He Le'an felt that her mood, which had just slightly recovered, was again struck by tragedy. However, she couldn't tell anyone, so she took out the "Quiet Heart Scripture" given to her by her empty-handed master and recited it. If one recitation wasn't enough, she would do two, if two weren't enough, then three. She had to completely uproot that sprouting seed in her heart, which shouldn't have sprouted but already had, until even when she dreamed of that bright red color, she could still face it calmly.

  On the day of the banquet at Zhi Yi Bo's residence, she took precautions and applied a black mole to her temple that could only be removed with vegetable oil. She changed into her usual small servant boy attire before heading to the luxurious wine tower to meet up with everyone else. They then proceeded to the back door of Bo's residence, where a woman who seemed to be in charge led them to the rear kitchen and coldly warned:

  "This is the residence of Zhi Yibo, not some lowly merchant or wealthy household. Except for the kitchen, nowhere else is a place you can set foot in. I'm telling you here, we are well aware of your backgrounds. If anyone dares to be dishonest, and ruins the banquet, don't blame our master for wanting you to pay with your entire Fu Gui wine tower, at that time not even your family members will be able to escape!"

  "Understood." He Le'an followed Cao Zhuang's lead, bowing and nodding in response.

  Entering the spacious and luxurious kitchen, everyone is busy in their respective areas of expertise, working together in an orderly manner. Cao Zhuanggui doesn't usually understand kitchen matters, so he mainly supervises from the side. He Le'an specializes in doing some meticulous work, such as carving flowers and arranging dishes. Her hands and feet are quick and nimble, and she is not flustered. Occasionally, when the head chefs need to slice or shred ingredients, she also helps with miscellaneous tasks.

  A table of wine and dishes had twelve courses, when the first eight courses were ready, the banquet in the Bo Mansion began. The maids inside came to serve the dishes, but just as they finished the tenth course, the maids who entered in a line suddenly turned into fierce and ferocious guards, without saying a word, they arrested all of them. Then, the woman who led them in rushed in, out of breath:

  "You! You actually dare to put medicine in the dish!"

  "How is this possible? Is there some kind of misunderstanding?" Bang!

  Before Cao Zhanggui's words had fallen, the woman had already slapped out a loud slap. It was unknown how much strength she used, but Cao Zhanggui's slightly chubby face instantly turned red and swollen. The woman said: "The master and mistress have ordered that he be taken away for severe interrogation and punishment!"

  "Old lady, this is impossible, there must be some misunderstanding. Our wine shop has always been clean and would never..." He Le'an saw that Cao Zhuang was beaten dizzy, struggling under the control of the guards, and hastily explained, but the woman directly spat a mouthful of saliva on her face, rudely interrupting her:

  " Bah! If it weren't for your dirty hands and feet, the noble guests wouldn't have eaten your dishes and then vomited and had diarrhea nonstop! I warned you clearly when we arrived: if one person makes a mistake, everyone will be punished together. And yet you dare to cause such trouble for my wife? Take them all out and interrogate them thoroughly!"

  He Le'an's struggles only earned him even rougher treatment from the guards. Xiong Shu and the others were just ordinary people, they had never encountered such a scene before, and were basically scared out of their wits. By the time they came to their senses, He Le'an was already pinned down on the long bench. The boards came crashing down one after another, leaving only muffled cries for help. Cao Zhanggui's explanations were drowned out by the sounds of beating, and the woman asked:

  "Speak! Who was it that poisoned me?"

  "I know we didn't poison anyone! No one should confess! If you do, it'll be even harder to clear our names!" Even with the pain in his buttocks making his face turn pale and contorted, He Lian struggled to shout at the top of his lungs.

  "Right! We've never done it!" Cao Zhuang was startled by her own words, and stubbornly shouted back, "Even if you beat us to death, we won't admit to something we've never done!"

  "Alright, you guys, still dare to be stubborn? Come on, hit me hard!" The woman seemed to have been enraged by He Le'an and Cao Zhanggui, coldly sneering as she ordered, "Especially these two, beat them to death for me, if they die then so be it!"

  The pain of being gnawed by bones, spreading from her buttocks to her whole body, only seven or eight times, He Le'an's slender body couldn't hold on anymore. However, she still bit her lip tightly, not letting the pain leak out, nor letting her consciousness slip away faster. Cold sweat and blood at the corner of her lips splashed onto the ground, opening up crisp water flowers...

  He Le'an thought of his past life, where he had done all sorts of evil deeds and suffered all kinds of torture, being bitten by snakes, blamed, slapped, and even repeatedly pressed into an icy lake, yet still managed to live until the age of thirty. In this life, he had done nothing but good, yet was going to die in such a misunderstanding. Thinking of Old Lady He, who had reminded him to be careful before he left the house, his nose began to ache and his eyes welled up with tears...

  The agonized wails by my ear had gradually subsided, when suddenly a loud splash of water came pouring over, and the skin-splitting pain in my buttocks instantly became excruciating, like being corroded to the bone. A series of heart-rending cries erupted around me, each one louder than the last!

  Almost losing consciousness, He Le'an knew that it was a strong saltwater solution being poured down on her. The intense stimulation made her cry out in pain, "Ahh!!" Tears fell from her eyes as she saw a familiar flash of bright red in the corner of her eye. At this moment, she heard an unfamiliar yet somehow familiar male voice giving orders:

  "Stop."