Chapter 105 “But if you eat…
"But if you take the antidote, the insect will immediately turn into a pool of water." He will wake up.
"Although I don't understand your intention in putting a curse on your husband, I think these two things should be useful to you."
Chen Qing's mind was filled with thoughts of three months—just three months—and she had no time to consider Hu Ji's words. Her grip on the corner of the table tightened instantly, but then she thought, if she wanted to survive the side effects of the Winged Twins Formation, wouldn't it mean spending three months with him, inseparable from her?
As long as she stayed with him for three months, she would not only be able to survive for three years, but also find a way to get rid of this guy who called himself the system.
She lowered her eyes and secretly pondered the possibility of this method.
Finally, she made up her mind, put away the books and porcelain vase, stood up and walked out.
"Keep an eye on her."
Hu Ji said in disbelief, "No! I've given you everything, I've confessed everything, why are you still locking me up?!"
"Who knows what will happen next with this broken love poison? I'll release you in three months."
In her heart, Hu Ji only wanted to ask the heaven to distinguish between loyalty and treachery, "It is obviously you who is anxious to get the love Gu. I have told you many times that it has not grown up yet, but you insisted on having it! Oh my God, how can I continue my business!" She cried.
Chen Qing curled her lips and said, "The gold, silver, and silk I gave you are worth several lifetimes of your expenses, yet you're still crying after being locked up for three months."
"If you think the money is too much, I will immediately ask someone to take it back and release you immediately."
Hu Ji immediately shut up.
His ears were completely clear, and he walked out of the Hu residence with a calm and focused mind.
After making sure no one was following her, she walked to a deserted alley.
This alley's inhabitants were mostly merchants and peddlers renting their homes, or the secret lovers of henpecked dignitaries. The merchants and peddlers toiled day and night, rarely seen during the day, while the lovers hunkered down in their rooms, longing for a reunion. Consequently, this alley was rarely seen during the day.
Chen Qing entered the mansion she had secretly bought without any obstruction, and entered through the side door. There was a different world inside the courtyard.
She entered the main room, moved a vase, and heard a few silent clicking sounds. The antique display cabinet against the wall moved to one side, revealing a dark and bottomless passage.
Before long, a little fire light slowly moved outwards until it reached the entrance of the secret passage, and the person holding the corner lamp also appeared.
He bowed and said, "Madam."
Chen Qing asked, "What happened?" Ever since the incident at Yuanchun Tower, she had been in a coma for several days. Later, because Li Daoxuan was delayed in Weinan County, she had not asked about the things she had confessed for a long time.
Shadow said, "Everything is done as my lady has instructed. The two of them will be held captive until they are disturbed."
Shen Qing smiled, "Well done."
She lifted her skirt and approached the secret passage. As she was about to step into it, she looked at the passage that looked like the mouth of an abyss. She paused and said, "It's too dark, not bright enough."
Upon hearing this, Shadow immediately went to find two corner lanterns and carried them. With three corner lanterns, Shadow seemed a little cramped, but he walked steadily in front.
Chen Qing looked at the fire confined to one side and thought to himself: It's still not enough.
However, her expression remained calm as she followed the shadow down the stairs one level at a time, all the way to the innermost part.
There were many cells, separated by impenetrable high walls. Two of the cells held two people, both of whom were dressed in rags and their faces could not be recognized.
She walked to one of the cells, looked down at the man who was tied up on the ground, lifted the hem of her skirt and kicked the fence lightly.
The light sound spread in the extremely silent space. The man on the ground seemed to sense something and raised his head.
What caught my eye was a remarkably ordinary face. This person appeared to be about thirteen or fourteen years old, with phoenix eyes, a flat nose, thick lips, and a red birthmark about the size of a thumbnail above his left eyebrow.
If you look closely, you can find that she looks exactly like the girl who pushed Zhang Miaoyin into the water on the pleasure boat.
Shadow explained beside him, "Just as my lady expected, a few days later, one night, someone used a smoke screen to knock everyone in the cell unconscious. I took the opportunity to pretend to be unconscious, and then I saw them carrying a sack of earth and pressing it on this girl, intending to kill her."
A sack filled with cement pressed on a person's back would ensure that she would suffocate to death in her sleep without knowing it, and no fatal injury would be visible on the surface.
If you want to silence someone without them noticing, this is much more practical than cutting their throat, strangling them, or attaching official titles to them.
"They left in a hurry, as if they were afraid of being discovered. They didn't even bother to confirm whether the girl was dead or not."
Fortunately, they didn't examine the body, so Shadow was able to perform a substitution. He randomly found the body of a death row prisoner and simply disguised it to look like the girl.
Chen Qing was not afraid of them finding out that the person had been replaced. Even if they did find out, so what? He dared not make it public and could only suffer the loss.
A month later, the Dali Temple hastily closed the case, citing the prisoner's "jealousy" of Zhang Miaoyin. The prisoner committed suicide in prison, fearing the consequences. As for her earlier insult to Chen Qing, "You are the daughter of a thief, and your entire family will not live a good life," it was widely known that General Shen was devoted to his country, so how could he be the "thief" she was referring to? Therefore, the matter was dismissed as her mad talk.
After being detained for several months without anyone speaking to her, the girl was a little distracted.
When Chen Qing asked her, "What's your name?"
She blurted out subconsciously: "Afu."
Chang'an has a population of tens of millions, and there are many people named Afu. Even in her house, there are two servants named Afu. There is nothing strange about this name.
Shen Qing felt a little lost, and she asked again: "Why did you push Zhang Miaoyin into the water?"
Ah Fu mumbled, "Because, because—" Her expression suddenly changed, her eyes blazing with resentment, "Because this bastard and his entire family will not have a good death!"
Shen Qing knew that she had woken up. She was very disappointed and raised her eyebrows and said, "Why, do you think life is too comfortable and not hard enough? Don't forget who rescued you."
Ah Fu sneered and said nothing.
"This girl is quite tough." Chen Qing praised, "Then lock her up for a few more months."
This place was newly found by Chen Qing, who had someone buy it a few days ago. The two people in the prison were also newly detained here.
Because of the deaths in this mansion, it passed through countless hands and was sold several times before finally falling into the hands of Chen Qing. None of the previous owners had discovered that there was such a hidden dungeon in a corner of their mansion.
Chen Qing guessed that this mansion might be the private residence of a criminal officer from the previous dynasty. Because openly using private punishment was a shameful act and was strictly prohibited by the court, if some officials wanted to deal with some stubborn private criminals, or if the son of a high-ranking official wanted to find a scapegoat, the criminal officer would detain the person here and torture him. When the person could no longer bear it and was willing to confess, he would be detained back in the court prison.
Such acts of using lynching to force confessions are not uncommon, and some people still follow this practice today, but the methods are not very visible.
Previously, the two had been detained in a private residence on the outskirts of the city. Although it was remote, it was bright and spacious.
Chen Qing wanted to see if she would still be so stubborn after being locked up in this tiny place for a few months.
Ah Fu looked at her back as she walked away, feeling somewhat bewildered. She had thought the girl in front of her would torture her, or even force a confession. Ah Fu had made all the necessary preparations, ready to fight her to the death. But she turned and left without hesitation, causing Ah Fu's hard-earned courage to suddenly dissipate. She called out to Chen Qing, "Wait!"
Shen Qing paused, tilted his head and asked, "What's the matter?"
"You...don't want to ask me anything?"
Chen Qing smiled brilliantly, "Oh, no need. I think I should know something. I'm afraid you don't know as much as I do." Her bright smile seemed out of place in this tiny house, and inexplicably made people feel a chill in their bones.
"I simply want to lock you up and vent my anger on Zhang Miaoyin's behalf." She said without blinking, "And by the way, I'll let you see how your prince's plans are being thwarted step by step. When he falls, I'll send you to see her."
When he heard "your prince", Ah Fu's pupils suddenly shrank.
There are only a handful of people in the current court who can be respected as "Your Highness", and they are only three princes and one princess.
The name "Chen Qing" is ambiguous and has a subtle connotation. I'm afraid that the speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously.
She stared at Shen Qing intently and shook her head, “Impossible, impossible!”
"What's impossible? All the goods in Weinan County have been taken away. His downfall is imminent."
After saying that, Shen Qing looked at her face intently, trying to see something from it.
However, Ah Fu also sensed something was amiss, as if she had seen through Chen Qing's intentions. She said with a vicious look, "Don't try to trick me!"
Chen Qing said indifferently: "I'm sorry, you think too highly of yourself. A mere ant is not worthy of my attention."
She ignored Ah Fu's ugly look and turned the corner to another cell.
Although he may not be good at anything else, he is best at winning people's hearts.
In addition, the wonderful place she accidentally discovered greatly improved her efficiency. All she had to do was endure, endure until she became mentally disturbed, endure until her will was on the verge of collapse, but she was always hanging on a thread, neither up nor down, suffering from torture.
This feeling is the most uncomfortable, and it is also the time when people are most vulnerable, most clear-headed, but also the least discerning.
It would be much easier to ask something or do something at this time.
She understands this very well.
Turning the corner and arriving at the center, I saw a cross wooden frame as tall as a person rising from the ground in the cell, and a petite figure was tied to the cross wooden frame with hemp ropes.
It seemed that because she had just arrived, she was in good condition and still had the energy to howl.
When she saw the figure under the firelight, a chill seeped from the soles of her feet into her bones and spread throughout her limbs.
She almost gritted her teeth and said, "Yes, it's you!"
Shen Qing curled her lips and said, “Long time no see, Shen Ling.”
As soon as the words fell, it was as if she had touched her sore spot. Shen Ling struggled madly and said, "Let me go! Let me go! Shen Youan, do you know what you are doing? You dare to privately detain the daughter of an imperial official. The Ministry of Justice will not let you go! Let me go!"
The little white flower who was weak and unable to take care of herself in the past is now full of energy and confident, and does not look like a prisoner in chains at all.
It seems that I was too gentle with her. Chen Qing lowered his eyes and thought calmly.
"My parents will definitely report me to the police if they find out I'm gone! Shen Youan, just wait for me!"
"You mean your parents think their daughter, who accidentally drowned a few months ago, is still alive, and that they'll report her to the police?"
Shen Ling's face twitched suddenly, and her voice was squeezed out from her throat almost word by word, "What did you say?" Her voice was so empty that it seemed as if it would slip and shatter in the next second.
With a smile on his face, he read word for word the criminal case closure notice issued by the Ministry of Justice of the imperial court.
"On July 20th, the 20th year of the Yongzhen reign, the daughter of the Ming prefect of Chang'an County, Shen Ling, accidentally fell and drowned in Huachun Pond. The case is hereby closed."
It was not long after Shen Ling attended Madam Zhang's birthday banquet, when the two demons, Red and White, were causing trouble in Yuanchun Tower.
Shen Ling's blood rushed to her head, and bloodshot instantly covered the whites of her eyes. Her pair of bloodshot eyes looked particularly creepy in this dark prison. "Impossible! Impossible!"
Chen Qing said, "How long are you going to keep deceiving yourself? It's been so long and no one has come looking for you. Haven't you faced reality yet?"
"Chen Ling, you are in my hands now, I can deal with you however I want. We should settle the accounts properly."
Shen Ling was panting and still saying: "Impossible, it is impossible for my parents not to look for me, they obviously care about me!"
Chen Qing pursed her red lips and said calmly, "You know your parents care about you, but what did you do? You dragged them around three blocks to the cloth shop next to Yuanchun Tower under the pretext of buying new clothes." Knowing that Yuanchun Tower was plagued by demons, yet you still went near this place, she said, "I think you're crazy about wanting to enter Xuanji Pavilion."
Shen Ling's eyes suddenly widened. "You really followed—" She knew it! She knew it! The Red and White Evil that had appeared in the East Market and the Shen family in the previous life suddenly appeared in Yuanchun Tower, saving the Shen family from disaster. She had clearly never been to Mount Li, but she had gone there in this life, and even Liuli Heart was taken away by her!
Furthermore, the trajectory of many things was completely different from that of her previous life. All signs indicated that Chen Qing had also been reborn! Yet she was still foolishly deceiving herself and others!
Thinking of this, Shen Ling couldn't help laughing, "I'm so stupid! How could I not realize that you were also reborn!"
Chen Qing looked at her and smiled.
There was no regret towards her parents in her eyes, only unwillingness. She seemed to be thinking that if she had known that Chen Qing was also a reborn person, she would have dealt with her sooner.
But Shen Ling overlooked one thing. If her meridians had not been picked up continuously and four poisonous insects had not been planted in her, Shen Ling would not even have been able to touch Shen Qing's shoes.
Chen Qing said: "You can even kill your own parents, Shen Ling, I don't think I can compare to you in cold-bloodedness."
"No! I am following fate! In my previous life, my parents died because of the Red and White Evils. In this life, I am just going with the flow!" Shen Ling said righteously.
"Then I'll just go along with it and have you 'drowned' in Huachun Pond, how about that?" she said. "When your parents found out you'd drowned, they cried so hard. They'd lost a lot of weight, but they seem to have recovered recently and have accepted your passing."
"No one cares about you, no one knows you are still alive. Even if you can go back, you will just be a stateless vagrant with your household registration cancelled, destined to end up on the streets," she said.
Shen Ling's lips couldn't stop trembling, and she suddenly became speechless.
Chen Qing continued, "I don't care much about the grudges in the previous life. Now I'm only curious about one thing. When did you hook up with them? Or, when did they come to find you?" They refer to the people behind the scenes who allowed Shen Ling to sneak into the Shen Mansion.
At first, Chen Qing sent people to detain Chen Ling because she subconsciously thought that the poison she was infected with in her previous life was given to her by Chen Ling during the chaos in the Shen Mansion.
But later Shen Qing knew it wasn't her.
The Shen family got into trouble when she was seventeen, but she died at the age of nineteen. Even without Li Daoxuan's sword, she would have died because of those poisons.
She also woke up suddenly with a start. The poison could only keep her alive for three months. If she had been infected in the Shen Mansion, how could she have lived that long?
Between the ages of seventeen and nineteen, her memory of time was completely chaotic. Shen Qing suddenly realized this at a certain moment.
She was missing a crucial memory.
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