Chapter 210
Dowager Consort Qu invited Qu Mansion’s four ladies into the palace, but the only concubine-born daughter climbed into Lord Jing’s bed. It was said to be a misunderstanding. She said that she felt dizzy and went into Lord Jing’s room to sleep. Lord Jing was also a little uncomfortable at that time and did not find out.
When someone found out, the two had been in bed together for a long time.
This news spread silently throughout the palace. Before night came, the entire palace already knew about it.
No one in the palace believed such a statement.
There were many palace maids who wanted to climb into the bed of Lord Jing. If it was so easy to get close to Lord Jing, why didn’t anyone climb into Lord Jing’s bed before this incident? Needless to say, it must have been deliberately done by this Second Lady Qu.
The irrelevant people took it as a joke. Previously, they only heard that Lord Jing had taken a fancy to Third Lady Qu. Now, her elder sister had climbed into Lord Jing’s bed first. This was really something shameful. Perhaps she took advantage of her younger sister to climb into the bed.
The Empress had been unlucky with everything these days, and she was very annoyed. However, because of this news, she was so happy that her appetite had grown larger.
Some people were happy while others were worried. The atmosphere in Noble Consort He’s palace was very tense. The palace maids and eunuchs who walked in and out were very careful. They were afraid that they would disturb their Master. The Noble Consort was furious. If not for that it was late at night, she would have definitely summoned Lord Jing to ask questions.
This kind of thing really did not seem like something that Lord Jing would do. It must be that Lord Jing had fallen into the trap of Qu Mansion’s Third Lady.
It seemed that this woman had her own means and was willing to go all out.
The palace seemed calm on the surface, but it was secretly stirred because of this matter. No matter how small the matter of the royal family was, it was still a big matter. Moreover, Lord Jing was even more favored than the Crown Prince in the past.
Outside the palace, in Lord Jing Mansion, Lord Jing hurried out. After a few steps, a young eunuch hurriedly caught up from behind. “Your Highness, Third Lady Qu requests to see you.”
“No.” Pei Yusheng said coldly, his feet not stopping.
“This… This is a letter from Third Lady Qu.” The young eunuch chased after him a few more steps, holding a letter in his hand.
This time, Pei Yusheng did not even speak. With a cold snort, he went straight out.
The young eunuch did not dare to chase after him. He stood in place and sighed helplessly. He turned around and went to the back door of Lord Jing Mansion.
Outside the back door, there was a small carriage. Qu Qiuyan was anxiously waiting there. A maid stood outside the carriage and was looking at the back door of Lord Jing Mansion. When she saw someone coming, she hurriedly went forward.
“How is it?”
“His Highness said no.” The young eunuch pushed the letter in his hand to the maid. “He won’t accept this letter. Please ask your Third Lady to go back first.”
“What… What…” Qing Ju trembled, and for a moment, she could only turn her head to look at Qu Qiuyan, who was lifting the curtain to look outside.
“Did His Highness… go out?” Qu Qiuyan gritted her teeth. Although she guessed that it might be the case, she was still very sad and wronged. This matter really had nothing to do with her. She also did not expect that things would become like this. It couldn’t be that she was willing to be in such a situation now, right?
“Yes, His Highness has gone out. Third Lady, please go back!” The young eunuch’s words were polite. In the past, Lord Jing had always been good to this Third Lady Qu. If there was anything good, he would send them to Qu Mansion. The young eunuch really did not dare to offend Third Lady Qu.
If not for Lord Jing’s attitude before, he would not have cared about Third Lady Qu now.
Qu Qiuyan looked at the dark and gloomy back door. She knew that even if she rushed to the front at this time, she could not do anything. At this time, it was better to go back first and discuss it later. She did not believe that Lord Jing would be so heartless and was really angry with her just because of the matter with Qu Caiyue. It seemed that Granny Qing was right. This was not the best time to see him.
“Back to the mansion!” She dropped the curtain and said in a low voice. Her eyes shone with hatred for Qu Caiyue and Qu Moying in the dark. No matter what happened in the end, she would not let them go.
Qing Ju hurriedly went into the carriage. The carriage turned around and left the back door of Lord Jing Mansion. Then, it slowly entered the big street and headed to Qu Mansion.
Pei Yusheng did have the intention to vent his anger on Qu Qiuyan, but now was not the time to discuss this matter. He was going to West Prison now.
He boarded the carriage at the door. Soon, the carriage left the mansion and went straight to West Prison.
At the entrance of West Prison in the dark, there were gusts of cold wind. In front of the spacious venue, no one could be seen. What was seen were only the wind lanterns in front of the Yamen. A few guards guarding the door had a fierce and gloomy look on their faces that creeped people out.
Not to mention at night, even in broad daylight, it was rare to see a few living people here.
Pei Yusheng hurriedly got off the carriage, and the guards guarding the door came forward to salute him.
“Is Uncle Yun here?” Pei Yusheng asked.
“He has just arrived. He is inside waiting for you,” the guard replied.
Pei Yusheng nodded. He wrapped himself in a large cloak and entered West Prison’s eerie entrance. There was another name among the people for this door—Gate of Hell.
They said that whoever entered this place was like they had entered the gate of hell. They came in vertically and were carried out horizontally. There was no way for them to survive. There were very few people who could come out of here alive.
As soon as Lord Jing entered West Prison’s door, a mournful scream came from afar. It seeped into one’s heart and made one feel apprehensive. It was so eerie that it made one feel like there were many ghosts in front. The surrounding was filled with a ghostly aura.
This kind of sound did not seem like it could be made by a human.
Pei Yusheng stopped his feet. After stabilizing his mind, he stepped forward and walked in. There was no trace of fear on his face, but he did not move as smoothly as he did before, and his hands under his sleeves were clenched.
Following the guard who led the way, he arrived at a large torture chamber. Rows of torture instruments were stained with blood, and there was a person still hanging there. All the flesh on his body was broken. The painful struggle he was making made one feel horrified. This was just like the underworld. How could there be such a scene, such a place in the world?
“Where is Uncle Yun?” Pei Yusheng stopped and did not go further. He glanced around and saw that there was no sign of Pei Yuanjun inside.
“Lord Yun just went out. Lord Jing, please follow me.” A guard appeared out of nowhere and said to Pei Yusheng with a smile. At this time, such a scene and such a smile made it seem like it was the netherworld, and it caused a chill for no reason.
“Didn’t the guard say that Uncle Yun was here just now?” Pei Yusheng said unhappily.
“Lord Yun was indeed there just now, but the skin peeled was not what he wanted. So he specially ordered to pick another person.” The guard smiled more and more happily.
The smell of blood in the air seemed to be thicker than before.
Pei Yusheng pursed his lips and stopped asking questions. He strode out. The guard trotted forward and pointed to the road. This time, they headed to the hall in the middle.
The hall was brightly lit. Behind the spacious desk, Pei Yuanjun was leaning against it. He was dressed in a dark purple royal robe and had a purple crown on his head. He looked extremely lazy. He was leisurely leaning there with his elbows on the chair railing. His handsome eyes were slightly closed, and he seemed to be catching a rest.
There were a few guards standing behind him. Each of them had sharp eyes. With one look, one could tell that they were not ordinary people. Just this baleful aura alone could make people ignore their appearances.
“Uncle Yun.” Pei Yusheng composed himself and took two steps forward to greet and bow to Pei Yuanjun.
“Why did you come so late?” Pei Yuanjun opened his eyes and said lazily. His thin lips curved up with a bit of satisfaction. Under the light, he looked charming and evil.
“I came here right after receiving your message. I didn’t expect to come later than you,” Pei Yusheng said seriously.
“I heard you messed around with a woman today?” Pei Yuanjun raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile.
Pei Yusheng’s face turned red. It really didn’t matter if there was one more woman. What was important was that others would think that a woman had plotted against him and even succeeded. No matter how others looked at him, they would definitely think that he was useless and was actually tricked by a concubine-born daughter.
But he could not say that this matter was related to Pei Qingmin.
“Brotherhood” was much more important than a woman.
“Uncle Yun, it was just an accident.” Pei Yusheng gritted his teeth and explained with a serious face.
“Oh, so it was an accident. I thought that you really took a fancy to the daughter of a concubine,” Pei Yuanjun said disapprovingly. Then, he sat upright elegantly, and a hint of a smile appeared on his delicate eyebrows. “Vice Minister Qu sure knows how to curry favor with people. He sends all his daughters out one by one like he’s fishing, and any fish will do.”
“Uncle Yun!” Pei Yusheng looked up at Pei Yuanjun, only to see that his handsome face was dark and gloomy. The royal robe on him gave him an indescribable air of nobility, but it also made one tremble in their heart. Now that he was sitting upright, Pei Yusheng saw a blood-stained book on the table in front of him.
The corners of his eyes suddenly twitched, and his eyes were nervous.
“We caught him, but he didn’t say anything. If I really can’t get any answers from him, I’ll make him never speak again. As for this book, you can just take it back and give it to His Majesty,” Pei Yujun said lazily. He waved his wide sleeve, and a bright patch of blood could be seen on his sleeve. It seemed to add a bloodthirsty and gloomy aura to him.
“He’s caught?” Pei Yusheng tried hard to not look at Pei Yuanjun’s bloody sleeve.
“I don’t know if it’s true or not. Let His Majesty judge for himself!” Pei Yuanjun stood up, and the corners of his lips curled up. His smile was a bit elegant, but it did not match the environment. He said lazily, “I am tired, so I will go back first. Lord Jing, deal with the matters here. Tidy up the torture room over. I still have to use it tomorrow. Or the criminals who come in tomorrow will faint right away from fear!”
Pei Yuanjun narrowed his eyes, flicked his sleeves, and walked out. His wide sleeves patted Pei Yusheng when he walked past. Immediately, there was a clear blood mark on Pei Yusheng’s sleeves. The smell of blood filled his nose. “I have taken a fancy to Fourth Lady Qu. And you have taken a fancy to the other two, who are also from Qu Mansion. It seems that you want to be closer to me.”
Qu Moying was the only woman Pei Yuanjun had promised to take in. Even the Emperor knew that. If she married into Lord Yun Mansion, she would at least get a status as a Side Princess. Moreover, she was Vice Minister’s Mansion’s wife-born daughter, so she and Qu Qiuyan were considered sisters.