Chapter 17
Zhen Wants You to Live a Life Worse Than Death
“Your Majesty, if you want to hit, please hit this servant. Please don’t hit Mistress!” Xue Wu begs as her tears fall. Bai Yu Chen turns around and look at her. The sound of a slap suddenly echoes inside the torture chamber, blood drips from Xue Wu’s lips and her cheek swells like a steamed bun.
“Who do you think you are? You actually dared to bargain with zhen. Since you want to be hit so much, zhen will fulfill your request and at the same time let you see your Mistress’ suffering with your own eyes!” Bai Yu Chen’s eyes turn red, a trace of cruelty can be seen on his cold face. He hates self-righteous people the most. Xia Hou Shang Yue is that, who would’ve thought her servants would be like that as well.
“Somebody come! Hit her and don’t hold back!”
Two eunuchs immediately enters, immersing a cow-skin whip in salt water. Then, they uses force to whip the lash against Xue Wu’s body.
It is early spring, so the clothes they wear aren’t too thick. Within a short span of time, there are already open wounds on Xue Wu’s body. She merely bit her lips and did not make a single sound.
“Bai Yu Chen, that’s enough. The one you’re after is me, don’t make things hard for a maid!” Xia Hou Shang Yue calls out Bai Yu Chen, her heart ache for Xue Wu. Bai Yu Chen returns to her side and place the blade on her face, a ridiculing smile on his face.
“Zhen is only giving her what she desired, why is the empress so emotional? You want to be lashed too? Don’t worry, zhen will give you what you want.”
She has no idea when the knife in his hand is exchanged with a whip. There are deep thorns at the end of the whip. Xia Hou Shang Yue felt a brief moment of extreme pain and by the time the whip goes back to Bai Yu Chen’s hand, there are flesh stuck on it.
It hurts, it hurts so much.
Xia Hou Shang Yue bite her lips but didn’t say anything, only looking at him in hatred. She originally thought that even if he didn’t like her, he will still act sensibly. But now, she realizes that not only does he dislike her, he will also ignore logic as long as he gets his way.
“Mistress… Please…. Your Majesty, please don’t hit Mistress.” Xue Wu really considers herself useless, she keeps adding trouble to her Mistress. She was too impulsive. If they gets to leave this place, she swear she will think thrice before saying something. She swear she will only do the things her Mistress ask of her.
“Go on! Hit and do not hold back!” He stares as Xia Hou Shang Yue close her eyes. His anger fuels inside him. She would rather take everything in than to speak a few compliant words. If so, then he will just entertain her pride and obstinacy.
With that in mind, the whip in Bai Yu Chen’s hands lands on Xia Hou Shang Yue like a raindrop. Xia Hou Shang Yue’s body is splattered with blood, her clothes turning to rags.
Shui Tian couldn’t bear it and look away, remembering how nice Mistress had been to him all these years, even the cold-natured him could not remain calm.
“Your Majesty, it is I who put the poison. Please don’t make things difficult for Mistress and Xue Wu anymore.”
“Shui Tian, you-“
The whip in Bai Yu Chen’s hand stop. He looks over at Shui Tian, Shui Tian is also a servant Xia Hou Shang Yue brought from Mu Kingdom. Good, indeed is a loyal servant. Just too bad his Mistress is too high and mighty.
“Good, very good. You think if you admit you were the one who did the poisoning, zhen will let her go? Supervising one’s own servant is a must, causing the poisoning of the grand empress dowager and the princess, everyone will be considered an accomplice. Zhen will not let go of a single one of you!”
Xia Hou Shang Yue close her eyes, she knew Bai Yu Chen will not let go of all three of them. What she did not expect was Shui Tian admitting to the poisoning. He was basically putting all the blame on himself.
“Your Majesty, if you want to blame someone, just blame chenqie. Please don’t drag them into this!” Seeing their prideful mistress, lowering herself to beg for them, Xue Wu and Shui Tian is frustrated to death. They were ordered to protect their Mistress, but now it is their Mistress who has to protect them. Especially Xue Wu, she clearly knows that the more they beg, the worse will Bai Yu Chen do to their Mistress.
“Empress, are you begging zhen right now? Did zhen heard wrong?”
Xia Hou Shang Yue close her eyes and bite her lips to swallow all the grievance. She cannot resist and must not resist. She must not allowed Xue Wu and Shui Tian to suffer because of her.
For their safety and for the sake of her Imperial Father, she lowers her head. “Your Majesty did not hear wrong. Chenqie beg you, please let go of Xue Wu and Shui Tian.”
Bai Yu Chen suddenly burst into a laughter.
Xue Wu close her eyes as her tears trickle down. At this moment, her heart hurts more than her wounds. Shui Tian grit his teeth. He is a big man and yet Mistress has to lower herself to beg for him. This is worse than dying.
“Empress, zhen told you none of you will escape this. You begging zhen is useless.”
Xia Hou Shang Yue look at him full of hatred, but it disappears quickly. She lowers her head and bite her lips, she was being stupid. She clearly knows he will not accept any reason and yet she still degrade herself to beg him. And now her pride has been trampled by him. He will not let go of Xue Wu and Shui Tian, she should not disgrace herself any longer.
“Mistress, don’t beg him! Death is nothing. Shui Tian’s life is not precious, not worthy enough for Mistress to beg anyone.”
“Your Majesty, the grand empress dowager is awake. She asks to see you.”
Bai Yu Chen throw the whip and look at Xia Hou Shang Yue coldly. He grabs her chin and makes her look at his eyes.
“Let zhen tell you, zhen will not let any of you dies peacefully. Zhen will make sure each and every one of you has a life that is worse than death!”
Xia Hou Shang Yue did not reply and turn away. She must’ve been crazy to think that he would relent if she begs him. He clearly wants her dead. He said it himself on their wedding day, she is his disgrace. He must have been itching to kill her, why would he soften if she begs him?
Bai Yu Chen hastily leaves. Xia Hou Shang Yue grits her teeth, trying to hold back tears. She must not cry, much less in front of Xue Wu and Shui Tian. They will feel guilty.
“Xue Wu, are you okay?”
“Mistress, I am sorry. From now on, I will not speak out of turn again! Mistress got hit because I begged the Emperor. It was all my fault.”
“Xue Wu, don’t say that. I told you, you and Shui Tian are my friends, my closed ones. How could I sit back and watch you and Shui Tian got implicated because of me? Besides, he just wants to make things hard for me. Even if you didn’t speak up, he would’ve still punish me. Don’t apologize to me, you silly. You did not do anything to wrong me. It was me who dragged you into this, it was me who should have apologized.”