Wei Qing had been staying at the Supreme Court to keep watch over Du Lingxuan. She had assigned her personal maid to take care of procuring wound medicine and a doctor, and the maid had then relayed the news back to the Du Mansion.
Du Yanting had seen his younger sister's incorrigible behavior in the Supreme Court and left in a fit of anger. Now, after hearing the maid's description of the gruesome scene during the punishment, he felt a twinge of pity. So he told the steward to allocate a large sum of silver for the maid to hire a better doctor.
Du Lingxuan didn't wake up until noon the next day. She had moaned in a daze all night, seemingly on the verge of death, which made Wei Qing, who had accompanied her outside the prison cell, feel as if her heart were being cut with a knife.
However, waking up at noon the next day wasn't a good thing either. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Wei Qing looking at her through the prison bars, her face streaked with tears and her eyes filled with pain.
Du Lingxuan was confused. She only parted her chapped lips and asked weakly, "Mother, where am I..."
What greeted her eyes wasn't the familiar silk and satin but a ceiling covered with cobwebs and dust. The rough and damp straw on the ground pricked her painfully. A rat scurried past not far from her. She wanted to hide but accidentally tugged at her wounds, making her grimace in pain.
"Xuan'er, don't move. The doctor will be here soon..." Wei Qing wiped away her tears with a handkerchief and comforted Du Lingxuan with a sobbing voice.
Du Lingxuan endured the pain and clenched the straw in her hand. Frowning, she asked again, "Where is this? Mother, haven't we returned to the mansion?"
Wei Qing's face stiffened, and her expression looked dejected. She slumped her shoulders and held onto the bars for support. Slowly, she said, "You fainted before the punishment was completed yesterday. Today... you still have to finish it before you can go back..."
Du Lingxuan stopped in her tracks. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she couldn't help but scream, "What? I still have to be beaten?"
Wei Qing remained silent, but Du Lingxuan turned pale. She trembled and crawled towards Wei Qing, her voice filled with intense fear and pleading. "Mother, I don't want to be punished anymore. If I'm beaten any more, I'll die... Mother, save me..."
Wei Qing couldn't bear to see her like this, but after opening her mouth, she could only say, "Your elder brother has found a top - notch doctor and precious wound medicine for you..."
Du Lingxuan stopped crawling forward. She stood there in despair, just as the jailers heard the commotion and walked over.
One jailer was carrying a bucket with rice and vegetables mixed together. He placed a chipped clay bowl in front of the bars, scooped up a ladle of the food with a gourd ladle, and said indifferently, "It's time to eat."
Du Lingxuan looked up at the mush of rice and vegetables. A feeling of nausea welled up in her. She had never seen such unpalatable food before, so she disdainfully turned her head away. "Take it away. I won't eat this disgusting stuff!"
The jailer carrying the bucket paused and sneered, "Miss Du, you'd better eat. If you miss this meal, you won't be able to endure the ten strokes later."
The guard beside him also nodded. "If you faint again, you'll have to stay in this prison for another night. Miss, you'd better think it over."
Du Lingxuan clenched her fists. Hearing this, Wei Qing also panicked a little. She lay on the bars and gently advised her, "Xuan'er, bear with it. Just eat a little to fill your stomach. If you stay here for another night, you..."
"It's all your fault!" Du Lingxuan finally couldn't bear it anymore and roared.
The prison was empty, and the sound echoed, making Wei Qing stand there stunned. She seemed a bit unsteady on her feet and looked at Du Lingxuan in disbelief. "Xuan... Xuan'er, what are you saying..."
Du Lingxuan looked at her with hatred in her eyes and vented all her anger. "It's all because you gave me that useless medicine that I ended up in this hellhole!"
"Aren't you capable on normal days? But you can't even stop me from being punished. You just watched me being slapped in the face and beaten with the rod, without sharing any of the pain. Are you still a mother when you watch your own daughter suffer?"
Du Lingxuan spat out viciously. "You knew I was locked in this prison but didn't even send someone to buy me some delicious food. Instead, you advised me to eat this disgusting stuff. It's all your fault!"
In her excitement, she casually grabbed a handful of damp straw and threw it at Wei Qing. There was a small stone mixed in it. With a forceful throw, it hit Wei Qing right in the corner of her eye.
"Ah—"
Wei Qing let out a cry of pain. She covered her eye and slowly squatted down. The two jailers glanced at each other but didn't dare to step forward. Du Lingxuan sneered at her sudden movement. "Stop pretending. It's just..."
"Mother!" Du Yanting's voice came from the entrance, followed by hasty footsteps. He had just reached the entrance when he heard Wei Qing's cry of pain. Thinking that the jailers were giving her a hard time, he quickened his pace and came in.
He rushed behind Wei Qing and supported her, asking worriedly, "Mother, what's wrong with you?"
Wei Qing slowly turned her head. Blood trickled out from between the fingers covering her right eye. Du Yanting immediately panicked. "Mother, your eye... Doctor! Doctor!"
There was a doctor following him who was supposed to treat Du Lingxuan. Hearing the call, he quickly ran over. Du Yanting said anxiously, "Quickly take a look at my mother!"
After a thorough examination, the doctor found that the eye had been injured by a blunt object, but fortunately, only the corner of the eye was hurt, and it wouldn't affect her vision.
After the doctor bandaged Wei Qing, Du Yanting looked coldly at the jailers not far away. "Who did this?"
The two jailers were frightened, but they weren't willing to take the blame for Du Lingxuan. The jailer who carried the food snorted. "It was Miss Du inside who was complaining about her mother and threw the straw at her. It has nothing to do with us..."
There was a glint of doubt and disbelief in Du Yanting's originally fierce eyes. He shifted his gaze to Du Lingxuan. Wei Qing groped over and grabbed his sleeve. "It's okay, Ting'er. I'm fine. Xuan'er has suffered, so it's natural for her to blame me..."
"It's all your fault anyway! What are you pretending for in front of elder brother?" Du Lingxuan gave her a disgusted look. Hearing her words, Du Yanting's heart sank to the bottom. He said in a deep voice, "Did you injure mother?"
Du Lingxuan held her head high, looking as if to say, "What can you do to me?" "Yes, it was me." Seemingly still not satisfied, she poured out her grievances to Du Yanting. "If it weren't for her giving me the medicine, how would I be suffering here? Knowing I'm in prison, she didn't even buy me some delicious food but asked me to eat this disgusting..."
Slap!
The loud sound of the slap interrupted Du Lingxuan. She fell forward onto the ground. Her face, which had been swollen and red from the beating yesterday, was irritated again, and the skin instantly broke, oozing some black blood.
She looked at Du Yanting standing in front of her in disbelief and extreme fear. Her voice lost its former aggressiveness and was filled with a trembling cry. "Brother... you hit me..."