As soon as Wang Ming appeared, two strong and martial men came out immediately.

One of them held Zhou Yan from behind, while the other fiercely slapped Zhou Yan's face with a bamboo strip. After a few hits, Zhou Yan's face swelled up, and after a dozen more strikes, her face was a bloody mess.

Each hit was loud, instilling fear in those who heard it.

Soon, Zhou Yan spat out blood, with a few broken teeth in it. The woman fainted, but Wangye did not allow the punishment to stop; it had to continue.

Zhou Yan's face was ruined in an exceptionally cruel and painful manner.

Zhou Xuezheng wept bitterly, repeatedly kowtowing, begging Wangye for mercy.

Qin Wang raised his hand, signaling the guards to stop. He coldly looked at Zhou Xuezheng, "You, as a government official, understand not a bit of the teachings of sages. You condoned your daughter's affair, and to vent her anger, you conspired with your student, the censor, to threaten Prefect Li, framing an innocent commoner. In my view, you are unfit to continue as an official. You are dismissed immediately and will be sent to the capital for thorough investigation!"

With that, Qin Wang turned to the censor and shouted, "You, as the emperor's eyes and ears, failed in your duty by falsely accusing ordinary people of being bandits. I have heard of your ruthless greed before, fabricating many false cases to advance your career and wealth. I did not expect you to become even more brazen now."

Chang, on his knees, kept kowtowing, "Wangye, you see through it all. This was all due to the teacher's coercion."

Qin Wang snorted, "If there were no benefits involved, would you have done it? Using the excuse of bandit suppression to extort money from the court, what a traitor! Guards, prepare a report for the emperor immediately, and inform the Northern Garrison Commander to ensure this scoundrel is severely punished!"

After dealing with the two high-ranking officials, Qin Wang's gaze fell on Cui Anren.

Cui Anren was so frightened that he quickly kowtowed for mercy, crawling to my feet, holding onto my legs, tears and snot streaming, "Miss, I beg you, for the sake of our shared upbringing, please plead with Wangye for mercy. My mother is your only relative."

I forcefully pulled back my skirt, tears in my eyes, and said bitterly, "Now you beg me? When you beat and harmed me, why didn't you remember our past relationship?"

Qin Wang coldly stated, "This Cui Anren, neither peaceful nor righteous, robbing people of their money and tarnishing their reputations. If the court allows such a person to hold office, wouldn't it be nurturing a pest? Wanwan, how do you want your adoptive father to deal with him?"

I gritted my teeth, "Please strip him of his official title, demote him to a commoner, reward him with Zhou Yan as his wife, let these two despicable creatures be together for life."

"Wait!" Luan Zhong suddenly spoke up.

Qin Wang frowned, "What is it?"

Luan Zhong looked at me with concern, clasping his hands and kneeling, "I beg Wangye's permission to cut off this beast's right hand. I cannot bear to see Wanwan being whipped and hurt by him."

Qin Wang smiled, "Granted."

Luan Zhong thanked Qin Wang, took the knife handed to him by the guards, grabbed Cui Anren's arm, paying no attention to the wretched man's pleas, and with a swift motion, he chopped off Cui Anren's right arm.