Chapter 540: Forgotten
"No one," Lian Zhou replied, his expression grave. He was well aware of how thorny this matter was. "What we can confirm for now is that no one has entered their cell recently. But just an hour ago, they died one after another in less than a quarter of an hour. By the time the prison guards found them, not a single one was left alive."
Due to their special status, the Southern Hu Blade Men had been held under heavy guard. Even officials from the Ministry of Justice had limited access to them.
Who could have expected such an incident to happen anyway!
Shen Yanchuan immediately turned back, his gaze meeting Ye Chutang’s for a fleeting moment.
"I’m going to take a look. You get some rest."
Ye Chutang nodded. "The night is cold and the wind is strong. Be careful, Princely Heir."
’Something like this truly can’t be delayed.’
Xiao Wu, who was inside, seemed to hear the commotion and came running out, her short legs pitter-pattering.
’Is the Young Master leaving already?’
She looked up at her big sister, a little curious.
’But it seemed like they weren’t done talking yet!’
Ye Chutang patted her little head. "The Princely Heir has urgent business to attend to."
Xiao Wu seemed to only half-understand.
’Oh, okay then! If Big Sister says it’s urgent, it must be really important!’
She flashed Shen Yanchuan a big smile, then clasped her hands over her round little belly and bowed.
’Goodbye, Young Master!’
A faint smile touched Shen Yanchuan’s thin lips. "There’s no need to see me out."
With that, he turned and left.
As he walked out, he instructed Lian Zhou, "Go to the Ministry of Justice and pull all their previous case files."
Lian Zhou’s expression grew solemn. "Yes!"
’The deaths of those Southern Hu Blade Men are suspicious. Someone obviously came prepared, which makes their case files even more critical!’
’If those go missing too, things will get much more troublesome!’
The two men reached the gates of the Ye Mansion. Lian Zhou cupped his hands in farewell before turning and heading toward the Ministry of Justice, his figure quickly vanishing into the night.
Shen Yanchuan vaulted onto his horse and gazed into the distance, toward the Ministry of Justice Prison.
There were no stars or moon tonight; everything was shrouded in the black curtain of night.
He pulled on the reins.
"Yah!"
...
The sound of horse hooves outside gradually faded, until at last, all was quiet.
Ye Chutang turned, and the wooden box once again came into view.
Xiao Wu followed her gaze, a hint of curiosity in her own eyes.
She hadn’t heard clearly from the inner room just now and didn’t know what the Young Master and her big sister had discussed, but it sounded like they mentioned the gift was very precious.
Just as she was tilting her head in thought, Ye Chutang unexpectedly turned and went into the inner room.
’Huh?’
’Isn’t Big Sister going to put the gift away?’
Just as Xiao Wu was about to follow, she saw Ye Chutang come out again.
This time, however, she was holding something new: a medicine mortar.
Xiao Wu grew even more puzzled. ’What’s Big Sister going to do with that?’
The next moment, she saw Ye Chutang open the wooden box.
A block of crystal-clear ice lay quietly inside.
Ye Chutang took out the block of ice, and Xiao Wu finally saw the Thousand Layers of Snow frozen in its center.
Her little mouth formed a perfect "O."
’A flower!’
’The Young Master actually gave Big Sister a flower!?’
Before Xiao Wu could react, Ye Chutang had already taken out a tool, rolled up her sleeves, and chiseled at the block of ice!
CLANG—CRACK!
A clear crack instantly split the block of ice!
Xiao Wu was completely dumbfounded, staring blankly at the scene.
Ye Chutang, however, had her gaze lowered, her expression one of meticulous concentration.
The Thousand Layers of Snow had unique medicinal properties; if it was exposed to heat, its effects would be greatly diminished.
Therefore, processing it this way was most appropriate.
In a short while, the ice had been shattered into many small pieces.
Ye Chutang poured all the pieces containing the frozen Thousand Layers of Snow into the medicine mortar with a CLINK and a CLATTER.
In just that short time, her hands had already been frozen red by the ice.
But her movements didn’t stop. Her fair, jade-like hands gripped the pestle and began to grind the medicine—oh, no, grind the ice.
Xiao Wu was already watching, completely stunned.
But she was very clever. Seeing what Ye Chutang was doing, she quickly guessed that the flower was actually medicine.
She had seen her big sister prepare medicinal herbs like this many times before, but this was the first time she had seen one frozen in ice.
Ye Chutang’s movements were clean and efficient, and before long, she had ground it into a fine powder.
A cold, rich fragrance began to spread—the scent of the Thousand Layers of Snow.
Finally, Ye Chutang poured the powder into a bone china bowl.
It was just a small bowl of fine, glittering white powder.
Anyone looking at it would not think it was anything special.
Who could imagine what price had to be paid to obtain such a small bowl?
Xiao Wu leaned in curiously and took a deep sniff. She found the faint fragrance unlike anything she’d ever smelled before, and it was exceptionally refreshing.
It felt as if her whole body had become much more comfortable.
Amid her surprise, she turned to look at Ye Chutang, a flicker of worry in her eyes.
’What’s wrong with Big Sister? Why does she have to take medicine?’
Ye Chutang saw her unease and smiled. "It’s just some medicine to replenish my energy. After taking it, I won’t be so sensitive to the cold."
Xiao Wu’s eyes lit up. ’Really!? That’s wonderful!’
’Big Sister’s hands and feet are always cold, especially in autumn and winter. She sleeps with her every night, so she knows that sometimes even a bed warmer is of little use.’
’If it can really stop Big Sister from being afraid of the cold, that would be the best thing in the world!’
She urged Ye Chutang to take it quickly.
Ye Chutang warmed her hands in her sleeves, and only after they had warmed up a bit did she gently tap Xiao Wu on the nose.
"There’s no need to tell your third and fourth brothers about this. We don’t want them to worry for no reason."
Xiao Wu nodded obediently.
Ye Chutang picked up a spoon and consumed the small bowl of fine, white, crushed ice.
The first sensation was one of extreme, biting cold, followed by a searing heat that burned its way down her throat!
Ye Chutang shivered lightly, but a sudden crimson flush spread across her pale face!
Immediately after, a fine, dense pain spread from the inside out!
Suppressing the wave of pain, Ye Chutang calmly and gently finished the rest of the Thousand Layers of Snow.
It felt as if something was rampaging inside her chest.
The color drained faintly from Ye Chutang’s lips.
She steadied herself on the corner of the table and said to Xiao Wu, her expression as normal as ever, "Xiao Wu, go and close the door."
Xiao Wu thought the cold wind was making her sister cold again, so she nodded quickly and turned to shut the door.
However, after taking just two steps, she saw a black cloak lying on a nearby chair.
’Isn’t that the Young Master’s? He left in such a hurry he forgot to take it!’
She glanced back at her big sister.
’It seems like Big Sister didn’t notice either?’
’Oh well, the Young Master has been gone for a while now. It’s probably too late to catch him, and besides, he has important things to do. I’ll tell Big Sister later, she can return it another day.’
Xiao Wu stopped thinking about it and ran to close the door.
CREAK—
The instant it closed, Ye Chutang, her back to the door, felt the metallic taste of blood suddenly surge into her mouth.
She gripped the corner of the table tightly.
A trickle of crimson slowly spilled from the corner of her lips.