Chapter 69: Qingbi's Experience (Part 2)

  Huǒ Róng listened and looked at Xīn Qí, who was on the verge of death. He thought that Xīn Qí had gone to meet Lì Xiāng, so he asked Lì Xiāng how they were going to meet. Lì Xiāng trembled with fear as she explained their plan. Xīn Qí had been tortured too severely and had fallen into a deep coma. Huǒ Róng didn't believe that Xīn Qí was just a small pawn, thinking there must be bigger fish behind the scenes. So, he sealed off the news of Xīn Qí and Lì Xiāng's capture, letting Lì Xiāng return to her carefree life at the Parrot Pavilion, where she began to set up an ambush to catch more prey.

  Within two days, news of Xin Qi's sudden death spread out.

  Xin Qi's death led to the suspension of the connection, but the Northern Rong army suddenly intensified their training. Except for the Gao Di tribe, the Yan and Mo Di tribes all dispatched troops to the vicinity of North Rong Kuo Er City. These abnormal actions naturally made the hidden Xuan Dynasty moles uneasy.

  After waiting for ten days, the spy who had been secretly monitoring Lixiang finally waited for the new contact person to arrive.

  Lixiang had already betrayed Xuang Chao in order to save her own life.

  The newly arrested is Dongling among the ten this time

  Dong Ling was a timid person, and as soon as he saw the flames, he spilled all the beans like a bamboo tube dumping out its contents. What he revealed was a major secret: among the ten women who had come this time, three were actually spies, whose mission was to contact the original spies and obtain the layout of the underground city beneath Kuer City. It wasn't until then that Qing Sang learned that beneath Kuer City lay a labyrinthine underground city.

  Dong Ling said that among the three of them, there was a common emergency signal, which was to play the tune "Wang Xing Mei" on the sheng. If this tune sounded, it meant that an extremely dangerous situation had arisen.

  Huorou was overjoyed when he heard the news. Now that he had captured Xinqi Dongling, he also grasped their means of communication, and thus could use Dongling and Lixiang to lure out the last mole.

  In the dead of night, the sound of a flute echoed, and Huo Ran, who had been waiting in his own mansion, finally received the good news that the guards stationed at various places had captured the mysterious assassin from Xuan Chao.

  Unfortunately, after waiting for a long time, no one showed up, which surprised Huo Ran greatly. Had that person already sensed the danger, or had Dong Lingli deceived him?

  Just as Huo Ran was at a loss, the sky had just brightened, and the dark guard who was arranged to monitor the whereabouts of each woman in Xuan Chao brought a woman with her head and face tightly wrapped to Huo Ran.

  After lifting the veil, Huo Rong was furious, he had suspected it before, but didn't dare to believe that what was brought out would be just an illusion.

  Because of his infatuation with Yan Meng, at this moment Huo Ran's anger was enough to burn everyone to death. He ordered people to bring all the beauties sent by Xuan Chao over and deal with Yan Meng in front of everyone.

  "That was a punishment of unprecedented severity" Qingbi closed his eyes in agony.

  Qing Sang tightly grasped Qing Bi's hand and looked at her pained face that had distorted in shape, wanting to make her stop talking.

  Just as she was about to speak, Qingbi continued: "That day, we were all taken to the Nianwei Platform. The central part of the platform had a raging fire, and the surrounding air was scorching hot, but I felt an icy coldness throughout my body. We fifteen Xuan Dynasty women finally gathered together on that day, only to find that Xin Qi was already a lifeless corpse. Of the previous five, only one remained in the Fangluo Mansion, while the others were sent away to the Youxiao Temple after King Rong found out they were ordinary civilian girls and had them live a life of being trampled upon. The days spent in the Fangluo Mansion were not easy either, with us often being beaten and scolded by Fangluo. As for us ten women, except for me and Yanmeng, the others also suffered miserably at the hands of those Northern Rong generals. When we first gathered together, except for Lixiang and Dongling, none of us knew what had happened until King Rong furiously asked if there were any spies among us. We trembled with fear, supporting each other, not daring to speak a word. King Rong stormed over to Yanmeng, ordering his men to pin down her hands and feet, making her lie on the ground. He then bellowed that Yanmeng was unworthy of bearing his child. With a ruthless expression, he lifted his foot and brutally kicked Yanmeng's belly, again and again. Yanmeng's anguished cries grew fainter, as blood slowly flowed from beneath her body, spreading across the ground."

  Qingbi's eyes widened as she spoke, her lips turned blue, and her hands clenched into fists, with white and blue veins bulging at the joints. Qing Sang was also shocked by what Qingbi said, and instinctively covered his stomach with one hand.

  Is Huo Ran still human? The one in Yan Meng's belly is his own flesh and blood.

  "Don't think about it anymore, sister." Qing Sang couldn't bear to let Qing Bi recall that bloody scene again, so she reached out and grasped Qing Bi's fist, helping her relax.

  Qingbi continued to say: "Yanmeng's child in her belly is gone, but King Rong still won't let her go. He ordered someone to cut off Yanmeng's tendons and sent her to the Xiangyang Temple, where she was humiliated by everyone. He said he wanted Yanmeng to suffer a fate worse than death."

  Qing Sang dared not think of the scene described by Qing Bi, on the second day after marriage, the tragic death of the palace maids and eunuchs appeared before her eyes again, Qing Sang felt endless fear.

  Qingbi continued: "After disposing of Yanmeng, King Rong ordered people to take turns torturing Li Xiang and Dong Ling. Before they had even stopped breathing, they were thrown alive into the huge bonfire pit in the center of the platform, and they were burned to death."

  "Sister, don't say anything more, it's all in the past." Qing Sang saw Qing Bi's face getting paler and paler, afraid that she couldn't bear it, gently patted her back, telling her not to speak anymore.

  "No, no, let me finish, I've been holding it in for so long, I'm in so much pain, do you know? Sang'er, I'm in so much pain" Qingbi suddenly grasped her hair tightly, letting out a low, almost hysterical moan. Her voice was suppressed to an extremely low level, even when venting, Qingbi didn't dare raise it loud, showing just how terrified she was of what had happened.

  "Alright, alright, sister, just say everything, it'll be fine once you've said it." Qing Sang patted Qing Bi's back gently and repeatedly.

  Qingbi slowly calmed down, with an endless desolation in her voice: "The remaining people did not escape this disaster either, one by one they were thrown into the bonfire... and I, perhaps King Rong had a thread of affection for me, didn't have me killed, but instead made me drink a medicinal soup, from then on I was no longer able to bear children." Qingbi finished speaking, closed her eyes, and tears flowed down like a stream.

  All of this is Qingbi's nightmare, and also Qing Sang's heartache. What did Qingbi do wrong? What did those women from the mysterious dynasty do wrong? Why does heaven treat them so cruelly? Qing Sang thinks that she is not a person who complains about heaven or sympathizes with people, but in her past life, she was harmed, and in this life, she has been through hardships. She never blamed heaven or complained to others, but at this moment, the tragic fate of Qingbi and those innocent women makes her feel powerless and helpless.

  She suddenly felt that she couldn't protect anyone after all

  The two sisters stayed together all day. Qingbi knew she was pregnant, and she felt both joy and worry. The joy came from the existence of a new life, while the worry was about the child's future, as Prince Dage, who was not the biological father, would not treat Qing Sang well.

  But no matter what, the reunion of the two sisters is the greatest strength for each other to move forward.

  After dinner, Qing Sang suggested that Qing Bi stay and rest together. Qing Bi refused, saying that there were many people in the mansion and it was easy to spread rumors. She had already stayed here for a day, and if she continued to stay, she feared it would lead to unnecessary gossip.

  Qing Sang also knew that this made sense, so although he was reluctant in his heart, he still let Qing Bi return to the other courtyard to live.

  After Qingbi left, Qingsang lay on the bed, exhausted and tired, but couldn't fall asleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, he thought of the miserable scene described by Qingbi and felt a chill all over his body.

  All day, Qing Sang was immersed in a certain sorrow and didn't think carefully about Qing Bi's words. It wasn't until the middle of the night when people were quiet that Qing Sang thought again about Qing Bi's words and felt that something was off. Especially the fact that Qing Bi was still alive seemed like Qing Bi had deliberately avoided her. Why did she manage to survive while Rong Wang recalled old feelings, and Yan Mei was favored? Rong Wang used such cruel and inhumane methods, not even sparing his own flesh and blood, yet he showed humanity towards Qing Bi?

  Thinking of Qing Sang, he felt that he was now too sensitive, making him feel like everything was a threat. As long as Qing Sang was alive, it didn't matter what the reason was or how important it was.

  So, Qing Sang didn't want to think about it anymore, closed her eyes and started counting sheep.

  The Green Jade House

  The candle has been blown out.

  The door creaked open, and Qingbi's slender figure peeked out to take a look outside. Not seeing anyone, she stepped out of the room.

  Walked to the back door, quietly opened the door and went out, not far away there was a figure waiting in the dark.

  Qingbi took a deep breath and walked towards the person.