Chapter 328 Torture
Not long after Xiao Beiheng left the manor, Su Mo arrived.
After entering the manor, Xiaoxiang ordered the chief guard to find Doctor Hua so that he could treat the princess. She first helped Su Mo to the backyard where the female members of the family lived.
After entering the house, Su Mo was still frowning and groaning non-stop. Xiao Xiang saw that no one was around and couldn't help but laugh: "Master, stop acting. Your voice is almost hoarse. I'll ask the kitchen to make you some soup to soothe your throat."
Seeing that Xiaoxiang saw that she was acting, Su Mo smiled sheepishly and said, "I'm tired and sweaty from rolling around."
Xiaoxiang took up a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her forehead, saying, "Master, why did you come here?"
Su Mo sighed and leaned against the headboard of the bed: "Doctor Hua once saved my brother's life. Bei Heng captured him, and I was afraid he might do something wrong again. I came here to check on him so I could feel at ease."
Xiaoxiang disagreed and said, "He's just a commoner. Master, there's no need to worry about him."
The two chatted for a few minutes before a maid came in and said, "Master, we left in a hurry just now, and two maids were left behind. They just arrived now, and are now being stopped outside by the guards. They asked this servant to come in and report."
Su Mo looked at Xiaoxiang and asked, "Is someone left behind?"
Xiaoxiang was also puzzled. There were about a dozen maids following Su Mo, and she was too lazy to check them. She asked the maid, "How did they fall behind? What are their names?"
"Xia Lan, Xia Ju."
When Su Mo heard Xia Lan's name, she sat up and said, "Xiaoxiang, go and bring them in."
Xiaoxiang agreed and went out with the maid. Soon, she brought in two women. The one leading the way was Xia Lan. The woman behind her was wearing a veil, and her bright eyes were rolling around.
Xia Lan bowed to Su Mo and said, "This servant greets the master."
Su Mo was startled when she saw the woman behind Xia Lan. She stood up and took two steps towards the two of them, then stopped and said to Xiao Xiang, "You two go out first. I want to talk to Xia Ju."
The woman behind Xia Lan also gave Xia Lan a look. Xia Lan understood and followed Xiaoxiang out of the room.
When there were only two people left in the room, Su Mo said with a sullen face: "Sister-in-law, you are addicted to playing the maid."
Shen Yuexi took off her veil somewhat embarrassedly and said, "Sister-in-law, I'm afraid I won't be able to get in if I don't do this."
"I thought you were dead and cried for a long time," Su Mo said with a gloomy face. "Now you appear here in good health. It must be God's mercy that I shed so many tears."
Su Mo's face was unfriendly and her tone was sarcastic. Shen Yuexi knew that she was blaming herself for deceiving her. Just as she was about to explain, Su Mo continued, "Why did you lie to us? Are you planning to use this fake death news to frame Bei Heng?"
Shen Yuexi said: "How could it be, someone did poison me..."
"If you were really poisoned, how could you be fine without any abnormality?" Su Mo circled around her in disbelief. "There is no antidote for the heartbreak grass. Was this a plan made by my eldest brother to make you do this?"
"That's not true."
Shen Yuexi was speechless. She couldn't say that she had a universal manufacturing machine.
Su Mo refused to give in and turned her back: "Brother always has many schemes. Maybe he asked you to fake your own death to frame Bei Heng. Then the emperor would vent his anger on Bei Heng, and you would be able to seize the crown prince's position without bloodshed... You also told me that you would not fight with Bei Heng, you lied to me. I was too naive..."
Shen Yuexi held her forehead and said, "Sister-in-law, don't get excited. If I really wanted to deceive you by faking my own death, why would I show up here to see you? Wouldn't it be more reasonable to just hide?"
Su Mo was originally very excited, but after hearing Shen Yuexi's explanation, she thought for a moment, then her expression calmed down a little and asked, "Then what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to look for Dr. Hua and his son. They've been brought here by my brother for many days."
Su Mo pointed at the chair and said, "Don't stand all the time. It's not good for the child."
The two sat down on either side of a table. Su Mo said, "Doctor Hua is here. I've already sent for him. Since you said it wasn't a ploy, then tell me the whole story. What exactly is going on? I want to know now."
Shen Yuexi hesitated after hearing this.
Should I tell Su Mo that this matter was handled by Queen Wen herself? Queen Wen is Su Mo's mother-in-law, so Su Mo may not believe it.
She was still hesitating when the maid Xiaoxiang's voice rang out from outside the door: "Master, the courtyard where Doctor Hua is is guarded by guards. We can only call out from outside the door, but he hasn't responded."
Su Mo glanced at Shen Yuexi and whispered, "Let's go and take a look together."
Shen Yuexi understood, put on her veil again, and followed Su Mo to the door. Su Mo said to Xiaoxiang, "Where is Doctor Hua? Take me over to see him."
Xiaoxiang led the way in front, Su Mo was in the middle, Shen Yuexi and Xia Lan followed behind, and the group arrived at the east courtyard.
There were two soldiers guarding the side courtyard gate. When they saw Su Mo and her maids arrive, one of them stepped forward and saluted, saying, "I greet the princess."
"Is Doctor Hua in there?" Su Mo asked.
"It's... it's there," the saluting soldier said with a look of embarrassment, "but it's a bit messy inside, so it might not be convenient for the princess to see..."
"Get out of the way immediately." Su Mo shouted at the soldiers to leave, led the way into the door, and Shen Yuexi followed behind.
The two soldiers watched Su Mo and the others enter with their necks hunched. One of them said, "Brother, why didn't you stop them? King Ping ordered that no one be allowed in."
"Nonsense, you didn't stop her. This is the princess..."
The courtyard was dark and eerie, with shadows swirling through the trees. Only the room at the end of the corridor was lit. Shen Yuexi had only taken a few steps when she caught a strong whiff of blood and medicine. The smell was so nauseating that Xia Lan, who was standing beside her, couldn't help but raise her hand to cover her mouth and nose.
Su Mo, who was walking in front, frowned and looked back at Shen Yuexi.
Shen Yuexi suppressed her discomfort, raised her chin towards the house in front, and signaled everyone to hurry over.
When they walked to the door of the house, the smell of blood and medicine became stronger. Low groans came from the house, weak and feeble, like those made by someone who had been tortured.
Shen Yuexi was horrified and took two quick steps to open the door before Su Mo.
The scene before them shocked the women.
In the center of the room sat Hua Duoduo. His hair was disheveled, his head drooping on his chest. His arms were tied behind his back to a pillar, leaving his bare arms and legs covered in a thick layer of medicine powder, like a barbarian. The powder was a dark red, as if soaked in blood. Around the room were rows of shelves crammed with medicine jars. The floor was drenched in dark red blood and powder, and the air was filled with the stench of blood and medicine.
Doctor Hua had his back to them and was slowly taking a medicine jar from the shelf, muttering something inaudible.
"Doctor Hua!" Shen Yuexi ran into the house and came to Doctor Hua's side.
Doctor Hua seemed not to notice her. With his dry hands, he laboriously opened the medicine jar and said with a straight look, "Apply the medicine... This will stop the bleeding... Apply the medicine..."
Shen Yuexi walked over to Doctor Hua, supported him, and whispered, "Doctor Hua, it's me, I'm Shen Yuexi."
Doctor Hua slowly raised his head, his dim, red, and swollen eyes fixed on her, as if he were looking at a stranger. Then, as if recognizing Shen Yuexi, he began to tremble as if he had a high fever. He dropped the medicine bottle, collapsed to the ground, and grabbed Shen Yuexi's hand:
"Princess... please save us."
Shen Yuexi turned to look at Su Mo, who had already walked out the door and shouted angrily, "Someone come here."
The two soldiers guarding the door hurried in: "What do you want, Princess?"
"What's going on?" Su Mo asked.
A soldier said, "Princess, you may not know this, but this Hua Duoduo was invited by Prince Ping to exorcise evil spirits. It turned out that this guy was just a liar. Prince Ping was furious and ordered him to be punished as a warning to others."
Su Mo glanced back and said, "What kind of punishment would be like this?"
The two soldiers looked at each other, shirking responsibility. Only when Su Mo's face shone with anger did one of them speak up, "Princess, Prince Ping ordered Hua Duoduo to be cut into pieces a thousand times... He must not die before the cuts are complete... His father is a doctor and has been treating his injuries."
Su Mo's body swayed and she almost fainted, but fortunately Xiaoxiang supported her.
Shen Yuexi, who was inside the house, was even more horrified when she heard the words of the soldiers outside. She looked at the soundless Hua Duoduo. If it weren't for the fact that Hua Duoduo's chest was still rising and falling and making sounds, she would have thought that Hua Duoduo was dead.
Even one cut would be excruciating for an ordinary person, yet Xiao Beiheng had Hua Duoduo cut a thousand times. It's true that Hua Duoduo is a liar, but this kind of cruel punishment is no different from that of a demon.
Su Mo said sternly, "Whoever is in charge here, release them immediately."
The soldiers did not dare to neglect it and immediately called the person in charge. The person knew that Su Mo wanted to release Doctor Hua and his son, and said in embarrassment: "Princess, this is what King Ping asked. I dare not."
Su Mo said: "Do as I say immediately, and I will naturally talk to King Ping."
Seeing Su Mo's firm attitude, the person in charge had to quickly let the soldiers enter the house and release Hua Duoduo.
Su Mo said to Shen Yuexi, "Xia Ju, you and Xia Lan will escort Doctor Hua and his son to the town to recuperate. I'll have someone prepare a carriage for you."
Shen Yuexi knew that Su Mo wanted them to take Dr. Hua and his son away quickly, but when she thought of Xiao Beiheng's current state, which did not look like a normal person at all, she became worried about Su Mo again.
Everyone came to the outside of the courtyard. When Xia Lan, Xiao Xiang and others helped Doctor Hua and his son into the carriage, she came to Su Mo and whispered, "Come with us."
Su Mo shook her head, indicating that she would not leave.
Shen Yuexi became anxious.
Xiao Beiheng was now using such cruel means to torture people for such a trivial matter. Su Mo could definitely see Xiao Beiheng's perversion. If she continued to stay with him, something might happen sooner or later.
Thinking of Chen Lan who had been abused by Xiao Kai, she was afraid that Su Mo would suffer a similar fate. She couldn't help but hold Su Mo's hand and looked at her with pleading eyes.
Su Mo gently broke free and whispered to her, "Bei Heng is in a very bad mental state, so I have to stay and take care of him. You two should leave quickly. If he sees you, I don't know what he will do."
Seeing Su Mo refused twice, Shen Yuexi had no choice but to shut up and got on the carriage.
After all, Su Mo was Xiao Beiheng's wife. If Su Mo wanted to stay, she really couldn't ask Su Mo for anything else.
Neither of them noticed that in the dark corner, Lin Kui was watching them.
He had been recuperating in the house, and when he heard Su Mo coming, he had intended to come out to see her. But his body was aching all over, so he could only move slowly, silently cursing Song Zhen as he moved. When he moved to the side yard, he happened to see Doctor Hua and his son getting into the carriage.
Su Mo actually dared to release Doctor Hua and his son without Xiao Beiheng's knowledge. Isn't this clearly helping the enemy? She's really turning her elbow outward. Previously, when Xiao Beiheng wanted to kill Chen Lan, it was Su Mo who stopped him, and later released Chen Lan secretly. Now she's doing this again.
But considering Su Mo's identity, he didn't dare to act rashly. After thinking for a moment, he came up with a plan and called a servant:
"Hurry and catch up with Prince Ping. He said that the princess acted on her own initiative and released Doctor Hua and his son."
It is obviously most appropriate to let Xiao Beiheng solve this matter personally.
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