Chapter 241
Chapter 241 Torture
Shangguan Ru and Lotus knew that something had gone terribly wrong when they didn’t find Servant Huan in the Washing Heart Yard.
One of the executioners warmly received Tenth Gongzi and swore that the Washing Heart Yard didn’t arrest or take anyone in that night. Shangguan Ru wanted to check inside but was refused by the executioner. “Tenth Gongzi, it’s not that I dare to stop you, but this place is really not suitable for you to visit.”
“Let her go then.” Shangguan Ru pointed at the black-robed killer beside her.
Without waiting for the executioner to say yes, Lotus had already dashed past him and went straight to the torture chamber. When she came out, she shook her head. But there were many cells in the Washing Heart Yard, some of which were hidden deeply. She couldn’t find them without the executioner leading the way.
The executioner spread his hands, “I said it before. We have to record and report the information regularly if the Washing Heart Yard has arrested anyone. Look, the booklet is blank tonight.
Shangguan Ru s.n.a.t.c.hed the booklet, and sure enough, there was nothing written on the page of today.
“Go find eighth sister-in-law. Servant Huan is her man, so let her find a way. We’ll meet at the Transforming Kun Yard in one hour.” Shangguan Ru gave the order as soon as they went out of the Washing Heart Yard. Although she had lost her murderous heart, she wasn’t a person who would be panic-stricken in face of trouble. She had made several plans in her mind and any of them could save Servant Huan if they worked.
Around one killer, the fights, both open and secret, between different fractions had begun heating up. Some were busy pressing for evidence while others were busy destroying it.
As soon as she entered the backyard, Lotus saw several maidservants kneeling with pale faces and struggling to clean the floor with their heads lowered. The blood left by Servant Xin had almost been cleaned up when she left, so it seemed that someone else had suffered another tragedy.
Luo Ningcha was shouting in the next room. “Ungrateful, all of you, ungrateful! Even the mute and blind dares to betray me. Go die, go to h.e.l.l to whisper to your pathetic lover!”
Lotus’s heart sank. Beside the working maids placed a big basket, revealing a corner of clothes which was very similar to the dress of Tsui Nü.
Tsui Nü was a friend of Lotus. The two had met in the slave cage trolley and were sold to Big Head and entered the castle as dowry gifts. After Tsui Nü was
cruelly injured, the friendship between the two had not diminished but instead increased.
Tsui Nü was a poor girl. Her eyes were dug out and her tongue was cut out by the Miss’s order, and afterward, she still had to serve this vicious woman. And it was very common for her to be beaten and scolded, so she would like to return as much as she could to anyone who showed kindness to her. Servant Xin probably saw this and purposely approached Tsui Nü, hoping to find out some secrets from her gesture.
Lotus had once warned Tsui Nü not to trust Servant Xin, but in this castle, even false affection was extremely rare. Tsui Nü couldn’t refuse Servant Xin’s sweet words until unexpectedly it was discovered by the Miss at last.
Lotus felt anger surge up in her chest and subconsciously gripped her sword hilt. She was a killer and knew how to be a master at managing emotions, but she still couldn’t help but be full of hate towards the woman in the room. This hatred was not the one the killer used to gather power but was instead a blind rage that pushed the owner to take action immediately.
“Lotus! Where have you been, how come you came back so late? So many people died in my place and I haven’t seen you come out to protect me. What’s the use of having you around?” Luo Ningcha saw Lotus outside and released all of her anger on her.
Lotus loosened the sword hilt. Let the hatred ferment, and sooner or later it would become a rich wine of revenge.
“Miss, Servant Huan has been taken away.” Lotus came in and whispered the news.
Luo Ningcha stunned. “By whom?”
“Possibly the Sabrelord Shen Liang, but the Washing Heart Yard denied it and said they hadn’t arrested anyone tonight.”
“Isn’t Shen Liang my husband’s uncle? Why would he grab my killer?” Luo Ningcha slowly sat down as her expression changed slightly. She had too many secrets in Servant Huan’s hands and some of them could even put her in another desperate situation.
“I don’t know yet. I haven’t been able to see Sabrelord Shen, he seems to have hidden away.”
Luo Ningcha regretted letting Servant Huan go. It would be much better if he was still around. She thought for a moment and pulled a ring from her finger. “Take this to find Shen Liang, and ask him to come to see me … No, just say … that the King Lord is at my place and summons him. Let him come at once.”
Lotus took over the ring and said
said ‘yes’. She was just about to leave before Luo Ningcha stopped her and motioned for the maids to leave. When there were only the two of them, she whispered, “Lotus, you are loyal to me, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Miss. I’m willing to go through scorching fire and boiling water for Miss.” To be a servant of the Miss, one had to recite a few oaths and blurt them out when necessary. Lotus was no exception.
“Then tell me the truth, what’s the deal with you and Servant Huan? I heard that he had once slept in your room.”
“Both of us belong to Miss, and we are in the same boat, so naturally we would help each other in the castle. There’s nothing else between him and me. He stayed in my room because he was suffering from Qi deviation, and asked me for help.”
“Hmm.” It was hard to tell whether Luo Ningcha believed her or not. She paused a bit and lowered her voice more when saying, “Good. Once you find Servant Huan, bring his head back to me.”
Lotus abruptly raised her head. She had seen the affair between Servant Huan and the Miss, but she hadn’t expected Luo Ningcha could be so vicious.
“What? Are you reluctant to do it?”
Luo Ningcha’s eyes widened slightly. Even when she was saying the sinister idea with a furious expression, her appearance was still impeccable. It wasn’t the first time for Lotus and also wasn’t the first person to think that the Heaven must have made a mistake to put a devil heart into a celestial body.
“Yes, Miss,” Lotus replied casually as usual.
Luo Ningcha was satisfied, but in her heart, she was a little reluctant to give up Servant Huan. But Servant Huan had to protect himself first. If he kept being taken away like this and threatened the lord’s safety, he could only be abandoned. “You taught me all this,” Luo Ningcha muttered and felt a sudden chill. Ever since she had entered the castle and lived at the mountaintop, she had never felt warm again.
Lotus went to Shen Liang’s home first but found no one there. And she didn’t have the corresponding name tag to run around in the castle at night, so she could only sneak back to the Transforming Kun Yard.
Shangguan Ru was already been waiting here. “How is it?” She asked.
Lotus shook her head, not telling Shangguan Ru that the eighth young mistress was Servant Huan’s enemy now.
Shangguan Ru had expected this, but it was only one of her plans and didn’t affect the overall situation even if it failed. “I’ve already
“I’ve already gotten the decree to release him, and I’m waiting for the news.”
Shangguan Ru didn’t say what the news was. Lotus also didn’t ask. She knew very well of her position and what she should do. That decree must be somewhat questionable, but there was no need for her to worry.
A killer came to the Transforming Kun Yard on the third night watch period. After greeting Tenth Gongzi, he said, “There are three torturers in Washing Heart Yard, and only Liao Qing is not at home. I asked a night watcher, and he went to the Furnace Yard in East Castle.”
Lotus suddenly came to understand. The executioners of the Washing Heart Yard were like office clerks, and the ones good at torture and interrogation were the torturers. It was a smart idea for Shangguan Ru to track the torturers instead of asking about the whereabouts of Shen Liang.
In fact, this was only one of Shangguan Ru’s plans. She had sent out several groups of people to find Servant Huan in different directions. Shen Liang was also one of her focuses, and it was just that the ones went to find the torturers got the result first.
“Take the decree. You two go to the East Castle to have a look,” Shangguan Ru ordered. She had to stay here to wait for the others to report.
Lotus and the other killer followed the order and moved out, leaving Shangguan Ru alone in the yard. She knew that there were killers somewhere in the yard protecting her, but she still felt the loneliness deep inside her marrow, as if the whole castle was empty. “I will not let him die,” the little girl murmured to herself.
Separated by numerous heavy stone walls and houses, Gu Shenwei was ‘chatting’ with the torturer.
“How old are you?” Gu Shenwei asked.
The torturer Liao Qing’s wrinkled face glowed strangely in the light. He had created endless wounds on the prisoner and blood had splattered everywhere, but he still wasn’t able to get anything serious out, which made him both surprised and excited. The torture was usually done slowly but most people couldn’t endure for long. Now he saw the possibility of using his advanced unique skills on Servant Huan.
“Sixty-two.” Liao Qing also answered as if he was chatting.
“I thought you were eighty.” Gu Shenwei tried to distract himself from the pain, but his voice still trembled uncontrollably.
“I look old.”
“How long have you been doing this for?”
“Well, ever since I gutted a pig … It’s been over forty years.” Liao Qing picked up a thin knife and showed it toshowed it to the prisoner. He had the habit of showing the prisoner the torture process, which would make the prisoner suffer more pain and fear.
“You must have no wife and kids.”
“Ai, I can do nothing about it. With someone lying next to me, I always want to cut her up alive, so who would dare to marry me? Be careful, I’m going to use this to pry your nails off. I don’t like pulling them because it goes by too fast.”
“I hope that you can do it more slowly. I have ten nails, enough to keep you busy for a while.”
“Heh heh, I’m not in a hurry, and no one knows you are here. The Sabrelord also didn’t give me a time limit, so you don’t have to confess too early, and we ‘father and son’ …”
“Let go of him.” The ‘fellowship’ between the ‘father and son’ was ruthlessly interrupted. Lotus broke into the room, with a narrow saber in one hand and the decree in the other.
“Who are you? I only listen …”
Lotus was just about to wave her narrow saber when Gu Shenwei stopped her and said, “There’s not much blood left in the old fellow, spare his life.”
Lotus raised her saber, cut off the rope on Servant Huan, and walked towards the outside.
Liao Qing was a bit anxious. He held up his knife and cried out, “You can’t leave.”
Lotus jumped in the air and kicked the torturer to the corner.
The killer who led the way urged with a low voice outside, “Hurry up, I hear someone coming.”
Gu Shewei escaped from the final torture, but it was too hard for him to find a safe place in the castle. As soon as Shangguan Ru saw the badly tortured Servant Huan, she made a decision and said, “Take him to my place.”
That night, Lotus stayed in Tenth Gongzi’s room. She wasn’t able to cut off Servant Huan’s head, so she could no longer go back to the see the young mistress.
The two teenage girls stayed up all night and worked together to take care of the wounded Servant Huan.
The fight was far from over, and the Washing Heart Yard would not stop there. Shangguan Ru had saved Servant Huan but had also fallen into the trap set by Shen Liang. Her behavior proved exactly that she was the centerpiece of all of Yang Huan’s plots.
Gu Shenwei also didn’t sleep, his mind working actively. When it was about dawn, he finally decided to make a dangerous move. “Tenth Gongzi, I’d like to see Madam Meng.”