The Vicious Empress's Scum Wife (GL) - Chapter 002
A cold, icy gaze, like a knife, grazed her face.
Those eyes were so cold that one dared not look directly into them. Lin Yanran gently placed the brocade pouch beside her, then retreated a few steps before softly saying, “I’ve put the pouch here. You should put it on.”
After speaking, she hurried to the corner of the wall and picked some morning glory flowers.
These Devil’s Umbrella and morning glory flowers were secretly planted by Qin Mingyue. Devil’s Umbrella is a red mushroom that, as the name suggests, sends one to the underworld if eaten. Morning Glory is a green vine with purple trumpet-shaped flowers, possessing potent hallucinogenic effects, and overconsumption can also be fatal.
In the original novel, it was on this very day that Qin Mingyue’s exotic fragrance was exposed, leading to Zhang Zhen and the other two coveting her and forcing her to drink and entertain them. She seized the opportunity to drug their wine, poisoning all three into a state of idiocy. Unexpectedly, the original body’s constitution was special, allowing her to escape this calamity. Qin Mingyue tried to assassinate her but was counter-controlled, and from then on, she was imprisoned in this small farmhouse courtyard, living a miserable life, until the original owner squandered all her family’s wealth and sold her into a brothel…
As an expert in agricultural science and pharmacology, Lin Yanran knew these herbs like the back of her hand.
She returned to the main hall, urging the three to continue drinking and making merry. Soon, the morning glory took effect. Zhang Zhen, Li Qing, and Zhu Shiyu successively slumped into their chairs, their faces contorted, eyes dazed. Then they screamed, looking at the air before them with terrified eyes, starting to frantically slap their own faces, then crying piteously and kneeling on the ground, begging for mercy in a wretched state.
Lin Yanran unhurriedly found some rags and gagged their mouths.
This dose was not enough to kill them, but it would leave them with lifelong nightmares and erase all memory of Qin Mingyue’s exotic fragrance.
About a quarter of an hour later, the screaming stopped, and the three passed out from exhaustion.
Lin Yanran spilled the remaining wine all over them, feigning extreme drunkenness, then dragged them one by one to the main entrance.
Qin Mingyue stood by the wall, watching this scene indifferently, her ink-black eyes as calm as still water, without a ripple.
Lin Yanran found a neighbor and entrusted them with sending the three home.
Unless they slept for three days and three nights, they wouldn’t wake up. And even when they did, they would be dizzy and lethargic, haunted by nightmares when they finally remembered. They would certainly have a hard time!
After doing all this, she went out to Liu Zhenzhen’s house, not far away. Liu Zhenzhen was also a Kunze, an upright and kind person who made a living as a doctor, often traveling to nearby towns to heal the sick and wounded.
“Is Doctor Liu home?”
After waiting for a moment, the heavy wooden door was pulled open from inside. A woman in a blue dress, lightly powdered, poked her head out. She had an oval face, delicate and dignified features, and a tiny vermilion mole on the right corner of her mouth. Seeing it was Lin Yanran, her face immediately darkened, and she made to close the main door.
Lin Yanran quickly put out a hand to block the door: “Doctor Liu, my wife is injured. Could I trouble you to come and take a look?”
Liu Zhenzhen glared fiercely at her: “You beat her again, didn’t you?”
Lin Yanran’s face flushed awkwardly. The original owner’s notorious reputation for domestic violence had already spread throughout the ten-mile radius, enough to stop children from crying at night. So, medical practitioners had no fondness for her.
Liu Zhenzhen particularly disliked her.
But Qin Mingyue was spitting bl00d; she needed treatment as soon as possible.
“Doctor Liu’s medical skills are superb. My wife is severely injured and urgently needs treatment. I beg Doctor Liu to lend a helping hand. Lin is extremely grateful!”
She bowed deeply.
“Lin Yanran, I practice medicine to save people, not to save them so you can humiliate and abuse them again. Get out!”
Liu Zhenzhen’s face was livid, just short of telling her to scram.
Seeing that gentle persuasion wouldn’t work, Lin Yanran had no choice but to say: “As the saying goes, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. My wife is spitting bl00d. If Doctor Liu doesn’t go now, it might be…”
“Bang!” The door closed.
Lin Yanran touched her nose, which was almost hit, and gave a wry smile. It seemed she would have to find another doctor. Just as she was about to turn, the door opened again, and Liu Zhenzhen came out with her medicine box, her face as dark as if it were about to rain.
Lin Yanran quickly led the way.
As they passed by, she caught a whiff of a fresh, slightly sweet citrus scent, mixed with a faint herbal aroma—it must have been Liu Zhenzhen’s pheromones.
Pushing open the main door, Lin Yanran’s expression changed. Qin Mingyue had collapsed on the ground again, and the black dog was anxiously circling around her.
Liu Zhenzhen’s face also changed when she saw the footprints on Qin Mingyue’s body and the bl00d on the ground. She immediately picked up her medicine box and went to examine her. When she saw the deep bloody marks on Qin Mingyue’s ankle, caused by the silver chain, the redness stark against her snow-white skin, a truly shocking sight, she finally couldn’t bear it any longer.
“Lin Yanran, she’s your wife, after all! How can you torture her like this? You… you’re too much!”
Lin Yanran remained silent.
Liu Zhenzhen’s lips trembled, wanting to say something more, but finally, she sadly pursed her lips. Lin Yanran’s notorious reputation for domestic violence, gambling away money, and abusing her Kunze was already widespread. It was not something a Kunze like her could change. She could only do her best to treat Qin Mingyue.
“Where’s the key? Her internal organs are injured; she needs to rest in bed.”
Lin Yanran had long wanted to open the chain, but she couldn’t remember where the original owner had put the key.
One end of the chain was tightly clamped around Qin Mingyue’s ankle. Unless opened with a key, any violent removal would injure her foot.
The other end was attached to a pillar.
Liu Zhenzhen said, “If you can’t find it, then figure out a way to break the chain.”
Lin Yanran paused, then said, “This chain is made of dark iron.”
Liu Zhenzhen blurted out, “Dark iron chains specifically used to imprison criminals?”
Lin Yanran didn’t speak. Liu Zhenzhen’s face was livid. If dark iron could be easily broken, Qin Mingyue would have escaped this cage long ago.
Lin Yanran turned and walked into the inner room. Soon, she dragged out a bamboo bed. Fortunately, the original owner came from a hunter’s background, so she didn’t find it difficult to drag it all the way to the corridor, where she then laid a quilt on it.
Qin Mingyue lay quietly on the ground, her beautiful hair disheveled. The bloodstains at the corner of her mouth had been wiped away, but some faint traces remained.
Her complexion was unusually pale, with a crystalline coolness, like the finest bone china—beautiful yet fragile, as if it would shatter with a mere touch.
When she picked her up, she realized how impossibly light she was. Despite her tall stature, there was almost no weight to her in her arms, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.
Lin Yanran’s heart felt heavy. She silently carried her and placed her on the bamboo bed, then tidied her hair before stepping aside.
Liu Zhenzhen’s expression was still not good. She instructed her, “Go boil some hot water.”
Lin Yanran acknowledged and immediately left.
After the examination, Liu Zhenzhen said, “She won’t die.” Her tone was severe, clearly suppressing anger. After much hesitation, she continued, “Her body is very weak now and urgently needs nutrition. You should make some thin porridge, add some minced meat and eggs, and feed her. But then again, you Qianyuan would never cook for a Kunze. I’ll make it and send it…”
“I’ll make it.” Lin Yanran quickly said, “Doctor Liu, don’t worry. When I was boiling water just now, I actually already started a pot of porridge. It’s just that there’s no meat at home, so I only put in some eggs and vegetables.”
Liu Zhenzhen glanced at her in surprise, still with a grim face: “Since that’s the case, then feed her some first.”
She paused, then stared at Lin Yanran with great apprehension, “Her body is severely injured. She absolutely cannot be injured again. Even if you are… you must endure for some time.”
This was practically pointing at her nose and calling her a lecher.
It seemed that the original owner’s imprisonment of Qin Mingyue and frequent beatings that left her covered in injuries had long made her notorious in the eyes of outsiders as an extremely cruel sexual deviant.
It was a pity that the original owner was a useless person incapable of marking. Not only that, she barely reacted to the pheromones Qin Mingyue released. Just now, Zhang Zhen and the other two had lost control, but she felt little to no effect.
Lin Yanran felt a pang in her heart, but she didn’t explain, just nodded silently.
“Okay.”
Liu Zhenzhen got up to pack her medicine box. As she was leaving, she said, “I’ll come back for a follow-up visit first thing tomorrow morning.”
After finishing the porridge, Lin Yanran’s eyes suddenly lit up. She finally remembered where the key was!
The original owner had actually thrown the key into the well in the courtyard!
She looked at the murky well water, a wry smile on her face.
By the time she finished feeding Qin Mingyue, it was already pitch dark. Qin Mingyue was still on the bamboo bed under the corridor, unconscious. She had to watch over her.
Since that was the case, she might as well clean the well.
Lin Yanran was a woman of action; she started immediately. As dawn broke, she finally scooped out all the well water and fished out the gleaming silver key.
Just as she reached the side of the bamboo bed, her body suddenly stiffened, and her face became a mixture of surprise and uncertainty. This was all because a line of bl00d-red text suddenly appeared in her mind—
[Having regained her freedom after the leg chain was opened, Qin Mingyue cut off the scum wife’s neck that very night. She was then welcomed back to the palace by her hidden guards. The reborn Qin Mingyue became even more brutal and bloodthirsty. Not only did she slaughter all the royal family, but the first thing she did upon ascending the throne was to massacre the county where the scum wife resided. Wherever her army passed, corpses lay strewn across the fields. The scum wife’s body was dug up and flogged for three days and three nights. Still not satisfied, she ordered her guards to grind the body to dust and bury it in a cesspit, ensuring she would never be reborn!]
Lin Yanran’s hand, gripping the key, trembled uncontrollably.
“So, she was reborn…”
••••
The sky was barely brightening.
Qin Mingyue awoke and found herself lying on a bamboo bed.
She was stunned for a moment. That scumbag actually let her sleep in a bed?
She remembered that ever since Lin Yanran imprisoned her, she had been sleeping in the woodshed for over two months, with only the black dog for company. Even for bathing, she could only secretly draw well water and hide in the woodshed to wash herself when Lin Yanran went out carousing.
Due to the length of the chain, it only allowed her to go into the woodshed.
A dignified noble daughter, reduced to a prisoner, associating with animals.
What a humiliation.
She gently closed her eyes, then reopened them. A flash of killing intent passed through her deep black eyes before returning to calm, like an unfathomable cold pool.
Footsteps sounded from the corridor.
Lin Yanran approached, carrying a tray.
Their eyes met.
The hem of Lin Yanran’s long gown was soaked, and her cloth shoes were stained with mud. Only her hands were clean.
She looked utterly disheveled.
Qin Mingyue’s expression remained undisturbed, watching her with extreme calmness and coldness.
“You’re awake?” Lin Yanran greeted her proactively. Receiving no response, she placed the tray she was carrying on the small wooden table beside the bamboo bed and began setting out the food.
A prickling sensation, like needles, came from her side.
Without turning around, she knew it must be Qin Mingyue’s cold, knife-like gaze.
Lin Yanran’s heart sank rapidly.
She knew Qin Mingyue hated the original owner; she could feel that visceral hatred even when reading the book, between the lines. But now that she had transmigrated into the original owner’s body, she truly understood how deep that hatred was.
A steaming bowl of vegetable and egg porridge, a plate of stir-fried greens with tofu, and a cup of hot water. The original owner usually only cared about eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring outside, completely neglecting the home, so there weren’t many ingredients.
She had borrowed these greens and tofu from a neighbor.
She arranged the bowls and chopsticks, glanced at Qin Mingyue, and said softly, “The food is ready. Please eat something first.”
“Do you want me to help you off the bed?”
Qin Mingyue sat upright, motionless, and did not speak.
Lin Yanran tentatively moved closer. Just as she was about to open the corner of the quilt to check her ankle, her arm was seized.
The hand gripping hers was too pale, yet it did not diminish the beauty of that hand. The snow-white skin had a crystalline, snowy luster, and faint blue veins were vaguely visible.
She gripped her so tightly that her fingertips almost dug into her flesh.
Lin Yanran’s peripheral vision caught sight of Qin Mingyue’s other hand hidden within her sleeve, a cold gleam flashing past.
Something was hidden by Qin Mingyue.
Her heart trembled slightly. If she remembered correctly, Qin Mingyue carried a dagger that could cut iron like mud, a self-defense weapon given to her by her mother.
She had never witnessed such sharpness, but her own hand certainly wasn’t as strong as iron.
Especially when she thought of that vivid red text, her neck was probably severed by that iron-cutting dagger.
“I mean no harm. I want to help you open the chain.”
Cold sweat beaded on her nose. She hastily opened her palm, revealing the key inside.
After much thought, she still couldn’t ignore Qin Mingyue’s plight and decided to save her first.
Qin Mingyue’s icy gaze slowly shifted from Lin Yanran’s face to the silver key in her palm, a dark surge in her eyes.
This was the key that had locked her up like a dog.
Humiliation, anger, hatred!
All sorts of dark emotions intertwined in her eyes, making her entire being radiate a chilling coldness.
Lin Yanran grew increasingly uneasy, an unsettling feeling of hair standing on end enveloping her.
She was never one to hesitate. With a thud, she unreservedly knelt down.
She held out the key in her hand, looked up at Qin Mingyue, her eyes firm and sincere.
“I know I’ve done many excessive things, but I can explain everything.”
“The old me was possessed by a ghost.”
“The me now is the real me.”
“From now on, I will never harm you in the slightest.”
“If anyone dares to harm you, they will have to step over my corpse first.”
Qin Mingyue’s clouded expression remained unchanged, only her eyes flickered slightly.
What new trick was this scumbag playing now?
Being tortured to death by a thousand cuts in her previous life was letting her off easy. What kind of cruel torture could she use this life to quell the hatred in her heart?
She subtly narrowed her eyes, fixing her gaze on Lin Yanran’s pale, tender neck. At this moment, they were extremely close, and with Lin Yanran kneeling, she would be completely defenseless against a sudden attack.
One strike would be enough to kill.