Cao Yanmei was sitting calmly in her room. Suddenly, the door violently swung open, and Cao Wenyan strode in, his face contorted with anger. It was the anniversary of Mu Dishi's death, and Cao Yanmei instantly knew her manipulation had worked; Cao Wenyan had discovered the missing poison and realized her intent.
Cao Wenyan smashed his hand onto the table. "Why are you stealing a seven colors pill?"
Cao Yanmei remained composed. "I thought I could get rid of some people for you."
"Who did you feed it to?"
"Xue Horan," she stated, standing up to meet his furious gaze. "Or, da ge didn't plan to kill him in the first place?" She feigned a realization, her eyes widening slightly. "Oh, I see. Since he looks a lot like Mu Dishi, da ge decided to keep him as a toy?"
"Nonsense," Cao Wenyan snapped, his face flushing.
Cao Yanmei pressed the advantage, weaving a tapestry of irreversible facts. "Da ge, you didn't tell me ahead of time. I have given him the pill already. Since Father is not here and there is no antidote, Xue Horan will definitely die." She gently patted his back, offering false sympathy. "I'm sorry, da ge, but man can be replaced."
Cao Wenyan was about to leave in a rage when a servant rushed in, breathless. "Young master, furen went mad again."
Cao Wenyan's worry for his mother instantly eclipsed his anger. He picked up a small bottle from his belt and placed it on the table. "I'm going to see mother. Give him this." He rushed out with his servant.
Cao Yanmei quickly picked up the antidote bottle and walked out of her room, but she was stopped immediately at the door by Red Mice.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded.
Red Mice, sullen, replied, "Young master wants me to accompany you to see through this matter, and then report to him."
"Alright, geez... follow me," Cao Yanmei grumbled.
When Cao Yanmei and Red Mice arrived at the beautifully decorated room where Xue Horan was imprisoned, she looked at Red Mice with a command. "Hold him."
Xue Horan looked up, fear returning to his eyes. "What are you doing?"
Red Mice walked behind Xue Horan, executing the order with practiced force. He grabbed Xue Horan's left hand with his left hand, pinning it. He then held Xue Horan's chin tightly with his right hand, forcing his mouth to open slightly.
Cao Yanmei poured out a single red pill—the antidote. She approached Xue Horan, her voice a cruel mix of warning and twisted advice. "Remember what I said to you. You are lucky. You look like Mu Dishi, the person my da ge is yearning for, otherwise you would be dead now. If I were you, I will give myself to him." She then forcibly thrust the pill into Xue Horan's mouth.
Red Mice quickly released Xue Horan. Xue Horan immediately spoke, his voice pleading and desperate. "Cao guniang, you are going to kill my da shixiong, please let me see him for the last time."
Red Mice scoffed, "A softhearted person shouldn't see him at this stage."
Cao Yanmei smiled, a cold, calculating expression. "Very good. I like to see a soft-hearted person fainting when facing terror. You two will drag this soft-hearted person to the East Prison."
Red Mice hesitated. "Should we ask young master first?"
"What are you afraid of?" Cao Yanmei gestured dismissively toward Xue Horan. "This person." She pointed at Xue Horan. "His skill is not strong. If he dares to run, we will kill Rao Zhengsheng." She raised her voice, ensuring Xue Horan heard the threat clearly. "Did you hear...? If you try to run away, I will kill Rao Zhengsheng!"
With the threat hanging heavy in the air, Cao Yanmei led the way toward the dungeon, and Red Mice followed directly behind Xue Horan. There was only one entrance to the underground cell. As Xue Horan looked at both sides of the small aisle, his stomach clenched at the sight of several people hanging from the ceiling, their bodies soaked with blood.
Cao Yanmei gave a chilling commentary. "Those who tried to kill my father but failed, they just hang there until they die. Every day they get new wounds. After the cut, the guards will sprinkle salt on the fresh wounds."
Xue Horan looked in horror at these sixty-four victims, their hands tied tightly, hanging high enough that only the tips of their toes touched the stone floor.
Cao Yanmei stopped and turned to look at Xue Horan. "Prepare your soft heart," she advised, before stepping aside.
Xue Horan looked at the figure in the center cell and was utterly stunned. Rao Zhengsheng was covered in blood. His head was down, dangling with no motion, making him look dead. Xue Horan hurried to his side, intending to hug him, but Cao Yanmei stopped him.
Xue Horan angrily shoved Cao Yanmei aside, but she only delivered another brutal truth. "Hug him, the salt and pepper will penetrate deeper into his flesh and make him more painful."
Xue Horan shouted, his voice cracking with anguish. "You are not human! Why don't you just kill him?!"
Red Mice spoke, his voice flat. "This is the whole point of torture. We don't want him to die too soon."
The figure stirred. Rao Zhengsheng slowly raised his face and murmured, "Hao'er…"
Xue Horan turned, his mind struggling to register the devastation. He barely recognized Rao Zhengsheng's face. His body was swollen, black and blue, covered with blood everywhere. His lower lip was split and cracked.
Xue Horan cried, stretching out his hand to cup Rao Zhengsheng's mangled face. "Da shixiong…"
Rao Zhengsheng asked weakly, "Horan, did they hurt you?"
"No…" Xue Horan wept.
"That's good… At least that dog Wang Wenyan still has some humanity in him."
Xue Horan pulled Rao Zhengsheng's face toward him and kissed him. In the violent press of their mouths, he slid the antidote pill he had hidden under his tongue into Rao Zhengsheng's mouth. When they parted, he could taste the blood on his own lips. He murmured fiercely, "Swallow it."
Red Mice yanked Xue Horan away with a furious jerk. "You are not allowed to approach him!"
Red Mice grabbed the whip and began to beat Rao Zhengsheng mercilessly. Xue Horan's cries and pleas fell on deaf ears. After Red Mice hit Rao Zhengsheng ten times, he grabbed a wooden pitcher and threw salt water at Rao Zhengsheng's shredded body. Rao Zhengsheng let out a final, agonizing cry of pain before fainting.
Cao Yanmei and Red Mice dragged the weeping, distraught Xue Horan from the prison cell back to his imprisonment room and shackled his hand back to the chain.
Xue Horan sat on the bed step and cried all night, unable to sleep because of the sheer horror he had witnessed in the prison cell. He couldn't imagine that such cruel and inhumane people could exist in this world.
Then, the front door swung open.