Du Yulan's task was to water the vegetable patch in the backyard. Du Yulan was quite obedient, and thankfully, Zhi Lin had no intention of troubling her. Just then, a maid-like figure peered into the garden from outside. Zhi Lin immediately went out and led the person away.
That night, Zhi Lin personally brought food to Du Yulan again. Du Yulan was caught off guard. After finishing her dinner, she fell asleep.
That night, a small sedan chair draped in black cloth was carried into Du Yulan's room and carried out again at the quarter to three in the morning. No one knew what had transpired in the west wing.
When Du Yulan woke up the next day, she only felt sore all over, thinking she was unaccustomed to the plank bed in the nunnery and paid it no mind. Her meals, though simple, were plentiful. Although she had to do some chores, they were easy and not meant to be difficult. This made Du Yulan heave a sigh of relief. It seemed the nuns in this nunnery still respected her status as Miss Du.
For several days, a small black sedan chair was carried into the west wing late at night. Abbess Huiming happily counted the silver notes. It was the first time she had seen so much silver. Steward Jia was right; Du Yulan was her money tree!
"Master, someone has been entering the west wing every night. Won't the person in the west wing suspect something is wrong?"
"That medicine, even a pig would sleep until dawn, let alone a frail woman like her." Huiming scoffed, "No matter how capable a woman is, here, they are all dolls for us to play with. Remember to instruct those people not to leave any traces or cause any injuries, otherwise, they will never step foot in my Baihe Nunnery again."
"Yes, Master."
Du Yulan felt sore and aching for several consecutive days, as if she had been run over by a carriage, yet there were no injuries on her body. She only felt discomfort in her lower parts. But living alone in the west wing, it was understandable if she felt unwell for a day or two. However, feeling this way for several days in a row made Du Yulan wary.
That night, Zhi Lin brought dinner again. Du Yulan, preoccupied with her thoughts, didn't eat much. She went to bed early after her meal.
After the hour of Hai, black sedan chairs were carried into Baihe Nunnery one after another. Steward Jia had arrived again. Ever since that night, he had found food tasteless, so he came again. However, the bookings for the west wing were full until next month. He begged Huiming to let him stay for half an hour after the guests in the west wing left, offering an additional five hundred taels for it!
Huiming was somewhat hesitant but could not resist the temptation of money, especially when looking at the silver notes swaying before her. She quickly threw her own rules aside, snatched the silver notes from Steward Jia's hand, and said, "Half an hour. When the time is up, you must leave!"
"Thank you, Abbess! Don't worry, Abbess, half an hour, and I will be out!" Steward Jia rubbed his hands lewdly, his eyes glinting with lust. He seemed to see again that skin as white as frost and snow, those lips as red as flowers, and could not help but swallow. Such a beauty made him feel that any amount of money was worth it!
In the dead of night, in Baihe Nunnery, apart from the chirping of insects, only low whispers could be heard, like intimate murmurs or like raindrops hitting banana leaves.
Suddenly, a sharp scream pierced the tranquility of Baihe Nunnery.
Huiming, who was counting money, trembled, and a thick stack of silver notes scattered on the ground. A gust of wind seemed to blow, scattering the silver notes everywhere. Huiming chased after them, afraid of losing a single one.
Inside the west wing, Du Yulan, who should have been asleep, actually woke up. The moment she opened her eyes, she found a strange man pressing down on her, and she let out a startled scream, struggling with all her might to push the man off.
Seeing that Du Yulan was awake, the man was not afraid but became even more excited. "It's good that you're awake. You're a beauty, but you were like a corpse, motionless, which was really uninteresting. Since you're awake, let's play something interesting."
Du Yulan's eyes widened in terror. However, she was just a frail woman, no match for a burly man. Soon, she was tied up with silk ribbons and gagged. Apart from the initial scream, she could no longer make any sound.
She was like a toy in the man's hands, being squeezed and molded at his will. Du Yulan had never felt so humiliated. She had not retreated when she found that the person she loved did not love her; she had not retreated when she lost her child; she had even maintained her composure when she accidentally killed her relatives. But now, she wished she could faint and never wake up again!
When the man, satisfied, got dressed and left, Du Yulan thought the nightmare was over. Who knew another man would enter her room, revealing a mouth full of gold teeth. He looked at her, bound and helpless, with a wolf-like glint in his eyes.
Du Yulan did not know how she spent that night. She felt like herself and yet not herself, as if her body and soul were separated. When she saw Zhi Lin enter her room, Du Yulan found some strength from nowhere and raised her hand to slap Zhi Lin.
Zhi Lin grabbed her hand. "I'm warning you, don't cause trouble, or you'll be in for it!"
"I am Miss Du's daughter, how dare you treat me like this?" Du Yulan roared hoarsely.
"Miss? Don't be ridiculous, you're just a murderer!" Zhi Lin spat. "If we hadn't kindly taken you in, you would have already been beheaded. You should thank your parents for giving you a good body, otherwise, you wouldn't even have food to eat!"
"You will incur heavenly wrath for doing this!"
"We are just using our bodies to earn some money. Is that comparable to you killing your brother and mother?" Zhi Lin sneered. "Since you already know what's going on, I won't hide it from you. Master told me to tell you to serve your guests well. Your guests are already booked until next month. If you dare to offend any guest, be careful that Master doesn't skin you alive!"
"I want to leave here!"
"Leave?" Zhi Lin sneered. "Once you enter this Baihe Nunnery, if you want to leave, unless you die!"
Wei Feng never expected Baihe Nunnery to be such a place, a facade of a nunnery that saves all living beings, but a place that engages in dirty deeds behind the scenes.
"Young Master, how did you find out?"
"I found out by chance." Wen Mohan turned his horse. "Tonight, we too shall meet the former Princess of Qi!"
Du Yulan wanted to escape, but Huiming had anticipated this. She not only ordered people to watch her closely but also gave Du Yulan a dose of soft muscle powder. As night fell, another small sedan chair was carried into Du Yulan's room. This time, however, it was an acquaintance.
Du Yulan looked at the person before her, her emotions surging. She rolled from the bed to the floor and grabbed the person's hem. "Help me, I beg you, help me."
Wen Mohan looked at the tearful, pleading Du Yulan and slowly knelt down. "Why is the Princess of Qi so disheveled?"
"Minister Wen, I beg you, help me, help me leave here, and I will repay you."
"Repay me? With your dirty body?"