Tu San quickly climbed up the rope and then pulled Concubine Liu out from the bottom of the well.
Seeing them safely up, Ye Xiangxiang couldn’t help but ask, “How are you going to explain this to Father? Everyone thinks the two of you eloped.”
Concubine Liu said, “Second Miss, I’ll have to trouble you with this matter. Go tell the master and make up a reason—say that we were actually hidden by you these past two days.”
“How can I do that?”
Ye Xiangxiang took a step back. “You want me to deceive Father? I don’t have the courage for that, and he won’t believe me anyway…”
Concubine Liu gave a cold, insincere smile. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll expose how you framed the eldest miss?”
Seeing her use this threat again, Ye Xiangxiang grew anxious.
She cried out, “You were the mastermind behind that! If you insist on exposing it, you’ll be punished too!”
Concubine Liu said, “Second Miss, if you help someone, see it through to the end.”
“I can only save you from the well—I really can’t help with anything else… You’ll have to figure it out yourself!”
Ye Xiangxiang shook her head repeatedly. Afraid that staying longer would lead to discovery, she turned to leave.
“Stop right there!”
Concubine Liu stared at her and sneered, “Today, whether you want to or not, you’re going to help!”
Ye Xiangxiang shrank back, turning around uneasily. “What do you mean by that?”
Concubine Liu sneered and whispered a few instructions to Tu San.
Hearing this, Tu San looked surprised. “Are you sure?”
Concubine Liu said, “Only this way will she listen to us.”
Tu San replied, “Fine. It’s not like I’ll lose out by doing this anyway.”
With that, he walked toward Ye Xiangxiang.
“Wh-what are you trying to do?”
A sudden sense of foreboding washed over Ye Xiangxiang, and she retreated in terror.
Tu San strode forward, grabbed her, and tightly covered her mouth.
“Mmph…”
Ye Xiangxiang struggled desperately, but it was futile against Tu San’s burly strength.
Tu San dragged her into a nearby house, long abandoned and covered in cobwebs and dust.
Concubine Liu closed the door and latched it, then found a piece of tattered cloth to gag Ye Xiangxiang. She whispered to Tu San:
“Hurry up! If we take too long, someone might find us!”
“You know I’m never fast,” Tu San said with a meaningful grin. “To come up with such an idea—you really are ruthless.”
As he spoke, he roughly tore open Ye Xiangxiang’s dress.
Ye Xiangxiang trembled with shock and fear, her entire body shaking like a sieve. She realized what Tu San intended to do but couldn’t believe it.
She didn’t even understand what these two people were truly planning.
Until she was pinned to the cold ground.
A flood of emotions seized her all at once. She wanted to scream but couldn’t make a sound, tears streaming down her face.
Concubine Liu stood with her arms crossed, watching coldly from the side.
Seeing Tu San growing more and more excited, Concubine Liu urged impatiently, “Are you done yet? I told you to ruin her purity, not to have fun with her!”
“It was your idea,” Tu San chuckled. “What’s there for you to be unhappy about?”
Concubine Liu cursed angrily, “Beast! When you were with me, I never saw you put in this much effort!”
Tu San thought to himself, how could a worn-out flower like you compare to this delicate young miss…
Even so, Tu San followed her words and sped things up.
The dark night and desolate courtyard concealed all ugliness and sin.
After Tu San got up, Ye Xiangxiang lay collapsed on the ground alone, her face covered in tears.
Concubine Liu pinched her face, her tone venomous as she said, “This time, you can help us, right? If you don’t, I’ll spread what happened tonight, letting everyone know that you were defiled by a lowly servant! Haha, by then, no one in the entire capital will be willing to marry you. Everyone will mock you, and you’ll never be able to marry!”
Ye Xiangxiang trembled.
This threat was undoubtedly fatal to her.
For a moment, she thought of ending her life, only to realize she didn’t even have the courage to seek death…
Ye Xiangxiang sobbed, tears streaming down her face once more.
Concubine Liu sneered, thinking, “A fool like you, who only knows how to cry, deserves to be used!”
Her eyes shifted, and she softened her tone, saying, “Actually, you don’t need to be too heartbroken. As long as you help us through this difficulty, I promise no one will ever know about tonight! Moreover, I know of a secret technique that can restore your body to its pristine state, making it just like that of a virgin. Even if you marry into the palace, no one will ever find out!”
Ye Xiangxiang raised her eyes, filled with regret and hatred.
But more than that, they were filled with despair, fear, and helplessness.
She sobbed for a long time before whispering, “Is… is that really true?”
“Of course it’s true!”
Concubine Liu patted Ye Xiangxiang’s hand and said, “By then, you’ll still be the glamorous second young lady of the prime minister’s residence. Look at how delicate and charming you are—why worry about not having a bright future?”
Ye Xiangxiang closed her eyes in despair. She had no choice at all.
Concubine Liu smiled triumphantly.
From then on, Ye Xiangxiang could only be held in her grasp, completely reduced to her tool of exploitation…