"What?" Nan Shiying asked.
Xiao Man said, "I heard there's a punishment where they remove the criminal's shoes and socks, then make them stand on a scorching hot iron plate. Once the skin on their soles blisters, they pierce the blisters with needles, apply filth, then a layer of ointment, and finally bandage them. The same is done to their palms. A few days later, when the bandages are changed, the cloth will directly tear off their festering skin. Then they repeat the process. Within half a month, they'll be covered in festering wounds and die."
Hmm, this torment was indeed more brutal than the previous one.
"Have you decided?"
Xiao Man nodded heavily, "I've decided!"
Nan Shiying hummed and turned to ask, "Did you hear that?"
When Xiao Man said, "I once heard Jia Huan mention a punishment," Jia Huan had already appeared at the corner of the corridor, thinking to himself, why would this unlucky child mention him when talking about punishments?
Jia Huan knew that the Consort had argued with His Highness because of Xiao Man. This child held an extraordinary position in the Princess Consort's heart. Who knew if the Consort would blame him for telling Xiao Man these things?
Hearing the Consort ask him, Jia Huan stepped out and hurriedly replied, "I heard!"
"Your subordinate will go and fetch the iron plate immediately!"
Nan Shiying hummed. Jia Huan, for some reason, felt that the Consort's gaze towards him was a bit off. He didn't dare to linger and flew towards the armory.
"Wail~ wail~~"
Liu Shi struggled like a madwoman, her whimpering cries like a dog whose tongue had been cut out.
"So noisy!"
Nan Shiying frowned. Xiao Man stood up, took out a dagger from her懷, thought for a moment, and put it back. The prison floor was covered with dry grass, some of which was stained with blood. Once the blood solidified, the dry grass became very tough. She compared them and picked a relatively tough stalk, then vigorously poked it into Liu Shi's instep.
Liu Shi screamed, her bulging eyes seeming about to pop out of their sockets.
Xiao Man displeasedly pulled out the dry grass, and poked the wound that the dry grass had just created again.
The dry grass was not smooth. Xiao Man had specifically chosen one with a slightly damaged texture, with fine thorns sticking out. This in-and-out motion, with the thorns hooked in blood and flesh, scraped the flesh within the wound until it was almost rotten.
Liu Shi had never endured such torment. Her whole body trembled like a sieve, fear and resentment intertwining within her. Just thinking that this was only the beginning, Liu Shi wished she could bite off her tongue and die.
The candlelight in the prison was dim. The surroundings were dark and damp. The flickering flames cast a faint, eerie light on Nan Shiying's face, distorting and elongating her silhouette.
Liu Shi's fear penetrated her bones, and her hatred also spilled out from her bleeding eyes. Nan Shiying stood up, walked to Liu Shi's side, and tore off the gag from her mouth.
Liu Shi pushed the cloth out of her mouth with her tongue. Now that she could speak, she didn't immediately bite her tongue to commit suicide. Instead, she let out shrewish curses and threats: "Nan Shiying, you little slut, I should have thrown you into a dog kennel after that bitch Qin died. Do you know? Your mother only entered the manor because she resembled me by seven parts. If it weren't for me, do you think your mother, a prostitute, could have caught the老爷's eye? What's hateful is that your mother, that bitch, was ungrateful and instead used her seductive charms to enchant the老爷, making him dote on her exclusively. She was simply asking for death!"
"Bitch!"
"You're as vile as your mother!"
"No!"
Xiao Man looked at the frenzied Liu Shi and calmly pulled out the dry grass again. It was different from what her grandmother had said; the truth wasn't like that.
"Ah~~"
The barbs of the dry grass hooked onto several strands of flesh. Liu Shi let out a bone-chilling scream.
"You bastard, you..."
"Miss, it's not like that!" Xiao Man's voice was childlike and not loud, but it directly drowned out Liu Shi's scolding. It wasn't because her voice was particularly piercing, but because she stood on tiptoe and pointed the bleeding dry grass towards Liu Shi's eyeballs. Liu Shi, startled, immediately shut her mouth.
Xiao Man turned back and looked at Nan Shiying seriously, saying, "Miss, after Madame passed away, Grandmother would often shed tears thinking of Madame. Only then, when Grandmother could no longer bear her inner pain, would she tell me about Madame."
"Grandmother said that Nan Chaoyin loved Madame, but Madame did not love him, so Nan Chaoyin brought Liu Shi, who closely resembled Madame, into the manor. Later, for some reason, Madame accepted Nan Chaoyin... Because Madame entered the manor after Liu Shi, in the eyes of outsiders, Madame gained Nan Chaoyin's favor because she resembled Liu Shi. In reality, it was the opposite; Liu Shi gained Nan Chaoyin's favor only because she looked like Madame."
"You're talking nonsense, you little whore, you damned little bastard, you actually say I was favored by the老爷 because I resembled that bitch Qin? It's utter nonsense, you..."
Xiao Man pushed the dry grass in a fraction further. Liu Shi, terrified, tightly shut her eyes. Nan Shiying pried Liu Shi's eyes open and said to Xiao Man, "Stab!"
Without any hesitation, Xiao Man directly thrust the dry grass into Liu Shi's eye.
The eyeball was pierced by the dry grass, and blood splattered diagonally. A heart-wrenching scream instantly swept through the entire prison.
Xiao Man's control of strength was excellent; she only pierced Liu Shi's eyeball and did not injure her brain. However, the pain still exceeded Liu Shi's tolerance threshold. Her vision went black, and just as she was about to faint, Liu Shi's thought was that it would be great if she could just pass out. But as the thought emerged, she somehow held on.
Nan Shiying took out a silver needle and inserted it into the acupoints on Liu Shi's body. While administering the needle, she also threw a restorative pill into Liu Shi's mouth. The medicine dissolved instantly upon contact with the mouth, and its effect was remarkable.
"You, you..."
Liu Shi's voice trembled, and her gaze towards Nan Shiying was filled with fear. At this moment, Nan Shiying appeared like a devil in her eyes.
She no longer hesitated and forcefully moved her tongue towards her root.
Nan Shiying clamped her jaw and smiled, "Do you think I would let you commit suicide?"
She looked at Liu Shi, the corner of her mouth curving upward, "Do you know why I tore off the gag from your mouth? Because I'm going to sew your mouth shut!"
As Nan Shiying spoke, she dislocated Liu Shi's jaw and used a needle to pick up the silk thread from Liu Shi's wide sleeve, threading it through the needle's eye.
She meticulously threaded the needle and, smiling, pushed the needle through Liu Shi's lips. Blood flowed down, dyeing the silk thread a magnificent crimson.
It hurt, a pain that pierced the heart.
But Liu Shi's mind was so clear that she couldn't faint.
However, was this torment enough? Nan Shiying wanted more than just physical pain; she wanted to destroy everything about her. Therefore, she said to her, "Liu Shi, do you know that Nan Chaoyin is responsible for your current predicament!"
Liu Shi's eyes widened. She couldn't speak, but she didn't believe it!
Nan Shiying patiently explained, "Speaking of which, that old bastard Nan Chaoyin is truly formidable. Do you know that after he learned that Nan Yuan'er was about to be crippled, he came up with a perfect plan."
"On the surface, he intended to threaten the Prince through me to get Feng Luan to treat Nan Yuan'er's wrist. But in reality, he was forcing Ji Hong. He actually didn't care at all whether Nan Yuan'er's wrist was crippled. What he cared about was whether Nan Yuan'er could become the Empress of Lin Yuan."
"Do you know what he did to make Nan Yuan'er the Empress of Lin Yuan? He instigated a war between the two countries. Once the war broke out, Nan Yuan'er could not go to Da Li for a political marriage. Combined with the previous incidents of 'women in power causing national ruin' and the sudden fire at Jingren Palace, it solidified Nan Yuan'er's destiny and her noble status, which could affect the fate of the nation."
"This way, even if Ji Hong didn't believe in destiny, he would still marry Nan Yuan'er as his empress. It's just that he didn't expect me to use the issue of the two countries going to war to secretly incite the people, causing Nan Yuan'er to become crippled. I bet Nan Chaoyin must have been very angry and furious the moment he learned that Nan Yuan'er would be crippled."
"Speaking of which, do you know why I say your fate is Nan Chaoyin's doing?"
"Because I understand!"
"Because Nan Chaoyin understands the Prince and Ji Hong. He knows full well that by threatening the Prince with me, although the Prince might temporarily compromise, he will immediately retaliate afterward. He also knows that as soon as the news of him using me to threaten the Prince reaches Ji Hong's ears, Ji Hong will definitely step in to control the Prince."
"And Ji Hong cannot go to war with the Prince at this time. Therefore, the only way to control the Prince is to issue an edict to marry Nan Yuan'er on an auspicious day."
"So, do you understand now?"
"Now, whether Nan Yuan'er is crippled or not, Ji Hong will marry her!"
"And you?"
"Are a sacrifice to appease the Prince's anger!"
"As soon as Nan Chaoyin decided to use this scheme, your fate was already sealed!"
"Don't you believe me?"
"Liu Shi, think about it seriously. Does Nan Chaoyin truly love you? Or rather, what are you to him!"
Jia Huan had already brought the iron plate and charcoal. Seeing that the Consort was enjoying herself, he didn't interrupt. Although Jia Huan had heard some rumors about what happened today, if the Consort hadn't mentioned it, he really wouldn't have realized that there were so many secrets hidden behind these events.
The Prince, the Consort, the Emperor, Nan Chaoyin.
Four people with a thousand schemes, one loop encircling another, one move countering another, with each having their own gains and losses in the end.
Nan Yuan'er was crippled, and Liu Shi ended up in this state. Nan Chaoyin didn't really win.
However, if you consider it a loss, that's not entirely true, as his objective was achieved. In that case, the unluckiest person in this situation would be the Emperor?
...
The unlucky Emperor was currently resting his chin on his hand, looking at Ji Jinmo, who had arrived through the secret passage.
Ever since their relationship was exposed in front of the Imperial Aunt, this fellow no longer bothered to hide. Before, he still knew to wear a black cloak to conceal himself, but now he was increasingly casual.
However, this was also due to their cleansing of the palace. The previous palace was like a sieve, but now it was much better.
"Imperial Uncle, have you figured anything out?"
Ji Hong asked. He had sacrificed quite a bit this time!
Ji Jinmo glanced at him and retorted, "Nan Chaoyin, without even hesitating to sacrifice Liu Shi, sent Nan Yuan'er into the palace. What do you think it's for?"
Ji Hong gritted his teeth, "What else could it be for? The imperial throne beneath my butt!"
Nan Chaoyin already harbored rebellious intentions and possessed an extraordinary desire for the Lin Yuan throne. If not for this, he would never have gone to such lengths to have Nan Yuan'er enter the palace as empress.
"Once Nan Yuan'er enters the palace, control her!"
Since Nan Chaoyin's intentions were already known, everything would be much easier.
Nan Chaoyin thought he controlled everything, carrying out all his plans without anyone noticing. Yet, he didn't know that he had revealed his true colors from the very beginning. All his schemes were based on the premise of Ji Jinmo and Ji Hong's struggle for the throne, unaware that these two were like interlocking hooks.
Moreover, there was also Nan Shiying, the wild card!
Enemies who had revealed themselves were no longer a major threat. Ji Hong's current concern was actually the border situation. He fiddled with the corner of his robe and asked Ji Jinmo, "Is sending Qin Qiancheng to support the border truly the best choice?"