Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 512 Luo Yuheng Also Needs an Antidote? (12,000 words)

The scorching sun.

The weather at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn is the most stifling.

Both Lei Yi and Zhang Han were covered in beads of sweat, which shone like oil under the sunlight.

However, no matter how high the temperature was, it was far less than the burning and restless feeling deep inside. Especially when imagining what the Marquis would think when he saw their masterpiece, he became even more excited.

Lord Hou has never been stingy with his men.

Maybe if they're happy now, they'll get another big reward.

"It's getting late, Lao Lei, let's go," Zhang Han said to Lei Yi.

The two nodded, then leaped onto their tall horses. Behind them, dozens of silver-armored guards also sprang into action. The cart creaked and groaned under its heavy load, and the wheels began to turn on the ground.

The piles of heads and severed limbs on the cart swayed gently.

Blood dripped down from under the cart, leaving long, scarlet streaks.

On either side of the convoy stood two rows of silver-armored guards, their warhorses neighing and swords hanging at their waists. Though they did not adopt a fighting stance, they exuded a fierce aura.

No one spoke; only the clattering of horses' hooves mingled together, making the caravan even more silent. Before long, the eerie caravan arrived at Chang'an Street. After traveling some distance, they passed in front of a house. Looking up, they saw it was the residence of the Minister of Personnel.

Zhang Han revealed a strange smile and reached behind him to grab a bronze gong.

Holding a gong in one hand.

Holding a mallet in one hand.

Bang!
The mallet struck the gong heavily, and as the gong vibrated violently, it produced a loud and melodious sound that startled the servants of the Minister's mansion.

When the servants, guards, and maids peeked through the gates of the Minister's residence and saw the strange procession on Chang'an Street, they couldn't help but scream in alarm. Almost every one of them turned pale, their eyes filled with deep fear. Some of the maids, being timid, felt a churning in their stomachs and vomited with a loud "waaa."

Even the Minister of Personnel was alarmed. When the white-haired old man hurriedly walked from the inner hall to the door, he happened to see the small mound of heads piled up, with carts passing by. Even the Minister of Personnel, who had experienced many storms, was so shocked by this scene that his face turned pale and his beard trembled.

What are these people doing?
Could this have been deliberately arranged by the Marquis of Champions?
It definitely is.

Without the orders of the Marquis of Champion, how could his soldiers dare to be so arrogant?

But what does Champion Hou mean by this?
To reach the position of Minister of Personnel, one must naturally be extremely shrewd. With just a slight shift in his eyes, the old man felt he already understood Song Yan's meaning... This was Song Yan's warning.

Song Yan intended to use these cartloads of arms, legs, torsos, and piles of Jingguan (a mound of corpses) to warn all officials in the capital, through this bloody reality, that this would be their fate if they did not submit to him.

How domineering!

How cruel!

If Song Yan were here, if Song Yan knew what this old man was thinking, he would probably have a big "wronged" mark etched on his forehead.

This really has nothing to do with him.

Lei Yi and Zhang Han both had solemn expressions and remained silent. Even the thousand silver-armored guards behind them did not make a sound. Only on the carriage and on the mound of heads, the heads stared wide-eyed at their surroundings.

Despite the blazing sun overhead, the scene inexplicably evoked the feeling of a sinister and eerie funeral procession.

bang.

bang.

bang.

Every time we passed a grand mansion, a loud gong would ring out, followed by a flurry of chickens and dogs running around in chaos.

After making a ruckus in every prominent household in the inner city of Dongling, the Silver Armor Guards turned around and headed straight for the outer city along Chang'an Street.

The outer city has a much larger flow of people compared to the inner city.

The streets of Chang'an were packed with people. Upon seeing the cavalry, they instinctively scurried to either side. When they saw the contents of the carts carried between the two rows of silver-armored guards, it caused a huge uproar in the outer city. Some timid women turned their backs, trembling, while parents hurriedly covered their children's eyes. Some bolder women pointed and whispered about the mounds of corpses and severed limbs on the carts, creating a rustling sound wherever they went.

"My God, what's going on?"

"Idiot, can't you recognize these cavalrymen by their armor? These are the Silver Armor Guards under the Marquis of Champion's command. As for those things on the cart... there's a rumor that the Marquis was assassinated last night. I reckon these are the assassins. Tsk tsk, arms are arms, legs are legs, they've been cut into pieces. How pitiful."

"What's so tragic about it? In my opinion, they deserve it. But this is the first time I've ever seen someone build a mound of Jingguan on a cart and pull it around."

"Come on, if it weren't for the Marquis building two mounds of heads outside Dongling City, you wouldn't even have seen them. But what do you think the Marquis is trying to do? Why is he letting his men drag these heads around like that? It's terrifying. See? They're still dripping blood. They were just slaughtered."

"Don't you understand? The Marquis of Champion is no longer satisfied with just building a mound of corpses. Now he wants to slice up anyone who has offended him and drag the mound of corpses all over the imperial city. This is called showing off his military power, understand?"

Similar conversations were heard everywhere.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Han and the other man became even more smug.

They've really made the Marquis famous this time. He'll be overjoyed when he finds out.

So they struck the gongs even louder and louder, and Zhang Han and Lei Yi decided to stroll around the outer city a few more times so that more people could admire the Marquis's demeanor.

……

The canals in the mansion flow gently.

The sunlight fell, making the water sparkle.

The chirping of cicadas from the willows on both sides of the canal added a touch of noise to the quiet backyard.

Occasionally, a warm breeze would blow by, causing the strands of hair on Luo Yuheng's forehead to flutter. When the wind passed, the hair would slowly fall back down, only slightly disheveled.

Since it's a secret, it's not appropriate to bring it up in the front yard.

The pavilion in the back courtyard is a nice spot; it blocks out the sunlight, and the misty air adds a touch of coolness.

Luo Yuheng's fair hands were busy at work, a small pinch of tea leaves gradually unfurling in the teapot, already faintly exuding a refreshing tea aroma. Then Luo Yuheng poured the tea from the teapot onto the ground, poured in boiling water again, and the color of the tea in the teapot became a little lighter, but it looked even more tempting.

Luo Yuheng has been very fond of this kind of stir-fried tea ever since Song Yan made it.

I'll never boil tea again; it's too much trouble.

He poured himself a glass and then poured one for Song Yan as well... Song Yan didn't care about these formalities. He knew that Luo Yuheng disliked those tedious rules the most. If he stopped Luo Yuheng from doing so, he might even get a glare from Luo Yuheng.

Luo Yuheng took a sip of fragrant tea, a thoughtful expression on his face, as if he were reminiscing or pondering how to begin.

"Yan'er knows I'm not one to follow the rules." After a long silence, Luo Yuheng finally spoke, breaking the stillness of the room.

Song Yan smiled; he really had no way to respond to that.

“My elder brother, Prince Jin, and Prince Fu were all good children in Father’s eyes from childhood to adulthood, while I was the most mischievous one. Although the palace was large, it was like a cage in my eyes. I was still young at that time, but I always wanted to run out and see what the outside world was like.”

Song Yan remained silent.

Since ancient times, palace rules have been strict. Countless princesses were confined to that luxurious and enormous prison for more than a decade before their marriage.

It is unknown how many women, once they entered the palace, never had the chance to leave in their entire lives.

"I can't quite remember exactly how old I was."

"But, I must have been eleven or twelve years old, I heard about brothels and the Jade Garden from some of the students at Chongwen Academy. I heard that men liked to go to those kinds of places, so I was very curious and wanted to see what a brothel was like and what the Jade Garden was, and why so many men liked it."

Upon hearing this, Song Yan, who was drinking tea, coughed violently twice, his expression appearing particularly strange.

Good heavens, a royal princess like her actually wants to go to a brothel? No wonder she's Luo Yuheng!
"Unorthodox" is an understatement to describe his bravery!

Luo Yuheng could see through Song Yan's thoughts, and chuckled, "You also think my idea is outrageous, right? As a princess, I should stay obediently in the palace, listen to those old women talk about etiquette and rules, and female virtues and precepts, and then make myself gentle, dignified, obedient and generous. Then, when I reach the right age, my father will choose a talented young man from among the nobles and marry me off, or marry me to a prince of another country, so that I can gain some benefits for Ning Kingdom. That's the right path."

Song Yan shook his head: "No, I just think it's a bit dangerous for an eleven or twelve-year-old girl to go to a brothel or a place like Qunyu Garden."

"After all, such places are full of all sorts of people, and if you accidentally get hurt, it will be too late to regret it."

Luo Yuheng was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting to hear such an answer from Song Yan. After a few breaths, she smiled gently.

Yan'er is indeed different from others.

She still remembered that after her incident at the brothel, the tutor, the nanny, and even her father and mother all only blamed her, saying that such behavior was unbecoming of the royal family and disgraced the royal family. It was the first time she had met someone like Song Yan who was worried about whether she would be harmed.

For some reason, a certain thought in my mind became stronger and stronger.

She pursed her lips, suppressing some strange thoughts in her mind: "In any case, I did go to Qunyu Garden, of course disguised. I dressed up as a man. At that time, my figure was not like it is now. If I wore men's clothes, I would probably be considered a handsome young master from a wealthy family."

"I was quite disappointed after visiting it once. The so-called Qunyu Garden was just a place with more women, who were dressed more provocatively and were more seductive to men. Other than that, I couldn't see any difference... It wasn't much different from the palace. The concubines and beauties in the palace used far more elaborate methods to seduce the emperor than the women in Qunyu Garden."

Song Yan blinked. She really wanted to say that more women, more revealing outfits, would be more alluring, and for most people, that would be paradise.

"Moreover, just like the imperial palace, people in Qunyu Garden were also divided into different classes, the noble and the lowly."

"Just as I was getting bored and preparing to leave, I happened to see an old woman being driven out of Qunyu Garden."

"That old woman must be seventy or eighty years old."

"Very old."

"Her skin was wrinkled all over, like the bark of an old tree, withered and cracked. Her hair was white and dirty, like a bird's nest. She seemed to be sick, and her whole body was shaking."

"Her eyes were empty, without a trace of light, and her face was disfigured with several knife scars."

"I felt sorry for her, so I inquired about her and found out that she had been in Qunyu Garden for decades. I heard that she was originally a rich young lady, but she encountered bandits and her whole family was killed. She was also violated by the bandits. Not only was she violated, but her face was also disfigured."

"She knew how to embroider and sew, and begged the madam to give her a job. The madam took pity on her and allowed her to stay at Qunyu Garden to teach the girls to embroider scarves, sachets, and the like. But as she got older, her fingers became less nimble and she could no longer do needlework. She was then sent to the backyard to wash clothes."

"As she gets older, her hands and feet become increasingly sluggish, and her health deteriorates. In the words of the pimp, the little work she does isn't even enough to cover her medical expenses. Now that she's fallen ill again, the new madam doesn't want to keep her any longer and is planning to kick her out."

"I felt sorry for her, so I took her with me, of course, concealing her past experiences in Qunyu Garden."

Perhaps he had talked too much, Luo Yuheng felt his lips and tongue were a little dry, so he took a sip of tea to moisten his throat.

Song Yan could understand; the palace, with its natural light, would not allow women with experience in brothels to enter.

"That time I went to Qunyu Garden, I was caught by my father when I returned to the palace. It was the first time in my life that I was slapped on the palm of my hand. It didn't hurt much, and it was probably just for the tutor to see. My father still loves me very much. As for that old woman, I saw that she was cold all over, and her body felt like ice to the touch. So I asked the imperial physician, but unfortunately, the imperial physician didn't know what kind of illness could make a person feel so cold."

Song Yan raised an eyebrow, her body as cold as ice.

We've finally gotten to the crucial point.

After a brief pause, Luo Yuheng continued, his voice tinged with nostalgia: "To get rid of me, the imperial physician casually prescribed some mild tonics, which I then sent to her. I don't know if it was the effect of these medicines, but after a few days, the old woman actually survived. From then on, she became my nanny."

"Although he is ugly and has difficulty walking, he is actually very clever and can understand things very quickly."

"And so, she stayed with me for many years."

Luo Yuheng fell silent again.

She pursed her lips, as if she didn't want to recall those memories.

After a while, he finally spoke: "Everyone says that my father, Emperor Yuanjing, caught a cold after falling into the water and eventually died. But few people know that on the night my father passed away, an assassination attempt actually took place in the palace."

Song Yan's pupils contracted.

He truly knew nothing of such palace secrets.

"The targets of the assassination were my brother and me."

"At that time, half of the imperial guards responsible for protecting us defected, and almost all the palace maids and eunuchs around me were killed. Just when the knife was about to cut my head, just when I thought I was going to die, that old woman suddenly appeared." As Luo Yuheng spoke, he held up two fingers and gestured: "Just like that, she caught the assassin's knife between her two fingers, and with a gentle flick, the knife broke."

"The broken tip of the knife was plunged into the assassin's throat by her."

"I never knew this old woman was so powerful. She wiped out dozens of assassins and dozens of traitorous imperial guards in just a quarter of an hour."

"Having escaped death, I didn't even have time to smile before I saw the old woman start vomiting blood. I was terrified and rushed over to support her, only to find that her body was once again as cold as ice."

"The old woman was spitting blood and told me that she was going to die, that she really couldn't go on living this time."

She said her lifespan was coming to an end, and even the gods couldn't save her this time. She only had her full power left, and it would be a pity for her to die like this. She asked me if I wanted to inherit her mantle.

Luo Yuheng explained in detail, and Song Yan listened attentively.

It was clear that although Luo Yuheng kept calling her "old woman," he still missed her very much.

"She also said that although her skills are strong, almost unmatched by any martial artist in the world, she must be prepared to pay the price if she wants to withstand them."

"You agreed?" Song Yan asked.

Luo Yuheng nodded: "Yes."

"Later I learned that the so-called price was the cold poison."

Song Yan's face twitched slightly.

Cold poison?

How familiar those words are.

Hua Lianyue has a cold poison in her body.

Lin Xue has a cold poison in her body.

Chu Menglan has a cold poison in her body.

Even in the Su Nu Pavilion of the Chu Kingdom, dozens of female disciples who cultivated the "Extreme Yin Su Nu Scripture" all had cold poison in their bodies.

Could it be that the power Luo Yuheng inherited from that old woman is also related to the "Extreme Yin Su Nu Jing"?
Could it be... that Luo Yuheng also needs an antidote?
How do we solve this?
(End of this chapter)