The little sparrow had no idea what the woman, who looked small but had a chilling smile, would do to her; she just whimpered. The woman who had been carrying the package was also snatched away.

Lingxiu opened the bundle and found a large silver note inside. She quickly presented it to the Fujin and said, "My lady, she's holding such a large silver note. Did she steal it? Otherwise, who would give her so much money?"

The Princess Consort glanced at the stack of silver notes, picked one out, examined it, and finding nothing amiss, released it, letting it fall to her feet. She glared at Que'er as if she were a swarm of ants, saying, "Cui Nong, the courtesan, is dishonest; she stole money from the household and deserves punishment. Lingxiu, let me see how you get her to confess."

Que'er writhed, but her body was already tightly bound with a rope that Chunliu had found, and she lay on the ground like a large dumpling. Her once charming face was now deathly pale. She remembered Lanqin's words, but it was too late for regrets.

"Sister Chunliu, could you please find some honey?" Lingxiu said to Chunliu, her expression changing to that of a naive young girl.

"What do you need the honey for?" Chunliu asked疑惑地, though she was actually unhappy about being bossed around by a newly promoted maid. The Fujin seemed quite satisfied with this flower-watering maid, which made Chunliu and the other maids who had come with her dowry very dissatisfied, but they dared not show it.

"You'll know when you go get it, sister." Lingxiu smiled and insisted that Chunliu go get it, but she herself didn't move.

"Chunliu, go and get it for her." The Fujin knew Chunliu's thoughts all too well, but these old men who had served her for ten years were not as satisfying as a little flower-watering maid.

Seeing that the Fujin had spoken, Chunliu had no choice but to curtsy and then immediately went to get the honey.

"What do you want to do with the honey?" the princess asked curiously, a question that the sparrow lying on the ground also wanted to know.

"Don't worry, Madam, I'll let you know in a moment." Lingxiu said, then squatted down and said to Que'er, who was on the ground with a look of fear on her face, "Sister, don't blame me for being heartless. If you have to blame someone, blame yourself for being just a servant girl who dared to negotiate with Madam."

The princess's lips curled into an almost imperceptible smile as she awaited the princess's next move.

Looking at the mistress and servant, Que'er felt extremely regretful. She hadn't expected the Fujin to turn on her like this, not even afraid that someone would report her for instructing Wang Shi to frame Consort Li. This was something she hadn't anticipated.

Chunliu walked in carrying a jar of honey with a frosty expression. Lingxiu got up, took the jar of honey, and said, "Please close the door, sister. I'm afraid her shouting will disturb the people outside."

Chunliu glared angrily at Lingxiu, then reluctantly turned around and closed the door.

Lingxiu, holding the jar of honey, walked over to Que'er again, squatted down, and said to her, "You know this is honey, right? Do you know what things like honey the most?"

The Fujin looked at Lingxiu with great interest, already understanding what she was about to do. The fact that she could devise such a vicious and cunning method of tormenting someone showed just how cruel and ruthless she was.

Que'er stared at Lingxiu with wide, terrified eyes, but she knew that if she mentioned Wu Shi, she would probably be thrown into the well by the Fujin immediately.

“Since you won’t tell me, let’s try the honey first.” With that, Lingxiu moved the honey jar to Que’er’s neck, then tilted the jar, and some honey flowed into Que’er’s neck.

Que'er struggled desperately, but she couldn't escape the fear that was gradually seeping into her bones. Although she didn't know what Lingxiu wanted to do, it was definitely not a good thing.

"Sister, I'm going to take off your shoes and socks!" Lingxiu put down the honey jar, reached out and pulled off Que'er's shoes and socks, and then poured some honey onto the soles of her feet.

Chunliu and Granny Li, who were standing to the side, both frowned. They already knew Lingxiu's method.

"Oh dear, there are so many ants!!"

All that could be heard was Chunliu's shout, and then some ants, like black threads, began to crawl towards Que'er's feet. Que'er couldn't see them, but upon hearing Chunliu shout "ants," she felt as if she had fallen into the dead of winter and started shivering uncontrollably.

"Do you want ants to bite her?" The princess glanced at Chunliu with displeasure, then said to Lingxiu.

“Exactly. Ant bites don’t hurt, but what if there are thousands upon thousands? They gnaw at your flesh like maggots covering your body. That feeling is probably comparable to being branded with hot irons or skinned alive.” Lingxiu chuckled, deliberately referring to the last part of her words to Que’er, who was lying on the ground trembling like a sieve.

At this moment, the first wave of ants had already crawled onto Lingxiu's feet, and only black dots could be seen crawling wave after wave up the instep and sole of her feet.

Chunliu felt a little nauseous at the sight, but out of fear of the Fujin, she forced herself to hold back, though she turned her head away, unable to bear watching any longer.

Sparrow felt a strange itch on her feet, followed by waves of pain. She twisted and turned, kicking and struggling, but the ropes bound her legs so tightly she couldn't move.

The ants kept fluttering towards the sparrow, which was quite creepy to watch. Chunliu turned her back almost completely, and even Granny Li felt uneasy watching her.

The Fujin, however, remained calm and composed. Seeing swarms of ants crawling all over Que'er's body, she smiled coldly and said, "Que'er, if you're willing to talk, I won't mind giving you a quick death. Why suffer this torture of having your heart devoured by thousands of ants?"

Indeed, once Que'er reveals Wu Shi's name, the Fujin (principal wife) will definitely not spare her life, since only the dead cannot speak.

Although the pain and fear had driven Que'er to the brink of collapse, her survival instinct made her grit her teeth and refuse to nod.

At this moment, the ants all around smelled the fragrance of honey and came from all directions. Some ants had already crawled into her neck, and some even started crawling towards Que'er's face.

Even at her age, Granny Li had never seen such a torturous method; her clever mind was truly chilling.

Que'er twisted her body and began to roll left and right. She knew that she was doomed at this moment, and she even began to hope that Lanqin would come and rescue her with Fourth Master.

Fortunately, it seemed that even Heaven couldn't bear to see such a beautiful woman suffer such torture, for indeed, a series of greetings could be heard from outside.

The princess glanced sideways, as if she heard the voice of "Greetings to the master," and immediately said to Lingxiu, "Hide her away, so that no one can find out."

Then, the Fujin (principal wife) took Chunliu's hand and walked out.