Year after year entwined in nostalgia 73 substitutes

  These women who have been in the palace for a long time are just as abnormal as the eunuchs. Damn it, I only have one sentence for you, update speed is N times faster than other stations, fewer ads.

  These women started to ignite the stove, making a great effort to stuff it with red-hot coals. The iron scoop was thrown into the iron stove by the leading woman, and in no time, the scoop was smoked red by the charcoal fire.

  The leading woman, who was in her forties, had a plump body due to age. She held an iron scoop and shook it vigorously in front of Xue Qing: "I heard that Empress Rong said you were born with a beautiful face, but I've always hated women who are born beautiful. Hmph, today I'll make sure to treat you well."

  Xue Qing remained silent, her bright eyes fixed on the iron shovel. In her heart, she knew that once this shovel came down, she would only be able to live in hiding, and could no longer stand shoulder to shoulder with Yue Yang again.

  "Sisters, hold me down!" The leading woman shouted an order, and the other women immediately came over to press Snowing down.

  Liang's face clenched her lips tightly, Xue Qing sister... She hated herself so much, if it wasn't for herself, how would she have harmed Xue Qing for no reason? The pain spread throughout Liang's body, and she secretly vowed that if she could still live in this life, the suffering Xue Qing endured today, she would make these ruthless people pay back tenfold!

  "Ah——" Xue Qing endured the pain of the branding iron, a smell of roasted flesh filled the small torture chamber.

  The branding iron ruthlessly seared into the skin on Xue Qing's left cheek, her face deathly pale and covered in cold sweat. She clutched the hemp rope tightly, silently screaming "Yue Yang, Yue Yang..."

  "She fainted." A woman looked at Xue Qing, with beads of sweat as big as beans hanging on her face.

  "Useless thing." The leading woman threw down the branding iron: "Throw away your clothes and take all the instruments of torture with you!"

  "Xue Qing, sister." Yan'er had waited for a long time, the air in the torture chamber was still filled with a nauseating smell of human flesh, this burnt smell lingered and wouldn't disperse, Yan'er anxiously looked at Xue Qing who had fainted.

  After an unknown period of time, Xue Qing finally woke up in a wave of scorching pain: "Sister Xue Qing?" Yan Er had been staring at Xue Qing on the ground, her body immobilized by Xue Qing's acupressure points, she was stuck on the beam, unable to move, and couldn't feel the numbness from being in one position for a long time.

  Xue Qing's eyes snapped open and she looked up at Yan Er, enduring the scorching pain on her face. Her hands quickly moved to the knots she had tied herself, and with a few swift motions, the ropes fell away from her body. Xue Qing sprang onto the beam, swiftly lowering Yan Er down.

  Finally free to move around, Yan'er grabbed Xue Qing: "Sister Xue Qing, how are you!"

  "I'm fine, these little pains are nothing new to me." Xue Qing comforted Yan'er: "I think no one else will come, I'll go take a look at what's going on with Yue Yang, you be careful." Xue Qing dropped Yan'er and was about to leave.

  A awkward smile, mentioning Pan Yueyang, his heart was no longer as excited as it was at the beginning.

  "How are you going out?" Yan'er suddenly thought that this room was locked up, how could Xue Qing get out?

  "I came in naturally, so I'll go out naturally." Xue Qing calmly pulled out a needle-like object from her hair, which was slightly longer than an embroidery needle. Yan's face was shocked as she thought about how it was hidden in her hair without pricking herself. Before she could react, Xue Qing had already easily opened the iron door of the prison cell.

  "I'll be right back." Xue Qing stepped out of the prison cell, thought for a moment, and covered the branding on her face with her left hand.

  Pan Yu Yang had made up his mind about the journey for tomorrow, but he didn't know how to face Yan Er. He quietly thought about Yan Er, and when she wasn't by his side, he couldn't help but miss her a little. She was married off to a eunuch by imperial decree, it drove him almost crazy. Never had he humbled himself so much for a woman, kneeling all night in the inner palace of Emperor Jing, begging him to spare Yan Er. Of course, these were things he would never tell anyone, his dignity was above everything.

  Pan Yu Yang looked up at the darkening sky, but still didn't see Xue Qing return. Had something gone wrong? Nor did she know what method Xue Qing could use to avoid having her face disfigured.

  A faint noise, Pan Yu Yang knew that Xue Qing was back. He opened the door to his study and indeed, Xue Qing slipped in with her left cheek covered.

  "What's wrong?" Pan Yu Yang pulled away Xue Qing's hand, revealing a branding iron mark of the character 'nu' (slave).

  Pan Yu Yang stared at Xue Qing's face in shock, his lips trembling as he thought Xue Qing would think of some other way to bribe those people or use force, but he never expected her to use her own body to take the punishment for Fan Er!

  "Nothing's wrong, Moonlight." Yan'er spoke with some difficulty, her facial muscles twitching with each word.

  "Shut up!" Pan Yu Yang was somewhat angry: "You shouldn't have suffered punishment for Qian Er's sake! Do you think this will allow Qian Er to escape the eyes of Rong Huang Hou? Tomorrow when we set out on the road, what are you going to do?" Pan Yu Yang really didn't understand what was inside a woman's brain.

  Xue Qing looked at Pan Yue Yang with a painful expression, because of his anger, Xue Qing forced a smile. To her surprise, Yue Yang also felt heartache for her, and her moist eyes blinked hard.

  Pan Yu Yang gently wiped away the tears from Xue Qing's eyes: "I've already bribed the officials who will be escorting us on our journey, but this time, I don't know why, Empress Rong is so strongly opposed to Yan Er. She's just an ordinary woman, and with Empress Rong's usual way of handling things, she shouldn't have gotten so angry over Ou Ruolan."

  "She has her own stance, let's just ignore it for now. The most important thing is to protect Qian'er and ensure her safety all the way. I hope Mu Bai arrives soon. Also, please help me find a piece of meat, I want to make a fake face for Qian'er. Today was rushed, and I had no choice but to suffer this calamity for Qian'er's sake." Every time Xue Qing moved, the branding on her face hurt even more. Having said so much in one breath, her face started bleeding again.

  Pan Yu Yang took out a silk handkerchief and gently wiped the bloodstains on Xue Qing's face with a soft sigh. This life owed Xue Qing too much, if there was an afterlife, he would definitely not let Xue Qing suffer for him again or be punished as his woman.

  Xue Qing snatched the silk handkerchief from Pan Yue's hand and covered her face, blocking out the blurred bloody mark. She nodded at Yue, telling her to hurry up and help with the task, as she really didn't want to say anything more now.

  Pan Yu Yang nodded solemnly, and suddenly a bottle appeared in his hand: "When you have time, wipe your wound." He threw the medicine bottle into Xue Qing's hands and immediately left the study. Xue Qing knew that this place was not safe, as the study was very close to Pan Yu Yang's main bedroom. If Ou Ruolan found out about this, she would definitely make a fuss. She put the medicine bottle in her sleeve pocket and hid in the dark shadow of the bookcase. Even if someone came, they wouldn't be able to find her, after all, there were only a few masters in the mansion.

  Pan Yu Yang went to the kitchen to find a piece of pork and quickly returned to the study.

  "Hubby..." Orlane couldn't sleep, so she put on her outer clothes and happened to see Pan Yueyang sneaking into the kitchen, and she followed him immediately.

  "What are you doing here if you're not sleeping." Pan Yu Yang's icy voice carried a tone of accusation.

  "Hubby didn't sleep either." Oulan was unwilling to show weakness, today's matter with Yan'er, Pan Yueyang would surely blame herself.

  "I still have things to do, you go rest early." Pan Yu Yang quietly put away the pork in her hand, not letting Ou Ruolan discover it.

  "Hubby is a bit hungry? I'll cook some soup for you." Ouro Lan was about to enter the kitchen.

  "It's unnecessary." After saying that, Pan Yu Yang sidestepped and directly left the kitchen, leaving behind a puzzled Ou Ruolan.

  Pan Yu Yang quickly returned to the study, pushed open the door, and the room was pitch black: "I'm back." After speaking, he lit the candle himself, and Xue Qing appeared from behind the bookcase.

  "Haven't met anyone, have you?" Xue Qing asked casually, and put away the piece of pork that Pan Yueyang handed to her. Wow, it's still pork with skin on.

  "Ou Ruolan." Pan Yu Yang rubbed his head.

  "Huh?" Xue Qing was stunned, had been caught by Ouyang Rulan?

  "Hurry up and leave, I'll deal with her." Pan Yu Yang said, because Yan Er hadn't had a good rest for several nights now, his eyes were sunken, and his face was full of fatigue.

  "Hmm." Knowing that Pan Yu Yang wouldn't let Ou Ruolan discover their secret switch of the portrait, Xue Qing turned around to leave the study room, but suddenly stopped in her tracks.

  "Someone's coming." Pan Yu Yang had suffered internal injuries, but as a martial artist's son, his hearing was exceptionally good. He immediately pulled Xue Qing behind him.

  "Hubby!" Ouro Lan stood at the door with a small plate of pastries.

  "Get some rest early." Pan Yu Yang didn't mean to open the door, speaking towards the doorway.

  "I've made something for you, you can't not eat even if you're not resting, let me in, okay?" Orlan's clothes were still draped over her body, apparently she was still worried about Pan Yueyang's stomach. At this time, she had been walking for a while and her body was already somewhat frozen stiff.

  Xue Qing hid behind the bookcase, Pan Yueyang glanced at Xue Qing, opened the door, and didn't look at Ou Ruolan again, sitting directly in front of the desk in the study.

  "Eat something." Orlane put down her plate and didn't want to leave, just looking at Pan Yueyang.

  "Get some rest early, I still have things to take care of." Pan Yu Yang wanted to get Ou Ruolan to leave.

  "Is it good for a wife to accompany her husband?" Oulan didn't pay attention to Pan Yueyang's coldness and actually sat down on the chair in the study.

  Pan Yu Yang rubbed his head, "I'm tired, you can stay in the study if you want." He stood up and was about to leave, Ou Ruolan looked at Pan Yu Yang's movements with surprise and delight, and quickly got up.

  "Are you going to sleep in your room tonight?" Pan Yu Yang had not entered her own room for many days.

  "What do you think?" Pan Yu Yang sighed and glanced at the bookshelf.

  "Accompanying her husband back home." Oulan said with a smile, following behind Pan Yueyang.

  "Hmph, Pan Yu Yang didn't say another word, and once again did something she was unwilling to do. This world is truly absurd."

  Xue Qing lowered her head, she couldn't compare to Yan Er in terms of beauty, nor could she match Ou Ruolan in status. Never mind, as long as she could spend a lifetime with Yue Yang, she would have no regrets.

  After Pan Yueyang and Ou Ruolan left the study, Xue Qing flashed out immediately, waiting for the door to be quiet, quickly leaving the study room, rushing straight to the imperial palace, Mu Bai, hurry over, Yan'er needs you.