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Chapter 537
It was all because he was incompetent and unjust, listening to the Villainous Xue's slanders, punishing the meritorious ministers who had rendered great service to the Da Shun Dynasty...
"Yu'er, I was wrong to blame the Mo Family."
"Your Majesty was momentarily confused." In the face of Emperor Shunwu, what could Nan Yu say?
If it weren't for the fact that he had repeatedly expressed his intentions to Mo Jiuye, hoping he would return to court, only to be rejected each time.
Even though Emperor Shunwu had realized that the Mo Family had been wronged, he could not make any suggestion about having Mo return.
Because he could see that Mo Jiuye had completely lost faith in the court. If he did not truly consider him a friend, Mo could have directly assassinated his enemy after entering the capital city instead of helping him so much.
Now, he could only sigh inwardly, feeling helpless at the Emperor's belated realization.
Nan Yu left with the imperial decree, ostensibly to arrange for the extermination of the entire Xue Family, but in fact, he was providing Mo Jiuye with an opportunity to personally settle the score with his enemy.
Under his arrangement, Mo Jiuye entered the prison cells holding the Xue Family that night.
Nan Yu had made preparations in advance, ordering that the key figures of the Xue Family and the Empress be sent together.
When Mo Jiuye arrived, only the Xue Prime Minister, Xue Bo, and the Empress were present.
These were the Mo Family's greatest enemies, the names he had provided to Nan Yu.
Mo Jiuye walked into the prison cell with heavy steps, knowing that Nan Yu had arranged everything properly. Apart from him and the few members of the Xue Family, there was no one else around.
Therefore, he did not bother to conceal his identity any longer and directly removed the black mask from his face.
By the dim light in the prison cell, the Xue Prime Minister and the others could clearly see the visitor's appearance.
The Xue Prime Minister stared at Mo Jiuye in utter disbelief, as if he were experiencing a hallucination.
"This... cannot be... it cannot be Mo Jiuye..."
At this moment, Xue Bo was also not lightly startled. He clutched his father's arm, "Father, Mo Jiuye was clearly exiled to the Northwest. As a convicted criminal, he is forbidden from leaving that desolate place for life.
We must be hallucinating from the torment we've endured these past few days, which is why we think we're seeing Mo Jiuye."
Compared to the father and son, the Empress appeared much more composed.
"Mo Jiuye, why have you appeared here? If you leave now, I will act as if I never saw you. Otherwise, I will tell everyone that you have come to the capital city, adding to the crimes of the Mo Family."
Mo Jiuye snorted coldly, "I'm afraid you won't have the chance to tell anyone."
After speaking, he took out a small ceramic vial from his pocket and poured the white powder inside onto the three of them.
This white powder was the infamous itching powder developed by He Zhiran. The Xue Family had committed unpardonable crimes against the Mo Family, causing such great harm. Even if he took their lives today, Mo Jiuye did not intend to let them die too quickly.
At this point, the Xue Prime Minister and Xue Bo were no longer under any illusion, able to confirm that the person before them was indeed Mo Jiuye. The Xue Prime Minister knew that he could not escape death today. He also understood that given Mo Jiuye's deep hatred towards him, he would not be allowed to die quickly.
Since there was no way to avoid his fate, he did not want to suffer humiliation in front of Mo Jiuye.
These past few days, Nan Yu had subjected them to severe torture, leaving all of them with serious injuries and extremely weak bodies.
To avoid further torment, the Xue Prime Minister clenched his teeth, struggling to suppress the pain in his body, intending to hurl himself against the nearest wall.
However, before he could act, he felt an unbearable itchiness throughout his body, a kind of itch that penetrated his very bones.
Due to this sudden discomfort, the little strength he had mustered vanished instantly, and his whole body went limp again.
What followed was a sound even more unpleasant than crying echoing through the prison cell, accompanied by the Empress's shrill curses.
"Mo Jiuye, what have you done to me?
I am the mother of a nation, and for this, you deserve to die.
Mo Jiuye... hahaha... I'm itching to death... Even as a ghost, I won't let you off..."
Mo Jiuye stood with his arms folded, coldly watching the three suffer torment.
After about the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, the itching on their bodies finally began to subside.
At the same time, the twisted laughter that had drained their remaining energy also ceased.
The three lay on the ground, gasping for breath, each fixing Mo Jiuye with a different gaze.
The Xue Prime Minister's eyes seemed to hold knives.
"Mo Jiuye, if you have the guts, just kill me."
Xue Bo, on the other hand, looked at Mo Jiuye pleadingly.
"Mo Jiuye, what happened back then was on my father's orders, not my intention. The saying goes, 'The debt belongs to the debtor and the grievance to the offender.' Even if you seek retribution, you won't find the cause with me."
Earlier, when Mo Jiuye had thrown the itching powder, the Empress had been closer to him, so the toxicity within her body was relatively heavier than that of the Xue Prime Minister and Xue Bo.
Now, she was still struggling to suppress her laughter, but she made an effort to endure it. The unbearable sensation had completely shattered her mental state.
She could not utter a word like the Xue father and son, only staring at Mo Jiuye with unblinking eyes.
Seeing the Empress's malicious gaze, even as she faced death, Mo Jiuye was reminded of the sisters-in-law in his own family.
"Xue woman, you vile woman. How did my Mo Family wrong you, that you would send people to poison my poor sisters-in-law?
Not only that, after my Mo Family had already been wrongfully exiled, you viciously sent people to poison our breakfast?"
Upon being confronted with these accusations, the Empress could no longer control her laughter.
"Hahaha... Who told your Mo Family to ally with Nan Qi? Anyone who stands in Heng'er's way, I will never let them off, even if it means leaving you without descendants..."
Hearing the Empress's own admission of the atrocities committed against his Mo Family, even though Mo Jiuye had known about them, he could not remain indifferent.
He stepped on the Empress's hand and ground it down with force.
"It seems that today, I truly cannot let you, this vile woman, off easily."
The Empress cried out in pain from her hand.
"Mo Jiuye... how dare you lay your hands on me... Ah... you're killing me..."
The Empress's shrieks were intended to alert the prison guards, but no matter how loudly she screamed, no guards came. Instead, she only managed to scare the rats in the prison cell, sending them scurrying in all directions.
The Empress had little strength left. After a few cries, she was already drained, only able to glare furiously at Mo Jiuye through panting breaths.
Mo Jiuye paid her no further attention and instead approached Xue Bo.
Xue Bo's clothes were tattered and torn, his wounds of various sizes clearly visible.
Mo Jiuye took out another small ceramic vial and poured its contents onto one of Xue Bo's wounds. Then, he dragged Xue Bo in front of the Xue Prime Minister.
It was said that the Xue Prime Minister doted most on his younger son Xue Bo. From a young age in the capital city, Xue Bo had been involved in all sorts of misdeeds, which this "compassionate father" had covered up with his iron fist.