The night was as black as ink, spilling over the upturned eaves of Jinzhou Prefecture’s mansion. Lanterns swayed along the corridors, casting dim yellow light that stretched the shadows long, resembling sins lurking in the dark.
Shen Qinghuan moved like a ghost, silently landing on the branches of an old locust tree outside a bedroom window. His robes brushed against the night wind, yet not a single leaf stirred.
The window paper was high-quality mulberry paper, but years of neglect had left it riddled with fine cracks. Using the faint candlelight from inside, he could see the room clearly.
Three glass lamps illuminated the room, their bright glare exposing every bit of luxury.
On the rosewood canopy bed, heaps of Jinzhou fabrics were piled like clouds. Cai Huaian sat shirtless, his loose rolls of fat gleaming greasy under the light. He held Madam Liu’s slender waist with one hand, while the other wandered greedily over the pale neck of his male concubine.
Madam Liu wore a water-red silk dress, a bejeweled hairpin swaying at her temple. She pressed her cheek against Cai Huaian’s chest, nails scratching his fat, her voice sweet to the point of cloying, yet edged with venom: “Sir, you said that boy—could he really be more handsome than me?”
Cai Huaian let out a coarse, lecherous laugh. He pinched Madam Liu’s cheek, then planted a sloppy kiss on the male concubine’s lips. “Naturally!
The other day, I glimpsed him on the street—his figure, his brows and eyes, more delicate than any girl. If we could abduct him, I’d have him obedient, more pleasing than the two of you combined.”
His fingers dug into the male concubine’s waist, eyes brimming with undisguised greed and lechery. “Tomorrow I’ll have someone check his residence. A lonely outsider, no one to protect him—he’ll be ours to toy with.
He won’t be able to live freely, nor die, and he’ll get a taste of defying me!”
The male concubine trembled, too frightened to resist. He forced a flattering smile, shrinking closer to Cai Huaian’s chest. “Sir is wise. I will fully assist you, and teach that boy proper manners.
But… but please do not forget my loyalty. I have served you for three years, far more devoted than any outsider.”
His voice quavered slightly, yet his eyes held an abyssal resentment, buried deep beneath fear.
Seeing this, Madam Liu immediately pouted and pushed the male concubine. “You little wretch, always stealing the credit!
The master knows well whose hands serve him. Who gave you the right to speak?”
She turned to Cai Huaian, her tone growing even more venomous. “That boy dares ruin your plans. Last time at Zhang Yulian’s shop, if not for his meddling, we would have taken it already.
Once we capture him, we’ll first break his legs, forcing him to crawl and serve you, then sell him to the lowest brothel. Let those crude men abuse him, and he’ll never lift his head again!”
“Hahaha, only my darling understands me!”
Cai Huaian laughed, his rolls of fat shaking as he reached for Madam Liu’s collar. “And that Zhang Yulian woman doesn’t know her place either. Once we deal with that boy, it’ll be her turn.
Her shop, her gold, silver, and jewels, and her modest beauty—all will be ours. Then, with the two singers Li Bao sent, we’ll surpass even the immortals!”
He lowered his voice, speaking darkly. “Li Bao has already handled things. He’s watching Jinzhou City’s citizens. Anyone resisting will be secretly eliminated, their bodies thrown into the common grave—no one will find out.
All the wealth we’ve plundered over the years will last us generations!”
Outside, Shen Qinghuan’s fingers whitened from gripping the tiles.
The night wind brought a chill, but it could not cool the raging fire in his heart.
These three—one corrupt, trampling on life and law; one venomous, aiding evil; one cowardly, complicit in wrongdoing—treated the suffering of ordinary people as their amusement, the dignity of others as ants to trample.
Every word they spoke was a poisoned dagger into Shen Qinghuan’s heart, erasing the last shred of hesitation, leaving only cold resolve.
“Evil shall meet retribution. Today, you will pay for your sins.”
Shen Qinghuan’s voice was soft as smoke, fading into the night wind.
He moved his fingers, condensing three fine “Madness Pills” with his inner strength. With a flick of his wrist, three almost imperceptible holes appeared in the window paper. The pills shot through like meteors, landing perfectly in the open mouths of the three immersed in their lustful fantasy.
None of them noticed a thing.
Cai Huaian swallowed, continuing, “Once we catch that boy, we’ll first—”
His words cut off abruptly. Dizziness struck, the candlelight before his eyes twisting into countless ghostly figures. They lunged at him, screaming, “Return my life! Return my property!”
“Ah!
An assassin!
That boy! He’s come for my life!”
Cai Huaian was terrified, pushing Madam Liu and the male concubine away. Barefoot, he leaped from the bed, stumbling toward the door, hands flailing. “Help!
Protect me! Protect me!”
Madam Liu’s face changed instantly. Her once coquettish gaze went blank and wild. She pointed at Cai Huaian’s nose, screaming: “You greedy official!
You demon!
My parents died because of you!
You seized our land, drove my husband to death, and abducted me as a concubine. I’d rather peel your skin and rip out your tendons!”
Her hair was disheveled, her skirt crooked. She ripped the bejeweled hairpin from her head and thrust it toward Cai Huaian’s eyes, her gaze full of apocalyptic hatred.
The male concubine huddled in the corner, hands clutching his head, suddenly wailing in a heart-wrenching cry that pierced the night:
“Cai Huaian!
You will die an awful death!
You falsely accused my father of treason, wiped out my family, abducted me as a toy, and tortured me day and night!
You colluded with the bandit Li Bao, raiding caravans outside the city, killing Zhang Yulian’s husband, and seizing her silk shop!
The souls you wronged will come for vengeance sooner or later!”
He wept, ramming his head against the wall in madness. Blood soon seeped from his forehead, his figure pitiful and deranged.