Chapter 66: Flogging

  After putting on that specially made uniform, Qin Lei was led to the ancestral hall in the backyard.

  After entering the house, I saw seven old men wearing robes of different colors sitting on seven chairs lined up in a row. In the year when the great Qin dynasty was founded, Emperor Gaozu had six brothers, and including himself, they formed the seven branches of the imperial family. Therefore, in the ancestral temple, seven chairs were placed side by side to symbolize the equality of the brothers. For two hundred years, the bloodline continued, and the branches spread out. Each chair represented the right to speak for that branch within the imperial family. Each branch had hundreds of members, but some had to adopt from other branches to maintain this chair.

  Jiaqin Wang sat in the first chair on the left. After Qin Lei came in, he gave a wink to Qin Lei. Qin Lei understood and paid his respects to several old men who were seated.

  Although several old men were all founding princes, after two hundred years of wind and rain, the then trend had long since disappeared. So a few princes did not hold back, smiling at Qin Lei.

  Jiaqin Wang said to several princes, "Several brothers in the clan, now there is a Rain character generation ranking nineteenth Qin Lei's arrogance and madness are not corrected, yelling at the back palace, and also taking his brother's place. Wen Zhuang Sheng Huang Taihou suggested to the Zongren Fu that he be flogged thirty times and imprisoned for seven months. Do any of you have any objections?"

  Everyone shook their heads and said: "No." Then they said: "The Holy Empress Dowager is wise and sacred."

  Jiaqin Wang nodded and said: "This is very good." Then he turned to the guards behind Qin Lei and said: "Carry it out."

  Two imperial guards stepped forward, but didn't dare to touch Qin Lei. Qin Lei also didn't want to make things difficult for them. He bowed again to the seven princes and then turned around to follow them into a small house next door.

  In the center of the hut was a blood-stained wooden bed, with ropes above and below. On one wall hung over a dozen whips. Although members of the imperial family who did not commit any of the seven major crimes could only be subjected to flogging, floggings were different from each other; if they used the second iron-plated whip in the middle or the fourth wolf-toothed whip, it would definitely take someone's life.

  As soon as they enter the house, seeing the whips on the wall and being intimidated by the county soldiers, they usually hand over some red envelopes and choose a softer one.

  Qin Lei had an interest in carefully examining the whips on the wall, pointing to a dark whip and softly asking one of the careful guards: "What material is this? How much money can I use it?" After finishing speaking, he also felt that he was a bit perverted.

  Two imperial guards, one looked like a dry and shriveled old man in his forties, the other was a robust and vigorous young man. The old man smiled and said: "To answer your question, this is a snake skin whip, it's very painful when used on the body, but the good thing is that it won't leave any scars, and you'll recover quickly. It costs 500 taels to use it."

  Qin Lei smiled and said, "This price is still quite reasonable." He had never touched a single cent since he came to this world, and with Shen Luo, they were doing billion-level bribery, so he had no concept of five hundred dollars.

  This is actually the living expenses of a small well-off family for ten years. After two hundred years of branching out, there are already several thousand descendants of the royal family, and the country does not support them. They rely solely on the monthly relief of 10 kilograms of rice from the imperial clan's estate, which can only fill their stomachs. Many people live off the legacy of their ancestors, and bankruptcy is not uncommon. Most people cannot afford this amount of money.

  Qin Lei finished speaking and then asked: "Then which one are you planning to give to this prince?"

  The old man smiled and said: "Originally, according to our lord's intention, we should use a horse whip. This kind of whip doesn't leave scars, but it's frightening to see the bruise, which is the best way to intimidate people. But I thought that as Your Highness is a noble and esteemed person, even if you were to get scratched, it would be my fault and I wouldn't dare to live. So I took the liberty of replacing it with this one." As he spoke, he pulled out a silver whip from his bosom.

  He smiled and said, "This one is called 'thunder sound', made from silk threads. When it hits the body, it makes a loud cracking sound, very intimidating. But it doesn't hurt at all. Finally, I'll apply some special medicine to make it look like whip marks."

  Qin Lei secretly smiled to himself. It seemed that the Zong people's house was just a decoration for the imperial family. Everyone was eager to offer their plans and strategies, afraid that he would be humiliated.

  He smiled at this imperial guard and thanked him before saying warmly: "Let's just follow Old Master Wang's idea. He had a leather armor made for me."

  The old man slowly put away his whip and chuckled: "It seems I've made a fuss over nothing."

  Qin Lei didn't want to offend the good intentions of others, so he smiled and said: "What's your name? I quite like this whip of yours, can you send me a few more tomorrow?"

  The little old man was overjoyed and said, "Little Qin Shui, if Your Highness calls me Shui, then I'll be Shui. I'm best at tinkering with some small gadgets, and I'll send them to Your Highness tomorrow."

  Qin Lei nodded and said: "Then take them all away, let me have a look."

  "Alright," Qin Shui replied in a low voice. Then he took out a pure white cotton quilt, spread it on the execution bed, and said to Qin Lei, "Please, Your Highness."

  Qin Lei nodded and lay down on the quilt.

  Qin Shui softly said: "I've offended him." Then he lifted his leather armor and said to the attendants beside him: "Be careful, don't really hurt His Highness."

  That man loudly said: "Elder brother, rest assured, I've wielded this whip for ten years, and my hands are skilled." As he spoke, a crisp 'crack' sounded as the whip struck Qin Lei's back. Qin Lei let out a mournful cry like he'd been electrocuted: "Ah......" The seven old men sitting in the outer room were startled into trembling.

  The two people behind looked at each other in surprise and hurried forward to take a look. Qin Lei winked at them, and the two couldn't help but admire his acting skills.

  "Bang, bang..." After two lashes, Qin Lei felt a burning pain on his back, with each lash leaving a searing sting.

  Qin Suo took off his armor and smiled: "How is it? Not painful, Your Highness?"

  Before Qin Lei could speak, the executioner said, "How can it hurt, I only used three-tenths of my strength."

  Qin Lei originally wanted to say, "Try it and see if it hurts." But after hearing the executioner's words, he swallowed his words and forced a smile, shaking his head.

  Men, regardless of age and appearance, face is the most important thing.

  The executioner thought that Qin Lei was wearing a leather armor, so he didn't hold back and swung his arm with all his might. The whip landed heavily on Qin Lei's back, although the leather armor blocked it, but his back had already been injured by the whip, and every time it rubbed against the armor, it was extremely painful.

  Twenty-seven lashes in one breath, Qin Lei's face was already pale and sweaty. Qin Shan saw it, scolded the man in a low voice, and the man scratched his head, embarrassed to smile foolishly.

  Qin Lei knew he was a fool and didn't mind, letting Qin Suishui take off his armor and carry him out to show the seven old men.

  Seven old men looked at Qin Lei's purple and red back with a sigh, and quickly let Qin Si water carry him to see a doctor.

  Qin Lei didn't know whether his back was intact or just had a few scars. The other families would certainly secretly resent the Heavenly Family for being unfair, and although Jiaqin Wang wasn't afraid, it would still be troublesome. The executioner was someone who had received Jiaqin Wang's orders, and he struck with great precision. He beat Qin Lei until he turned blue and purple, but didn't harm his body.

  Qin Shiui carried Qin Lei, who was humming and muttering to himself, out of the ancestral hall. Then he called for a stretcher, spread a quilt on it, put Qin Lei on it, and sent him to a small garden in the backyard of the clan mansion.

  This small garden is not large, about one mu in size, with three rooms of green tile-roofed house and two old locust trees, nothing else.

  Qin Shui pushed open the door and shouted, "Slow down, slow down." Two guards carefully lifted Qin Lei and carried him through the doorway to the bedside.

  Qin Lei was still lying there groaning, Qin Sui Shui drove the two guards away and came over to whisper: "Your Highness, they're gone."

  Qin Lei finally stopped humming and got up, with a burning sensation on his back, so painful that he frowned, this time not pretending.

  Qin Si water pulled out a small porcelain bottle from his bosom, showing off: "Your Highness, this is the improved wound medicine of Xiaoci Hall, with eleven Chinese medicines added, the effect is much better. Especially for pain relief and inflammation, it's incredibly effective." As soon as he removed the stopper, a faint fragrance wafted out, which revitalized Qin Lei's spirits.

  Qin Lei smiled warmly and said, "Then let's give it a try." After finishing speaking, he turned around and lay down.

  Qin Shui originally only wanted to show off in front of the Fifth Prince, to prove that he had skills and deepen the prince's impression. He didn't expect Qin Lei to use it, as he still had the Imperial Palace's fine wound medicine in his sleeve, preparing to take it out if the prince refused.

  Who would have thought that Qin Lei wouldn't say a word or ask any questions and just turned around, leaving him stunned on the spot, unsure of what to do next.

  Qin Lei waited for a while, but didn't see any movement, and curiously asked: "Si Shui, why haven't you started yet?"

  Qin Shui water regained consciousness, twisted and said: "Your Highness, I still have the imperial palace's wound medicine here, which bottle do you want to use?"

  Qin Lei said impatiently: "Just your bottle."

  Qin Si water nodded heavily, calmed down his emotions, washed his hands, and applied the improved version of Miao Ci Tang to Qin Lei's back for free.

  Qin Lei was also anxious, but he now needed someone to communicate with the outside world. Qin Huishui had expressed a strong willingness, and Qin Lei thought he was clever enough. Moreover, he knew a lot about wound medicine, and he felt that Qin Huishui's bottle tasted very good. Since he hadn't been injured himself, he decided to give him a pleasant surprise, which would also be useful for ordering him around in the future.

  ------------------------------------------------------- Divider -------------------------------------------------------

  Today's second update, please continue voting and supporting haha.

  Everyone looks good and collects it ~~~~~~~~