Bloody Kyoto

Prince's Mansion

A man of about eighteen or nineteen years old, with gentle features and an air of nobility, strode from the outer courtyard to the inner courtyard wearing a four-clawed python robe.

He is none other than the current Crown Prince Zhu Siqing.

As he walked, he turned to his followers and asked, "How badly are her injuries?"

"Your Highness, although Miss Cui Cui's injuries are still very serious, she has regained consciousness."

The eunuch who followed hurriedly replied respectfully.

"I'll go take a look."

Soon, Zhu Siqing was led into a room by a palace attendant.

You can see the person lying on the bed at a glance.

The person on the bed also heard the noise from the doorway. She turned her head and saw that it was His Highness the Crown Prince. She sat up hurriedly.

Zhu Siqing gestured for her to stand two meters away from the bed, indicating that she didn't need to be so polite.

“Miss Cui Cui, the Fu family said that the Third Madam died of a terrible illness, but she clearly had the ability to cure people instantly, so how could she have contracted a terrible illness?”

"Furthermore, there are rumors circulating at the Fu residence that Fu San is going to marry Zheng Jiaojiao. What's going on?"

That's right, the person lying on the bed is Wu Cuicui, who is wanted by the police.

Upon hearing the words "Third Madam," her eyes instantly reddened, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"Your Highness, our lady has been murdered."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Siqing's expression changed drastically. "How could this be! She's not..."

He was thinking, "She not only has healing abilities, but also incredible strength, so how could she have been killed?"

"A bunch of ungrateful beasts, beasts!" Wu Cuicui roared angrily.

Suppressing his grief and indignation, Zhu Siqing took two steps forward and said, "Tell me in detail what exactly happened."

He was poisoned from a young age and was physically weak. Although he held the position of Crown Prince, he did not have his father's favor. The position of Crown Prince was merely a favor bestowed upon him by his father because he knew he was about to die.

The Emperor's true favorite was his second elder brother, Prince Cheng.

The poison in his body was naturally the work of his father, the emperor, who administered it while his mother was pregnant with him.

Therefore, his poison was also fetal poison.

He was poisoned and lived in pain every day. It was only thanks to his maternal grandfather, the General Zhenguo, and his uncles that he was able to grow to such a size.

But no matter how good the medicinal herbs were, they couldn't cure the poison; they could only keep him alive.

Until half a year ago, the third wife came to his door in the middle of the night, saying that she could help him detoxify.

He was half-believing and half-doubting, but he agreed to let her help him detoxify. In the end, the poison that had tormented him for more than ten years was easily cured.

The third wife was his savior, and he hadn't even had a chance to repay her kindness before she passed away. He just couldn't get over it.

Wu Cuicui composed herself and stopped crying. Instead of answering his question, she asked another one.

“Your Highness, when your subordinate rescued me that day, I was still conscious. I remember asking him for something before I lost consciousness…”

"Is it about intercepting Chen Shifeng on his way to Tianxi City?"

"Yes, that's the matter."

Zhu Siqing frowned. "Miss Cui Cui, to be honest, I entrusted this matter to my eldest uncle, but three days ago he told me that none of the forty-odd people he sent had returned."

Wu Cuicui's face immediately showed a lot of guilt, and at the same time she was worried about Miss Lele.

That day, she overheard Zheng Jiaojiao telling Chen Shifeng to go to Tianxi City to kill Miss Lele.

In his haste to make a commotion, he exposed himself and was seriously injured when he escaped.

Fortunately, she was rescued by the people from the Crown Prince's residence. My first thought was to find someone to rescue Miss Lele.

Now that she hears that all thirty-odd people who were trying to stop them are gone, she feels really guilty.

"I'm sorry!" she said hurriedly, getting out of bed to hurry and save Miss Lele.

Zhu Siqing panicked when he saw this and gestured to stop her, saying, "Miss Cui Cui, your injuries haven't healed yet, you can't get out of bed."

"No, we have to go save Miss Lele."

"Miss Lele? Who is she!"

Wu Cuicui aggravated her wound, letting out a hiss, and hurriedly grabbed the Crown Prince's hand, "Your Highness, Miss Lele is our Madam's younger sister."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Siqing immediately took it seriously. "Cui Cui, you should tell me what happened to Madam Fu first! I can make arrangements after I know everything."

Wu Cuicui immediately calmed down. If there was anyone who could avenge her master now, it was only the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness, do you still remember how my wife came to the Crown Prince's residence?"

Zhu Siqing's face softened slightly. "I remember, the Third Madam sneaked in dressed in black, just to treat my illness."

"Do you still remember the conditions our lady made after she cured you?"

"Of course I remember. The Third Madam said she hoped that the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and I could be her support."

Tears welled up in Wu Cuicui's eyes again. She choked back sobs as she cried, "The Madam sensed the danger, which is why she came to you and the Zhenguo Mansion for support."

She had made many preparations to deal with the impending danger, but who could have imagined that the opponent would move so fast?

It happened so fast she didn't even have time to react before she was outmaneuvered.

"After I cured you that day and returned to the manor, the madam was poisoned. She shouldn't have drunk the tonic soup that was sent from another courtyard."

But thinking she needed to lull the other party into a false sense of security, she drank it. The lady believed that with her abilities, no one would intentionally poison her.

Even if she administers it, it won't help; she can cure any poison.

"But, but, no one expected that the poison would actually suppress her abilities."

"After that, the lady was imprisoned, and every day she was given three bowls of blood and forced to drink tonic soup."

"Besides me, all the other maids and servants who followed the lady were also taken into custody."

"Although I wasn't arrested, I couldn't leave the Fu residence either. I could only hide in a hole dug under the bed of an old woman who had once received favors from the madam."

"I was thinking of finding a chance to rescue the lady."

"At the time, I wasn't too anxious. I thought they only wanted the lady's blood, not her life."

At this point, she burst into tears again, "I was wrong, I was wrong, I shouldn't have had those thoughts."

"They are a bunch of beasts. After bleeding them dry, they actually... actually..."

Zhu Siqing knew that something extremely bad must have happened next. His lips trembled as he asked, "What exactly happened next?"

Wu Cuicui thought of what she had heard that day, and cried while pounding her chest as if she couldn't breathe.

Zhu Siqing didn't urge her, and just looked at her.

Only after Wu Cuicui coughed up blood from excessive grief did she calm down.

She said she was calm, but tears were still flowing silently.

"They cut off pieces of flesh from the lady's body and cooked and ate them."

"vomit!"

Zhu Siqing immediately vomited. The head steward who was guarding outside the door pushed the door open and quickly poured a glass of water for his master.

He naturally heard what Wu Cuicui said in the room. Thinking of the woman who had rescued his master from more than ten years of torment, tears welled up in his eyes.

It's so miserable!

After Zhu Siqing recovered, he asked in a cold voice, "Who is it? Who exactly are these people you're talking about!"

Wu Cuicui wanted revenge, so she naturally didn't hide anything and told everyone she knew about them.

Zhu Siqing and the eunuch were stunned when they heard so many familiar names.

Seeing his expression, Wu Cuicui gave a bitter laugh, "Does Your Highness feel that there is no hope of revenge?"

Zhu Siqing snapped back to his senses. It wasn't that he felt there was no hope of revenge, but rather that he was shocked to find that the people he knew were such beasts.

Many of the people there were related to him by blood.

Thinking of his poison and the torment he had endured for so many years, he felt utterly heartbroken. They still didn't know that he had been cured.

Even after obtaining so much of the Third Madam's blood, she didn't even think of giving herself a bowl. How much did she want to die?

As he thought about it, his expression hardened; he was determined to get that position.

“Miss Cui Cui, the Third Madam has done me a great favor, and I will avenge this wrong, but whether I can succeed is uncertain.”

If he succeeds in seizing that position, he can naturally avenge the Third Madam; if he fails, he will die, and he will not be able to avenge her.

Wu Cuicui was naturally aware of the Crown Prince's situation and could understand it. "This servant thanks the Crown Prince in advance."

"You just said they were going to silence the Third Madam's sister. I'll send someone to find her right away."

Zhu Siqing turned around and instructed, "Fuhai, go and tell your uncle to send someone to Tianxi City to look for Miss Huo Lele."

"Yes." The chief steward withdrew.

*

At dusk, in a dilapidated temple, an old beggar led a group of young beggars around a broken pot, in which a pile of pig offal was being cooked.

"Just wait a little longer and you'll be able to eat," the old beggar said to the youngest child, his dirty face full of kindness.

"Grandpa, I'm not in a hurry." The thin child craned his neck, his eyes fixed on the pot, a suspicious drop of something falling from the corner of his mouth.

The other, older beggars, seeing this, started teasing him, "Xiao Yun, why are you drooling if you're not in a hurry?"

"Brother is talking nonsense, Xiaoyun didn't drool."

The old beggar laughed and hugged the little beggar, "Yes, brother is talking nonsense, our little Yun didn't drool."

"Yes, my brother's eyesight isn't good, so Grandpa's is much better."

The little guy was so cute that he made everyone burst into laughter.

After a while, the old beggar stirred the food in the pot and said, "Alright, it's ready..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw a shadow appear at the entrance of the dilapidated temple. He immediately became alert and handed the smallest beggar over to the larger one.

He stood up and was about to walk to the door to check when he saw a person completely wrapped in a black robe enter.

He immediately stepped back, shielding all the beggars behind him. In his eyes, the person covered in black robes could not possibly be a good person.

"Sir, is there something you need?" he asked in a trembling voice.

"Old man, don't be afraid. I mean no harm. I just want to ask about some things."

The black-robed man's voice was a woman's voice, and it sounded quite gentle, which immediately lessened the old beggar's fear by half.

"Please feel free to ask me anything, young lady."

The old beggar waved to the young beggars, who immediately retreated to a corner.

He wiped the chair with his blackened sleeve, which had a missing leg, and said, "Please sit down, young lady."

"No need, I'll just ask a few simple questions, it won't delay your meal."

She said this in order to further reduce their fear.

She didn't want to frighten a group of unfortunate people.

Hearing this, the old beggar was completely relieved. "Please ask, young lady. We will tell you everything we know."

"Old man, you often beg in the capital, do you know a man named Gu Yanji?"

"Lord Gu? I know her, and I know her wife too."

Before the old beggar could answer, a young beggar of about thirteen years old spoke first.

The woman in black, Li Nanle, was immediately overjoyed and hurriedly asked, "Where are they staying now?"

She had just gone to the address Yunxia had written in her letter, but it was an empty house, with no one living there at all.

"The residence of Grand Tutor Fu in Zhuque Lane."

Li Nanle frowned slightly. How could she be staying at someone else's house?

"They don't have their own homes?"

"Young lady, that Lord Gu has changed his name to Fu Yanji." These words were spoken by the old beggar.

Why the name change?

"Because that Lord Gu is the long-lost son of Grand Tutor Fu."

When did they recognize each other?

"Just two years ago."

Li Nanle was puzzled. Two years ago, Yunxia had written to him, but why had she never mentioned this matter?

Unable to figure it out, she put the question aside for the time being and continued, "Then do you know anything about his wife?"

Upon hearing this question, the old beggar and the young beggar immediately looked dejected, and upon closer inspection, their eyes were filled with sorrow.

Li Nanle's heart skipped a beat; Yunxia was probably in trouble.

"Don't you know?" A sliver of hope remained in her heart, a desire to hear good news.

The old beggar sighed, "Young lady, please come with me."

After saying that, he gave the little beggars a few more instructions, "You eat first, Grandpa will be back soon."

Once outside, the old beggar stared at Li Nanle, trying to make out her face, but he couldn't see anything.

"Young lady, could you tell this old beggar about your relationship with that Madam Gu?"

Li Nanle wanted to get the news as soon as possible, so he said, "Family."

The old beggar sighed again, "That Madam Gu died half a month ago."