nucmednet Chapter 651 Rebellious Girl
Chapter 651 Rebellious Girl
Just as everyone was thinking about how to deal with the current situation and protect Liu Ye's safety, something unexpected happened.
Zhu Meichu turned the pistol around, with the butt facing forward, and handed it to Liu Ye, saying with a grin, "I was just kidding with you, look how scared you are..."
Liu Ye held his breath and slowly reached out to take it. After his fingers touched the gun handle and he confirmed that the other party was not playing any tricks, he snatched the pistol, turned it around, and pointed the muzzle at Zhu Meichu, shouting, "You actually pointed a gun at my head! Are you out of your mind? You can't joke around with this thing! Didn't your parents teach you that girls shouldn't handle knives and guns?"
Zhu Meichu blinked her bright eyes, seemingly unafraid, and replied with a grin, "You know all this, right? I'm not a legitimate child, and I was raised outside the palace. I'm wild all day long with no one to discipline me. Who's going to teach me?"
Liu Ye sneered, "Your father didn't have time to teach you, but didn't your mother teach you either? A little girl like you, instead of staying at home and embroidering, runs a brothel, and even tries to play with swords and spears like a man! Fine, they gave birth to you but didn't teach you, then I'll teach you: In this world, not everyone will give in to you, and not everyone is someone you can mess with. Outside of this small corner of the capital, who do you think you are!"
With a "bang," the pistol fired, and the lead bullet grazed Zhu Meichu's ear before hitting the ground. Stone fragments flew everywhere, some splashing onto Zhu Meichu's face, stinging her skin.
However, compared to the fear caused by the gunshot, a little pain was nothing. Zhu Meichu was stunned; her smile froze on her face, as if she couldn't believe that the other party had dared to shoot her!
The shot stunned Zhu Meichu and caused almost all the shops on the street to close their doors. Liu Ye's frustration was somewhat relieved—after all, it was very humiliating to have a woman point a gun at his head.
He glanced at the nearly empty street, now deserted with fear, and ordered, "Let's go, lest the authorities come looking for trouble. Take this 'Ninth Young Master' with us too."
A large group of people left the street in a grand procession. The guards escorted Liu Ye and his group ahead, while Qin Tian led the special forces to bring up the rear. After the main force had left, as the last group of special forces members were about to depart, several constables approached with bows and scrapes, asking, "Brothers, we are from Shuntian Prefecture. May we ask what that noise we just heard was about?"
Qin Tian, who was walking at the back, replied impatiently, "We are from the Qionghai Navy. Our musket accidentally discharged. What, are you looking for trouble?"
Upon hearing that it was the Qionghai Army, capable of defeating even the Tartars, no one dared to offend them. The constables, watching the large group of people gradually disappear into the distance, shook their heads repeatedly: "So it's the military officers of Qionghai Town. We were blind to your greatness. Please make yourselves at home, hehe..."
On the way, Yan Guang asked, "General, shall we return to the military camp?"
Liu Ye shook his head. "The military camp is not suitable. We need to find another place." He looked around and saw Zhu Meichu, who had been dragged along all the way, pursing her lips, looking like she wanted to cry but dared not. A thought struck him. Wasn't this a ready-made local bully?
"Hey, Ninth Young Master, don't rush to cry. Find me a place to do something for me, and I might let you go if I'm in a good mood. It has to be a place where no one will bother us, so that no one can hear us even if we shout our lungs out."
Zhu Meichu raised her head, holding back her tears, and asked, "Really? I do have a place in my Hall of Heroes..."
Soon after, standing in the dimly lit basement, looking at his surroundings, Liu Ye finally understood: why Zhu Meichu, despite being a princess, behaved so strangely and absurdly in the strictly regulated feudal society. What wouldn't someone capable of creating such a place dare to do?
He pointed speechlessly at the torture instruments filling the room and asked, "Your brothel has a private torture chamber underneath? Who are these things used to deal with? Disobedient girls, or pimps? Do you really need such high-tech professional equipment to deal with them? Even the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard isn't this sophisticated, is it?"
Zhu Meichu said timidly, "I heard that Luo Yangxing's prison had these things, and I thought they were interesting, so I had someone get them. But they haven't been officially opened yet. Those big teapots (Note 1) in the Hall of Heroes are all useless. When people are arrested here after making mistakes, they either faint on the spot or cry for their parents when they see these things. They're all useless..."
Liu Ye picked up a row of logs strung together with a rope and shook it. "Is this a finger clamp? What's it called again? I think I saw it on TV... oops, I think I heard someone mention it."
“You’re right, this is a finger clamp, used to clamp fingers. You just put your fingers in and pull hard on both sides, and it will clamp them tightly. The pain is unbearable…” Zhu Meichu carefully observed his expression as she explained, “Over there are foot clamps, used to clamp feet. I heard they can even crush bones…”
Liu Ye shuddered upon hearing this. Listening to a fourteen-year-old girl describe these instruments of torture was truly chilling. He couldn't help but ask, "Seriously, your father is too busy with state affairs to teach you, but doesn't your mother care about you either? Look how twisted your mind has become!"
Zhu Meichu answered cautiously, “My birth mother was Consort Wang of the Prince Xin’s mansion, and she died not long after I was born. My mother was Empress Zhou. She was kind to me at first, but after she gave birth to a prince, she didn’t care about me much anymore. When I was eight years old, she listened to the Imperial Observatory and put me outside the palace. Apart from sending people to give me money for expenses, she never saw me again. In the past few years, no one has cared for me. I’ve wondered if my father and mother don’t want me anymore, but no one can give me an answer. I’m afraid that if I’m idle, I’ll overthink things, so I’ve been trying to cause trouble in various ways…”
Liu Ye sighed. A mere child, practically exiled, lacking parental love and proper guidance, yet possessing a royal background, acted recklessly and without restraint, resulting in such a freak. In comparison, running a brothel privately seemed insignificant. If Emperor Chongzhen couldn't even raise his own daughter properly, what ability did he have to save the Ming Dynasty?
"Alright, I'll borrow this place for now, but what's going to happen next isn't suitable for a child like you to see, so please excuse me for a while. I'll consider whether to let you go after I've finished my business."
Zhu Meichu said subconsciously, "Why can't I watch it..." Liu Ye glared at her, and she realized what he meant, walking out dejectedly.
With a "splash," a bucket of cold water was poured over Wei Zhong's head, and the biting cold woke him up.
Lin San stared at him and asked coldly, "Answer my questions and you'll suffer less. Why did you arrest our man? Who is he, and what did he do?"
Wei Zhong spat: "It involves a major case of treason, why would I tell you!"
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Note 1: "Big teapot" is "turtle slave," a term used in northern China.