Youzhou Prefectural Office.
Even though the midday sun blazed fiercely outside, this prefectural office—steeped in criminal history and the site of countless beatings that ended prisoners' lives—remained chillingly gloomy. Forget about torture; merely standing inside made one's bones feel cold.
Saber-bearing bailiffs stood in two rigid rows flanking the room. Jia Yi sat centrally on the dais, flanked by his trusted subordinate Wu Lan, who stood with a hand on his saber. Jia Yi raised the gavel and slammed it down onto the magistrate's desk.
Chapter 374