A flicker of hatred passed through Cuique’s heart.
Back then, after being bitten, the backyard supervisor had ignored whether she lived or died, never seeking medical treatment or medicine for her. This caused her wound to fester, taking a long time to heal and leaving an extremely deep and large scar. Over the years, no matter what medicine she used, it never faded.
Wu Yuanqing had initially sold her to bandits, who then sold her to a human trafficker. When the trafficker saw this scar, her face filled with disdain.
“Your face can be considered first-class, but your body isn’t even third-rate—it’s simply unsightly.”
Right then, she decided to raise Cuique and sell her to a brothel, rather than to a wealthy merchant.
Cuique exhausted every means to push down her peers, becoming the best “horse” in the trafficker’s hands, and was thus selected by a wealthy merchant to be gifted to Han Ruixuan, who was traveling in Jiangnan.
If it weren’t for that damned little blind girl Feng Sui letting that wretched dog bite her, how could she have lived such a difficult life!
Countless times, she had thought of selling Feng Sui to a brothel, letting her be ridden by thousands and crushed by tens of thousands, to vent the hatred in her heart!
Unfortunately, she had changed her identity and couldn’t let Han Ruixuan know her origins, so she couldn’t use his influence to track down Feng Sui’s whereabouts, allowing her to escape.
But Feng Xi happened to fall right into her hands.
With just a slight trick, she had Feng Xi’s entire family killed.
She had originally felt a bit regretful about missing Feng Sui, but now that she had come knocking on her own, it saved her the trouble of searching.
“Being bitten by a dog isn’t anything unusual. Who identifies people by tooth marks?”
Cuique wore a helpless expression.
If she could just stall a little longer, someone would come looking for her, and then… she would be the knife, and Feng Sui the fish on the chopping block.
Little did she know, Feng Qingsui was fully aware of her intentions.
“If you won’t talk, then go to hell sooner.”
She took out her makeup bag from her bosom, first restoring her own plain appearance, then used a silver needle to seal Cuique’s throat, rendering her unable to speak.
Finally, a trace of fear crept onto Cuique’s face.
She tried to open her mouth to question, but her jaw wouldn’t budge. She blinked desperately, but the other paid no attention.
Feng Qingsui walked up the steps and lightly knocked twice on the door. Immediately, three knocks sounded from outside—this was the cipher she had agreed upon with Wuhua.
She opened the door to let Wuhua in.
“Take her to that foreign gladiator.”
Wuhua lifted Cuique onto his shoulder and strode off effortlessly.
The foreign gladiator was confined in a waist-high pen, lying on the ground covered in wounds, a tight chain fastened around his neck.
When Feng Qingsui and Wuhua approached with Cuique, he glanced up, then listlessly lowered his eyelids again.
“Do you want to leave this place?”
Feng Qingsui crouched beside him and asked softly.
He opened his eyes, staring fixedly at her.
Clearly, he understood her words.
“If you do, stay quiet.”
After speaking, Feng Qingsui brushed aside the tangled hair on his forehead, studied him for a moment, then had Wuhua place Cuique nearby. She began applying makeup to Cuique to mimic the gladiator’s appearance.
Both Cuique and the foreign gladiator had large eyes and sharp chins, making the imitation not too difficult.
Once finished, she removed Cuique’s hairpin, tousled her hair, and wiped some blood from the gladiator onto Cuique’s face and head.
Finally, Cuique understood what she intended to do.
She strained her throat, trying to call for help.
But sharp pain shot through her throat.
“If you want to die faster, go ahead and shout as hard as you can.”
Feng Qingsui said calmly.
She then carefully put away the vanity case, signaled Wuhua to hold down Cuique, untied the ropes binding her hands and feet, removed her outer garment, and dressed the gladiator in it.
Next, she put the gladiator’s tattered, coarse cloth clothes onto Cuique.
—How dare you!
Cuique screamed frantically, but no sound came out.
When Feng Qingsui removed the collar from the gladiator’s neck and fastened it around hers, she shuddered.
—Let me go, and I’ll tell you how Feng Xi’s daughter died!
Feng Qingsui read her expression and calmly asked, “Did you kill her with your own hands?”
Cuique shook her head violently.
“Did Han Ruixuan kill her?”
Cuique hesitated for a moment.
“You don’t know?”
Cuique nodded.
“You lured her out to use someone else’s hand to kill her, right?”
Cuique remained motionless.
Feng Qingsui’s expression grew colder. “The one you used was the Crown Prince?”
Madam Wei had mentioned to her that on the night of the birthday banquet, the Emperor and Empress had sent gifts but did not attend in person—only the Crown Prince had come.
A flicker of terror crossed Cuique’s face.
She never expected Feng Qingsui to guess it right on the first try.
“No wonder.”
Feng Qingsui murmured to herself.
No wonder her brother-in-law had angered the Emperor and been thrown into the Heavenly Prison.
The Crown Prince was the praised heir apparent, virtuous and talented, upright and benevolent. If a death had occurred at the Rongchang Marquis Mansion during his visit to offer birthday congratulations, the mansion would surely have covered it up for him.
When her sister and brother-in-law learned of Xiao Yu’s death, they might not have known it was the Crown Prince’s doing, but Xiao Yu’s death must have been so unusual that they immediately saw through the Rongchang Marquis Mansion’s lies.
They might have considered making a scene—the birthday banquet was filled with guests, royalty, nobles, and high-ranking officials gathered together. Only by causing an uproar could they seek justice for Xiao Yu—but the Rongchang Marquis Mansion likely gave them no chance, immediately restricting their freedom.
So they chose to endure, to accept the Rongchang Marquis Mansion’s placations.
Later, they tried to appeal to the Emperor, never imagining that the real culprit was in the Eastern Palace. Their appeal never had a chance to be heard.
These high and mighty nobles, who could turn clouds with a wave of their hands, had dealt with countless such “troubles.”
Crushing a minister or destroying a family meant nothing to them.
But why?
Are the lives of ants not lives too?
She took a deep breath, suppressing the fury in her heart, and inserted two needles into each of Cuique’s shoulders.
“Take him, we’re going to Mobao.”
Cuique thought she might be able to escape, but the plump maid released her and instead hoisted the foreign gladiator onto her shoulder.
Cuique was stunned.
Seeing Feng Qingsui walk away, she tried to reach out and stop her, but her arm wouldn’t move at all.
Instantly, terror filled her heart.
—That child really wasn’t killed by her! How could they leave her here!
Feng Qingsui glanced back at her, her eyes as cold as ice.
“Without you, they wouldn’t have died.”
Cuique fell silent.
In the blink of an eye, she was alone in the enclosure, unable to speak or move her hands. Though her torso and legs could still move, the iron chain around her neck kept her trapped.
When the waiter approached, she stomped her feet frantically and widened her eyes, trying to tell him she wasn’t the gladiator!
But the waiter raised his whip and lashed her several times, cursing, “What are you up to? The show is about to start! Save your strength to escape!”
After cursing, he took a bottle from his pocket, removed the stopper, and poured its contents all over her.
Her pupils contracted sharply.
This was the drug that drove the beasts to lose their minds and tear into anything in sight!
—No! I don’t want to go into the beast-fighting arena!
The waiter cursed and grumbled, unfastening the iron chains and dragging her toward the direction of the beast-fighting arena. She struggled violently, but it only invited fiercer, more brutal whippings.
Soon, she was dragged into the beast-fighting arena.
Lanterns hung overhead illuminated the arena clearly. Gamblers sat in several circles around the unlit grounds.
In the gloom, their eyes seemed like those of beasts ready to devour their prey.