Zhu Zhuyun stood with her back to where the execution was taking place, her body unmoving, but the hand hanging at her side clenched ever tighter.
Blood seeped through the gaps between her fingers and dripped onto the bluestone floor, blooming into a small, dark-red flower.
There was no expression on her face, as though the screams and curses were nothing more than inconsequential wind passing by her ears.
The guards standing nearby all held their breaths. Anyone could see how terrifying the Eldest Young Lady's suppressed fury was at that moment.
The screams gradually weakened, until only faint moans remained. The torture chamber returned to deathly silence, with only the heavy stench of blood spreading through the air.
Zhu Zhuyun finally turned around slowly, her gaze sweeping over the mess on the floor. Her voice was frighteningly calm:
"Are they dead?"
"No! Eldest Young Lady, the two of them passed out from the pain!"
"Passed out?" she said indifferently, her tone revealing neither anger nor joy.
The guard beside her hurriedly replied, "Yes, Eldest Young Lady. They passed out from the pain."
Zhu Zhuyun gave a slight nod. Her fingers curled inside her sleeve, her nails almost digging into her flesh:
"Go and call the household physician." She paused, her voice laced with icy menace.
"Have him treat them properly. Don't let those two wastes die so easily."
The guards' hearts trembled, and they hurriedly acknowledged the order before retreating.
They understood the Eldest Young Lady's meaning all too well—this was not mercy. She intended to make the two of them remain conscious as they endured the torture to come, unable to live or die.
The stench of blood in the torture chamber grew even heavier—
The household physician soon arrived with a medicine chest and treated the two