cold clothes

Nuandong was heading towards the courtesan's residence, but turned back halfway and saw her with a somber face and a hint of sorrow in her brows, heading towards the torture chamber of Zhuoyu Pavilion.

The maid guarding the door opened it for her and activated the mechanism, revealing the dark dungeon entrance to burst open on the ground.

Although the room was filled with gleaming torture instruments that looked terrifying, the truly bloody and cruel punishments often took place in the dark underground.

Leng Yi was tied to a rack as tall as a person. Suddenly, she sensed someone coming. She instinctively thought it was Hu Mama and tensed up. She only relaxed slightly when she saw the warm, snow-blue dress.

But suddenly feeling ashamed and uncomfortable, she lowered her head and whispered, "Sister Nuandong, why are you here?"

"I was just about to ask you, how did you get here?" Warm Winter immediately retorted without any mercy.

Leng Yi was speechless for a moment.

"Who ordered you to do this?"

A sudden question during a mild winter startled Leng Yi.

Seeing the undisguised surprise in her eyes, Nuandong's initial suspicions turned into a full suspicion, and her mood sank to the bottom. "Do you know the consequences of doing this? You've ruined Qingchun's appearance, which is equivalent to disrupting my plans. I won't let you off easily."

Is this why Yunqiu insisted on finding a scapegoat...? But it's too late to turn back now.

"No one ordered me to do this. I hate Qingchun, so I wanted to disfigure her."

"If no one instructed you, where did you get your face powder?"

“I got it from the herbal medicine shop. I often go to the herbal medicine shop to see Doctor Xie. I know that duck bile powder can cause skin to rot.”

"...It's a flawless fabrication." Nuan Dong was annoyed. But more than anger, she felt heartache and incomprehension. She knew that being in a place like Zhuoyu Pavilion, it was inevitable to get caught up in intrigue. Mama Hu usually turned a blind eye to the open and covert struggles within Zhuoyu Pavilion, but Leng Yi had to get involved in the conflict between the top courtesans of their generation, which was going too far.

Now that things have come to this, all that's left is to sigh.

She slipped a bottle of medicine into Leng Yi's sleeve, saying, "This is medicine to help your wounds heal. I hope it will be helpful to you, and I hope you will never need it."

Leng Yi forced a bitter smile: "Sister Nuandong, are you so sure I'm going to get beaten up badly...?"

"You deserve to suffer a bit, to teach your stubborn and unruly nature a lesson," Nuandong said gently, then her expression softened, her eyes filled with sorrow.

Leng Yi couldn't stand seeing others be kind to her and then be sad in front of her, even if their sadness wasn't necessarily because of her. Yun Mei was like that, Doctor Xie was like that, and Nuandong was like that. She gave Nuandong a firm look and pursed her lips, saying, "I know what I'm doing, and I'll take responsibility for the consequences. Don't worry."

As dusk fell, the maids hung lanterns under the eaves, signaling it was time for the young ladies to go out and greet guests. Liu Xia also had to receive distinguished guests, and the once bustling Butterfly Dance Pavilion became deserted.

The maid Yilian draped a fox fur cloak over Yunqiu and carried a lotus lantern, following beside Yunqiu.

"Is Miss going to Zhuoyu Pavilion?" Yilian asked.

Yun Qiu's usually stern face showed loneliness, and he said in a low voice, "No, a warm winter is enough for the girls to have evening lessons."

Yilian hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Miss, aren't you going to see Miss Ningbi?"

Yun Qiu stopped in her tracks: "What are you looking at her for?"

"This servant just feels that if Miss Liuxia can guess that Miss Ningbi is acting under someone's orders, then Mother must be able to as well. What if Miss Ningbi can't withstand the torture and reveals Miss Ningbi's identity?"

"Hmph, you're just making trouble for yourself." Yun Qiu laughed. "If Ning Bi exposes me, that will only lead her to her death."

Yilian did not understand.

As Yunqiu walked, she said, "Ningbi only knows what I told her to do, and she knows nothing about the other arrangements. If she exposes me, she won't be able to provide any actual evidence. Instead, I can accuse her of framing me. Besides, I'm not afraid of anything if my mother suspects me. Even if she knows that I did it, she won't punish me because I'm the winner."

"The law of the jungle, manipulating people's hearts, and the winner takes all—these are the principles my mother taught us from a young age. The only problem is that brainless Qingchun, who was completely blinded by men. If she weren't so hopeless, I wouldn't have resorted to such methods against her!"

Speaking of Qingchun, everyone says she's a master at seducing men with countless admirers, but only her own people know she's been completely fooled by men. One minute they say the second son of the Duke's mansion is truly devoted to her, the next they say the eldest son of the Marquis of Shenyong's mansion has fallen in love with her at first sight… Yunqiu just laughs when she hears this. How can someone whose mind is filled with love and romance achieve anything great?

Seeing Yunqiu's angry expression, Yilian quickly flattered her, "Miss, you have such a clever mind and skillful methods! It seems that Mama's decision to have you replace Miss Qingchun was also an indirect endorsement of you."

“It’s not impossible. Maybe Mom knew back then that I was behind everything. Hehehe…hehehehe…” Yunqiu suddenly burst into laughter, laughing so hard she was doubled over and clutching her stomach. Yilian quickly looked around, afraid that someone would see her young lady’s outburst.

After laughing enough, Yun Qiu looked up at the dim sky where a sliver of sunlight still lingered, her eyes filled with uncontrollable ecstasy and burning passion: "Tomorrow, my plan will take another step forward. Years of forbearance and longing have finally brought me one step closer to revenge... I think I've already seen that day..." Yun Qiu suddenly turned to Yi Lian and smiled radiantly. In that smile, Yi Lian saw tears and blooming flowers.

“I have already seen it... that day is just around the corner.”

Yilian gripped the lamp tightly, her thoughts drawn by Yunqiu, as if she could also see her young mistress looking down at the corpses of her enemies. She said admiringly, "This servant will see it with you, young mistress."