The dungeon was very quiet, except for the clear sound of dripping water.
The first ray of light arrived in the dark dungeon.
"Who?" A faint female voice sounded. She heard the voice and tried to communicate.
Suddenly, the entire dungeon was brightly lit, illuminating the winding stairs and revealing the chaotic scene.
"Hahahaha, Zhou Changling, that little bitch you were hiding is dead!"
Indeed, the person lying disheveled on the grass was Zhao Xueqi, the former eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion and the Seventh Prince's wife. Because she was jealous of Bai Lingxi's ability to win Zhou Changling's favor, she decided to poison her.
Zhou Changling remained silent, his dark eyes fixed on her, cold as if he were looking at a dead person, wishing he could tear this vicious woman to pieces.
"Hahaha, cough cough!"
"You deserve all of this. Who told you to marry me and not cherish me? I am your wife, and I should be the Empress of the entire Sheng Kingdom!"
Zhao Xueqi hadn't eaten for a long time, so she was weak all over and pale. She spoke these words with all her might, gritting her teeth.
She spoke, laughed, and cursed, when suddenly two streams of dirty tears slid down her face.
"I truly regret marrying you, you heartless beast!"
"Are you done? I'm asking you, where did you get that drug, and is there an antidote?"
Zhou Changling's icy tone could freeze a person to death on the spot, but it did not threaten Zhao Xueqi, who knew she had no way out.
In the past, everyone in the capital envied Zhao Xueqi for becoming the Seventh Prince's consort, but now who could have imagined that the couple would turn against each other and even become enemies to the point of no return?
As Zhao Xueqi thought about it, she recalled what her father had once said: "You are truly stupid and incompetent. If the future of the Prime Minister's Mansion is handed over to you, you will probably die without a burial place."
She finally realized that she had married the wrong person. Her father was right; she was foolish to have harmed him and herself.
"It's alright if you don't talk about it. The punishment of slow slicing will be used to atone for your sins."
"Someone come here!"
As Zhou Changling finished speaking, two strong eunuchs dragged Zhao Xueqi to an open space, took out sharp knives, and began to carry out the execution.
The woman's screams echoed throughout the dungeon. Zhou Changling frowned, and his men, quite perceptively, covered the woman's mouth, preventing her from making a sound.
Zhou Changling just watched, expressionless, as if this were the most normal thing in the world, just like eating and drinking.
Finally, when the knife cut off the eleventh piece, Zhao Xueqi could no longer bear the immense pain and fainted.
The eunuch carrying out the execution stopped and looked at Zhou Changling, as if asking if he wanted to continue.
She thought to herself with a sneer, "As expected of the most delicate young lady, she can't even handle this? When the master was beheaded, did this young lady feel any pain?"
Zhou Changling wasn't about to let her off so easily, so he coldly said, "Continue until she reveals the antidote."
Having received the order, the eunuch showed no mercy and began slashing at her with his knife.
Zhao Xueqi woke up, and when the twenty-first cut came down, she could no longer hold back and began to kowtow desperately, like a begging dog, having lost all her former pride.
"stop."
Zhou Changling raised his hand, and someone removed the rag from Zhao Xueqi's mouth. Zhao Xueqi fell to the ground in a sorry state. When she looked at Zhou Changling with hateful eyes, she suddenly shrank back.
"continue--"
Just as Zhou Changling was about to order his men to continue torturing her, Zhao Xueqi immediately interrupted.
I said!
"The poison was given to me by Zhao Xueqing. She said it was harmless to ordinary people, but it could cause severe bleeding during childbirth. She said that people would only think it was a mishap caused by the woman's childbirth, and no one would suspect anything else."
Zhou Changling was so angry that his veins bulged, but he didn't lash out; he just clenched his fists.
He heard Zhao Xueqi continue, "Your Majesty, you don't know yet, do you? Zhao Xueqing's body has long been possessed by a wandering ghost. That woman killed my mother and brother without anyone knowing."
Zhou Changling frowned. He didn't want to hear any of this useless stuff; what he wanted to know was the antidote!
However, before he could interrupt, Zhao Xueqi changed the subject herself: "Your Majesty, have I been being boring? Then let me talk about something you're interested in."
"Does Your Majesty know how she gave me the poison?"
Zhao Xueqi referred to herself as "your concubine" because she was afraid. Lingchi (death by a thousand cuts) was too torturous for her, even more painful than being burned to death by flames in her previous life.
"You must be curious too, right? You've had people watching me every day, and even the maids around me are people you arranged, but—"
"You wouldn't believe it, but she has an invisibility cloak!"
"She could nonchalantly let everyone off the hook, personally handing me the poison, saying it belonged to her mother and was now being returned to its rightful owner."
As Zhao Xueqi spoke, she suddenly burst into tears, sobbing and covering her face. Blood and tears mingled together, and it was unclear whether she was crying for the wrong person she had entrusted to, or for her mother's unjust death.
Zhou Changling felt they deserved their fate and watched them coldly, showing no pity what Zhao Xueqi had hoped for.
Zhou Changling was only concerned with the nature of the poison: "Poison brought by your mother? She's from the Southern Frontier? Where is the antidote?"
Zhao Xueqi raised her head, staring intently at Zhou Changling's face, her eyes filled with despair and pleading: "If I speak, Your Majesty, will you grant me a quick death?"
"Speak." Looking at Zhao Xueqi, covered in blood and barely clothed, this was the most undignified way to die. But with slow slicing, you couldn't die even if you wanted to, so the other party asked for a quick death.
Zhou Changling slowly uttered this word, which meant he agreed.
Having received Zhou Changling's assurance, Zhao Xueqi smiled sadly: "Your Majesty, there is no antidote for this poison. It's a poison flowing in the blood; the only cure is a blood transfusion."
After saying that, before anyone could react, he grabbed the knife on the ground and stabbed it into his own neck. Bright red blood gushed out instantly, splattering all over the dungeon.
Zhou Changling was stunned, as if he hadn't expected this woman to have the resolve to face death so calmly. He remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Throw her into a mass grave."
"Yes," everyone responded in unison, their expressions varying.
After Zhou Changling left, he returned to Ganling Palace. Bai Lingxi had just finished lunch and was taking a short rest.
Zhou Changling went to the bedside to check on her, tucked the blankets in for her, and then got up and went to the side hall to wash away the bloodstains all over his body.
After he finished fussing, he finally gave the order: "Where are the guards?"
A dark figure leaped out, seemingly descending from the roof beam: "Your subordinate is here."
"Go and bring Zhao Xueqing here, lock her up in the dungeon, and also bring me that invisibility cloak."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
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