Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Cruel and Merciless

Liang Wan stood up and took one last look at her reflection in the mirror. Nothing was out of place.

"Let’s go."

In the courtyard, pink buds peeked from the brown peach branches.

Liang Wan’s gaze lingered for a few moments. In the springs to come, there would be no more Peach Blossom Banquets.

She still remembered how she had relentlessly pestered him at that year’s Peach Blossom Banquet.

Liang Wan lowered her gaze, a faint smile on her lips.

As she passed the East Pavilion, she ran into Cao Luyun, just as she’d expected.

She wore a wide-sleeved robe the color of peach buds, paired with a garden-green panelled skirt. She looked utterly fresh and lovely.

"Are you going out, Liang Ji?" Her voice was melodious, her smile gentle.

It was just how she had looked when Liang Wan first saw her at the Duke Wei Mansion.

Only in front of Liang Wan did she drop her pretense. Everywhere else in the Grandmaster’s Mansion, she remained the dignified, elegant, and picture-perfect Lady Cao.

Whenever they appeared in public together, she would always act meek and speak in a delicate whisper. In contrast, Liang Wan came across as cold and domineering.

When with the Grandmaster, she went so far as to present herself as his adopted daughter.

Her reputation throughout the mansion was steadily improving.

Liang Wan’s gaze swept over the food container in the hands of the maid behind her. "Off to keep the Grandmaster company again?"

"That’s right. He said he would formally adopt me once the Grand Commandant returns, didn’t he?"

Her gaze was fixed on Liang Wan, watchful as a cat.

Liang Wan was in no mood to trade barbs with her. She gave a noncommittal response and turned to leave.

As their shoulders brushed, Cao Luyun’s soft voice murmured, so low that no one else could hear.

"You’ve been visiting the palace so often lately, Liang Ji. Have all those little tricks for pleasing a man come in handy? You’d better make the most of your time—"

Liang Wan turned her head to see a faint peach-blossom rouge coloring Cao Luyun’s cheeks, like the flush of wine. Her glistening eyes blinked, the picture of sincerity and innocence.

"I just wonder... with all those halls and pavilions in the palace, which chamber do you go to each time to receive his ’favor’?"

Liang Wan met her gaze. "The Imperial Prison."

The color drained from Cao Luyun’s face, a paleness that her rouge couldn’t conceal.

A smile touched Liang Wan’s lips. "Would you like to visit?"

Cao Luyun faltered for a moment before recovering her composure. "You wouldn’t dare!"

She sounded absolutely certain.

Liang Wan’s gaze fell. ’It’s not that I don’t dare... but if she went to the Imperial Prison, Lu Xiu’s secret would surely be exposed...’

Liang Wan turned away and instructed Gu Yu, "The peach blossoms in the courtyard are in bloom. Pluck a few branches and send them to Lady Cao. They’ll match her makeup today perfectly. Especially the rouge."

With that, she headed straight for the outer courtyard.

「At the entrance to the Imperial Prison」The guards were no longer surprised to see Liang Wan.

She was no longer like her first visit, when her calves had trembled with every step.

She passed the gloomy cells one by one. Some held figures lying on the ground, grievously wounded. Others were empty, and she couldn’t know if their occupants were dead or had been released.

Liang Wan covered her nose. The air was thick with the stench of rot and blood.

The Prison Chief led the way, with Liang Wan following behind him.

He glanced back at her. "My Lady, His Lordship said that after you finish the identifications today, I can take you to see your family."

Liang Wan nodded gratefully. "Thank you."

’I need to let Gao Qian think he has me by my weakness.’

’This whole identification business was just a pretense, anyway.’

’The reason he’d agreed to this method of punishing the rumor-mongers wasn’t because he cared about the rumors themselves. He wanted to get his hands on the female relatives of the officials, to use them to pry for secrets about the courtiers and, ideally, to eliminate anyone with a dissenting heart.’

’For some reason, during her recent encounters with Gao Qian, there were moments she felt he was a true tyrant, through and through. But at other times, the way he handled things was so different from before. It was like he was a stranger.’

At the Prison Chief’s signal, Liang Wan followed Gao Qian’s written directives and pronounced the prisoners innocent or guilty.

’It was just as he’d predicted that day. I’ve become his shield, deflecting all criticism.’

’Thankfully, there were only five or six each day. Some were allowed to leave alive. Others would remain here forever.’

’I came here for revenge, yet I’ve unwittingly become one of his minions.’

’But now, no one dared to slander me anymore.’

After all, anyone who made it out of this place turned pale with fright and trembled in terror at the mere sight of her.

The question she had to answer was simple: Was this the person who had led the public disturbance that day?

Yes or no. The answer meant the difference between life and death.

As soon as one was judged, a jailer would summon the next.

Throughout the entire process, Liang Wan remained expressionless.

Another person was dragged forward. Their head lolled, and disheveled hair covered their face. They were dressed in tattered prison rags, and through the rips in the fabric, wounds deep enough to show bone were visible.

"Feng Qingyue," the jailer announced, his voice low.

Liang Wan narrowed her eyes, studying the figure. There was not a trace of the bearing and grace of the former Marquis’s wife.

A slender, graceful figure in a cyan dress flashed through her mind.

At every Peach Blossom Banquet, Qing Yue would dress in her finest and wait for her at the entrance to Yulin Garden.

Peeking out from her carriage window, Liang Wan would see her from afar, her glossy black hair catching the eye. Up close, her features were even more striking: snowy skin, arched brows, cherry lips, and a delicate nose. She was graceful, yet with an air of dignity.

She had been so beautiful.

But this person before her, tortured beyond human recognition, was filthier than a beggar huddled in some squalid corner...

Liang Wan watched as the jailers hauled Feng Qingyue to her feet.

She rose and walked forward, step by step, but each one brought none of the sweet satisfaction she had anticipated.

Perhaps it was due to the jailers’ rough handling, but the woman stirred and slowly came to. She raised her head in a daze, unable to see clearly through the tangle of her hair.

Liang Wan reached out and pushed aside the long hair she had once so admired.

"Qing Yue, it’s me."

Her unfocused eyes sharpened, her gaze turning venomous. "Liang Wan! I curse you to a miserable death! I won’t let you go, not even as a ghost!"

Her eyes were so red they looked as if they could bleed.

Liang Wan nodded. She understood that feeling.

She smiled faintly. "You might not believe me, but right now, I’m neither human nor ghost. But whether I’m a person or a phantom, I have no intention of letting any of you go."

As she spoke, she walked over to a nearby torture rack, selected a relatively sharp knife, and then walked back to stare down at Feng Qingyue.

"Do you want to be free? For the sake of our past friendship, I’ll help you, just this once. After all, you’ve helped me this time as well."

’Being allowed into the Imperial Prison meant she had gained a bit more of Gao Qian’s trust.’

"My Lady? Please wait!" the Prison Chief exclaimed, frantically flipping through his records. He was terrified she would kill the prisoner before he could confirm the imperial decree.

The Prison Chief was a nervous wreck, sweat beading on his brow. ’How could someone so delicate and beautiful be so ruthless? To talk of killing someone without even a flicker of hesitation!’

Feng Qingyue’s eyes bulged like a cornered animal’s, as if she wanted to lunge forward and tear Liang Wan apart. "Stop your pretense! I find your sanctimonious act utterly nauseating!"

A smile played on Liang Wan’s lips as she cut to the chase. "It was Prince Guangping who put you up to this, wasn’t it?"

Feng Qingyue froze, then lowered her head and laughed. "You want to know? A pity I’m not going to tell you!"

Liang Wan stared at her for a long moment, then smiled.

She leaned close to Feng Qingyue’s ear, her lips moving as she whispered.

Feng Qingyue’s laughter died in her throat. "I don’t know anything."

As Feng Qingyue struggled to maintain a calm facade, Liang Wan took two steps back, then turned to the Prison Chief. Her own expression was unreadable. "Did His Lordship give any instructions for her disposal?"

"Well—" The Prison Chief stared at the documents, flipping through the pages in disbelief and muttering, "How can she be the only one with no directive?"

Liang Wan’s gaze returned to Feng Qingyue, her expression cold. ’Was this an oversight, or is he deliberately testing me?’

Feng Qingyue said smugly, "You can’t kill me. Are you disappointed?"

Liang Wan tossed the knife aside and shook her head with a smile. "My heart is already in Purgatory. Why would I mind having one more person here to keep me company?"

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