Ink Burns

Chapter 308 Not Creating Sins (Part 1)

Fu Mingjiang suffered a severe blow to the chest!
Before she could react or scream, the disheveled, crazed woman, her eyes blazing with madness, drew a dagger and began a rapid, continuous series of stabs—in her chest, abdomen, face, and legs.
Dozens of cuts!

Each stab carried a deep-seated hatred and despair.

Fu Mingjiang was already covered in blood. Her eyes widened in disbelief, and in a final burst of energy, she managed to utter a questioning voice: "Who...who are you!"

"Today I'm showing you mercy and letting you die knowing why!" The woman's eyes were bloodshot and bulging with fury. "Liu Bozhu, do you still remember her?"

Fu Mingjiang's face was covered in blood, but his eyes showed confusion.

This doubt nearly made the old woman faint. Ignoring the fact that she shouldn't be noticed, she roared in a fierce, sorrowful voice, "You taught her to seduce Xue Xiao! You taught her to replace He Shanyue! You dragged her into the 'Qingfeng's' cannibalistic world! You made her lose her life!—"

The old woman's face was covered in Fu Mingjiang's splattered blood. Her voice was shrill, her eyes burning with fire as she screamed and roared as if she wanted to burn away her remaining life: "You killed her, but you didn't even know who she was!"

The old woman shoved Fu Mingjiang against the wall, then stabbed her repeatedly until she was exhausted. The frenzied impulse subsided, and the satisfaction of revenge and exhaustion made her sluggish and stop. Leaning against the wall, she gasped for breath, her eyes glazed, muttering something unintelligible: "Bo Zhu, Mother has done her best. Jing An died at the right time; Mother didn't make it. At least the daughter has to pay for the mother's debt, sending this beloved princess to be buried with you. That's all I could do as your mother wished."

Fu Mingjiang staggered two steps, the excruciating pain in her body already numbed. Her vision blurred, and the old woman's accusations and screams gradually faded in her ears. A strange, floating feeling that did not belong to her gradually rose up.

She is dying.

Fu Mingjiang turned his head with difficulty to look at the door that was open a crack.

The strange occurrence in the room startled the people sleeping inside and outside the courtyard, and the window frames reflected the figures of people rushing over.

Through the crack in the door, she prayed for her vision to disappear completely, so that she could see her beloved die one last time—she stared intently at the slightly ajar red lacquered gate of the main courtyard, hoping that the figure would push the door open and come out, so that she could see him once, just once, and then she would accept her fate and close her eyes.

Never.

But that figure never appeared.

Fu Mingjiang felt all her strength drained away. Her eyes widened, her mouth slightly open, filled with overwhelming resentment and bitterness at why her life had suddenly fallen to such a state. She then covered her eyes.
—Even until the very last moment of her life, she still couldn't understand why, with her illustrious background, prestigious reputation, and smooth, successful life, she had met such a tragic end in the last two years!
What did she do wrong? What bad thing did she miss?
She lived a simple and kind life, never pursuing power or doing anything immoral. She simply devoted herself to one person, one man. Is love wrong?
As if a force had been drawn out, Fu Mingjiang was thrown backward with a "bang"!

The figure outside the window is getting bigger and bigger, which means that the person is getting closer.

The old woman, Qiu, did not attempt to escape. Instead, she smiled and sat cross-legged beside Fu Mingjiang, who was barely clinging to life. Naturally, she did not notice a limping figure silently moving up the wall from the darkness. The figure first picked up the infant, who was soaking in his mother's blood and had no strength to cry out. Then, a small cluster of fire lit a long and thin fuse in the corner of the side room!
The flames climbed along the fuse, and before long, they ignited the fireworks that had been placed in the side room, ready to be set off on New Year's Eve.

With a series of loud "bangs," scalding fireworks and hot air shot out, forming a giant fireball in the enclosed and narrow side room, illuminating the entire sky above the Wuding Marquis's residence!
The enormous flames, like a black dragon soaring into the sky, filled with a stench, slowly devoured the existence and power of the Marquis of Wuding's mansion along the wooden eaves!

Startled awake by the loud noise and flames, Cui Yulang shoved aside Aunt Lin, whom he had found a few days earlier, got out of bed, and opened the window. His eyes were filled with the blazing firelight. He put on his cloak and hurried to the veranda. Seeing that the warm pavilion where the paintings were displayed was also faintly glowing with fire, he immediately snatched the bucket of water from the servant's hand, rushed to the warm pavilion, and took down the framed paintings of "Lady Jade Plate." Then, he went back to the veranda and shouted, "Musheng! Musheng! Go to the study and save those fake paintings of 'Twelve Spring Scenes'!"

But no one responded.

At this moment, Mu Sheng was bending over, holding a swaddled baby in his arms, walking south along the base of the outer wall of the Marquis of Wuding's mansion.

The city gate is located to the south of the capital.

Because a relative by marriage had passed away, no large red lanterns were hung in the Wuding Marquis's residence; the light under the hexagonal palace lantern shades was a pale white.

Taking advantage of the halo of light like white mist, Li Musheng quickly looked down at his son.

Under the pale, dim light of the oil lamp, the frail infant's eyes were tightly closed and his lips were cracked. Since his birth, the child had been left unattended for three days. He had used all his savings to get the caregiver to help feed the child some rice and oil and wrap him in a slightly cleaner blanket.

He was deeply worried, knowing full well that the child, the heir apparent, could not be allowed to live. He was constantly looking for an opportunity to save him.

Others are insignificant and their words carry little weight; they can only fish in troubled waters.

He found it today.

He saw that Madam Fu had let a suspicious-looking Qiu into the backyard, and then followed Qiu into the room where the princess was being held. He took advantage of the chaos to set off a cannon, making the situation even more chaotic. The room was burned to the ground. Who could possibly search inside to verify whether there was a charred body of a small infant?

He had to hurry and take the child out of the manor to find a new life—if he sent the child back to his hometown, the prince would probably find out the next day; he couldn't trust the servants he was on good terms with in the manor; after thinking it over, he could only send the child to the almshouse. He had heard that the current emperor had reopened the Jimintang, so that ordinary people would have a place to see a doctor and get medicine. Naturally, the almshouse, which specifically takes care of orphans and abandoned children, would at least not starve the child!
Whether it's good or bad, the fact that this child is alive is an immense blessing!
Facing the wind and frost, Li Musheng shrugged and walked away with his back turned, afraid that the wind would hurt the frail baby.

The sound of the night watchman's gong rang out behind them, followed by a questioning voice: "Stop! Whose house is this?!"

The lantern peeked out from the shadows.

Li Musheng shrugged and shivered.

He is a soldier from the Left Guard of the City Patrol!

From the moment the Crown Prince ordered him to share a room with the Princess, he knew that he was destined to die sooner or later.

But if someone discovers that he is carrying the master's child and trying to escape, he will be unable to explain himself, and naturally he will not be able to escape. The child will also not be able to escape, and his parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts will all be doomed!
Li Musheng's knees trembled uncontrollably. He tried to hide the baby in his clothes, his face pale. Just as he was about to turn around and reply, he heard a man in light armor leading a large black dog approaching from not far away.

"People from Xue Nanfu."

The man wrapped the reins of the large black dog around his palm three times, then cupped his hands in a military salute: "Xue Jifeng, a sixth-rank official of the Right Battalion of the Western Mountain Camp."

He strode forward and stood in front of Li Musheng, speaking to the patrolling soldier: "Madam asked him to deliver some new clothes to Madam Chang's residence. Please do me a favor, sir."

As night fell in the capital, the city was heavily patrolled. Especially during the New Year, the emperor paid even more attention to the nighttime regulations in the capital. In principle, anyone still wandering the streets after midnight should be searched.

The soldier's eyes darted around: But since he was Captain Xue's man, how dare he search him? A mad dog will even bite the Vice Minister, let alone him?

The soldiers bowed and made way.

Ji Feng glanced at Li Musheng: "Be his servant—remember to deliver it to Madam Chang's place, just leave it at the door and leave. The gatekeeper will come out to get it when he hears the noise."

Li Musheng looked up in alarm, not daring to object. Without time to think, he could only hug the child tightly against the wall and limp around a corner to reach the Chang residence. He put the child under the sheltered eaves, pinched the sole of the child's foot hard until the child cried out like a kitten, then wiped away his tears and hid in the shadows of the alley.

He waited anxiously, silently counting to fourteen, when the gatekeeper, still half asleep, peeked through a crack in the door. Upon seeing the child lying on the ground, he was startled and quickly closed the door behind him. Whether to announce his arrival or not, the gatekeeper returned shortly afterward, followed by a noblewoman in a cloak.

He recognized the woman.

Zhou, Chang Lin's second wife.

Mrs. Zhou carefully picked up the child, peered around as if looking for someone.

He quickly hid his short figure in the alleyway, and when he peeked out again, the Chang family's gate was already closed.

The baby on the ground was also taken inside.

Li Musheng lowered his head, wiped away his tears, and finally turned and limped away.