Chapter 016 Bodhisattva Man (IV)
Ni Su ate half a bowl of porridge and fell asleep again. However, her body was in great pain and she did not sleep well. When she heard the sound of the iron fence opening and closing in the duty room, she immediately opened her eyes.
"Zhou Ting, bring the person out."
Ni Su only heard this voice, and then a burst of footsteps came hurriedly, and several personal officers appeared at the prison door, and were about to unlock the copper lock.
The candles burned for half the night, and Xu Hexue felt much better. His soul was no longer as weak as before. He watched the officials unlock the door and come in to help Ni Su up. He did not show up, but when Ni Su looked at him, he shook his head gently and said to her, "Don't be afraid."
If he didn't show up, only Ni Su could hear his voice. The officials who were his personal attendants didn't notice anything at all. They took Ni Su out of the prison, waded through the water in the torture pool, and tied her to the torture rack.
The cold iron chains were wrapped around her hands and waist , and bound her neck, so that she could not lower her head, let alone move. She could only look at the man dressed as a eunuch sitting opposite the torture pool.
"Miss Ni, how did you find your brother's body in Qingyuan Mountain when you first came to Yunjing?"
Han Qing took the tea bowl handed to him by the person next to him and looked at her.
"My brother led me there in a dream."
Ni Su's voice was low and weak.
Han Qingcai paused as he was about to drink his tea. He raised his eyelids and said, "Miss Ni, you don't think that our night watchman is easier to fool than the Guangning government office, do you?"
The personal officer standing behind the rack tightened the chain with one hand, forcing Ni Su's back to press against the rack, squeezing the wounds from her beating. At the same time, the chain around her neck was also tightened. Such humiliating shackles forced her to look up.
"I don't believe you haven't asked Mr. Tian from Guangning Mansion,"
Ni Su was shaking with pain, her lips were bloodless, "I just arrived in Yunjing and I don't have any connections. If I had another explanation, why would I have to suffer in the Guangning Prefecture's Records Department? Or do you have a better explanation than mine?"
Han Qing saw that the girl was weak and embarrassed, but her words were still coherent. He couldn't help but look her over again and said, "Young lady, how come you don't have any connections? An hour ago, everyone from the Taiwei Mansion came to my Night Office to ask about you."
"Don't you know when my letter was delivered to the Grand Marshal's Mansion?"
Ni Su's neck was tightly bound by the chain, so she could only look down at him reluctantly, "If I were not in prison, I would not easily beg for help."
Zhou Ting, the commander of the Jihuo Camp, who was standing next to Han Qing, the envoy of the Night Guard, was slightly surprised when he heard the words. She was just a weak woman, but she didn't show any fear in her words when she was on the execution rack of the Night Guard, which even men were afraid of.
"Miss Ni has a strong character, but you want us to believe your absurd words just based on a yellow talisman from the magistrate Tian Qizhong. Aren't you too naive?"
Han Qing threw the tea bowl to Zhou Ting, stood up and took a long whip. The long whip was dragged in the water as he walked into the torture pool, and the densely packed iron spikes on it flashed coldly.
Compared with the punishments in the Night Police, those in Guangning Prefecture can only be regarded as minor punishments.
The handle of the long whip pressed against Ni Su's cheek. The bone-chilling coldness made her numb. She met Han Qing's eyes and heard him say, "This whip is something that even a man can't stand. Miss Ni, guess how much of your flesh will be torn by this whip ?"
What he said was too cold and bloody. Ni Su's pretended calm was shattered. She couldn't stop shaking all over. Then she heard Han Qing swinging his whip, hitting the water heavily and asking sternly: "Are you still not going to tell the truth ?"
"Every word I say is true!"
The splashing water hit Ni Su's cheek.
"good,"
Han Qing whipped the whip, and the sound of water dripped. "Let's assume that what you said is true. Since you know that you may not be able to explain it, why don't you run away?"
"Why should I run away!"
Ni Su lost control, her eyes red.
At that moment, the torture chamber was so quiet that only the sound of dripping water could be heard.
Xu Hexue stood beside the torture pool, "Ni Su, do you remember what I told you?"
Ni Su had just heard his words when she saw Han Qing suddenly raise his whip and pretend to hit her hard. Ni Su closed her eyes tightly and said, "How can the adults understand?"
The expected pain did not come. Ni Su's eyelashes moved, and she opened her eyes, just in time to see the whip so close to her. The sharp and dense iron spikes were still stained with blood.
"The importance of my loved ones is greater than the value of my remaining life."
She murmured.
Han Qing almost thought he had misheard. A trace of surprise appeared on his overly serious face. "What... did you say?"
"I'm not running away. I want justice for my brother. My brother can't die in such an unclear way." Ni Su's strength was almost exhausted. "Even if I can't explain myself clearly, I will do this."
Han Qing stared at her almost in a trance.
"Envoy?"
Seeing that Han Qingjiu did not respond, Zhou Ting called out.
Han Qing came back to his senses, but he could no longer hold the iron whip in his hand tightly. He stared at the young woman on the rack. After a while, he turned around and walked out of the torture pool.
Water drops kept dripping on the corners of his robe. Han Qing turned his back to her and said, "Miss Ni is really a smart woman. I don't believe a word of your story about the innocent man in your dream. But just as you think in your heart, neither Guangning Mansion nor my Night Division can convict you based on your absurd words. There is no such provision in the Great Qi Law."
Han Qing turned around and threw away the iron whip in his hand. "The second son of the Taiwei Mansion is now an official of the Imperial Court. If he asks, I naturally cannot ignore him."
He was so calm, as if the person who had just been whipping and questioning him was not him.
The rain outside the Night Palace stopped at some point, and the sky was getting brighter and brighter. The morning breeze blew in her face. Ni Su was still a little dazed when she was helped out of the Night Palace. From the prison in Guangning Prefecture to the prison in the Night Palace, this day and night seemed to be particularly long.
"Don't worry, Miss Ni. Our envoy has taken your brother's case to heart. Since it is related to the winter exam, he will definitely get to the bottom of it."
Zhou Ting ordered his men to help Ni Su to the carriage sent by the Grand Marshal's Mansion, and spoke to her from outside while lifting the curtain.
Ni Su nodded and watched him lower the curtain.
"When has Lord Zhou been so considerate? He makes me feel at ease..." A close official saw the coachman driving the carriage towards the deserted street, and couldn't help but come up to Zhou Ting and poke him with his elbow.
"Stop talking nonsense. Even though the person has left here, we still need to keep an eye on him."
Zhou Ting looked serious.
The official looked at the carriage moving away and said, "But I really admire that young lady. She looks fragile, but she has a lot of backbone."
There are many prisoners of all kinds who behave in an ugly way in the night police . Miss Ni is really rare.
The rumbling of carriages could be heard and the streets were silent.
Ni Su curled up in the car. When she closed her eyes, she could only think of the iron whip that the Night Servant Han Qingchao hit her with. She buried her face in her arms and her back was covered with cold sweat.
"Han Qing, there's no need to touch you,"
A cold voice came, "What he did just now was nothing more than an attack on the heart."
Ni Su didn't look up. After a long while, she spoke: "Why did his expression change after hearing the words you taught me?"
"Because he sees himself in you."
Ni Su raised her head when she heard the voice. The light inside the carriage, which was covered by bamboo curtains, was dim. A young man was sitting next to her, his eyes not very bright.
"What's the meaning?"
"He was in a similar situation to you back then, and that was what he said to others at that time."
"Then how do you know?"
Ni Su looked at him and asked, "Were you also an official in your lifetime?"
Xu Hexue did not deny it.
"Han Qing was imprisoned in the palace when he was young. His only concern was his beloved sister. At that time, his sister was deceived by someone and suffered humiliation and beatings after marriage. His sister accidentally stabbed her husband and was imprisoned and sentenced to death. The sentence I taught you was the first sentence he said when he knelt in front of a husband. At that time, I happened to be by his side."
"So, what happened to his sister later?"
"The minister sent someone to defend him, and the government showed mercy, pardoned his death sentence, and allowed him to divorce."
The husband that Xu Hexue was talking about was Meng Yunxian, but Meng Yunxian did not do it himself back then. Instead, he borrowed the help of others to make it happen.
So until now, except for him, almost no one knows about the friendship between Han Qing and Meng Yunxian.
"No wonder you told me not to be afraid."
Ni Su finally understood why the phrase "My dearest relatives value my remaining life more than anything else" meant "my remaining life". "But I was still scared when I saw the iron whip in his hand."
She was afraid that if the whip was swung down, the iron spikes on it would tear her flesh.
"You are brave enough."
In the light-blocked carriage, Xu Hexue could not see her clearly.
Ni Su shook her head, "That's because I know you are here."
"You are looking at me, and I feel that I still have some confidence," she said in a light voice, "I can only try my best to grasp the chance of winning that you give me."
Xu Hexue drooped her eyelashes and said nothing.
"Do you smell anything?"
While he was lost in thought, he heard Ni Su suddenly ask.
Xu Hexue subconsciously raised his eyes, but couldn't see her expression clearly. He was a little confused, "Hmm?"
"Old man."
Ni Su tried her best to raise her voice.
The groom outside heard it and turned back to answer, "Young lady, what's wrong with you? We still have to cross several streets to get to our Taiwei Mansion!"
"Please buy me two cakes."
Ni Su said.
The food stalls on the street are always set up before dawn, and the aroma of food fills the street.
The coachman stopped the carriage, bought two pieces of sugar cakes, opened the curtain and handed them to Ni Su who was lying in the carriage. He saw that her body was covered in blood and was very scared. He said, "I will take you back to the mansion right away. The second young master's wife will definitely find a doctor for you."
The curtain was lowered again, and Xu Hexue's vision went from clear to blurry. Suddenly, a hand stuffed a cake wrapped in oil paper into his hand.
"I promised you that I would buy you some candy."
Xu Hexue lowered his eyes and looked at the cake in his hand. He was stunned for a moment.
The hot mist is blowing,
It seemed to melt some of the coldness in his eyes.
When she raised her eyes again, Xu Hexue held the hot cake in her hand and said softly, "Thank you."
