Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 607 Beast

Lu Xu wanted to beat drums and gongs to let everyone in Qingshui County know that Miss Shen was snobbish and loved the rich. He broke off the engagement because he couldn't bear the humiliation, not because he was being unfaithful.

Therefore, this matter has long been no secret in Qingshui County. It has been widely circulated in recent days, and people can't help but talk about it after dinner.

Xiao Lu tutted twice. "The day Master Lu came to cancel the engagement, the Sixth Miss went to the Seventh Miss's yard and caused a big scene. Now, when the two meet, they are like black-eyed chickens. Either you pinch my flowers, or I tear your embroidery patterns. There is no peace in the whole mansion..."

She suddenly stopped talking, looked around, and after making sure no one else was around, she lowered her voice and said, "The person who investigated that matter has returned. She was indeed sold to Rongcheng, but they haven't found the woman who taught her... well, the method of exterminating cough cough. That woman died a long time ago, and it seems that she didn't teach any other prostitutes in the brothel."

Song Ying frowned, "This is difficult."

Over the past year, she and her master often went to check the Shen family's pulse, but they still couldn't find out the source of the Shen family's extinction of male descendants.

The Shen family was forced into a corner and had no choice but to let the four surviving male grandchildren move out. They bought another house and hired servants, and took nothing with them except money. In this way, the unknown toxins in their bodies finally stopped increasing.

Although the Shen family was very decisive, the years of poisoning had caused indelible damage to their bodies. Although taking medicine could detoxify and repair them, it could not guarantee that they would regain their fertility.

To treat the patient, we must find out the source of the poison and prescribe targeted medicine to achieve better results.

Xiaolu sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it. The ladies have tried everything, but they still can't figure out where the poison was placed."

Having said this, she paused, a hint of pity flashed in her eyes, and her voice lowered a few notes: "That girl also had a miserable life. She wasn't the most beautiful, and the brothel she was sold to couldn't even rank high in Chengdu. I heard it was a low-class brothel, and the way they treated customers was extremely rough. New girls would be drugged on the first night and left at their mercy..."

Song Ying's heart sank slightly. That person naturally referred to Aunt Lian. In the blink of an eye, more than a year had passed.

Xiaolu didn't notice Song Ying was distracted. She spoke with a pale face and a trembling voice, "Disobedient women will be subjected to cruel punishments such as being burned to death, tortured by cats, and branded with flowered shoes."

Chunfang corrected him: "No, it's not just about being disobedient. If the customer has a request, it doesn't matter whether you obey or not."

"Lighting a sky lantern? Embroidering flowered shoes? What does that mean?" Song Ying was a little confused.

Little Green's eyelashes trembled. "To light a sky lantern, you tie someone to a chair and use red candles..."

She shuddered, her teeth chattering, "Drop the scalding wax drop by drop onto the woman's most delicate skin."

Song Ying frowned. She knew this feeling. When holding a candlestick, sometimes wax tears would accidentally drip onto her hands, which was both painful and hot.

How could anyone come up with such a vicious idea?

Although they had talked about this privately many times during this period, Chunfang still hugged her arms tightly when she heard it. She only knew that brothel girls were lowly and lived miserable lives, but she never expected that their lives were so terrible, no different from being in hell.

Seeing that Xiaolu could no longer speak, she took a deep breath and continued to explain to Song Ying with trembling lips: "The cat punishment is to stuff a mad wild cat into the trouser leg, and then whip the cat with a rattan stick. The cat will feel pain and will scratch with its claws and bite with its teeth..."

Song Ying suddenly squeezed his legs together, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Not even an animal could do such a thing!

"As for the branded shoes," Chunfang wrung her hands together, her knuckles turning white. "They burned copper coins red hot, paved them into a path, and forced the women to walk barefoot on it. Those beasts even called it 'lotus blossoms every step of the way,' saying it was to 'gild' the women..."

Song Ying's stomach churned. Calling them beasts was an insult to beasts!

Whether you are obedient or not, you may be subjected to these tortures. Did Aunt Lian also experience it?

How desperate must she have been when she was pushed into such a hell by her own brother?

In a trance, Song Ying saw a thin woman staggering on the road of red-hot copper coins.

Every time she took a step, a hissing sound was heard, and a wisp of green smoke with a burning smell rose up. Her face was contorted with pain, and a shrill scream that was not human came from her throat. Tears mixed with cold sweat covered her face.

But the spectators around her were laughing and clapping happily. Some people waved their folding fans and commented on her staggering gait, some counted loudly the number of times she landed, and some raised their glasses and drank with every scream.

The more pain she felt, the more those people laughed...

"Song Ying?" A familiar, puzzled voice called out. "What's going on? What did Xiaolu and the others say to you? You seem dazed."

When Song Ying came back to her senses, she found that Xiaolu and the others had already left, and her master and the others were looking at her with worry and confusion.

She looked at everyone and forced a smile, "Nothing, Xiaolu was just telling me ghost stories and scared me."

Doctor Lin glanced at her hand hanging by her side, her fingertips trembling like dead leaves rustling in the cold wind.

Ghost stories and strange stories wouldn't scare her like this.

She comforted him, "A gentleman does not speak of strange things. There are no ghosts or gods in this world. Don't scare yourself."

After parting with Luo Yanxing and the others and returning to the small courtyard where the master and apprentice lived, Doctor Lin asked, "What did Xiaolu and the others say to you?"

"without……"

Song Ying had just begun to speak when Doctor Lin interrupted, "Your master is not blind. Don't try to fool me with those nonsense."

Song Ying was silent for a moment, and then told the truth. After all, his master knew about the Shen family's affairs, so there was no need to keep it secret.

Although Doctor Lin had experienced poverty, he had never witnessed such behavior. He was shocked and angry, and cursed these people as worse than beasts. His impression of Shen Zhuangyuan was extremely bad.

As she was cursing, she suddenly frowned, muttered "brothel" under her breath, and fell into thought.

After a while, she stood up suddenly, "I remember now, that girl looks like Ran Shuang!"

Song Ying, who was equally angry, was stunned. "Ran Shuang? Who is that girl?"

Doctor Lin took a deep breath and said, "Yun Shu, she looks like someone I know."

Song Ying blinked. Yun Shu was a native of Qingshui County. How could he be similar to the person his master knew?

Wait, Master Uncle has been to Qingshui County before, so he's the old friend? And Yunshu is his daughter?!

No, no, Master said that it sounds like Ran Shuang, which is obviously a girl’s name.

As her thoughts raced, Doctor Lin grabbed her arm and pulled her out, "Take me to see the child coroner."

Song Ying came back to his senses and quickly pulled her back, "Master, it's almost curfew now."