Chapter 59: Jade Pendant

Chang’an felt that His Highness the Crown Prince must have received some kind of shock.

The flesh on Jing Guiren’s body was being stripped off piece by piece. Every knife that fell on his body made him feel worse than death. Blood dripped everywhere, flesh was mangled, his eyes were bloodshot and red like a fierce ghost in the world. Those screams and cries of resentment to the heavens made people’s hearts tremble with fear, afraid that after death he would turn into a vengeful ghost coming back for revenge.

But Yue Guanyi was smiling.

In a flowing white robe, ethereal and otherworldly like a snow mountain beauty, yet standing in a place of filth and degradation. The faint smile at the corner of her lips was more chilling than Jing Guiren’s heart-wrenching screams. He would not become a vengeful ghost – he was the vengeful ghost itself.

As the skin and flesh were cut off piece by piece, Jing Guiren’s screams gradually faded. The light in his eyes slowly extinguished, leaving only an inescapable viciousness and a bloody skeleton. Even after witnessing so many cruel punishments, Chang’an still couldn’t help but shudder from the depths of his heart when faced with this lingchi execution.

He carefully stood behind Yue Guanyi and said, “Your Highness, Jing Guiren has stopped breathing.”

Yue Guanyi gazed into the distance. Chang’an followed her gaze – it was towards the Empress Dowager’s tent. A dim yellow light shone from inside, and someone was standing at the entrance of the tent. From the figure, it should be Yu Ye. Why wasn’t he going inside to serve?

Suddenly, Chang’an drew in a sharp breath. Could it be that the Empress Dowager was now alone in the room with Qiu Daren?

He glanced secretly at Yue Guanyi – her pale and thin figure, eyes dark and unclear. Watching her beloved alone with another man, Her Highness must be feeling very unwell, how could she have the heart to care about Jing Guiren’s matters?

Thinking of this, Chang’an said in a low voice, “This lowly one will go dispose of the body now.”

“Have the full one hundred and fifty cuts been made?” Yue Guanyi’s voice was cold, without a trace of human warmth.

Chang’an’s heart tightened: “Jing Guiren’s body was frail and didn’t last to a hundred cuts before passing… This lowly one deserves death!”

“Forget it.” Yue Guanyi’s cold voice made Chang’an feel as if he had fallen into an extremely cold abyss: “Mince the flesh and feed it to the dogs.”

“…Yes.” Chang’an felt his hair stand on end. What deep grudge did Jing Guiren have with Her Highness that even his corpse wasn’t spared? He had never seen her use such methods on those who offended her or Her Majesty before.

He ordered people to move Jing Guiren’s skeletal remains. A pair of jade hands stripped of skin and flesh were left with only a terrifying white skeleton.

Looking at these tragic hands, Chang’an suddenly shuddered. Could it be that Her Highness did this because Jing Guiren had scratched Qiu Daren’s face while alive?

He dared not think further and hurriedly ordered people to carry away the corpse.

The night wind was quiet and soundless, everywhere was empty. Apart from the main tent, there were only a few scattered palace servants and patrolling guards on duty. Not a single person could be seen in the hunting grounds. Yue Guanyi stood like a statue on the spot. In the distance, the sky gradually turned a fishy white, the thin light reflecting off her snow-white robe.

“It’s almost dawn. Your Highness has been busy all night, please return to the tent to rest for a while. It would be good to refresh yourself,” Chang’an said worriedly.

Yue Guanyi’s eyes moved slightly, her fairy-like white robe swaying gently in the wind, her silhouette frail: “Chang’an, how is your family?”

Chang’an was taken aback, not knowing why she suddenly asked about this.

Chang’an and his sister relied on each other, making a living by selling hard labor. Later, when he became Her Highness’s personal attendant, his sister also found a small official position in the Imperial Guards, and their lives gradually improved.

Unfortunately, when women’s lives improve, they easily become flirtatious. His sister also developed the habit of keeping male companions. Keeping them was one thing, but that male companion wasn’t a good person. Relying on having given birth to a daughter, he played tricks wanting to rise in status. His brother-in-law cried to him every day because of this, giving Chang’an a headache. He had even taken leave a few days ago just to deal with this matter.

Chang’an guessed that Yue Guanyi was asking about this matter, so he replied, “Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. The family matter has been dealt with.”

“How was it handled?”

Chang’an became angry just talking about it: “That male companion was also presumptuous, relying on having given birth to a daughter and wanting to take the position of the official husband. He didn’t know his place, just an artist from a brothel, causing chaos in the house every day. Fortunately, my sister came to her senses. He’s just a male companion, not even qualified to be a concubine. We scared him with the rule of trading concubines, and he didn’t dare to make trouble anymore.”

“However, after all this fuss, my sister has lost interest in him. She’s just waiting for him to give birth to the child, and after that, she won’t touch him again.”

“A male companion is just a male companion, not even considered a proper man. He can’t even enter our family’s genealogy. Relying on his youth and beauty, he thought he could monopolize a woman’s favor, not knowing that my sister was just playing with him, but he took it seriously.”

“If he could have always been well-behaved, perhaps my sister would have pampered him for a while longer. But he had to cause trouble himself, he really deserves it!”

The more Chang’an spoke, the more smug he became, completely unaware that Yue Guanyi’s face was growing paler and paler, her ten fingers tightly gripping the railing, hideous as if claws and bones were deeply embedded in flesh.

She asked, word by word with great difficulty: “Your sister – how long has she pampered him?”

“About three months. He’s not the first male companion my sister has kept. Other men were favored for even shorter periods.” Chang’an calculated the time – women are just so fickle.

“Three months?” Wood splinters pierced her fingertips, lifting her nails and stabbing viciously into flesh, making her heart violently stutter.

Just three months? Too short, too short.

Yue Guanyi’s heart nearly trembled. Not enough, far from enough. She wanted to serve her for a lifetime, for lifetimes to come. Even if reborn into the animal realm, she wanted to become a dog, to be her plaything, prostrating at her feet.