Xinyuan Pavilion.
Just standing at the door of the room, one could smell the spreading scent of blood. Xuan Yi’s expression changed drastically. He instantly drew the long sword at his waist and shielded Ji Jinmo, his gaze fixed vigilantly on Nan Shiying, who stood obediently by with her head lowered.
The moonlight outlined Ji Jinmo’s tall and slender figure. His slightly lowered eyes revealed no emotion, only two words, as if imbued with burning coldness, escaping his lips: "Open the door!"
Holding his long sword, Xuan Yi cautiously walked to the door and pushed it open. A strong smell of blood instantly assailed him. Xuan Yi’s face changed again, his muscles tensing instantly.
"Master?"
Xuan Yi turned back, his mouth parting as if to speak but stopping. The lingering glance at Nan Shiying became increasingly sharp and terrifying.
Ji Jinmo didn't look at Nan Shiying at all. He strode into the room. Nan Shiying glanced at Ji Jinmo’s retreating back, raised her eyebrows slightly, and then quickly followed.
On the floor of the main bedroom in the inner chamber, blood the color of crimson had spilled everywhere. A figure in a striking red garment lay face up in the pool of blood. Blood flowed from the face of the corpse, and the congealed scabs formed grotesque and terrifying wounds.
This...
Upon seeing the corpse dressed in a bright red wedding gown inside the room, Xuan Yi instantly raised the sword in his hand. A cold light exuding a chilling aura flashed past Nan Shiying’s eyes. The next moment, Nan Shiying felt a pervasive coldness invading her skin at her neck.
The long sword emitted a faint, chilling glow under the dim candlelight in the room. Xuan Yi, holding the sword, pressed it against Nan Shiying’s neck. If he wished, he could instantly sever her head.
In the blink of an eye between life and death, Nan Shiying’s face still showed no fear. Her hands, even hanging by her side, did not tremble. She merely lowered her eyes bashfully, her face slightly flushed, and whispered an apology to Ji Jinmo, "Sorry, I've dirtied our wedding chamber."
Xuan Yi was bewildered. The hand holding the sword uncontrollably trembled, and the sharp blade sliced through Nan Shiying’s neck skin, immediately drawing blood.
The blood flowed slowly along the lines of Nan Shiying’s skin, the dazzling red and translucent white creating a captivating and stunning spectacle.
Ji Jinmo’s eyes slightly deepened. The unfathomable pupils seemed to churn with turbulent waves, difficult to calm.
He lowered his gaze slightly, his voice turning colder: "Xuan Yi!"
The clear and cold voice reached his ears. Xuan Yi had no choice but to move the sword away from Nan Shiying’s neck and stand beside her, holding his sword.
Only after the sword was moved did Nan Shiying raise her hand, lightly and casually brush away the blood on her neck, and then look up, giving Xuan Yi a faint glance. Her face still bore a shy smile, but in her indifferent gaze, Xuan Yi felt a deep sense of pressure.
Ji Jinmo casually skirted around the corpse and sat on a chair beside it. Nan Shiying, even more uninhibited, stepped directly on the blood and stood before Ji Jinmo, smiling and performing a deep bow: "This humble daughter, Nan Shiying, greets the Regent King."
Nan, Nan Shiying?
Xuan Yi thought for a long time but couldn't recall who this person was. However, since her surname was Nan, she was surely connected to the Nan family.
"Nan Shiying?"
Ji Jinmo softly savored the three words, his hand forming a slight fist, tapping the desk. If the Nan family had such a woman, how could Nan Yuan'er ever have a chance to step forward?
The Empress’s fate should have fallen upon her.
"Your Highness has certainly not heard of my name. From the moment I was born, my concubine mother died in childbirth because of me. While Nan Yuan'er was bestowed the Empress’s destiny, I was branded a jinx who brings misfortune to my parents. If Your Highness had not insisted on marrying Nan Yuan'er, I would not have been sent as a substitute bride and had the chance to escape that man-eating wolf’s den."
"In that regard, this humble daughter should thank Your Highness for saving her life."
Upon hearing Nan Shiying’s words, Xuan Yi scoffed inwardly. So, she was a pitiable victim of bullying? I’ve never seen a pitiable person with such an imposing aura, nor have I seen one with skin as smooth as jade and hands as delicate as lotus leaves.
Sensing Xuan Yi’s disdain, Nan Shiying was not angered. She merely smiled slightly and extended her hands, as white as snow. As if caressing a treasure, she repeatedly touched her hands: "Your Highness, do you see how tender and fair my hands are?"
"Does Your Highness know what these hands looked like half a month ago?"
"My skin was chapped and calloused."
"Do you know how to make these hands, this body, as smooth as jade in half a month?"
A faint smile always lingered on her face, but the burning fire deep within her eyes, as if capable of devouring everything, made her smile seem ferocious and sinister!
At this moment, Xuan Yi saw only one word emanating from her: Danger!
Extreme danger!
Ji Jinmo looked at her like this and coldly uttered two words: "Peeling!"
"Yes, peeling!" Her smile deepened slightly. She continued softly, "But it cannot be peeled off by force, as that would leave scars. How can a lady of the Nan mansion have scars on her body? So, she must be soaked in a certain liquid, twice a day."
"Every day at Chen Shi and Xu Shi, the wet nurses of the Nan mansion would roughly strip me of my clothes, hold my head down, and force me into a pale yellow liquid. The liquid would wash over my entire body, and the sensation was like being burned inch by inch with candlelight, or tortured bit by bit with a blunt knife. My face, my body, every part ached."
"Each time, I would have to soak for half an hour. When the time was up, I would be pulled out by the wet nurses, doused with ice-cold water from my head down, then dried, and a moisturizing ointment applied."
"In just half a month, my skin became as fair and tender as that of a lady who has been pampered since birth."
"I was raised by the personal maid of my concubine mother. Although I am a lady of the Nan mansion, everyone in the Nan family bullied and humiliated me. Only the wet nurse protected me with all her might, but they... they locked her in a large water vat. They told me that if I did not hang myself in my chamber on my wedding day, they would gouge out the wet nurse's eyes, cut out her tongue, sever her ears and nose, chop off her limbs, and turn her into a human pig, making her wish she could die but unable to do so."
Nan Shiying said, gently raising her head, revealing the faint red ligature mark on her neck, "Your Highness, I want Nan Chaoyin to die, and I want there to be no more Nan family in Lin Yuan Kingdom!"