Chapter 213 Liniang's Revenge
When Cui Dalang woke up, it was already pitch black all around him.
The spot on my head where I was hit by a blunt object was excruciatingly painful, like countless needles were pricking inside.
He grimaced and groaned, his mind hazy, and it took him a long time to finally come to his senses.
The chaotic fragments of memory gradually came together.
The chaos at the New Year's Eve banquet, the fighting in the main hall, and the heavy blow Su Qingci delivered to the back of his head.
He then remembered that before Su Qingci knocked him unconscious, his father was leading the Longwu Army in a rebellion.
So what's the situation now?
Did it succeed or fail?
His heart jumped, and he struggled to sit up.
But he found that he was in excruciating pain all over his body, as if he had been run over by something, and he couldn't move his body at all.
He looked around in vain, only to find that it was so dark he couldn't see his hand in front of his face and he couldn't see anything at all.
Where is this?
Suddenly, I caught a whiff of a familiar fragrance, crisp and sweet – the delicate scent of winter plum blossoms.
The back garden of the Cui family mansion is planted with a large area of wintersweet, which fills the garden with fragrance every winter.
He was overjoyed and breathed a sigh of relief.
It seems he's still with the Cui family, and alive and well...
Does this mean that Father's rebellion was successful?
He immediately forgot the pain and even couldn't help but laugh out loud.
If his father becomes a meritorious official of the new dynasty, wouldn't he also rise to prominence?
From now on, who in the capital would dare not give him face?
He immediately shouted, "Someone come here! I'm thirsty, bring me water quickly!"
After a moment, there seemed to be light footsteps approaching, as if someone had heard his call, but instead of coming in, they ran away with a "thump thump thump".
Where did this unruly servant come from? The first thing we'll do when he gets up is sell him off.
He waited patiently for a long time, but still didn't see a single person. Waves of sharp pain in his head and soreness all over his body came over him, so he had no choice but to grope his way up.
But as soon as he exerted force, his back hit something hard and cold, and there was a bone-chilling coldness beneath him.
He then realized with a start that he wasn't sleeping in a bed at all, but was lying on the cold floor tiles!
My head was throbbing so badly just now that I didn't even realize it.
What alarmed him even more was that with the slightest movement, he heard a rattling sound of chains rubbing against his wrists and ankles.
He reached out and touched them, only to find that his hands and feet were firmly locked by heavy iron chains!
What happened?
Who would dare treat him like this?
Just as he was panicking, a faint light suddenly appeared in the distance, slowly approaching him.
As the light drew closer, he squinted to make out who it was and finally saw the person clearly.
It was his wife, Liu Liniang, followed by four or five servants carrying torches.
The torchlight instantly illuminated everything around them.
Only then did he realize that he was not in a bedroom or a side courtyard at all, but in the dungeon deep inside the Cui mansion that was locked all year round!
The damp walls were covered with moss, and the air was filled with the scent of winter plum blossoms, as well as the smell of blood and mildew.
He was actually imprisoned in Liu Liniang's own dungeon?!
"Liu Liniang! Have you gone mad? What are you doing?"
Cui Dalang struggled to get up, but the iron chains held him firmly in place. He could only blush and ask sharply, "How dare you treat me like this in our Cui household? Aren't you afraid I'll beat you to death?"
Liu Liniang seemed not to hear his threat and slowly walked to the chair in the center of the dungeon and sat down.
She raised her hand to tidy up the stray hairs by her temples and said, "The Cui Mansion? Where is the Cui Mansion now? This is the residence that the Princess bestowed upon me. My residence, Liu Liniang's residence."
As they spoke, the servants had already deftly lit the candlesticks embedded in the wall one by one.
The flickering candlelight instantly illuminated the entire dungeon, making everything crystal clear.
Cui Dalang subconsciously glanced around.
Only then did they realize that there were two other people suspended on the execution racks on either side.
Their undergarments were already soaked in blood, the dried scabs a dark brown color, clinging to the tattered fabric.
His head hung limply, and his chest barely rose or fell; it was unclear whether he was dead or alive.
But Cui Dalang recognized them at a glance; they were his two brothers-in-law, Liu Liniang's two older brothers.
A chill instantly shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and Cui Dalang's voice trembled uncontrollably, all traces of his previous arrogance gone.
"What...what do you mean? What do you mean the Cui family is gone? What happened to the Cui family? Where is my father? Where are my brothers?"
Liu Liniang still had a gentle smile in her eyes and brows as she explained considerately.
“My lord, you have been unconscious for seven days, so you may not know what is happening outside. My father-in-law plotted a rebellion at the New Year’s Eve banquet and was killed on the spot by General Shen. All of us in the Cui family, over a hundred people, regardless of age or gender, have been sentenced to immediate execution.”
She paused, looked at Cui Dalang's face which had turned deathly pale, and continued to "kindly" add to the story.
“Not only the Cui family, but also all your uncles, cousins, nephews, and nieces within the three clans of the Cui family... all of them are dead, not one is left.”
With each word she spoke, Cui Dalang's face turned a shade redder.
Finally, his face turned bright red, and he gasped for breath as if someone had choked him. He roared, "Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! My aunt is a Noble Consort of the current dynasty, and the Second Prince she gave birth to is the Emperor's only son. How could they not care about the life or death of our Cui family? You're lying to me! You must be lying to me!"
Liu Liniang gave a soft "Oh," and continued, "The Imperial Concubine... also committed suicide on the spot. As for the Second Prince..."
She deliberately dragged out her words, savoring the last glimmer of hope that flickered in Cui Dalang's eyes, before slowly saying, "He is no longer the Second Prince. The Princess spared his life because he had already become a monk, but demoted him to a commoner and imprisoned him in a temple for life, never to leave the temple again."
"No...no..."
Cui Dalang staggered and fell to the ground, his back hitting the cold floor tiles hard, the iron chains rattling loudly.
The devastating news of his entire family's massacre shattered all his illusions like a heavy hammer blow.
His vision went black, and he almost fainted. He could only repeat those two words unconsciously.
Liu Liniang leisurely admired his appearance without saying a word.
Suddenly, Cui Dalang remembered something and looked sharply at Liu Liniang.
"It was you! You vile woman framed our Cui family before the Emperor! You caused the tragic death of our entire Cui family!"
"You vile woman! You wicked slut! I'm going to kill you!"
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