“Pei Anqing, Jiang Wanru, you will die a horrible death!”
Heart-wrenching screams echoed from within the dungeon of the Prince of Langya’s Mansion in the Eastern Ling Kingdom.
“Ah—”
A glowing red branding iron was once again pressed heavily against Jiang Wanning’s body. The flesh on her chest sizzled, and black smoke carrying the scent of charred meat wafted into the nostrils of everyone present.
Jiang Wanru, like a frightened little white rabbit, covered her face and huddled trembling in Pei Anqing’s arms. “My Lord, Sister’s eyes are so terrifying.”
Pei Anqing held the woman in his arms and threw the branding iron toward Jiang Wanning’s face. “Since you dare to scare Ru’er, those eyes might as well be gouged out.”
“Why? Why on earth are you doing this to me?”
Since the death of the Prince of Langya, Pei Yanchuan—who was her father-in-law—Jiang Wanning had simply drunk a cup of tea handed to her by her concubine sister and lost consciousness. When she woke up, she was already in this dark dungeon. Her hands were shackled with iron chains, and every day, besides enduring endless torture, she was kept alive only by a cup of dirty water.
“My Lord, seeing how pitiful Sister is, why don’t we tell her the truth?”
Pei Anqing looked at the woman in his arms with doting eyes and pinched Jiang Wanru’s waist. “Ru’er is truly the most kind-hearted.”
Jiang Wanru took the opportunity to soften her body, her curves brushing against Pei Anqing.
“You little vixen.” Pei Anqing abruptly tore off Jiang Wanru’s clothes.
This wasn’t the first time the two of them had engaged in such acts before her eyes; every time, Jiang Wanru would look at her with a provocative gaze.
After the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn.
Pei Anqing looked at his soiled clothes with disgust. “Why don’t you go and change your clothes first, My Lord? I will see Sister off on her final journey.”
As Jiang Wanru spoke, she helped straighten Pei Anqing’s robes. Pei Anqing hooked Jiang Wanru’s chin and gave her a light peck. “Seeing how hard you’ve worked, I shall allow it.”
Jiang Wanru shyly lowered her eyelids, only slowly raising them after Pei Anqing had left. The weakness on her face vanished. She picked up the branding iron and nonchalantly placed it over the fire to heat. Once it was glowing red, she walked slowly toward Jiang Wanning.
“My dear sister, since the Marquis Mansion raised me for so many years, I’ll let you die knowing the truth.”
“In fact, the Prince never loved you. Didn’t you know? The one who truly loved you was Pei Yanchuan.”
Jiang Wanning’s body stiffened. “What nonsense are you talking about?!”
“Hahaha! Look at you. Usually, you believe every lie I tell, but now that I’m finally pitying you with the truth, you refuse to believe it.”
“Pei Yanchuan and the Prince are not biological father and son at all. The Prince’s father was a brother-in-arms who fought alongside Pei Yanchuan. Because of Pei Yanchuan’s greed for glory and reckless advance, the Prince’s father died, and his mother followed him in death out of grief.”
“Instead, Pei Yanchuan took all the credit and was titled the only Prince of a different surname in the Eastern Ling Kingdom.”
“If he were truly kind, he could have returned that merit to the Prince. But not only did he not do that, he even adopted the Prince as his godson.”
“How can military merits be handed over so easily? Even if he were willing, would the Emperor be? He intended to pass the title of Prince of Langya to Pei Anqing, which is why he did what he did,” Jiang Wanning argued in defense of Pei Yanchuan.
“He is only six years older than the Prince; he merely inflated his age by ten years. If he didn’t die, how could the position of the Prince of Langya be passed down?”
“He was deeply poisoned and wouldn’t have lived much longer anyway. Why were you in such a hurry?” Jiang Wanning cried out in accusation.
“Who knows exactly how long ‘not much longer’ really is? As long as he lived one more day, there was a chance for things to change.”
“So, the Prince had no choice but to kill him, hahaha…” Jiang Wanru laughed wildly. “He even used the pretext of you being in danger to lure him into a pre-arranged ambush.”
“What I didn’t expect was that he actually loved you so much. To let you live, he actually knelt before his own godson and even performed the bone-scraping punishment on himself… Tsk tsk…”
“That scene… was a thousand times more painful than what you’re feeling now~”
Hearing this, Jiang Wanning couldn’t stop shaking, and tears flowed uncontrollably.
Jiang Wanru was very satisfied with Jiang Wanning’s current state and continued: “Ever since the Prince followed Pei Yanchuan from the border to the capital three years ago, he noticed that Pei Yanchuan liked you. So, the Prince began to pursue you relentlessly.”
“It was all just to take revenge on Pei Yanchuan.”
No wonder every time Pei Yanchuan was around, Pei Anqing would always act especially intimate with her. No wonder Pei Yanchuan always appeared whenever she was in danger.
“Now that the Prince’s matters are settled, let’s talk about the Marquis Mansion.”
Jiang Wanru held up the branding iron, looked at it, and pressed it against Jiang Wanning’s face. Just looking at that stunning face filled her with jealousy.
Jiang Wanning bit her lip until it bled but no longer cried out. This bit of pain was nothing compared to what he had endured.
“Oh dear, it seems it’s not hot enough anymore. Sister isn’t even screaming~” As she spoke, she put the branding iron back into the brazier.
“Sister probably doesn’t know yet—during this month you’ve been locked in the dungeon, Pei Yanchuan died, and your parents died too. Oh right, and your grandfather. They’re all dead, hahahaha…”
“Jiang Wanru! How could you kill your own family for a man!” Jiang Wanning felt as if her heart was breaking from the pain.
“They were only your family, not mine.” Jiang Wanru reached out and grabbed Jiang Wanning’s disheveled hair, saying viciously: “If it weren’t for the Marquis Mansion’s property, who would be willing to endure such humiliation and act so cautiously?”
“To tell you the truth, your mother offended someone she shouldn’t have. It was that person who told my mother to set your father up, all to make that b*tch, your mother, live in agony.”
“Back then, it wasn’t your father who betrayed your mother at all. My real father has been right there in your Marquis Mansion all along.”
“My mother and my father have been loving each other right under your family’s noses.”
“Now that everyone in the Marquis Mansion is dead, my mother is the only head of the household left. She will even win a fine reputation for her chastity.”
“That was also what that person promised my mother and father.”
“Oh right, you still don’t know how your mother died, do you? It was the snacks I helped you deliver every time.” Jiang Wanru pinched her thumb and forefinger together. “Each time, I added just a little bit of poison.”
“That old hag—as long as it was from you, she ate every single bite.”
“As for your father… he was handed over to that person~”
“Your grandfather’s death was a bit ‘better,’ though. The Prince ordered people to nail him alive into his coffin and then gave him a grand funeral. That scene, tsk tsk…”
“I have to say, he truly lived up to being the Old Imperial Tutor. It’s just a pity that with so many people at the funeral, not a single one was a relative, hahaha…”
Jiang Wanning’s tears fell in torrents. She lunged toward Jiang Wanru, making the iron chains clank loudly.
“Jiang Wanru! You will die a horrible death!”
“Hahahaha! The one dying a horrible death right now is you, my dearest sister.” Jiang Wanru threw her head back and laughed. “I’ve even prepared a great gift for you.”
“Once you’ve seen it, I’ll send you on your way.” She raised her hand and clapped twice.
“Shaoyao! Haitang!” Jiang Wanning looked at the two of them, covered in blood.
“Sister, stop shouting. They’re already dead. They died very ‘pleasurably’ too, by the hands of countless beggars…”
“Alright, this Princess Consort is tired. Sister, you can disappear from this world now.”
As Jiang Wanru spoke, she drew a long sword from the wall and plunged it into Jiang Wanning’s heart.
“Throw these three corpses into the mass grave outside the city and let the wild dogs feast on them.”
She slashed a large ‘X’ across Jiang Wanning’s face with the sword and commanded the dungeon guards.
“Yes! Princess Consort!”