He was not afraid of Qiu Bailin’s private interrogation, nor was he afraid that the Jinyi Mansion would not raid Ma Dao Po’s house.

He had no intention of hiding Ma Dao Po’s affairs from the court, let alone the palace. He said he would interrogate her alone, but how could he really do it alone? He just wanted to find out what Ma Dao Po’s witchcraft was all about, and get rid of this evil that was causing trouble for the Jia family’s inner house.

“I’ll go change my clothes first.” Master Rong was inexplicably excited. “Brother, are you taking me to the Jinyi Palace or to the Ministry of Justice? I’ll change my clothes so I can go directly to the prison and wait.”

Qiu Bailin had no idea what to do with Jia Rong, so he snorted, “Jinyi Mansion.”

How could they send someone to the Ministry of Justice if they arrested him privately? The more secretive this is, the better. Although the palace already knows about it, it is best not to let other officials know about it. This is the unspoken rule. The palace allows you to break the rules when necessary, but you cannot let other officials and the people in the Censorate know about it, otherwise someone will report you to the police, and then you will be out of luck.

Jia Rong changed his clothes, put on a soft armor with gold silk inside, loaded the muskets in the system warehouse with gunpowder, and took some anti-insect medicine and gold and silver notes. Then he said goodbye to Qin Keqing and Feicui and left in a carriage.

It has to be said that the Jinyi Mansion was very efficient. Not long after Jia Rong entered the Jinyi Mansion, several guards of the Jinyi Mansion locked up Ma Dao Po and brought her here.

“Why are you dressed like this?” Qiu Bailin was speechless when he saw Jia Rong in gorgeous embroidered clothes. He thought he was some dandy young man who was captured by the Jinyiwei.

Jia Rong smiled and said, “Didn’t I say it? The sooner the better. If the interrogation of this Taoist woman goes smoothly, we can rush directly to Qingxu Temple and bring people to lock up Taoist Hongchen.”

Qiu Bailin’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t believe it and said, “Is this your plan?”

“Yup!”

“Just go up and arrest them?”

“Brother, do you think I’m stupid? Just follow my instructions. How can I harm you?” Jia Rong laughed and asked the Jinyi soldiers who arrested Ma Dao Po what they found in her house. Then he looked through it carefully and found a lot of paper figurines and ghosts, straw figurines and clay ghosts, and some account books.

There are no magic secrets!

We still have to go and try Ma Dao Po.

Jia Rong casually handed the account book to Qiu Bailin and said with a smile, “I didn’t deceive you, brother. There is something wrong with this thief. He might be a member of a cult. I am giving you this credit for nothing.”

Qiu Bailin’s mouth twitched. He couldn’t help cursing in his heart: What a gift! The palace knows what happened. Whether he can get the credit depends on what the emperor thinks. Those things have been inspected, and they can only be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for trial.

Jia Rong did not refuse at all and went to the place where Ma Dao Po was imprisoned. Ma Dao Po was also very cunning and kept saying that she was wronged and had no fear at all.

He walked slowly into the prison and arrived at where Ma Dao Po was imprisoned. Seeing that the witch was still arrogant, he could not help asking, “You don’t have a place to torture in the Jinyi Mansion? At least you should torture her first.”

Qiu Bailin was stunned, and Ma Dao Po was even more stunned. They both looked at Jia Rong’s face.

Ma Dao Po recognized Jia Rong’s identity and asked suspiciously, “Why is Master Rong here?”

“Because I was the one who ordered you to be brought in.” Jia Rong replied nonchalantly, secretly observing Ma Dao Po’s expression and movements.

Then he asked Qiu Bailin, “I heard that Jinyifu has a punishment called “needle insertion”, where red-hot iron needles are inserted under the prisoner’s fingernails one by one. The prisoner will surely cry out in pain, and I heard that no one can endure having all ten fingers pierced with steel needles without passing out. Can you show me your vision today?”

What does this idiot think of the Jinyi Palace?

This isn’t the way to scare criminals!

Qiu Bailin didn’t know how to answer for a moment.

Ma Dao Po was terrified when she heard this. She did not know Jia Rong’s intention and dared not say anything. She thought that as long as she did not say anything nonsense, no matter who came, no one could do anything to her.

Jia Rong hated silence the most, so he rolled his eyes. He continued, “This person is related to the cult. She must have been involved in the Dizang Temple incident, and she even had a hand in the assassination of the current saint. She has committed such a heinous crime, and it is not a pity that she should die. If she is not tortured, how could she honestly explain the purpose of the things hidden in the room, and how could she explain the hiding places of other cult members. We cannot let down the grace of the saint and the people. If she can’t stand the torture and suddenly dies, it will be better, and everything can be blamed on her.”

Can you do this?

Put everything on her?

Qiu Bailin was shocked. He couldn’t imagine that Jia Rong could say such words, and say them openly.

Several Jinyifu officials nearby couldn’t help but glance at Jia Rong’s handsome and heroic face.

There is a treacherous ghost hiding under the handsome appearance!

Ma Dao Po was even more frightened than them. Not only was she arrested for no apparent reason, but she was also tortured for no apparent reason. Even if she died, she would be charged with an inexplicable crime.

How can officials be so cruel?

He paused under Ma Dao Po’s shocked gaze and said with a smile, “I remember there was a torture called combing in the early Ming Dynasty. It seemed that they took a small iron comb and slowly combed the skin and flesh, loosening the flesh bit by bit. The scene was very interesting. Jinyi Mansion should have this thing. It doesn’t matter if they don’t. Iron combs are easy to make. All you need is a few iron nails.”

Ma Dao Po rushed over and shouted, “You haven’t tried me yet? What’s the matter? I didn’t say I won’t cooperate.”

Jia Rong waved his hands, gave Ma Dao Po a gentle smile, and said, “Don’t worry, make a few iron combs first.”

No one was more aggrieved than Ma Dao Po at this moment. Many things she had done in the past flashed through her mind. She thought that the most likely possibility was that Aunt Zhao had betrayed her!

Seeing that Jia Rong was determined to do so, Ma Dao Po quickly made up her mind and said, “I will explain. I will explain.”

Jia Rong was secretly delighted. If there really was a magic trick to ward off evil, he would have an extra ability to protect himself in the future. If he didn’t have it, he wouldn’t have to worry about being cursed or bewitched by others. He could spend his time as he pleased in the future. He wouldn’t have to worry too much!

He was even less afraid that Ma Dao Po would not confess. Ma Dao Po’s practice of witchcraft was punishable by death, so it would not be a big problem if she was really beaten to death.

Witchcraft was hated the most in every dynasty, and no one dared to speak for Ma Dao Po.