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Chapter 183: Chapter 183: Shocked and Pale!
Zhan Lan opened the window and saw a vast expanse of white outside, the sunlight somewhat painful to the eyes.
Her gaze moved to the backyard, and Xiao Chen entered the yard.
Shortly, he came upstairs and nodded, "Miss, last night’s affairs went smoothly."
"Good, now we can leak the news to the Capital Governor." Zhan Lan smiled slightly, "Thank you for your hard work!"
Xiao Chen pursed his lips in a smile, "It’s nothing, I had rested during the day yesterday. I just hope our plan proceeds smoothly, and Cui Hao should pay for his deeds from those years."
Years ago, Xiao Chen’s father, Xiao Yin, was the former Minister of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. The current Minister, Cui Hao, was merely a subordinate to Xiao Yin.
Cui Hao colluded with the current king of Western Rong and fabricated charges of treason against Xiao Yin.
This directly led to the tragic life of Xiao Chen.
Additionally, in their previous life, during the interrogation of Zhan Beicang and several Deputy Generals with Zhan Lan, Cui Hao tortured them severely and coerced them into signing confessions.
These memories are vivid, fuelling her hatred!
Zhan Lan nodded, a murderous intention appearing in her eyes, "They will all pay the price."
Xiao Chen left, and the two of them acted separately.
As Zhan Lan stepped out of her house, she saw a familiar figure squatting by the roadside eating roasted sweet potatoes—it was Huang Gun.
In front of him, there was a wooden sign that read: Sell Body to Bury Father.
Huang Gun, munching on the hot sweet potato, commented, "Seems like just my handsome face isn’t enough to find work."
Zhan Lan’s lip twitched, Huang Gun selling his body to bury his father? A ridiculous idea indeed!
It seemed that Huang Gun didn’t believe in pies falling from the sky nor the bet with her, and he hadn’t gone to her mansion to ask for one thousand silver.
Huang Gun was down-to-earth, willing to earn money through labor.
However, their bet, Zhan Lan would soon be able to fulfill.
Just as Zhan Lan was about to leave, Huang Gun’s eyes brightened and he stopped her, "Miss, is your house in need of a Protector?"
Turning back, Zhan Lan saw Huang Gun grinning cheekily, "I have good strength, can protect the Miss day and night!"
"Scram!" Zhan Lan glared at him, initially feeling pity but now only wanted to shut his annoying mouth.
Huang Gun excitedly said, "How did this Miss know my nickname, what fate, Miss..."
Zhan Lan’s lip twitched again, and she walked away without turning back.
After Zhan Lan left, Huang Gun bit into his sweet potato and muttered, "This miss looks so familiar, seems like I’ve seen her somewhere..."
...
In the dungeon behind Heavenly Slaughter Sect.
Cui Ying woke up groggily, her vision flickering between clarity and darkness. As her eyes adjusted, she almost fainted from fright and screamed out loud.
"Ah!"
She found herself in a dungeon, and opposite in a clay pot, were several dismembered women.
One of them stared back at her in terror. Cui Ying was so frightened that she couldn’t speak.
That woman noticed her too, and her parched lips muttered something, tears streaming down as she spoke unclearly due to having no teeth, "Cui Ying..."
Cui Ying couldn’t believe what she was seeing, the woman across looked too much like Zhan Liluo, even her voice.
Yet, that proud young lady, how could she end up in such a state, stored in a clay pot.
Cui Ying tentatively asked, "Are you Zhan Liluo?"
Zhan Liluo nodded, she didn’t expect to meet Cui Ying here, but now that Cui Ying had also been captured, she couldn’t help her leave either!
Cui Ying asked anxiously, "Where is this? Why have you become like this?"
Zhan Liluo angrily said, "This is the Heavenly Slaughter Sect, it was Young Master Ouyang Qingming who caused me to end up like this!"
Cui Ying immediately shouted, "Let me out, I am the daughter of the Minister of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, if my father finds out, he will surely kill you all!"
Zhan Liluo looked at Cui Ying as if she were looking at a fool; shouting like this, what use would it be!
However, what’s strange is that there was a group of people who came to the dungeon last night.
In the darkness of the night, she couldn’t see the faces of these people clearly, only knowing that someone had brought an unconscious woman here, but they did not torment her.
Now it was morning, and logically, the guards should have brought them food by now.
But, as of now the sun was already high, and still no one had come.
Moreover, even with Cui Ying shouting like that, no guards were disturbed.
Could it be that something went wrong?
Several women in the jars began to sob, their stomachs were very hungry already, relying only on the morning meal for survival.
It was only then that Zhan Liluo realized, there was one pottery jar missing among them, one person was missing from their group!
Zhan Liluo was also hungry, at this moment, a sliver of hope faintly surged in her heart, if Cui Ying’s presence could change something.
If the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Criminal Justice traced this place, maybe she could be rescued.
...
In front of the main gate of the Heavenly Slaughter Sect, Sect Leader Ouyang Song was practicing his martial arts, several disciples stepped through the thick snow to this place.
"Sect Leader, it’s bad! The government troops have come up the mountain!"
"Sect Leader, we saw them, there are hundreds of people!"
Ouyang Song put down his sword, looked at several people, and calmly said, "What’s the panic!"
Government troops coming up the mountain doesn’t necessarily mean they are targeting them!
Several disciples immediately nodded and said, "Yes, Sect Master!"
Ouyang Song sheathed his sword, walked into the grand hall; the Heavenly Slaughter Sect had over a thousand disciples, and being the number one sect in the world, who would dare to provoke them.
Besides, for what reason would they be provoked! 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝖔𝔪
However, now that the government troops had arrived, he still needed to prepare.
He knitted his brows and said to a trusted subordinate, "Tell the Great Elder and the eldest son to restrain themselves, and to hide whatever needs to be hidden well."
"Yes, Sect Master, I will take care of it now!"
"Wait, I’ll go myself!" Ouyang Song said in a deep voice.
The subordinate stopped, and Ouyang Song personally knocked on his son Ouyang Qingming’s door; Ouyang Qingming was cuddling with a female disciple, sleeping soundly, and said impatiently when he heard the knocking, "Who is it!"
Ouyang Song kicked the door open and immediately saw the two people on the bed.
He scolded, "Better restrain yourself recently, the government troops have come up the mountain, and we don’t know why, get dressed quickly!"
The female disciple hid in the blanket to get dressed and then knelt down to help Ouyang Qingming put on his pants and clothes.
Ouyang Qingming lazily said, "Dad, don’t be anxious, your son is now at least the second highest ranked imperial scholar, holding an official post in the court, don’t worry, it’s fine, and if there is anything, it will surely be good news!"
Ouyang Song, seeing his son dawdling in getting dressed, said, "Hurry up and deal with your women, don’t let them be discovered!"
"Don’t worry, there are people from the Great Elder guarding the back mountain, it’s all fine!"
Ouyang Song’s brow twitched twice, he asked doubtfully, "People from the Great Elder are in the back mountain?"
Ouyang Qingming, aided by the female disciple, got up, calmly saying, "I’ll go check right now."
Due to his difficulty walking, Ouyang Qingming rode in a sedan chair to the back mountain.
After getting out of the sedan chair, everything that occurred before his eyes shocked him deeply!
