Chapter 287: Chapter 284 Wrongful Killing

Luo Shan had countless beautiful nights with Cui Jianqing.

She was an adult woman and knew the pleasures involved, deeply indulgent in them.

But now she no longer loved him.

His touch repulsed her immensely.

“Get off!”

“Cui Jianqing!”

She roared, hitting and punching, but no matter her resistance, how could she match the strength of a grown man?

She was pinned down tightly.

Her lips were bitten painfully.

“Don’t!”

She scrambled and finally grabbed the hairpin from her head, then stabbed it into his neck.

Blood immediately began to flow.

“Ah!”

Cui Jianqing, holding his bleeding neck, screamed and stopped his assault.

Luo Shan took the chance to push him away, jumped out of the carriage, and ran back to Luo Mansion.

Blood was still on her hands, she washed for a long time, but still felt the smell of blood.

She even had a nightmare in the middle of the night.

In the dream, the hairpin transformed into a dagger, which she plunged into Cui Jianqing’s heart.

“Luo Shan, you actually want to kill me!”

“Luo Shan, you whore, truly heartless!”

His eyes bloodshot, his face contorted, blood dripping from his mouth, he resembled a demon crawling out of hell.

“I’m not!”

Luo Shan woke up screaming.

Drenched in cold sweat, her eyes filled with fear and tears.

Hasty footsteps were heard outside the room.

“What are you doing?”

“You can’t go in!”

“That’s our young lady’s boudoir!”

…

It was the panicked voice of the mansion’s servants.

The next moment, with a “bang,” the door was kicked open.

Luo Shan sat up and quickly grabbed a cloak hanging by the bed, wrapping it around herself.

Looking over, she saw a fierce-looking man walk in, dressed in the official uniform of Dali Temple, wielding a large sword, and with a flick of his hand, he coldly ordered, “Arrest her!”

“Stop!”

Luo Shan clutched the cloak and yelled, “What is the meaning of this? What crime have I committed?”

In her questioning, she had a vague guess: Could something have happened to Cui Jianqing? Had the Cui Family filed a complaint?

Things were almost as she speculated.

Cui Jianqing indeed was in trouble; the stab from the hairpin, though not fatal, had injured his throat badly enough that he might have difficulty speaking normally ever again.

How could the Cui Family, with a legitimate son from the Minister of Rites, let this go lightly after being harmed by a courtesan?

“Ms. Luo, because the legitimate son of the Cui Family, Cui Jianqing, abandoned you, you sought revenge out of hatred and recklessly hurt someone, do you acknowledge your crime?”

Ge Lintao, the Director of the Ministry of Justice of Dali Temple, stated Luo Shan’s charges with icy detachment.

He was chiefly responsible for handling case trials and was amongst the highest-ranking judges.

Luo Shan listened and scoffed, “I sought revenge out of hatred? Recklessly hurt someone? Laughable! It was he who clung to me, and he who made indecent advances. Only then, only then did I wound him.”

She had loved him once and had no intention of completely burning bridges.

Yet he persisted relentlessly and committed such defilements that she had no choice but to injure him.

She had learned medicine; if she truly wanted him dead, would he still be alive?

But would anyone pursue the truth?

A woman as weak as she, with such a lowly status, who would care what she said?

Once brought before Dali Temple, with the punishments enforced, what charges couldn’t be coerced out of someone?

That’s how Luo Shan was taken away.

Ge Lintao, the official in charge of her case at Dali Temple, coerced her to confess, desiring her to admit intentional violence.

Luo Shan refused and was lashed thirty times with a water-soaked whip.

Every inch of her body was stripped of flesh.

The open wounds looked like the gaping maws of wild beasts.

Terrifyingly grotesque.

“I didn’t. I was…defending myself.”

She clung stubbornly to her innocence.

The executioner, the Prison Chief, with a look of disdain, spat at her: “You’re so defiant!”

Then he hoisted the red-hot iron, blew on the smoke rising from it, and sneered at her: “I’ll see whether your defiance is stronger, or my iron is!”

As his voice fell, the iron surged toward Luo Shan’s exposed chest.

With each stroke opening up her flesh, the branding iron now seared her skin, eliciting a piercing scream from her: “Ahh–”

Her roar seemed almost capable of lifting the roof off the Dali Temple Prison.

Luo Shan bit through her tongue, and blood trickled down the corners of her mouth.

Her breath grew faint, her head limp, and she fell unconscious.

Seeing this, the Prison Chief frowned, glanced over at Ge Lintao, Director of the Ministry of Justice, who was sitting and drinking tea, and momentarily softened before turning cold again: “Splash water on her!”

They were determined to force a confession out of her.

Director Ge Lintao had made it clear: as long as he obtained a confession, his position would rise.

He must not disappoint her.

“Splash–”

A bucket of cold water drenched Luo Shan.

Her shredded, blood-soaked clothes clung to her as she weakly opened her eyes, her voice faint but stubborn: “I… am innocent… You… falsely accuse… me…”

Hearing this, the Prison Chief’s face changed, and he cautiously looked again at Ge Lintao.

Ge Lintao was Cui Jianqing’s brother-in-law, securing his position as Director thanks in part to some influence from Cui Shao, the Minister of Rites.

Since he was Cui Shao’s successful son-in-law, he naturally needed to protect Cui Shao’s interests.

Now that his brother-in-law, Cui Jianqing, had been victimized by such a woman of the night, how could he not seek redress for him?

“Why are you looking at me?”

Ge Lintao blew on the tea foam and calmly ordered: “No matter what, we must have a confession tonight.”

“Yes.”

The Prison Chief offered a sycophantic smile, nodding, then looked up at the rows of torture instruments on the wall.

To extract a confession, they would have to resort to even crueler torture!

*

Sang Yan received news of Luo Shan’s imprisonment two days later.

It was the Luo Mansion’s coachman who found Little Guizi, the eunuch. Since he had helped Luo Shan find housing, the coachman knew him and thus passed the message to Sang Yan.

Before this, Sang Yan was unaware of Luo Shan’s predicament.

So was He Ying.

Why?

The Dali Temple had kept it under wraps.

To be honest, what significance did a female doctor from the Imperial Hospital, with her humble origins, really carry?

There was no need to report it further.

But they forgot this female doctor was not without connections to the Empress.

She had secured her position at the Imperial Hospital through the Empress’s favor.

In this light, her status was different.

Sang Yan immediately sent Little Guizi to rescue her from the Dali Temple Prison and then went to the Imperial Study to inform He Ying of the situation: “I don’t believe Luo Shan would attack someone without cause. There must be more to the story.”

He Ying, perusing a petition, showed little interest in the matter, casually speculating: “Perhaps it’s a crime of passion motivated by spurned love. It’s not unheard of.”

Sang Yan disagreed: “Impossible! She’s calmer than anyone.”

Her recent interactions had convinced her that Luo Shan was too proud to commit such a foolish act.

Not wanting to argue with Sang Yan and upset her, He Ying simply asked, “Hmm. What would you like to do?”

Sang Yan replied, “We must uncover the truth and vindicate her.”

“Alright.”

He Ying nodded, sharing his plan: “I’ll have Xie Sui investigate.”

Xie Sui was a master at solving cases, having been recently promoted to both Left and Right Imperial Censors, joining the ranks of the Six Ministers as one of the Seven Ministers.

Sang Yan had also heard of his reputation and found him reliable, so she agreed: “Good.”

But she added: “I want to leave the palace to see Luo Shan. In a place like the Dali Temple Prison, she must be suffering greatly.”