cold clothes

That night, the air in Fengxiang Tower was filled with the subtle fragrance of perfume and wine, accompanied by the melodious sounds of music and laughter. Madam Hu, heavily made up, watched the bustling scene of men and women reveling in each other with a cold eye.

When Granny Qin returned to her side, she asked, "How is Qingchun?"

Granny Qin replied, "After Miss Qingchun returned to Shuiguang Pavilion, she smashed a lot of things and was sullen all day, so the maids dared not approach her."

"Then let her be," Mrs. Hu said casually.

"Madam, what should we do with Ningbi?" Granny Qin asked cautiously.

"I need to keep an eye on things tomorrow, so I don't have time to deal with her right now. I'll keep her locked up for now."

“Since that’s the case…” Granny Qin smiled mysteriously, “How about this old servant disciplines her for the madam first? Ningbi was confined for more than ten days before, but she was still lawless. If she is not disciplined in time and only confined, this old servant is afraid she will not take it seriously.”

After listening to Granny Qin's words for a moment, Madam Hu said, "Granny, what you say makes sense. Then you may go."

"This old servant obeys," said Granny Qin, bowing hurriedly.

Having received her master's permission, Granny Qin was quite pleased with herself. She walked triumphantly towards the prison of Zhuoyu Pavilion, only to see a person kneeling at the entrance of the torture chamber from afar. As she approached, she saw the person kowtowing to the maid guarding the door while pleading, "Please, let me in to see Miss. Please, I beg you, she hasn't eaten anything all day."

Granny Qin shouted, "Who's making such a racket here?"

"Greetings, Granny Qin." The maids guarding her bowed respectfully upon seeing her.

The kneeling person also looked up at her, and upon closer inspection, realized it was Lingcao, Ningbi's personal maid. Granny Qin immediately understood, and knowingly asked, "Lingcao, what are you doing here?"

Lingcao then knelt before Granny Qin, her forehead smeared with dirt, and pleaded, "Granny Qin, I want to bring something for Miss to eat. She's already weak, and she can't go a day without food."

"Eat something?" Granny Qin glanced at the food box on the ground and sneered, "She has committed a serious crime. Let alone starving her for a day, starving her for three days wouldn't be too much. By the way, you are Ningbi's maid, so you are very likely an accomplice. Seize her and lock her up with Ningbi."

Upon hearing the order, the maid guarding the gate immediately restrained Lingcao. Lingcao felt a chill run down her spine as she looked at the grinning Granny Qin in front of her, but instead of clarifying that she knew nothing, she said that Lengyi was just being ignorant and begged Granny Qin to be lenient.

"You are indeed very loyal... Ha, it's a pity that you don't get to be lenient with people."

-

Hearing the noise on the ground, Leng Yi suddenly opened her eyes, which had been closed.

When she saw Lingcao being pushed down, she couldn't help but call out "Lingcao!" and then she saw Granny Qin slowly walking down.

Granny Qin said to the maid behind her, "Tie up the bellflower."

Leng Yi immediately shouted, "What did Lingcao do to make you need to tie her up?"

Granny Qin looked at Leng Yi and said, "She is your maid, so naturally she is also suspected of poisoning Qingchun, the courtesan."

"She doesn't know anything, let her go!" Leng Yi shouted, leaning forward with all her might, but she was tied to the frame and could only watch helplessly as Ling Cao was tied up like her.

"Whether he knows or not is not up to you to decide; you'll have to ask the whip in my hand." Granny Qin's eyes flashed with a cold light, her tone filled with bloodthirsty excitement. She looked down at Leng Yi and picked up the barbed leather whip.

"Let your maid taste the whip for you first!"

Lingcao's clothes were ripped off forcefully. The next second, the sound of the whip striking flesh and a scream rang out at the same time. A long, bright red wound immediately spread from her shoulder to her chest. Because the whip had barbs, the flesh was rolled up and blood kept flowing down.

Leng Yi's eyes were suddenly stung. She could accept whatever consequences she might face, but she didn't want to implicate the people around her. It was she who had harmed them.

"Stop hitting her! She really doesn't know anything! I did everything!" Leng Yi shouted at Granny Qin.

"Oh, really?" Granny Qin lashed out again, feeling a great sense of satisfaction at Leng Yi's near-collapse, finding the bloodstains winding across her snow-white skin like red ink splashed on white paper.

She was pleased with her painting: "Don't be so dramatic, it hasn't even hit you yet, what's the rush?"

Leng Yi was filled with resentment: "I hope your whip dares to strike me."

"Even on the verge of death, you're still so stubborn." Granny Qin sneered. "Now that you're in my hands, I have a hundred ways to make you wish you were dead. But since you say so, I'll use a whip to serve you." With that, Granny Qin began to select a torture instrument. "This whip is stained with blood and is no longer worthy of the little courtesan Ningbi. I'll choose a new one, this one will do." She picked up a long, thin iron whip that resembled a snake's tail. Its scales gleamed with a silvery-black metallic luster. With a turn of the mechanism, the fine, dense scales opened up in unison, sharp as blades.

This whip, when it strikes the body, cuts away the skin and flesh, like the torture of being slowly sliced ​​to death.

Even though the whip looked terrifying, Leng Yi was no longer afraid.

Lingcao was nearly fainting from the pain of being whipped twice by Granny Qin and was completely unable to speak. After recovering, the first thing she said was to apologize to Granny Qin. She said weakly, "Granny Qin, Miss is still young... and doesn't know any better... It's my fault for not supervising Miss properly."

Leng Yi: "Lingcao, why... You don't need to apologize for me. I did all of this by myself. It has nothing to do with you!"

Leng Yi really couldn't understand why Ling Cao was so loyal to her. Even if she begged Qin Mama like this, she wouldn't let her go. Why did she have to endure those two lashes?

“Miss…” Lingcao looked weakly at Lengyi and said, “Hurry up and apologize to Granny Qin…make her forgive you…I don’t care…hit me instead…I’m just a worthless life anyway…”

"Bellflower..."

"What a deep bond between master and servant," Qin Mama mocked from the side.

“How can I compare to you?” Leng Yi immediately retorted with a sneer.

"Hmph, I hope your bones are as hard as your mouth in a moment." Granny Qin laughed angrily, then ordered the maid to turn Leng Yi over and take off her upper garment.

A chill ran down her spine. Leng Yi bit her lip tightly, determined not to make a sound, but in the instant the pain struck, she couldn't help but cry out in agony...