Chapter 316 The Pure Moon in the Sky, A Puppet Under a Deal

Ji Qingwu turned her face around, lowered his eyes, and the cold, moist look in his eyes made Su Daiyue tremble.

"Just how many women has your father looked at with that kind of gaze?"

Su Daiyue's pupils suddenly contracted.

Ji Qingwu's lips parted and closed: "Did he look at you like that too?"

Su Daiyue vomited with a whoosh; her stomach contained no food, only Huang Cheng's medicinal soup and bile.

Ji Qingwu stepped back. There was a copper basin of water on a shelf in the corner of the room. She slowly washed her fingers.

Su Daiyue's throat was corroded by vomit, making it whimper unpleasant.

"I know you're a good person, you'll help me, right?"

The only response she received was the sound of water washing her hands. Su Daiyue said in a strange tone, "When I see your pure and compassionate eyes, I feel so pitiful."

Su Daiyue rolled her eyes upward, staring at the pattern on the top of the bed curtains.

"But Father will like it. He likes girls who are as pure and noble as the moon in the sky, just like he liked me back then."

Su Daiyue laughed as she spoke, but the laugh was more like a grimace.

Her eyes were clearly hot, yet not a single tear fell. This inability to express her emotions made Su Daiyue feel intensely suffocated.

She strained to open her eyes wide, loosened her grip on the bed curtains, and instead pounded her chest.

"Wei Tongyou".

Ji Qingwu lifted his eyelids, saw her movement, and called out to the door.

Wei Tongyou quickly slipped in, glaring at Ji Qingwu, seemingly displeased with her addressing her by her full name.

"Find a rope and tie her up."

Wei Tongyou then noticed that Su Daiyue had torn open her clothes at the chest, and the skin she had scratched was bleeding.

She steeled herself and stepped forward, but kept insisting, "Why didn't you go yourself? Why did you have to call me?"

Ji Qingwu leaned against the window opposite the bed: "Naturally, I am not as capable as you, nor as strong as you."

Wei Tong snorted, dissatisfied but not stopping her from getting to work, and quickly tied the person up.

Ji Qingwu took out a sky-blue porcelain bottle from his sleeve, poured out colorful pills, and picked out a green one.

"Give this to her."

Wei Tongyou looked at the emerald green sphere and frowned, saying, "Even if you don't get along with her, you can't poison her."

Ji Qingwu raised an eyebrow and said, "She's almost dead, why would I need to poison her?"

Su Daiyue was in a state of confusion, her limbs were tightly bound to the bed, her forehead was covered in sweat, and the veins in her neck were clearly visible.

Ji Qingwu handed the medicine to Wei Tongyou and explained, "This is not poison, it's an anesthetic to temporarily numb her pain."

Upon hearing that it was an anesthetic, Wei Tongyou's eyes lit up.

If this pill were used on the battlefield, wouldn't it be incredibly effective?

Ji Qingwu urged, "Hurry up and feed her."

Wei Tongyou muttered, "Since she's about to die, why are you still giving her this medicine? It's just a waste." But she still stuffed the medicine into Su Daiyue's mouth.

Ji Qingwu said, "She has suffered enough. Let's leave her some dignity before she dies."

The medicine took effect quickly, and Su Daiyue's body relaxed, and her breathing returned to a normal rhythm.

Ji Qingwu walked over and picked up the hairpin that was placed by the bed.

"I will go to the Su residence."

It wasn't for her sake, but to verify her thoughts. If it was true, Su Fengyue would be guilty of a thousand deaths.

As if she had heard what Ji Qingwu said, tears welled up in Su Daiyue's dry eyes, but even with the tears covering them, her eyes began to turn gray and could no longer focus.

Ji Qingwu's voice was light and airy, drifting into her ears.

"Is there anything else you want me to say, or who you want me to deliver it to?"

Su Daiyue's face was bloodless, and she lay lifeless on the bed.

"No need. My whole life has been a puppet under the exchange of power and sex."

Ji Qingwu watched her quietly.

Su Daiyue's vision was blurry, but her mind was racing.

“My aunt was once the most favored concubine in the family, but she went insane less than two years after giving birth to me. However, I was not mistreated because of this. My father was very good to his children. I was raised by my wet nurse.”

Wei Tongyou crossed her arms, which was a common practice among aristocratic families.

Regardless of whether anyone was listening, Su Daiyue continued speaking.

"As I grew older, I looked more and more like my aunt. I noticed that my father's gaze towards me changed. It was as if he cherished me, as if he was fervent. He also took care of me differently than before. When my father went out to his private residence in the suburbs for banquets, he would take me with him. My sisters in the family all envied me."

Su Daiyue scoffed: "Until one day, my father got completely drunk and was helped to his room to rest. I was going back to the manor because it was my first time menstruating, and I went to find my father, not knowing what to do. But I unexpectedly stumbled upon the man who should have been unconscious, soberly pinning down a girl about my age, in..."

She said, with difficulty, "He was still calling out 'Moon'..."

Su Daiyue's teeth were chattering as she said this.

Wei Tongyou clenched her fists and threw two hooks at the air.

Ji Qingwu frowned, feeling a tightness in his chest.

Not only did I empathize with Su Daiyue's description, but I also thought of a woman who had suffered a similar fate.

Unlike Su Daiyue, who watched from outside the window, she was genuinely hurt.

“After that, I pretended to be sick to avoid contact with my father, but every time he looked at me, it reminded me of that scene. Later I learned how my aunt went mad. My father took her out to a banquet, but she was there to serve other high-ranking officials.”

"Do you know what it feels like to not be a person, but a piece of cargo that can be sent away at any time?"

“I’m terrified of becoming another concubine… I thought that leaving the Su family and getting married would give me control over my own destiny, but that was just wishful thinking.”

"Before, if my father told me to go east, I dared not go west. Now I can decide my own life and death, and I am truly happy..."

Su Daiyue smiled and closed her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks to her ears.

"You want to die? Not so easy!"

Song Wei broke the silence in the room. He rushed back from who-knows-where, having lost one of his boots, and was holding a small jar in his hand.

He pulled the person out of bed: "You'll feel better if you eat this."

Wei Tongyou glanced at the jar and then hid behind Ji Qingwu in fear.

It was rare to find something this girl was afraid of, so Ji Qingwu turned to look at her.

What are you afraid of?

Wei Tongyou whispered, "Song Wei looks like a normal person, so why is he behaving so erratically?"

Ji Qingwu asked, "What did you find? What's in the jar?"

Wei Tongyou said, "It's the ashes of a dead person."

"No way, it looks like just a clay jar."

Wei Tongyou said, "All the urns in the mortuary are like this. I've seen them many times, so I can't be wrong."

Ji Qingwu frowned and said, "But I see some red stuff inside..."