16. Blood Debt
The day of the results announcement is approaching. Even in early winter, the capital is still scorching hot. Some people are even taking bets on who will be the top scorer. In previous years, this activity was lively, but this year, the person taking the test included Yun Zhihe.
She was famous for her talent and won the first place in the exam, so almost everyone bet on her.
Yun Zhihe was leading with a huge number of votes. Cui Mingyu also knew this tradition in Beijing, so he pulled Yun Zhihe to join in the fun. After watching the gambling game for a long time, he was eager to place a bet as well.
…She took out five hundred taels of silver and bet on herself.
The casino owner looked at her in surprise, thinking, what fool didn't bet on Yun Zhihe?
When he looked up, he realized that it was Cui Mingyu, who was also quite famous in the capital. He smiled and said a few polite words before accepting the money.
"Hey, Miss Cui will definitely pass the high school entrance exam."
"Thank you for your good words."
She nodded, not caring about the surprised looks from others.
Cui Mingyu turned to look at Yun Zhihe again, tilted his neck, and there was a serious smile in his eyes.
"I've competed with you for years, and I've always been worse than you."
"But no matter how many times..." she whispered, "I will always bet on Cui Mingyu to win."
She was naturally free and unrestrained, with a rosy face. She looked at Yun Zhihe with a smile, but she could see a bit of determination in her.
Yun Zhihe was a little stunned, then smiled at her again. He walked forward and took out five hundred taels of silver notes and put them on the table. He looked at the ambitious Cui Mingyu with a smile.
"I'll bet five hundred taels on Yun Zhihe."
The two of them smiled at each other, as if they were declaring war on each other.
It was probably Cui Mingyu's open and honest nature that was the reason why the two of them had such a good friendship.
"What a refined mood!" A clear female voice came from the side, accompanied by a few applause.
When they turned around, they saw Li Miaomiao looking at them with a smile.
She also took part in the palace examination and stepped forward to place her bet, also with five hundred taels.
Cui Mingyu was familiar with her and asked politely, "Why is Madam Li here?"
The largest gambling house in Beijing is the Ruyi Gambling House. It is not surprising to come here. It is just a casual courtesy.
Li Miaomiao paused, tilted her head, and said softly, "...looking for someone."
"Here...there."
Following her gaze, I saw Fang Li, who was gambling happily at the table next to me with a haggard look on his face.
Her chubby figure had become less plump in recent days. She stared at the bets on the table with a dazed look on her face and shouted out the points.
Cui Mingyu frowned and cursed, "It's this Fang...Fang again..."
"It's Fang Li."
She talked for a long time but couldn't say the next word. Obviously she had forgotten it. She only remembered it after Yun Zhihe reminded her gently.
Fang Li didn't look well, his eyes were dark, and his body looked slovenly, as if he hadn't taken care of himself for a long time. Others were still laughing at him.
"Fang Xiaohou, how much are you betting this time?"
"Bet, bet ten thousand taels..." She was obviously a little dizzy, and the servants beside her couldn't persuade her.
When the others heard about her generosity, they immediately started to cheer, laughing and praising her, "Hahahahaha, you are worthy of being Fang Xiaohou!"
There were all kinds of people in the gambling house, and they were all gathered around Fang Li's table, making a lot of noise.
Yun Zhihe frowned. Cui Mingyu was so angry that he was about to step forward, but Yun Zhihe walked over. The scholar was slender and cold, but his hands were very strong and he pulled the fat Fang Li out.
She was quite famous in the capital. The others were a little unhappy at first, but under Madam Xiaoyun's unhappy gaze, they only muttered a few words and started again.
Fang Li's body was bloated and he didn't have much strength to resist. He could only twist his body and yell, "What are you doing?! Let me go!"
Cui Mingyu couldn't control her temper any longer and kicked her in the stomach, but she controlled the strength and threatened with gritted teeth.
"Have you forgotten your grandmother? How dare you speak like that!"
Fang Li burst into tears, holding his stomach and screaming "Ouch... Ouch" in pain. He seemed to be much more sober and trembled a few times under Cui Mingyu's threatening tone.
"You, what are you doing?! Don't, don't hit me, wuwu..."
Cui Mingyu looked down on her cowardly appearance and was about to hit her but was stopped by Yun Zhihe. Li Miaomiao also started talking and calmed Cui Mingyu down.
"Mrs. Cui, please don't hit her, she..." She frowned as if she didn't know how to start. After thinking for a moment, she heard Fang Li burst into tears.
She rolled on the ground, crying and thrashing, "Yuyan... Yuyan... Wuuwuwu... my husband..."
Yun Zhihe paused, and suddenly remembered the news he heard at the end of the imperial examination - Fang Li was fighting with someone in front of the Song family's door.
Her expression suddenly turned ugly, and she probably guessed what was going on.
Li Miaomiao continued, "I was originally invited by Lord Song to entertain him. If I failed the exam, he wanted me to become a retainer of the Song family... but I saw this Fang Xiaohou and the second lady of the Song family fighting at the Song family."
She lowered her eyes to glance at Fang Li, who was still writhing. "Second Madam Song tortured that prostitute to death, and she got so angry that she started a fight."
"I guess she's too weak... Even the servants showed no mercy and beat her..."
She said this in a tactful way, and it was obvious that Fang Li, the deposit holder, had no one to protect him and no one cared about him. Even the title of Marquis could not suppress him. He was beaten by the servants under the instructions of Mrs. Song Er.
Minister Song has a bad reputation, so it's reasonable that he raised a bitch like Second Lady Song.
"I kicked Second Lady Song a few times and dragged her away. I took pity on her and took care of her a little... My injuries had just healed, so I ran to the casino."
Li Miaomiao has a slim figure. She lowered her eyes to look at Fang Li lying on the ground, with a hint of hidden displeasure in her eyes.
"...I really can't help myself, I'm just making a fool of myself. If it were me, I would..."
She paused, her eyes cold, and she stopped talking.
Fang Li suddenly yelled, "That bastard beat Yuyan to death! She threw the body into the dog cage! That bastard... wuwu..."
Cui Mingyu looked stunned. He asked for a private room and helped Fang Li in. He watched Fang Li throw a tantrum but ultimately said nothing.
Yun Zhihe's expression was also cold, her fingertips curled up, and her tone was cold, "Song Erren is a corrupt person..." She also gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and couldn't speak.
Song Er is a dark person who particularly enjoys dog fighting. He has several large dogs and even more enjoys escorting people into the arena.
Fang Li continued to cry, "There's not a single piece of good flesh on Yuyan's body... That bastard... doesn't treat Yuyan as a human being, wuwuwuwu..."
"Wuwuwu... When I went there, uh... Yuyan... was, was half eaten..."
"That...that fierce dog...was raised by eating humans...ah..."
"She, she has killed countless people..."
At that time, Fang Li wanted to give Song Er some banknotes to redeem Yuyan, but he didn't expect that she would refuse to return it. When he was forced into a corner, he took her to the yard and saw a dog cage and... a corpse.
She proudly grabbed Fang Li's hair and said, "Look, your little beauty is there..."
"It is an honor for my hound to eat him."
"You've grown so much flesh, be careful or I'll throw you in there... My little darling has eaten children's flesh and adults' flesh, but she's never eaten fatty pork."
She laughed so hard that tears came out.
Most of the lowly servants were not well fed and had little meat on their bodies. Fang Li's appearance was rare.
Fang Li was so frightened that his legs went limp, but he still wrestled with her like a madman. Seeing that she was a marquis, Song Er didn't dare to really feed her to the dogs. He just covered the side of his face that was hit, and with a ferocious look of anger, he ordered people to beat her up and throw her out.
The high officials and nobles in the capital looked down on this marquis, who was an outsider with no blood relationship and had made no contributions to either the previous emperor or the current emperor. The emperor disliked him, and her aunt could not protect him.
But a useless pawn.
Not only was she beaten all over, but she also saw Yuyan's miserable condition in the cage. From that day until now, she still has nightmares every day and is afraid of seeing dogs.
She dreamed that Yuyan was crying to her, and that she had become food for the hound.
Cui Mingyu was so angry that he clenched his fists tightly, listening to Fang Li's screams at the top of his lungs. His fists were clenched so tightly that blood oozed out. It was... caused by his fingertips piercing his palms.
Yun Zhihe closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing.
According to the laws of the Ling Dynasty, even if a prostitute was bought, she was still a slave. The same was true for some slave servants. Killing them was just a family matter.
Their anger was truly... powerless.
No one dared to be presumptuous under the feet of the emperor, not to mention that Xuanyuan knew very well the truth that "one is born in sorrow and dies in comfort", and he strictly investigated licentiousness. All these ladies and gentlemen in the capital were brought up with etiquette.
But I never thought there would be such a tragedy...treating human life as a game and worthless.
Besides, Song Er has been raising dogs for a long time, and he actually feeds them all... with human flesh.
If this is the case even at the emperor's feet, what about the places he hasn't seen? What about the areas far away from the capital?
...How many more?
Some people grow upwards in the light, while others take root in the darkness.
They took the imperial examinations in order to become officials, and the sages’ books taught them… but they can’t even judge this kind of scum?
Cui Mingyu punched the wall next to him, some blood seeped out, and he shouted.
"I'm going to beat that bastard to death! Damn it! If I can't kill him, I won't be called Cui!"
Just as she was about to run out, Yun Zhihe suddenly pulled her back. Cui Mingyu turned around and glared at her, "Zhihe! You're going to stop me from doing something like this?!"
Yun Zhihe's expression was cold and her voice was hoarse. She trembled a little as she grasped Cui Mingyu's fingertips. "No, it's just that you can't be reckless."
"...I will make her pay the price."
Li Miaomiao said, "Although beating, scolding, or killing a lowly servant is not against the law, there is a prerequisite. It must be that the lowly servant has committed a serious crime such as stealing..."
"But... if she killed innocent servants, even if the authorities were to report her, they would only punish her with flogging. Minister Song is protecting her, so she will only suffer minor injuries."
"Years of wanton killings of innocent people, and no one has exposed it, must be Minister Song covering it up."
Li Miaomiao looked at Yun Zhihe, and the two looked at each other, with the same gloom in their eyes. He asked her softly.
"So...what are you going to do?"
Yun Zhihe's eyes no longer had the warmth of a spring breeze, his expression was extremely cold, "Neither Song Er nor Minister Song can escape."
Her fingertips tapped the tabletop, she pondered, then scoffed, "Nature's light and darkness intertwine, blood debt must be paid with blood."
The author has something to say:
Plot chapter, this chapter is well written.
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