Crime not punishable by death

Su Manyan was woken up early in the morning. There was a commotion in the yard next door, and a mournful female voice could be heard, sounding very sad and miserable.

Just as he was about to go on his errand, Su Manyan peeked in to see what was happening. He saw a woman slumped in the courtyard, an open bundle at her feet. She looked grief-stricken, almost mad, and vicious curses streamed from her mouth.

"Why! Why did that eunuch win His Highness's favor? I've been working in the palace for three years, how am I inferior to him? You sycophants are chasing me away without any reason!"

It’s Yicui.

Her eyes were bloodshot and her voice was hoarse.

"His Highness has long ago admonished us to observe our duties and live peacefully. What filthy thoughts are you harboring? Do you need others to point them out?" Yun Que frowned, his tone filled with impatience. "His Highness has spared your life, a great favor. If it were any other master, with your behavior, the grass on his grave would be three feet high! Why don't you get out of here right now? Do you have to wait for His Highness to personally decide your fate?"

After saying this, he signaled the servant beside him to start dragging him away forcefully.

Yi Cui struggled mightily, but the strength was too great. When her fingertips touched the icy threshold, she suddenly felt as if her bones and muscles had been pulled out. Her voice trembled uncontrollably, and the last syllable was filled with tears. "Don't... don't pull me! I know I was wrong. Please report to His Highness and give me one more chance! I won't dare to do it again..."

The cries became increasingly miserable, threatening to alert the elders of the other courtyard. Su Manyan frowned, and seeing Yicui's desperate expression, she suddenly remembered the bloody eunuch who had been mentioned that day, and she finally spoke up to stop the group.

"etc!"

Su Manyan walked forward and stood in front of Yicui, looking down at her with squinting eyes: "Aren't you dissatisfied and want to see me? Let's talk."

The man knelt at her feet and begged bitterly: "Ayan, didn't we agree that day that none of this has anything to do with me? I was helping you out of our old friendship, so why did you want to take my life to this extent?"

Yicui saw Su Manyan standing in front of her with ease. Not only was she intact, but her complexion was also rosy. She was wrapped in a thick cotton-padded jacket, and the plain rabbit fur collar around her neck made her look even fairer and more tender, and she looked more well-behaved and harmless.

Of course, this is just an illusion.

Su Manyan sneered when he heard Yicui's unreasonable and confusing words.

She grabbed Yicui by the back of her collar and threw her into an empty room. She dusted off her hands and explained coldly to the stunned people outside, "I want to talk to her alone. You guys go ahead and do your own thing. Don't worry about me."

So he closed the door.

"What on earth do you want to do? I'm telling you, you can't kill me!!

Su Manyan didn't answer, but just approached Yicui step by step. His dark eyes were fixed on Yicui, which was extremely oppressive.

"I advise you not to do anything rash... I was wrong, I was wrong, A Yan, but I really can't leave. His Highness said he wants to drive me away, please help me persuade him! I'm just jealous of you, jealous of why you have His Highness's favor. I hate why I am a woman..."

Yicui's vicious and harsh disguise could no longer hold up. She threw away her self-esteem and begged for mercy from Su Manyan, even slapping herself in the face one after another.

The filthy house was filled with the sounds of beating, scolding, begging for mercy, and crying.

These voices all come from the same person.

As Su Manyan listened to this bizarre scene, only four words remained in his mind: "disregard for human life."

It's not that she was too virtuous, but the thought of Yicui being executed like this made her feel that the crime was not punishable by death. Her purpose of pretending to be wronged and pitiful was not for this.

She couldn't accept that someone might die because of her.

Even the most hateful person has their pitiful side. Su Manyan felt pity for Yicui as well. She looked at her graceful figure and her tearful face, and she felt sorry for her. She couldn't help but ask, "Why did you frame me? Haven't you thought about the consequences? What do you call this? You lose more than you gain."

Yicui didn't expect that Su Manyan could calmly ask her a question, a stupid question.

She seemed to have lost all her strength in an instant, and she collapsed to the ground, mumbling to herself with a heavy nasal tone: "I regret it... We are both servants in the palace, so why do you deserve His Highness's special treatment?"

"Before, I always thought that since I was a woman, even if I couldn't be by his side like a eunuch, at least I could have a chance to get close to him." She suddenly laughed bitterly, her fingertips digging into the cracks in the ground. "Who could have guessed that His Highness actually disliked women?"

"In this world, women are not free to choose their own fate. They can't do what they want to do, and they dare not say what they want to say. Every move they make depends on the man's mood. I finally accepted it, thinking that I could either pray for grace and enter His Highness's harem, or save up some money and marry a wealthy businessman as a concubine. At least I would have someone to rely on."

"But in the end..." She choked with sobs, her eyes fixed on Su Manyan, with a twisted resentment and a deeper despair. "Even this little thought was taken away by a androgynous person like you. It's my wishful thinking, I deserve it..."

Every word is tearful and heart-wrenching.

Su Manyan looked at Yicui's distraught expression and thought of the sadness of this era. She was speechless for a long time. She was also a woman and had studied history, so she knew the difficulties faced by women in this era.

But this is not a reason to commit crimes and do evil. The world is not perfect and needs to be patched up.

She knew she couldn't speak so bluntly, because she had indeed won Xiao Lin's favor and had never suffered the pain that Yi Cui had. But if she put herself in Yi Cui's shoes, she would never do anything to harm her colleagues, even if she were Yi Cui.

Intrigue and innocent harm are never the way to change your destiny.

If Yicui knew that Su Manyan was a woman, would she still frame her? Su Manyan didn't know.

Thousands of words melted into a sigh, and she only said, "I will plead with His Highness. Born at the wrong time, life is like floating duckweed, but that's no reason to frame others. Since the world is flawed, we should try to make up for it, rather than using this broken rule to make money and kill people for personal gain."

Perhaps one day, there will be a time when women can live freely.

As a person from the future, she spoke lightly, as if everything was easy.

Obviously the original intention was to inspire hope, but it seems inhumane to the people at this moment.

"Heh!" Yicui sneered, her broken voice torn apart by the wind outside the window. Her face was full of disdain, but deep in her eyes there was a hint of hope that she herself was not even aware of.

Will there really be such an era...

The books were placed beside the desk. The man who was writing at the desk put down his pen with great interest when he heard Su Manyan's words. He took a sip of the hot tea beside him and asked, "Are you pleading for Yicui?"

Xiao Lin was wearing a dark-colored brocade robe with dark silver cloud patterns woven into the fabric today. From a distance, the background looked gloomy, and he looked capable and steady.

"It's not really a plea, I just feel Yicui's crime doesn't deserve death."

"What if I refuse to listen? Do you know what Yicui did wrong? One, she harbored evil thoughts towards me; two, she harmed her colleagues. Having thoughts towards me is a small matter, but if all of my servants harbor such malicious thoughts, wouldn't that be unruly? One day, someone will harm me."

Xiao Lin put down the tea saucer, which made a light, crisp sound on the wooden table.

"Ayan will naturally listen to Your Highness."

Su Manyan also expected that Xiao Lin would not easily agree to her request. The dead body carried out that day still lingered in her mind.

She couldn't use modern standards to judge the other party. But a life was lost, and Su Manyan felt an indescribable bitterness in her heart.

Seeing Su Manyan's melancholy face, Xiao Lin burst out laughing.

"I was just kidding. I never intended to kill her." Xiao Lin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He only felt that his attitude in front of Su Manyan was quite gentle. "Who told you that I was going to kill her? Do you think I am such a cruel person?"

"really?"

"This king never bothers to lie." Xiao Lin found this amusing and urged, "Tell me quickly, why do you think this king has the reputation of being an unforgivable tyrant?"

Su Manyan hesitantly explained the rumors he had heard that day. After he finished speaking, he was afraid that Xiao Lin would be angry, so he asked cautiously: "Your Highness, those things... are they true?"

"Yeah, what, are you scared?"

Xiao Lin smiled and moved closer to Su Manyan, closing the distance between them. His breath sprayed on her exposed skin, giving her a slightly itchy touch.

Su Manyan shrank his neck like a little coward and muttered softly, "Ayan doesn't dare."

Xiao Lin chuckled, withdrew his body, sat upright in the chair again, and acted as if he was sitting upright.

"Do you know why?"

Su Manyan shook his head.

"Because, I discovered..." Xiao Lin lowered his voice and stopped mid-sentence, deliberately keeping the conversation a secret. Seeing Su Manyan looking at him eagerly, he added, "He is a spy."

The only sound in the room was the rustling of pages in the wind. Half of the paintings on the walls had been removed, making the study seem even more empty and desolate. Su Manyan felt as if he had nowhere to hide, as if he were enveloped by invisible gazes, naked and exposed.

She feels guilty.

When Xiao Lin said this, the last few words were as light as a breath, and he kept staring at Su Manyan, and only looked away after seeing her reaction, as if he had said something insignificant and ordinary.

He rubbed his thin wrist bones, eagerly waiting for Su Manyan's response.

Su Manyan's throat tightened, and she let out a few dry laughs, which echoed in the empty study, seeming particularly abrupt. She couldn't tell what Xiao Lin meant by this, wondering if he was testing her.

"This is outrageous! If they are spies, they must be hunted down and killed without mercy! Your Highness, please be more vigilant and don't let the thieves succeed. Ah Yan will definitely protect Your Highness."

Seeing Su Manyan's expression of indignation for him, Xiao Lin smiled, and even the dark silver cloud pattern on his black brocade robe seemed to come alive.

"Of course, I'm still waiting for good news from A Yan."

This "good news" naturally refers to the poisoning.

Su Manyan himself felt guilty and said that he would leave first and go to investigate the poisoning case.