Chapter 24
Chapter 24 A Trip to the Western Prison
“My lady, are you looking for a famous painting?” The owner of the bookstore saw a lady standing in front of a painting for so long, so he finally couldn’t help but ask.
That painting had been there in the very corner of the store and was covered with dust.
On the one hand, it wasn’t from a famous painter, and the name on the seal was not familiar to people. On the other hand, the painter didn’t draw the scholars’ favorite flowers or landscapes, which could show his artistic perception. Instead, this painting was actually rather terrifying.
Under the crimson red and gloomy background, a man was walking above the sea of blood, leaving footprints behind him. His most distant footprints were slowly turning into blooming irises which were also red. The flowers made the red sea look more gruesome, as if it was the Sura Sea in the legend.
It was hard to see that man’s face, but the look on his face seemed very breezy, as if he didn’t know he was walking on a sea of blood. To put it another way, he was like the king of the blood sea, so he could walk ahead easily and didn’t need to care about the high waves behind him.
Qu Moying found this painting the most suspicious in this store. At last, she chose to stop in front of it and take her time to appreciate it.
As a result, the owner went over to her.
“Lord Yun saved my life. I’m here to repay the favor.” Qu Moying didn’t look back with her eyes still falling on the painting. The edges of her long veil drooped on her shoulder, making her look very elegant.
But her words were rather straightforward!
“You want to see Lord Yun?” The owner’s tone turned serious at once. Then he took a step back subconsciously with a reverent look.
This store was owned by Lord Yun, but very few people knew that. That was to say, people who knew it all had connections with Lord Yun.
The owner of the store knew who Qu Moying was because he had been there when that accident happened. It was mainly because Qu Moying’s veil was too conspicuous, and there was no other one who looked like that.
It was hard for anyone to forget Qu Moying’s appearance.
“I’m here to repay his favor of saving my life.” Qu Moying turned around slowly and repeated that with a clam look.
“Well… you might have to wait for a moment. I need to report to the lord first.” The owner didn’t dare to call the shot.
Qu Moying understood that it’s still up to the lord if he wanted to see her or not since the owner was only in charge of a small bookstore and couldn’t make decisions for him.
He asked someone to take Qu Moying to the private room upstairs. Having served tea for her, the owner left in a hurry and sent someone to Lord Yun’s mansion to report her arrival.
The messenger went back quickly and brought back a carriage which was pulled up at the back door.
The green carriage was one of the most common ones on the street. Qu Moying didn’t ask too much and got in with Yu Chun. After that, the carriage slowly marched on.
Qu Moying lifted the curtain to check the direction they were heading in, but she found the destination was not Lord Yun’s mansion.
“My lady…” Yu Chun got a little scared. Everyone in the capital had heard of Lord Yun’s name, even if he seldom stayed in the capital.
“It doesn’t matter!” Qu Moying put down the curtain and stopped looking. Then she lowered her eyes while gripping her handkerchief. With the hesitation disappearing in her eyes, she finally made up her mind.
She couldn’t hesitate for a single moment since she had already started her plan.
It was too easy for Lord Yun to kill her. Actually, no one would dare to say a word even if he wanted to kill Qu Zhizhen. Therefore, it was pointless to panic.
After a few turns, the carriage stopped at one place.
Yu Chun helped Qu Moying get down. As Qu Moying stood in front of a huge gate and saw the big words carved on top ‘Western Prison,’ she couldn’t help showing a nervous look.
This was the ‘Western Prison’ where all the felons convicted by the Ministry of Justice or Dali Temple were locked up.
It was said that even the tiles at the gate had been soaked in blood. When it rained, the water on the ground would look reddish.
People all got jittery at the mention of this place.
It felt gruesome and creepy to walk by, even during the daytime.
Why did Lord Yun choose to meet her at this place?
Narrowing her eyes, Qu Moying calmed herself down. At this moment, she had to walk ahead because there was no way back.
“My… My lady…” Yu Chun stammered in shock while pulling the hem of Qu Moying’s clothes. There was no doubt that she had heard of the Western Prison too.
Yu Chun’s feet already felt weak.
“Don’t be afraid!” Qu Moying comforted her in a gentle voice. After she looked at the board above her head, she continued, “Since it is destined to happen, we don’t need to think about running away from it. Among all the unknown things, the inevitable ones should be the least scary.”
“B-But I’m still scared…” Yu Chun was still trembling.
Her trembling, clenching hand also made Qu Moying’s dress shiver. Qu Moying looked at her clothes being shaken with the corner of her lips turned up, thinking, ‘What a timid and kind maid!” In Qu Moying’s previous life, she also had a maid like Yu Chun. Now she was wondering how that girl had ended up!
When the accident had happened in the bridal chamber, her maid Wei Yu had disappeared, and only Xie Feng had been with her. After that, Xie Feng had taken her away from the bridal chamber, but only to set her up.
Xie Feng had betrayed her long ago!
“Yu Chun, what are you afraid of?” As Qu Moying remembered her former servant, she suddenly got soft-hearted.
“I… I heard that… this place is full of ghosts… Even during the daytime… during the daytime, there are shadows of the ghosts… Anyone… anyone who walks by, even the strong ones, will… get really sick,” Yu Chun faltered.
“Did you kill those guys?” Qu Moying said, showing a cold smile behind the veil. She set her mouth in a grim line, looking ruthless.
“M-My lady… I don’t even know th-them!” Yu Chun felt so aggrieved. As she looked around, she still felt horrified. There was no one by the door. She wondered if it was because the ghosts were on guard.
As she thought of that, she just got more scared and got closer to Qu Moying subconsciously.
Yu Chun was taller than Qu Moying. Though she was not fat, she still looked bigger than Qu Moying, who was very slim. However, now she just hung onto Qu Moying, which looked very funny.
“Since you don’t know them or didn’t hurt them, why would they come to you?” Qu Moying looked at Yu Chun while saying in a gentle voice, “The most dangerous thing in this world is not the ghost but the human mind.”
As speaking of that, Qu Moying paused and raised her head to look in the direction of the Crown Prince’s palace with a sarcastic look. She had only ended up like this because she couldn’t see that man through.
Ghosts? They were not a big deal at all. Actually, she should be considered a ghost too!
She had never wanted to hurt anyone, but she would let those people who hurt her get what they deserved.
Since she had been reborn, she had to revenge even if she had to turn the hell or the sea of blood upside down. To find the truth about her death, she was willing to sacrifice her life, everything she had.
If there was no justice in this world, she would create justice for herself.
Yu Chun slowly loosened her grip. She looked at Qu Moying, who seemed like a loner but actually was very kindhearted, and then bit her lips. Suddenly, she remembered Qu Moying’s behaviors over the last few days. Then with her face covered with sadness and anger, she thought,
‘That’s right! The human mind is the hardest to see through and is scarier than all the ghosts. Evil people like Second Madam and Third Lady have set Fourth Lady up so many times, but they could still enjoy a wealthy life in the Qu family while Fourth Lady had to live in the estate for years. No one in this family except for First Lady Ji and Old Lady Qu had ever gifted anything to Fourth Lady during all the festivals.’
Qu Moying had used to be a loner. She always seemed too gloomy at her age. Sometimes she would just sit there for a whole day without uttering a word. Even her maids sympathized with her as they saw her hopeless look. She was like that only because she had been hurt so bad!
But now, Qu Moying had changed and seemingly became a different person. Even though she was still thin and weak, now she even made others feel dangerous, which made Yu Chun rest assured.
Yu Chun felt that her lady could now protect her and also herself.
With the thought of that, Yu Chun put on a calm look while biting her lips hard. Having stood straight, she followed Qu Moying. As Qu Moying’s personal maid, she couldn’t be a coward anymore since her lady had already changed. No matter how weak she was, she would stand by her lady’s side.
Since her lady didn’t flinch, how could she run away?
Seeing the changes on Yu Chun’s face, Qu Moying showed a smile in her eyes. She did need a loyal and brave helper. The road ahead would be tough and full of danger. She didn’t want a devoted servant like Yu Chun to be sacrificed. If Yu Chun couldn’t be tough, Qu Moying would send her away.
She hoped that Yu Chun could stay with her as a strong maid. Fortunately, now she was happy to see the changes in Yu Chun.
Then they started to walk. When they arrived by the door, they saw a few imperial bodyguards standing at the corner. In fact, they had been there long ago, but the two girls hadn’t noticed since the soldiers all stood in the shadow, and it was the first time they came.
“Who are you?” A bodyguard stepped forward with his hand on his sword. He was surprised to see two fragile girls here. Still, he snapped, “This is the Western Prison, not someplace for you to hang out. Now leave!”
Qu Moying stopped with her eyebrows knitted. She didn’t know what to say. Should she claim that Lord Yun asked her to come, or she was here to find Lord Yun?
The two explanations both sounded inappropriate.
At the moment, a pageboy who looked quite bright ran out. After he sized Qu Moying and Yu Chun up, he walked to the bodyguard and whispered. The bodyguard kept nodding. After that, he told other bodyguards to make way for them and said with a smile.
“My lady, please!” He even bowed to Qu Moying with a fawning look.
The pageboy led the way, beaming.
Qu Moying nodded and walked into the intimidating Western Prison…
On an attic in front of the gate of the Western Prison, Pei Yuanjun (Lord Yun) turned around slowly to look at the weird lady and her maid. Then he sat down on a large chair in the middle.
The maid seemed timid, but the lady was very brave.
To put it another way, she was seriously bold. Anyone who got into the Western Prison for the first time, including all those officials, would change the looks on their faces. But Qu Moying didn’t.
Pei Yuanjun lifted the corner of his pretty lips, thinking, ‘She’s a perfect fit for it…’
