Chapter 202 A Woman, Biluo
That night, Shui Xian personally sent Yin Zhu to thank Yuan Chi Yu, and then left her mother and sister to live in Lihe Palace.
The mother was cared for by Tinglu and stayed in a side hall.
Shui Xian personally accompanied Shui Xiu, just like the two sisters did when they were young, sleeping in the same bed.
Until bedtime, Shui Xiu, who was always well-behaved in front of her sister, seemed afraid that her sister would worry, and kept emphasizing that she had not suffered anything and was naturally not frightened.
Knowing her sister's personality, Shui Xian had Yin Zhu bring over the soothing soup that Li He Palace's small kitchen had warmed up, no matter what Shui Xiu said.
Shui Xiu couldn't refuse her sister's request. She kept saying it was nothing, but she still obediently drank the calming soup.
It wasn't until midnight, when Shuixiu was fast asleep, that the fright she had suffered during the day began to haunt her in her dreams.
Narcissus was sleeping beside her. Noticing Shui Xiu's unusual movement, Narcissus, who was a light sleeper at the time, woke up.
Yinzhu, who was waiting outside, lifted the curtain and came in as soon as she heard the noise in the inner room. She vaguely saw that Shuixiu on the bed seemed to be having a nightmare, so she brought in a bright candlestick from outside.
The candlelight was warm, and although it couldn't illuminate the entire room, it was bright enough to make Shui Xiu's struggles clear.
Yinzhu used the candlesticks that had been brought in to light the candles in the inner room, gradually filling it with warm light. However, this could not dispel the paleness on Shuixiu's face, which still showed signs of shock.
Shuixian sat by the couch and personally used the warm water that Yinzhu had brought to wet a handkerchief, gently and slowly wiping the cold sweat from her sister's forehead during her nightmare.
She tried to call Shuixiu softly, but Shuixiu was oblivious. In her dream, it seemed as if someone was chasing her. Shuixiu kept her eyes tightly closed and struggled to avoid them.
In the end, they were frightened.
Shui Xian whispered to Yin Zhu, "Send someone to the Imperial Hospital to see if Physician Pei is on duty tonight."
Yinzhu whispered, "Imperial Physician Pei is here tonight. After learning about what happened to Miss Shuixiu, he decided to stay at the Imperial Hospital tonight. If nothing happens, he will leave tomorrow."
Shui Xian hadn't expected Pei Jichuan's thoughtfulness. A warm feeling flashed in her eyes, and she remembered Pei Jichuan's concern.
Narcissus: "Go to my storeroom and take some valuables. When Physician Pei arrives, give them to him as well."
Perhaps she had suffered too much poverty in her previous life, so in this life, Narcissus has no shortage of money and feels that she should repay her gratitude with something tangible.
She didn't want anyone she cared about to fall into the same impoverished and destitute situation she had in her previous life.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Yinzhu lifted the curtain and went out to find the palace maid on night duty to give her instructions.
Inside, Shui Xian quietly watched Shui Xiu struggling on the couch, gently patting her through the brocade quilt.
When Shuixiu was little, she would always use this method to coax her younger sister to sleep when she couldn't fall asleep.
In her dream, Shui Xiu seemed to sense her sister's presence, and her tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, but her pale face still showed that she was in pain.
Shui Xiu is not even eighteen years old this year. Tonight, she was tricked by Prince Duan and almost succeeded in her scheme.
This was an unexpectedly terrifying thing for the innocent young girl.
Narcissus moved gently, but in the places where the candlelight couldn't reach, her eyes grew colder and colder.
Anyone who harms her family will pay the price!
Soon, when the silver pearl returned not long after, Narcissus had already formed a plan in her mind.
"Silver Beads".
Narcissus's voice was calm, but deep within it lay a ruthless and decisive intent.
Yinzhu immediately stepped forward: "Your Majesty."
"You will leave the palace tomorrow to find Zhou Yan."
Only she and her servant were still awake in the inner room, so Narcissus instructed Silver Pearl:
"Tell him that Dengdi Inn is looking for some unique songs and dances to attract merchants from both the north and south, and ask him to keep an eye out for them."
As she spoke, she took a piece of paper from the side and wrote a name on it with her left hand.
blue sky.
As the last stroke fell, it seemed as if the face of the cold and beautiful woman she had seen in her past life flashed before Narcissus's eyes.
Judging by the time, Biluo is still the most dazzling courtesan on that street.
It was not the pitiful woman she later happened to see, who was constantly bleeding and covered in festering sores.
In her previous life, Narcissus was tormented by her madam and forced to do the rough work that the other servants disliked.
Her meals were irregular, sometimes she ate a lot and sometimes she ate a lot. On the day she met Biluo, Shuixian went hungry for two whole days before she got a steamed bun that was less than the size of her palm.
When she saw the woman covered in blood, huddled in the corner, Shui Xian wasn't afraid. She noticed the woman staring at the steamed bun in her hand, hesitated for a moment, and then broke off half of it for her.
The woman instinctively reached out her hand, revealing pus-filled sores on her exposed skin.
Before Narcissus could react, the woman withdrew her hand and gestured with her chin to the ground in front of her, indicating that Narcissus should simply place the steamed bun on the ground.
As soon as Shuixian put it down, Biluo picked up the steamed bun from the ground and wolfed it down.
After finishing her meal, Biluo seemed to have regained some strength, and she straightened up her bent back. Looking at the equally pale and thin girl in front of her, she told her in a hoarse voice that she had contracted syphilis.
Narcissus still remembers saying, "Anyone can tell you have venereal disease."
Biluo laughed, her voice hoarse and unpleasant. Shuixian even thought that she was lying when she said that she had been the most beautiful courtesan for a period of time.
“My illness is different from others. At the beginning, no one knew that I had venereal disease. They even thought that I had venereal disease and praised me as ‘plum essence’.”
"Ha, those men, they're so stupid."
"I swear I will take my revenge on them, and make them rot like me! Hahahaha..."
Even though so much time has passed, Narcissus can still almost hear Biluo's hoarse laughter.
Later, Narcissus would occasionally give her food, and Biluo would tell her more things.
Only then did Shui Xian realize that Bi Luo harbored deep hatred in her heart.
And coincidentally, Prince Duan's identity was exactly what she hated.
Shui Xian instructed Yin Zhu on what she needed to say, when Shui Xiu, who was on the other side of the bed, suddenly murmured in her sleep. Shui Xian, worried about her sister, returned to the bedside.
She looked at her sister in the candlelight and then used a warm handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat from Shui Xiu's forehead.
Xiuer, I will avenge you!
——
A few days later.
Zhou Yan searched for a long time before finally finding the woman named Biluo in a relatively elegant brothel.
He entered the room as a guest and noticed that Biluo's room was different from the other rooms on the street.
There were no gaudy colors, only light blue and dark blue gauze curtains, which fluttered back and forth through the wide-open windows.
Biluo was dressed in white, the semi-transparent fabric tilted to one side, revealing one of her fragrant shoulders, but Biluo didn't care at all, and even seemed not to see Zhou Yan walking in from the door, drinking alone by herself.
Compared to her rather plain room, the most obvious thing was the red marks that snaked down her back to her shoulders.
One spot after another reflected on her snow-white skin, just like red plum blossoms blooming in the snow.
The intense, vibrant color on the almost aloof Biluo created a captivating and eerie effect.
"girl."
Following Shui Xian's instructions, Zhou Yan did not reveal his identity, but only said that an old friend had heard of Bi Luo's beauty and wanted to introduce her to Prince Duan.
Biluo didn't even turn her head, a mocking smile curving her lips: "Old friends? Someone like me, a withered flower, still has old friends?"
Her tone was cold, carrying a desolate air of someone who had seen through the ways of the world.
Zhou Yan remained neither humble nor arrogant. He did not step forward, but calmly relayed: "An old friend asked me to tell you, young lady, that plum blossom branding can burn a person."
In an instant, the mockery on Biluo's face froze, and she even dropped the wine pot in her hand, shattering it on the ground.
She suddenly looked up, staring intently at Zhou Yan, "You... what did you say?"
Only she should know about the plum blossom mark on my clothes; how could anyone else know?
Zhou Yan didn't understand why Biluo reacted so strongly. He had only conveyed the message about Shui Xian, but he didn't know its implications.
Zhou Yan didn't try to persuade her further; he simply left the address of Dengdi Inn with Biluo.
"If you are interested, you can come to me. If you are willing to enter the Prince's mansion, I can guarantee that you will come out alive."
After saying that, Zhou Yan, adhering to the principle of never revealing Shui Xian's identity, turned around and left Bi Luo's room.
In the side room, shortly after Zhou Yan left, Biluo suddenly burst into laughter without warning.
This plum blossom mark is a peculiar venereal disease. She only learned about it when she was a legitimate daughter and enjoyed studying those "useless" medical books.
Her father, a court official, frequented brothels, and he infected her with the disease, which her mother then passed on to her before she was even born!
Later, his father's embezzlement and corruption were eventually exposed, resulting in the execution of all the men in the family and the women being sent to the brothel...
She fell from grace, a daughter of an official, and suffered endless humiliation.
Those who once fawned over her not only failed to save her after she was forced into prostitution, but instead revealed their greedy and lewd sides...
"The plum blossom brand is etched into my bones, I hate it so much, I really hate it!"
Biluo hates those unfaithful men, and hates even more those in high positions of power!
"good."
She laughed loudly, but tears welled up in her eyes.
Biluo stepped forward and grabbed the note left by Zhou Yan into her palm.
She is Biluo, sending those heartless men to the Yellow Springs!
——
The residence of Prince Duan.
Because Prince Duan was imprisoned here, the surrounding area was in a state of disarray.
Xiao Yirui was confined to his residence. After Shuixian successfully gave birth to a child, he fell into self-loathing.
His dream of becoming the emperor emeritus by bearing his own son was shattered by the two children born to Shui Xian.
Someone said something wrong, and Xiao Yirui suddenly swung his sleeve, accidentally knocking over a porcelain vase next to him, scattering precious porcelain shards all over the ground.
He shoved aside the concubine who tried to comfort him, and roared at his trusted advisors, his breath reeking of alcohol: "It's all that wretched woman's fault! She's destined to be ridden! And her sister, what a pretentious act of purity! I'll... I'll make them pay sooner or later!"
As he was venting his anger, the steward cautiously entered and reported: "Your Highness, a stunning beauty has been found outside. It is said that she is aloof and unapproachable to ordinary people, but she possesses exquisite swordsmanship..."
Prince Duan, who was in a hurry to vent his anger and frustration from his long-standing failures, grinned maliciously upon hearing this.
"Arrogant? I prefer taming wild horses! Bring them in!"
Biluo was already prepared, dressed in a fluttering red dress.
Biluo wore no pearls or jade, her black hair loosely tied up with a simple silver hairpin, her brows and eyes cold and aloof as if covered in frost, completely out of place with the decadent music filling the room.
As the music began, she wielded her sword and danced, her movements as graceful as a dragon in flight and as elegant as a startled swan.
In a fleeting moment, her hairpin fell off, and her long, black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, leaving Prince Duan mesmerized. He drank and exclaimed in delight.
He didn't even wait for Biluo's sword dance to end before laughing and walking forward, putting one arm around Biluo's waist. Biluo also lowered the soft sword she was holding at the right time.
Her sleeves fell down, concealing her hand that was tightly gripping the hilt of the sword.
"You look somewhat familiar to me..."
Before Biluo could answer, Prince Duan remembered, "By the way, your father was impeached a few years ago for frequenting brothels, but a search of his residence revealed that he had embezzled a great deal of money!"
"How ironic! My own daughter is now working in a brothel. How wonderful!"
Prince Duan recognized Biluo's former identity, but felt no pity whatsoever; instead, his face lit up with excitement.
A former daughter of an official, now a pawn in the palm of her hand—that's exciting!
Biluo half-heartedly complied, her eyes flashing with coldness amidst her attempts to please.
Damn it, damn it all!
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