Chapter 185

Chapter 185 Concubine Lu had barely left the dungeon when she suddenly saw guards running out from behind her. Concubine Lu had a foreboding feeling and hurriedly asked the guard escorting her out of the dungeon, "What happened?!" "They look like they're in a hurry—could something have gone wrong in the dungeon?" The guard leading the way rested his hand on the blade at his waist and said coldly, "Concubine Lu, you shouldn't pry into matters that aren't your concern!" "The Prince only ordered me to bring you here to see Ping'an. As for everything else, it's best you stay out of it!" Rebuked by the guard, Concubine Lu looked utterly embarrassed. She was merely a lowly concubine with no say whatsoever. But her intuition told her that something terrible must have happened in the dungeon. She walked back the entire way, her heart pounding with panic, her hands trembling involuntarily. She had just returned to Qingfeng Courtyard and taken a cup of tea from a maid when a young servant girl came running in with a message. "Mistress, something terrible has happened—Sister Ping'an has taken her own life in the dungeon." Concubine Lu's face filled with shock. Her hand went limp, and the entire cup of scalding tea spilled onto her body, burning her legs until they went numb—yet she seemed to feel nothing at all. Beside her, Cuiniao and Ying'er cried out in alarm. "Mistress!" "Good heavens, that was freshly brewed tea!" ... When news of Ping'an's death arrived, Xie Run was in the middle of feeding Taotao her supplementary food. The young servant girl naturally didn't dare say it directly, only: "Mistress, something has happened at the dungeon." Xie Run had already guessed as much and told the new wet nurse to take Taotao away first. Only when the room was left with just her own people did the young servant girl speak: "Sister Ping'an took her own life in the dungeon." Xiaoshu was startled. "The dungeon has guards—how did she manage to kill herself? And she was fine just before—why would she suddenly want to end her life?" Xiaoshu and the others all suspected that Ping'an had killed herself because she couldn't endure the torture. Under severe interrogation, few people could hold out. The young servant girl said, "They say Concubine Lu had just visited her, and the guards had let their vigilance slip. She quietly strangled herself with her sash, and before she died, she gritted her teeth and didn't make a single sound." "Guard Jing Wu also found five large characters written in blood beside her body: 'I am innocent.'" Xie Run, Xiaoshu, and Dantao exchanged glances, barely able to hide the shock in their eyes. They had guessed Ping'an might die, but they never imagined she would die so resolutely and so tragically. They opened their mouths to say something but found their throats aching. In the end, Xie Run only said, "Have someone find out how Concubine Lu is doing." The young servant girl immediately acknowledged, "This servant will go at once!" Before long, Xie Run received word that Concubine Lu had been scalded. "Concubine Lu was so shocked by the news of Ping'an's death that she dropped her teacup and burned herself. The residence physician has already been called." Xie Run thought for a moment, then rose to her feet. "Let's go. We'll pay a visit to Qingfeng Courtyard." Xiaoshu frowned and asked softly, "Mistress, Concubine Lu visited Ping'an, and then Ping'an killed herself right after. Will the Prince suspect that Concubine Lu deliberately did something?" Xie Run: "Jing Wu personally escorted Concubine Lu to the dungeon. If there were a problem, the Prince would go to her first." "I want to go see her, and while I'm at it, gauge the Prince's intentions..." Xiaoshu shook her head. "This servant doesn't understand." Xie Run: "If I go to visit Concubine Lu and the Prince is displeased, that means he still suspects Ping'an and Concubine An. If the Prince says nothing at all... then it means he already knows exactly who the culprit is in both matters." Everything before had been speculation. This time, Xie Run also wanted to use Concubine Lu's situation to probe Prince Jing's thoughts. When it came down to it, all the turmoil in the residence ultimately hinged on Prince Jing's disposition. Qingfeng Courtyard was not far from Xie Run's Chunshan Courtyard—only a few steps away. As soon as Xie Run entered the courtyard, she saw Concubine Lu lying on the bed with a numb, vacant expression. The two maids beside her had red-rimmed eyes, clearly having just been crying. Someone brought a chair over, and Xie Run sat down by the bed, watching Concubine Lu quietly for a moment before speaking. "Your injuries—are they serious?" Concubine Lu kept her eyes lowered, her lashes still wet with tears, carrying an air of dejection. "This servant's status is lowly, and I've never been favored by the Prince. Whether it's serious or not... isn't it all the same?" She thought Xie Run was worried about whether she'd be left with scars. Cuiniao, bolder than the others, explained softly, "Mistress Xie, my mistress was shocked by Ping'an's death and spoke with some disrespect. Please forgive her." "The residence physician said her injuries aren't serious. With proper application of medicine, there won't be scarring—it will just hurt for a few days." Xie Run nodded slightly. "I've brought some scar-removing ointment. Take it and use it for your mistress." Cuiniao and Ying'er bowed to Xie Run with gratitude in their eyes. Only then did Xie Run ask, "What happened—how did you come to drop the teacup?" Her question about the teacup was a pretext; what she truly wanted to know was what had actually happened in the dungeon. Concubine Lu recovered her senses somewhat and said miserably, "This servant regrets saying those things to her in the dungeon!" "But I also hate her for that foolish loyalty of hers!" "I originally intended to help her pull herself together and find a chance to clear her name, but who would have thought her heart and mind were filled entirely with her cold-blooded, cowardly mistress—so much so that she took her own life to protect her mistress's innocence..." Perhaps Ping'an would have died sooner or later, but dying now versus dying later held completely different significance. "She died to prove her innocence, writing the words 'wrongfully accused' in blood before her death—all to avoid implicating Concubine An..." "She was truly loyal, not treating her own life as anything at all." "For just one lifetime, to seek only the title of loyalty—was it worth it?" Xie Run listened and said slowly, "To her, it was worth it." Xie Run let out a sigh, feeling a pang of melancholy as well. "I've heard that when people hang themselves, they struggle out of survival instinct." "The dungeon was surrounded by guards, yet no one heard her struggle or cries for help... That shows how resolute she was in her desire to die." To suppress her instincts before death and grit her teeth without making a sound—who could call her anything but ruthless? "To Concubine An, she was a loyal servant." Concubine Lu laughed and cried at once, her expression a strange mix of helplessness and resentment. "Yes, she was truly loyal—all the more making me seem like a disloyal, unjust, unfilial thing!" "I truly cannot compare to her!" As Concubine Lu spoke, tears streamed down her face. Just as Ping'an could not understand Concubine Lu betraying Concubine An by climbing into the master's bed, Concubine Lu could not understand at all why Ping'an, knowing full well that Concubine An was an unhelpable failure, would still willingly go through fire and water for her, disregarding life and death. Even if their aspirations differed, they had once been sisters who supported each other through the lowest points for over a decade. During those ten-odd years, Ping'an and Concubine Lu had not been without conflicts and arguments. When angered to the point of fury, Concubine Lu wished she could fight Ping'an, grab her by the neck and strangle her. But... she had never truly thought Ping'an would die. And die in such a tragic, resolute manner, leaving herself not a shred of hope. Concubine Lu gnashed her teeth and said, "Stupid!" Xie Run was slightly taken aback. "I thought you would be worried or afraid." Concubine Lu's anger dissipated, and she fell into silence.