"The Empress Dowager believes Consort Leng is innocent! This is because women in Tianwu Kingdom are almost all marked with the Gu Ling Sand from birth. As long as they are virgins, the Gu Ling Sand on their arms will not disappear. Empress, you should be aware of this matter." the Empress Dowager explained.
"Yes, this concubine knows." the Empress replied with an awkward expression.
"Then no one is to mention this matter again." The Empress Dowager's turbid eyes fixed sharply on the Empress.
"Yes, this concubine obeys!"
The Empress responded respectfully, but her heart was filled with rage. She clenched her fists within her sleeves, her slender fingernails digging deep into her palms until she bled, yet she felt no pain.
Hmph! That little slut, Leng Ruo Li, had escaped again.
"Your Majesty, Mother Empress, this concubine has urgent matters to attend to in my palace. This concubine will take her leave first." the Empress said, bowing.
The Emperor waved his hand at her, and the Empress turned and left.
After the Empress departed, the Empress Dowager's hall fell silent, the atmosphere becoming rather strange.
At this moment, Leng Ruo Li, to ease the tension in the hall, said with a smile, "Father Emperor, your daughter-in-law forgot to bring you a gift last time. I have brought it to the palace today."
The Emperor's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he said excitedly, "Quick, quick, show it to me!"
Seeing the Emperor's eagerness, he couldn't wait to see the gift Leng Ruo Li had brought him.
Leng Ruo Li quickly took a beautiful small box from her wide sleeves and handed it to the Emperor.
The Emperor looked at the exquisite and beautiful small box and asked curiously, "Girl, what is in this box?"
"Your Majesty, please open it and see."
Leng Ruo Li smiled mysteriously.
The Emperor hurriedly opened it. The Empress Dowager and Jun Mohan also leaned in, equally curious.
When the Emperor opened it, he was stunned to see a finely crafted, smooth iron rod inside, and he was somewhat disappointed.
"Girl, what is this thing?"
The Emperor asked, confused.
Even the Empress Dowager and Jun Mohan looked at her.
"Father Emperor, this is a steel pen. Its function is similar to a brush, but it is much easier to use," Leng Ruo Li explained to the Emperor.
"Really?" the Emperor asked with a smile.
"Of course! I can demonstrate it for you," Leng Ruo Li nodded and said.
After speaking, she took out a bottle of ink and several sheets of A4 paper from her sleeve. Under their watchful eyes, she inked the steel pen and wrote a few large characters on the white paper. She then let the Emperor try writing a few characters. At first, the Emperor was unaccustomed to it, and the characters he wrote were not good, looking crooked and messy. Later, as he got used to it, the Emperor exclaimed how useful it was. Even Jun Mohan wanted to try writing with the steel pen, but the Emperor was reluctant to let him.
"Girl, this steel pen is truly perfect for me. I have to spend all day correcting memorials with a brush, and my hand gets tired every day. With this steel pen from now on, my hand will definitely be much more relaxed. I am absolutely delighted with this gift of yours." The Emperor laughed heartily.
"Li'er, I want a gift from you too," Jun Mohan pouted.
Leng Ruo Li: "..."
"We'll talk about your gift when we get back!"
Leng Ruo Li no longer wanted to deal with him; the man had been too heartless just now.
——
In the beggar's den south of the city, Liu Ruyi woke up from her unconsciousness and slowly opened her eyes. She found that the beggars from last night were no longer by her side.
Liu Ruyi felt pain all over her body, especially her private parts, which were burning. It felt like a hot current was flowing, and her body was covered in men's filth.
After this, her body was so dirty that she felt disgusted with herself.
Liu Ruyi struggled to get up, picked up her torn clothes, and put them on. She never expected that last night she had gone through the same ordeal that had happened to her over a decade ago. At this moment, she had no more tears to shed.
She crawled out of the beggar's den step by step and reached the entrance of an alley. She was utterly exhausted, and blood was still dripping from her legs. Her hatred for Leng Jinyu and his daughter deepened. Thinking of what they had done to her, she now wished to flay their skin, pull out their tendons, drink their blood, and then scatter their ashes to the wind.
"Hahaha..."
Liu Ruyi hated that father and daughter to the bone.
Suddenly, a dark figure appeared before Liu Ruyi. Just as she was about to look up to see who it was, her vision went black, and she fainted.
When she woke up again, she found herself lying in a bed, her clothes changed to clean ones, and the pain in her wounds had lessened. Her private parts felt cool, as if medicine had been applied.
The sun outside was setting, painting the sky with a few clouds.
Liu Ruyi slowly sat up, got out of bed, and walked out of the house.
Outside, a man in a black robe, with dishevelled hair, sat with his back to her, drinking tea. Liu Ruyi recognized the man at a glance.
"Heipao, when did you come down the mountain?" Liu Ruyi asked curiously.
"I have been in the capital for some time. What, did your daughter not tell you?"
Heipao narrowed his small eyes, turned to look at Liu Ruyi, and smiled charmingly.
"My Shuang'er knows you came to the capital? Then why didn't she tell me?" Liu Ruyi retorted disbelievingly.
Her Shuang'er knew this Heipao. When Shuang'er was young, Heipao had visited the Leng General's mansion several times, and Shuang'er had seen him.
"You ask me, how would I know? She even asked me to do a thankless task for her, to throw a woman into the lake. It seemed like she was trying to provoke the relationship between the Leng General's mansion, the Xia Grand Tutor's mansion, and the Jingyuan Marquis. It was for the Empress's sake that I agreed to do such a trivial thing that women do. As a result, I was severely injured. I had to use a lot of virgin's blood to gradually recover my powers," Heipao said lazily.
"When did this happen?" Liu Ruyi asked again.
"On Grand Tutor Xia's sixtieth birthday," Heipao said faintly.
"Why would Shuang'er use such a foolish method?" Liu Ruyi frowned and said.
"It's all thanks to your teachings!" Heipao mocked.
"You..."
Liu Ruyi was so angry that she couldn't speak.
"You should focus on recuperating from your injuries. Don't think too much about other things. This thatched hut is mine, and you can live here long-term."
With that, Heipao used his qinggong to leave.