A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Ah Cheng looked at Cui'e and said, "You are really pitiful. But if you want something, go ask Madam. Our young lady has no influence and cannot make the decision. Don't make it difficult for her. Go back."

Cui'e knelt on the spot, tears welling up in her eyes as she said, "I'm just a maid, and I went to other courtyards to beg the concubines and young ladies, but they wouldn't even see me. I just know that Miss Gui'er is the most considerate of the servants. Miss Gui'er, please help me."

Ah Cheng stopped her and said, "No matter how kind our young lady is, her abilities are limited. She's not a real rich lady, just an adopted daughter. You've got the wrong person to ask for help." Then he turned to Gui'er and said, "Young lady, please go back to your room first."

Guier nodded and was about to enter the yard.

Cui'e suddenly shouted from behind her, "Our young lady can help you break off your engagement. Miss Gui'er, you don't want to marry Duanmu Heng, do you?"

Gui'er was startled, turned around and asked her, "Did the Eighth Concubine tell you this?"

Cui'e was a little scared at this time, and stammered, "Actually, it's not like that. The Eighth Concubine knew Young Master Heng when she was studying in Shanghai. Anyway, she has always been in contact with Young Master Heng. She is an adopted daughter, and Young Master Heng is the second son. Both of them are not valued. When they were drinking together before, they once said that they would never forget each other even if they became rich and powerful. She told Mr. Liang many times that if she facilitated your marriage with Young Master Heng, the Liang family would gain great benefits. You can say that your marriage with Young Master Heng was facilitated by her. So she should have a way to cancel the engagement."

Gui'er frowned. She heard something. It seemed that the Eighth Concubine had an unusual relationship with Duanmu Heng. Otherwise, why would her servants not mention his surname but directly say his name?

If the Eighth Concubine could help her cancel the engagement, she wouldn't mind meeting her. So Gui'er said to Cui'e, "Even if I'm willing to help her, how can I be sure that she can help me cancel the engagement?"

Cui'e listened and said quickly: "This is what the concubine said herself, it is absolutely true, don't worry, young lady." After that, she seemed to find something wrong and said: "The food sent to her by the mansion these past two days has been rotten. Our concubine has been pampered since she was a child. How could she endure such hardship? If she continues like this, she will die sooner or later. I beg young lady to have mercy on her."

"Okay, you actually went to the dungeon to see her without permission. I will go back to Butler Zhao and kick you out." Ah Cheng said sternly.

Gui'er thought about how chaotic the mansion had been recently. There had to be some negligence. These servants were originally brought over from the Liang Mansion by the Eighth Concubine, so they were naturally helping their master. It wasn't impossible that they'd sneaked into the dungeon to see her. Furthermore, the dungeon was clearly guarded, yet she was able to get in. She must have bribed the guards, and then there would be a commotion. There would be a whole bunch of people to punish, and it was unclear who these guards were close to or subordinate to. A single incident could cause further trouble.

So he said to Ah Cheng, "Forget it, Ah Cheng, if she can get in, she must have her own way. Since the Eighth Concubine can't eat well now, I'll go and take a look. Brother won't blame me. Ask the kitchen to get some steamed buns and I'll take them to take a look. Let's see if she really has a way to help me cancel the engagement. If the Duanmu family comes forward to propose the cancellation of the engagement, wouldn't it be easier?"

Ah Cheng thought it made sense and nodded. He turned around and said to Cui'e, "You, go back to your own courtyard. Don't go out again, and don't come to see our young lady again. Do you understand? If I see you again, I will report it to Housekeeper Zhao and have you kicked out of the house."

Cui'e nodded repeatedly in fear and said timidly, "Yes, yes, yes." Then she got up and went back.

After a while, Acheng came over with Dingxiang and a food box.

Gui'er had been to the dungeon once before, a few years earlier, to see the murdered Eighth Concubine, and she had been deeply impressed by the horrible conditions there.

I arrived at the dungeon with familiarity. Two armed guards were guarding the door. I saluted them and said, "Miss, do you have permission to come here?"

Gui'er found it a little amusing that the Eighth Concubine's maid could come in, yet she, the nominal mistress, was being questioned. It seemed that the guards in this mansion were indeed paid. She would have to investigate thoroughly. Whose people were they?

But now she was too lazy to argue with them and said with a smile, "My two brothers have worked hard. The Eighth Concubine has been locked up in there for so long. Now that Father's condition has improved, I think the Eighth Concubine was once the apple of Father's eye. I wonder if she's doing well in there. I can't let Father ask me about it later and I won't be able to tell you, so I came to take a look."

The guard at the gate wanted to question him. Ah Cheng said impatiently, "You guys working under you, why are you nagging your master like that? Did someone tell you to ask? Who is it? I'll just report to him directly."

The guard quickly said, "No, no, we wouldn't dare stop you, young lady. We were just afraid something might happen, so we spoke a little too much. Please don't be offended, young lady. Please do as you please."

Guier smiled and walked in.

From the outside, the dungeon looked like a single-story building. After entering, one had to descend stone steps to reach the dungeon, which was filled with spacious cells. Some had water, some didn't, and some were covered with hay. There were no lights, but every so often there were light holes the size of bricks. On sunny days, there was a little light, but on cloudy days, even during the day, the dungeon was pitch dark.

As soon as they walked down the stone steps to the dungeon, they smelled a foul odor, the stench of feces.

Needless to say, the Eighth Concubine had been eating, drinking, defecating and urinating in the dungeon these days. Since there was no toilet in the dungeon, she had to defecate anywhere, hence the stench.

Gui'er frowned, and Dingxiang covered her nose and said to her, "Miss, this is not a suitable place for you to come. Why don't we go out and have the guards bring the Eighth Concubine up, and you can question her."

Gui Er didn't want the guards to know what she had said to the Eighth Concubine, so she said, "Since we're here, let's meet first and talk." Then she said to Ah Cheng, "Brother Ah Cheng, wait at the stairs. Don't let anyone in. I want to talk to the Eighth Concubine."

Ah Cheng nodded and said, "Just stand outside the cell and talk to her. Be careful that woman doesn't do anything extreme."

Gui'er and Dingxiang walked forward a few more cells and finally saw someone in a cell. It was the Eighth Concubine.

This cell was located between the water dungeon and the underground dungeon. The floor was sloping, half wet and half dry. The dry side was covered with hay. However, Eighth Concubine had eaten, drunk, and defecated here during her time incarcerated, so this cell had the strongest odor. If you looked closely, you could see some feces where there was water. The smell was overwhelming. It was a bit like a dry toilet in the countryside that hadn't been cleaned in a while.