Domestic Zone: You already have a system, why join a chat group?

Chapter 60 The Wonderful Tale of Mu Wanqing

"He really figured it out?" Tong Lao was somewhat surprised. She had only mentioned it casually and never expected that Russell would actually have this ability.

However, it's good that they were able to comprehend it, so that the most powerful martial arts of the Free and Unfettered Sect wouldn't be lost.

……

"Aunt, are you satisfied with this room?" On the other side, Mei Jian led Mu Wanqing into a spacious and elegant warm pavilion, her voice gentle.

Tingxuexuan is located in the best part of Lingjiu Palace. You can see snow-capped peaks and sea of ​​clouds when you open the window. The interior is elegant yet luxurious. Several exquisite jade artifacts are displayed on the antique shelf on the table, and a light fragrance burns in the incense burner. It is obviously a fine guest room in the palace.

Kumārajīva and Murong Fu, being men from outside the palace, were assigned to relatively secluded courtyards. Mu Wanqing, on the other hand, was considered one of the women of Lingjiu Palace because of Russell, and her residence was top-notch in both location and furnishings.

"Oh, okay." Mu Wanqing responded without refusing Mei Jian's address of "aunt" as her martial aunt. However, she was never one to stay still for long. After briefly looking around the room, she asked Mei Jian, "May I walk around the palace freely?"

"Of course," Mei Jian smiled and said respectfully, "Please make yourself at home, Aunt. This servant can show you the way."

The two then left Tingxue Pavilion and strolled along the winding corridor.

Lingjiu Palace is a grand complex with winding corridors and soaring eaves. Along the way, one can see women everywhere.

According to Mei Jian, the total number of palace maids in the Nine Heavens and Nine Departments is nearly three thousand.

The older ones were in their forties or fifties, while the younger ones were only thirteen or fourteen years old. Each had their own role, and their martial arts skills varied greatly.

As they walked along, every woman they encountered, regardless of age, would stop and bow respectfully to Mei Jian, addressing her as "Sister Mei Jian" with utmost deference.

Mu Wanqing looked on with curiosity, but Mei Jian was used to it and explained with a smile: "Reporting to Aunt, my four sisters and I are close attendants to Grandma, in charge of some palace affairs. In the palace, the hierarchy is based first on duties and how close we are to Grandma, and secondly on the order in which we entered the palace and our martial arts skills."

Mu Wanqing blinked, still somewhat puzzled: "Aren't you surprised to be called 'sister' by a woman in her fifties or sixties?"

Mei Jian tilted his head slightly in surprise, seemingly having never considered this question before, and said matter-of-factly, "That's how it should be, what's so strange about it?"

"...Alright." Mu Wanqing nodded blankly, deciding not to delve any further into the unique ethical views of Lingjiu Palace.

The two walked on, passing through several courtyards, until they reached a fork in the road. Mei Jian did not stop, naturally leading Mu Wanqing to turn onto the path on the right.

Mu Wanqing pointed curiously to the stone chamber at the end of the road and asked, "What's that place over there? Aren't we going to go take a look?"

Mei Jian's smile faded slightly, and he said somewhat awkwardly, "That's the torture chamber, used specifically to punish those disobedient little rascals down the mountain. The scene inside is not very pleasant, and I'm afraid it will offend your master's wife's eyes. It's better not to go."

Torture chamber...discipline...

Upon hearing this, Mu Wanqing's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly said to Mei Jian, "Since we're already here, why not go in and take a look?"

Mei Jian couldn't persuade Mu Wanqing otherwise, so he had no choice but to lead her forward.

The torture chamber was dimly lit, with only a few candles nailed to the wall providing a faint light. As soon as Mu Wanqing entered, she heard several suppressed groans of pain.

Upon entering, one discovers a beautiful woman with a lovely face and graceful figure suspended in mid-air by rough hemp ropes in an extremely complicated and humiliating manner.

Her head was bowed, her long hair was disheveled, and only the slight rise and fall of her chest and the occasional painful nasal sounds proved that she was still alive. Her body was covered with whip marks of different ages, like red plum blossoms blooming on the snow. Several thin steel needles were deeply driven into several vital acupoints, and the ends of the needles trembled slightly with her faint breathing.

Beside the woman, several other young women with similar appearances and decent figures knelt on the ground like livestock, wearing leather collars around their necks. The collars were connected to iron chains and fixed to iron rings in the corner of the wall.

Two Lingjiu Palace maids, holding thin, tough leather whips, were swearing under their breath as they lashed out, leaving red welts on the women's smooth backs and buttocks. The women's backs were already swollen and red, some with torn flesh. They gritted their teeth, their bodies trembling violently from the pain, but they dared not cry out loud.

Mei Jian quickly explained, "These are the wife and several concubines of Duanmu Yuan, the master of the Crimson Flame Cave. They were speaking ill of Grandma outside and uttering rebellious words. They were captured and brought here as a minor punishment to serve as a warning to others."

You call this a minor punishment as a warning?

The thought flashed through her mind, but Mu Wanqing couldn't care less about it; all her attention was focused on the ropes binding the women.

The rough hemp rope cut deep into the delicate flesh, creating a striking image in the dim light.

She stared at the trail of the ropes, the taut lines, and the body's contours accentuated by the restraints. Her heart pounded uncontrollably, and the sound of her blood rushing through her ears throbbed.

They were bound in such agony, their posture so humiliating... but what she was thinking at that moment was why she wasn't the one being bound and treated like that.

"No... now is not the time to think about this." Mu Wanqing bit her lower lip hard, using the slight pain to force herself to stay awake, and hurriedly shook her head to banish the thought.

"Aunt? What's wrong? Is it too stuffy here?" Mei Jian noticed her unusual behavior and quickly stepped forward to ask with concern.

"N-nothing." Mu Wanqing took a deep breath, suppressing the agitation in her heart, avoiding Mei Jian's probing gaze, her voice even colder than usual: "I'm a little tired, I want to go back and rest."

"Yes, this servant will take you back right away." Mei Jian, without any suspicion, quickly replied and led Mu Wanqing back to Tingxue Pavilion along the way they came.

That night, all was quiet.

Inside Tingxue Pavilion, Mu Wanqing lay in the soft, warm brocade quilt, but tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, her mind filled with everything she had seen in the torture chamber during the day.

However, in her uncontrollable imagination, the blurry figure kneeling on the ground, wearing a collar and enduring whipping, gradually became herself.

The figure holding a whip and chain, looking down from above, gradually merged with Russell's silhouette...

"Well……"

Thinking of this, Mu Wanqing involuntarily bit her thumb knuckle, gripped the brocade quilt beneath her with her other hand, squeezed her legs together unconsciously, and arched her slender waist slightly in discomfort, trying to suppress the strange sound that was about to escape from her throat.

In the darkness, that exquisitely beautiful face was now flushed with an unfamiliar blush, and her eyes shimmered with tears in the night, a mixture of confusion and shame.

"I want to, I really want to..."