Chapter 174 Xie Chengzong's Thoughts
The more he talked, the more convinced he felt he was in the right. He straightened his back unconsciously, trying to recapture the feeling of being a tyrant in the general's mansion.
"It's all Xie Sangning's fault! That disrespectful and vicious wretch! Taking advantage of my elder brother's absence from the capital and my mother's momentary lapse in judgment, she dared to kick us out! It's utterly ridiculous! Throughout history, how could a niece ever drive her own uncle out of her own home?! She has no respect for ancestral laws! When my elder brother returns, we'll teach her a lesson!"
He selectively forgot that it was his own son Xie Wulu and daughter Xie Wuyou who caused the entire second branch of the family to become infamous, and he forgot that it was the desperate and angry old lady who, in order to preserve the last bit of face for the General's Mansion, gritted her teeth and personally ordered them to be expelled.
He directed all his hatred madly at his niece, Xie Sangning, who had kicked them down from their cloud of wealth.
"Yes! That's right!"
Wang Shi seemed to be ignited by her husband's words, and she suddenly stood up. "Master, we can't just accept this! My elder brother values loyalty the most! He can't bear to see his family suffer and be wronged! As long as my elder brother comes back and sees with his own eyes how badly that black-hearted girl has harmed us, he will definitely stand up for us and teach that little bitch a lesson!"
"Then let's see how smug she is! After our elder brother leaves the capital, this General's Mansion will be under our control again!"
Xie Chengzong drank the remaining wine in his cup in one gulp.
"My brother has just returned to the capital. That brat Xie Sangning is always good at putting on airs and using sweet talk. She'll definitely have him completely bewildered! We must take the initiative and not let that wretched girl make the first accusation!"
"How exactly do you intend to take the initiative?" Wang asked eagerly as she leaned closer.
Xie Chengzong lowered his voice: "On the very day our elder brother entered the city! We went to stop his carriage! In front of all the people in the city, in front of all the civil and military officials!"
He waved his arms excitedly, “Reveal all our grievances, all of Xie Sangning’s evil deeds, one by one! Tell us how she mistreated her own uncle and aunt, how she was unfilial to her elders, how she drove us to homelessness and destitution! Make the commotion as big as possible! Let everyone in Jinling see what a vicious heart is hidden beneath Miss Xie’s respectable exterior!”
He was panting heavily, his eyes filled with madness: "I don't believe it! In front of so many people, would my brother side with her? If he heard her humiliating me like this, he would definitely stand up for me!"
"Even if he favors Xie Sangning, for the sake of his own reputation and to silence public opinion, he has to give us an explanation! He has to bring us back to the General's Mansion in a grand manner! Maybe he'll even have that bitch Xie Sangning kowtow and apologize to us!"
Wang was overjoyed, as if she could already see herself returning to a life of luxury, with servants at her beck and call, and Xie Sangning groveling at her feet begging for mercy.
"Good! Good idea! Sir, you always have a way!"
The couple were so engrossed in their fantasy of overthrowing Xie Sangning and returning to the general's mansion to lord it over everyone that they completely forgot about how their two children were doing. In their minds, the two had abandoned them to live a better life.
Deep within the princess's residence.
The dungeon had no windows, only a few dim oil lamps on the walls. The flickering flames cast distorted shadows on the stone walls, adding to the eerie atmosphere.
At the end of the dungeon, in an iron cage about half a person's height, huddled a figure that was almost unrecognizable as human—it was Xie Wulu.
His robes were already torn to shreds from the whipping, the tattered fabric clinging to his torn flesh, congealed with dark red and black scabs.
On the exposed skin, whip marks crisscrossed, some so deep that the bone was visible, and the flesh at the edges was turned outwards, appearing deathly pale.
He lay weakly on the bottom of the iron cage, each breath aggravating his wounds.
Consciousness floated up and down amidst the excruciating pain.
Two hours earlier, the people who went to investigate in Xihan returned with news.
However, this news was unbelievable to Xie Wulu, and he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
"Useless! Fool! How dare you mock me like this?!" It was the Second Princess, Pei Mingyue.
She was dressed in a scarlet palace gown, embroidered with intricate phoenix patterns in gold thread, her hair styled in a high bun, adorned with a phoenix hairpin inlaid with red gold and kingfisher feathers. She showed no signs of being confined and disliked by the emperor.
The reason she dressed up like this was because Pei Mingyue thought she could go to the palace to sue Xie Sangning today, so she got up early in the morning and excitedly tidied herself up.
She reapplied delicate face powder and applied bright rouge to her lips.
Now, her slightly upturned phoenix eyes were filled with murderous intent as she looked down at Xie Wulu in the cage.
"The Western Cold has no mines! Not only no mines, but it's thriving! And you... you good-for-nothing who only knows how to talk big! How dare you try to deceive me with some nonexistent mineral vein?!"
Immediately following this was a violent beating.
Pei Mingyue had no intention of letting him leave the dungeon alive today.
"Ugh..." A sharp pain jolted Xie Wulu awake from his semi-conscious state.
He struggled to open his swollen eyes, his vision blurred.
"Awake?" Pei Mingyue slowly squatted down, looking Xie Wulu in the cage at eye level, a cold smile curving her bright red lips.
"What? Still dreaming?"
Xie Wulu trembled all over; he was now terrified at the sight of Pei Mingyue.
He tried to shrink back, but his body was already numb and stiff, and he couldn't move.
His lips trembled, but he couldn't make a sound.
Pei Mingyue stretched out her slender, jade-like fingers, her well-maintained nails painted with henna, and gently brushed across Xie Wulu's face through the iron bars.
"Hiss—" The sharp pain made Xie Wulu gasp, his body jerking violently as he slammed into the iron cage with a loud thud.
Does it hurt?
Pei Mingyue chuckled, "What is this little pain compared to the humiliation you've brought me? I poured so much hope and resources into this, and what was the result? You've become a laughingstock! You've completely fooled me!"
"Xie Wulu! You deserve to die!"
Xie Wulu's pupils contracted sharply. He had no doubt that the next moment, this vicious princess would order him to disappear silently from this cold dungeon!
"Your Highness...Your Highness..."
He mustered all his strength, pleading, "Spare...spare my life! I can still serve Your Highness..."
"Serve me?" Pei Mingyue stood up abruptly, her tone filled with disgust and impatience. "You piece of trash? What service can you possibly provide for me? Are you going to come up with another outrageous lie to deceive me? I feel disgusted just looking at you!"
She waved her hand irritably at the executioners standing by her side, "Clean it up! Don't let this filth defile my residence!"
"Yes!" the executioner replied expressionlessly, striding forward to open the iron cage.
At this critical moment, a calm female voice rang out:
"Your Highness, please calm down."
Qingdai, the trusted maid who had been silently standing in the shadows behind Pei Mingyue, stepped forward and respectfully curtsied.
She had delicate features and a calm demeanor, which made her stand out from the bloody and cold environment.
Pei Mingyue's eyebrows furrowed, and she was about to lash out when Qingdai quickly said, "Your Highness, killing him is as easy as turning your hand, but killing him now is probably not the best course of action."
"Oh?" Pei Mingyue narrowed her eyes, looking coldly at Qingdai. "Tell me, why can't she be killed? She's an insignificant piece of trash. If she's killed, so be it. Who dares to say anything?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
