SBCEJM -Chapter 57 What? Drinking it directly? Ugh! The entire court vomited on the spot!

Xiao Juechen looked down at Xu Zhenye standing beneath the golden hall.

To him, it was as if he were not a man at all—but a decaying ancestral archway, collapsing from within.

Xu Zhenye’s composure finally shattered completely.

He could feel the gazes of his colleagues like needles on his back, piercing through flesh and bone.

Even the heads of noble families who had always been on good terms with the Xu family instinctively shifted their positions, stepping away from him, afraid of being stained by this horrifying filth.

The most core and darkest secret of the Xu family had been exposed word for word under the blazing sun.

【This absolutely has to be handled. This is like someone dumping boiling water directly onto my worldview—utterly intolerable!】

Feng Zexuan roared silently in her heart.

【But words alone aren’t enough. The Dingguo Duke’s estate has stood for a hundred years, deeply entrenched in power. They’ll never admit it.】

【We need hard evidence!】

【No matter how careful they are, they can’t erase all traces. Those slave contracts, secret ledgers dealing with women and infants—they must be hidden somewhere in the estate! I strongly suggest we fast-forward straight to the house-searching stage!】

【As long as we find them, it’s ironclad proof. No one can ever clean this up.】

Listening to this calm and structured analysis, Xiao Juechen’s expression regained some imperial composure.

He lifted his hand and lightly tapped the dragon throne’s armrest with his finger.

The chief eunuch, Wang Dehai, immediately understood.

He silently stepped back half a pace and gave a glance toward a guard hidden in the shadows of the hall corner.

The imperial guard captain vanished into the shadows and disappeared without a sound.

A net had already been silently cast over the century-old noble house.

After venting her anger internally, Feng Zexuan suddenly felt a wave of nausea churn in her stomach.

Extreme anger and disgust made her body revolt.

【I can’t take it anymore… this is so disgusting I feel physically sick…】

【Even being angry is exhausting work. My emotions are draining my energy—I’m hungry now.】

【I urgently need something sweet to restore the calories I burned fighting for justice, or my wounded heart and empty stomach won’t heal.】

【I wonder what Mother prepared today… osmanthus cakes, almond pudding, milk rolls…】

Feng Huai’an, who was about to step forward to impeach someone, heard his daughter’s utterly carefree thoughts and almost lost his breath on the spot.

Daughter… do you realize what kind of storm you just triggered? And now you’re thinking about snacks?

On the dragon throne, Xiao Juechen’s eyelid twitched uncontrollably.

He glanced at the “absent-minded” young figure below the hall, his mood growing increasingly complicated.

Still… hearing her talk about food did calm his murderous intent slightly, preventing him from immediately ordering the old dog dragged out and executed on the spot.

With such a person in court, why worry about corruption not being eradicated?

The only cost… seemed to be the fragile worldview and hearts of the entire court.

The Dingguo Duke was barely holding onto his last breath, praying for this damned morning court session to end quickly.

But Feng Zexuan’s “melon field” was far from finished.

【Sigh… but seriously, the Dingguo Duke’s estate is too twisted. Just imagining it makes me nauseous.】

She was purely curious.

【When they “drink it directly”… do they just bring a bowl over? That’s too down-to-earth. They’d look like beggars.】

Xiao Juechen, who had been about to announce the end of court, paused mid-gesture.

He… also wanted to know how far these beasts in human skin had gone.

The system’s voice drifted out coldly:

【Host, you’re thinking too simply.】

【Truly high-end ingredients often require the simplest preparation methods.】

【A bowl? That’s an external object. To them, any transfer would “spoil the essence.”】

【W-what then?】

Feng Zexuan’s instincts screamed alarm as an absurd, filthy thought crossed her mind.

【N-no way…】

【They… really drank it directly.】

【Directly?!】

Her mind instantly flashed with images too explicit and disturbing to even fully form.

【H-how directly?】

The system continued emotionlessly:

【The Dingguo Duke’s ancestors were once deceived by a wandering charlatan, who claimed that a woman’s first milk was an ultimate yin substance containing pure yang essence. It must be consumed directly from a living vessel to harness heaven’s power and extend life.】

【So every woman who had just given birth would be dragged into the master’s chambers by two strong old maidservants.】

【They were not allowed proper clothing—only a thin, open-front gauze robe, leaving the upper body exposed.】

【They were forced to kneel beside the bed while the elderly men… consumed it directly.】

【Even in the dead of winter, in heavy snow, it was the same.】

The system added coldly:

【They believed this preserved body temperature and ensured the “essence” was not lost.】

【Bastards! They aren’t human at all!】

Feng Zexuan trembled with rage, blood rushing to her head.

【Why don’t they just bury themselves in the ground and become fertilizer?!】

【What do they think women are? What do they think human beings are?!】

【They are proud of it too.】

The system shattered her last shred of hope.

【They consider it a necessary “sacrifice” to maintain family glory. Those concubines “serving” the Dingguo Duke’s longevity cause are seen as blessed beyond their eight lifetimes.】

【As for the children born… they are merely byproducts. Sell them if needed—turning waste into profit. A perfect system, in their eyes.】

Enough.

Truly enough.

Xiao Juechen could no longer listen.

“Dismiss court!”

He did not look at anyone else, suddenly rising from the throne. His dragon robe swept violently as he turned and strode toward the rear hall.

His back carried a storm of fury on the verge of eruption.

Once in the imperial study, he kicked over a bronze incense burner nearly as tall as a man.

BOOM—!

The heavy cauldron crashed to the ground, incense ash scattering everywhere.

“Wang Dehai!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The eunuch crawled forward in panic, forehead pressed to the ground.

“Pass my decree!”

Xiao Juechen’s voice was squeezed through clenched teeth.

“Order Li Meng of the Imperial Guards to immediately lead three thousand elite soldiers to surround the Dingguo Duke’s estate!”

“Not even a fly is allowed to escape!”

“Anyone who resists—kill without mercy!”

“Yes!”

“Also!”

“Summon the Minister of Justice, the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, and the Imperial Censor-in-Chief—have all three departments report to me immediately!”

“Tell them,”

Xiao Juechen enunciated each word, “I will personally conduct the interrogation! Bring the best coroners and painters!”

“Yes! This servant will go at once!”

As Wang Dehai turned to leave—

“Wait!”

Xiao Juechen stopped him again.

“Deliver a secret order to Li Meng: once inside the estate, the first priority is to find the so-called ‘back courtyard building’!”

“All people and objects inside must be preserved exactly as they are!”

“And every study, every storeroom—seal them all! Dig three feet into the ground if necessary, and bring me every filthy slave contract and ledger!”

“I will make the century-old ‘glory’ of the Dingguo Duke’s estate—item by item—be clearly exposed to the entire world!”