Chapter 20
The Truth
Not only Jiuque, but everyone present furrowed their brows upon hearing these words, feeling a sharp discomfort in their hearts. Such a young girl, raised with care by her family, innocent and pure—how could she speak of herself like this?
The women who heard her words felt even more heartbroken. Yunniang rushed forward and pulled the little girl tightly into her arms, overwhelmed with pain.
“Rong’er, this isn’t your fault! How can you say that? You’re just a child! It’s all that scoundrel Yu Lang! He’s the one speaking nonsense! What does this have to do with you?!”
“But if it weren’t for me… if it weren’t for me being bad, sister wouldn’t have had to do this. I’m the worst… the worst of all! If I had listened to him, sisters wouldn’t have had to suffer so much…”
The room erupted in sobs.
Jiuque and the others weren’t fools—they could already guess the general situation from the conversation, and seeing the young Rong’er’s stunningly beautiful face, their expressions darkened.
Yu Lang kept nine concubines and clearly had lascivious intentions, even coveting noble ladies unrelated to him. He was clearly no good. Rong’er, though so young, was incredibly beautiful, and with someone like Yu Lang—a heartless, beastly man—she wouldn’t stand a chance…
Thinking this, Jiuque and the others felt as if they had swallowed flies, nauseated. They already knew Yu Lang was despicable, but realizing he could be even more vile made it unbearable.
At that moment, no one spoke, only the soft sobs of the girls. Rong’er wiped her tears and nervously asked:
“Adults, if we voluntarily confess, could the punishment be reduced?”
“….”
Seeing all eyes on her, even with pleading expressions, Jiuque was stunned. Why were they looking at her like that? Could she really be so heartless? She had only come to investigate because the late emperor had issued the order—she had to find the truth. But even if the victims had grievances, it didn’t mean they had to be ruined.
“You all… told the truth, right? If it is reasonable, the law can take that into consideration.”
Hearing this, the women exchanged glances. In the end, they could do nothing but speak up.
“I was born unlucky. I had no choice but to become Yu Lang’s concubine. Though people spoke ill of me behind my back, I accepted my fate. But my sisters… they shouldn’t have had such lives! Some of them should have had better lives, yet Yu Lang chose them, and they became concubines! Adults, what good life can a concubine have? I could only stay in this small courtyard, waiting for Yu Lang. When he was absent, it felt like being imprisoned. When old age and fading beauty come, they’d be abandoned.”
“Do you think Yu Lang only had us concubines? He’s nearly forty now. Years ago, he naturally had others. Those women were also daughters of good families, but once old and no longer desirable, they mysteriously vanished. Who knows what vile places he sent them? Being a concubine to someone like him only leads to such misery…”
Jinhua wiped her tears, her expression full of grief, anger, and hatred—she wished she could strike that man again.
“But in this world, even if we knew he was no good, what could we do? We still had to serve him carefully. But he—he should never have laid a hand on Rong’er! She’s just a child! That beast… how could he do such a thing!”
Jiuque’s face showed deep concern. That bastard hadn’t… had he already…?
“If I hadn’t accidentally seen Rong’er upset, we wouldn’t have known that beast constantly tormented her with words. Rong’er is just a child. Being a concubine with me already brought discrimination, and she was naturally soft-hearted. Yet Yu Lang’s disgusting words made her depressed, even suicidal!”
Yunniang trembled as she spoke:
“Rong’er is the only family I have. I’ve raised her since she was small, no different than my own daughter! That beast… dared to harm a ten-year-old child! He doesn’t deserve to live! What’s worse, a man so heartless, yet he passed the exams and was about to become an official! When he was merely a graduate, he could do such disgusting things with impunity. If he becomes an official, what more evils would he commit?”
Fuliu cleared her throat and spoke next:
“To Yu Lang, we women were merely foolish toys, because we were naturally less intelligent than him. He dispersed us across the capital without concern, even placing us near each other seemed unimportant to him.”
“He despised women all his life, so in the end, he would die at the hands of women. You guessed right, adults—he was indeed killed by us, using those herbs.”
“Yu Lang always hid his true nature. Even when he came here, he acted quietly, polite, and courteous, greeting others, making them think he was a good man. But in truth, he despised commoners. Three months ago, a huge incident happened, yet he was completely unaware—because he looked down on people like us from the start.”
“We couldn’t buy herbs from city shops, for fear of implicating innocent neighbors. Fortunately, Jinhua grew up with her parents and knew a bit about herbs. It took three full months to gather the necessary ones. Yu Lang looked down on us but was cautious, so we had to collect herbs separately, adding small amounts to his meals daily, hoping the cumulative effect would work.”
“Seeing no immediate effect, and as he continued to act vilely, I grew anxious. That day, he attended a birthday banquet, and he ate more at our place. Such an opportunity would not come again, so we added more herbs than usual.”
Though Fuliu appeared gentle, she was incredibly resilient. Her face now held a reddish glow—not just from satisfaction, but a newfound vitality. She bit her tongue to stay composed.
“I didn’t expect it to work… yet he really died. The only regret is that an innocent examinee took the blame. Princess, all this was my plan, my fault. Please spare the innocent. That examinee should have had a bright future, escaping that beast—why ruin the rest of his life?”
Hearing this, Jiuque sighed, realizing something. Yu Lang had kept concubines for so long—now nine in total. Were there even more before? Yet none of them were pregnant?
Was the examinee really the one who came forward?
