocade box, placed the severed hand inside, and handed it to Li Dean: “Please deliver this gift to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.”

Li Dean backed away in fear, looking like he had seen a ghost.

Feng Yaoguang wiped his hands and casually tossed the cloth aside: “Chief Eunuch, you better hold the box steady and deliver this hand intact to the Empress Dowager, and tell her that the Grand Princess wishes to speak with her face to face, considering their past mother-daughter relationship.”

Li Dean’s teeth chattered: “General Feng…”

“If the Empress Dowager still refuses to leave the palace after seeing this hand, I will send her the leg of the second young master of the Chu family and then the third young master’s…”

After a slight pause, Feng Yaoguang looked at the third young master’s face with a mocking smile: “The third young master is quite handsome. Becoming a eunuch in the palace might suit him well. In that case, I’ll cut off his manhood.”

“General Feng!” Li Dean almost fainted, “You are cutting off the Grand Princess’s retreat. The Empress Dowager will be furious when she learns of this. How will the Grand Princess handle the situation then?”

“Yan Donghuang, you cold-hearted demon!” Madam Chu screamed hysterically, rushing back into the hall, her voice filled with despair and venom, “What do you want? What exactly do you want?”