The rain that had fallen continuously for several months finally ceased, and the next day brought brilliant sunshine. Common people spread the news joyfully, saying Heaven favored the Great Jin Dynasty, preventing this disaster from continuing to spread.

The flood had destroyed houses and farmland. Since the sun emerged, people throughout the city, old and young, busily repaired houses and restored damaged shops. Despite their circumstances, their faces still carried three parts joy – after all, there was still a chance to start over.

In a corner of the capital’s most prosperous main street, the once magnificent Chancellor’s residence was now covered with a thin layer of dust. The vermillion red gates seemed to have lost their paint overnight, no longer displaying their former bright luster. Two large official seals brazenly covered the dragon-head lock, a shocking sight to behold.

The entrance was desolate with few carriages or horses – no longer showing the bustling scene of former days. The ground was piled with garbage and debris washed in by the flood, appearing only dirty and chaotic. Occasional passersby would glance over, unable to hide the disdain in their eyes.

Privately maintaining troops and plotting rebellion – not just to the imperial family, but even in common people’s hearts, this was an unforgivable crime. Moreover, Li Dong had always wielded overwhelming power, and the people had long hated him deeply. Seeing his downfall now naturally relieved their resentment, cursing that evil men met evil ends.

Conversely, the Guan family army and Zhao family army who had led officials to capture the rebels received unanimous praise. Especially the younger generation like Zhao Yi and Jiang Xinzhi – their reputations rose rapidly from this flood disaster, becoming almost universally known.

With rebels determined and floods calmed, the capital returned to its former tranquility, carrying some sense of post-disaster stability.

However, in stark contrast to the capital people’s joy, the dungeon was dark and damp. Door guards with knives paced menacingly before the cells, deaf to the groans of prisoners within.

This place held death row inmates – prisoners who had committed grave errors. Once entering this place, there was never again a chance for redemption.

In the innermost cell of the dungeon, three figures in prisoner garb sat on dry straw. Though disheveled, they still appeared to be pampered nobles, their every movement carrying an air of arrogant command. These were Li Dong and his two sons.

Li Dong’s corpulent form wore snow-white prisoner clothing now so filthy its original color was unrecognizable. His expression was extremely agitated as he roared at Li An: “This is all your doing! Think of a solution quickly!”

Li An remained motionless, eyes closed, seemingly not hearing his words at all.

Li Dong’s heart burned with rage, yet he was helpless. Everything that could be said in court had been said, but unfortunately this time the Emperor was determined to deal with him. In the past, it would merely be a matter of offering silver, but this time no one above dared accept his money. In fact, the Chancellor’s residence had been raided – concubines who had received early warning had already fled with remaining wealth, leaving nothing behind.

He leaned back, involuntarily feeling anger and panic. All his life he had gotten whatever he wanted, never failing to accomplish anything, yet now he was imprisoned and facing execution. Li Dong had always feared death, and now felt deeply unwilling, desperately trying to fight for a way to survive. His only hope was Li An – supremely intelligent Li An could surely devise a good method to escape this fate. But this time, Li An disappointed him.

Li Yang looked at Li An beside him and sneered coldly. He had always known Li An was intelligent with deep thoughts, feeling intimidated by his talents. Yet Li An was also a natural eunuch, filling Li Yang’s heart with disdain. Now facing death, he showed his disgust for Li An without restraint: “A freak who brings more harm than good!”

Li An remained deaf to this, but in his mind appeared the faint smile of a young girl. Her words still echoed in his ears, each sentence a curse leading people into the abyss.

With his thoughts gradually clearing in prison, Li An carefully reviewed everything, finally beginning to see clues. From the very beginning when Li Yang first visited the Jiang residence, met Jiang Susu, and was castrated, they had fallen into Jiang Ruan’s trap.

Li Yang’s incident was merely bait – she clearly intended to deal with the entire Chancellor’s residence. Yet Li Dong, Li An, and even he himself had unknowingly walked into the ending Jiang Ruan had designed for them. Jiang Ruan had calculated everything. He even had the absurd feeling that she had long known about the Red Thunder Army and his physical defect, merely arranging a careful performance for them, with the Red Thunder Army as trump cards she ultimately used to crush people’s spirits.

How could such a person exist in this world?

Li An’s heart tightened. All his life he had been intelligent and arrogant. Even Jiang Ruan’s schemes he could gradually understand, but there remained one thing that puzzled him completely even now.

That was: why did Jiang Ruan do this?

What was her purpose? To deal with the Chancellor’s residence so ruthlessly, there must have been prior grievances between them. But he had investigated before – all of this was completely without reason.

To act so ruthlessly without reason? Was that possible?

Li An remained lost in thought, completely unaware that the dungeon guards had somehow disappeared.

When he noticed the surroundings were unnaturally quiet and a strange intuition warned him, Li An suddenly opened his eyes to see two masked figures in black gradually approaching from the shadows.

He surveyed the surroundings but saw no guards. Li Dong and Li Yang immediately spotted the two black-clothed men and exclaimed joyfully: “Heroes, you’ve come to rescue us, haven’t you?”

The two black-clothed figures silently approached the cell door, producing keys from somewhere and calmly beginning to unlock it.

Li An stared intently at their movements, suspicion flashing in his eyes. At this moment, only Eighth Prince Xuan Li would rescue them. But Xuan Li appeared gentle on the surface while being cold-natured inside – if beneficial to him, he would naturally be accommodating, but if useless, one could only become a discarded piece. The Chancellor’s residence now bore the charge of plotting rebellion, a thorn in the Emperor’s eye. Anyone with even the slightest connection to the Chancellor’s residence would be enemies in the Emperor’s eyes thereafter. Given Xuan Li’s nature, he would only sacrifice pawns to save the king – how could he possibly send people to rescue them?

Before he could voice his doubts, Li Dong and Li Yang had already stood up, gazing expectantly at the two black-clothed figures. After opening the cell door, one man suddenly stepped forward and restrained Li Dong and Li Yang with one hand each, while the other raised his hand and forced something into their mouths.

Li Dong and Li Yang were stunned, but the man had already turned to Li An and repeated the process, forcing Li An to swallow a similar pill.

Li Dong felt something and looked suspiciously at the black-clothed man: “What do you want?”

One of them said coldly: “Just something to keep you quiet.”

Without further words, he reached out and struck Li Dong and Li Yang’s necks. They instantly collapsed. Seeing this, Li An knew something was wrong, but before he could react, he felt his neck grow cold, his mind went blank, and he lost consciousness.

…

Qiling Road was where the capital’s poor commonly went.

This area bordered where the most wretched laborers lived, with lowly commoners frequently entering and exiting. These people typically held low status, owned nothing, made their living through manual labor, and lived extremely difficult lives.

Among such people, men often found it very difficult to obtain wives.

Therefore, the brothels and male brothels on Qiling Road did the most thriving business.

Brothels need no explanation. Women bought into Qiling Road brothels differed from those in the capital’s pleasure quarters – they served clients continuously day and night. The brothel madams treated these women with extreme harshness, normally allowing them only one meal a day. If they fell ill, they still had to serve clients while sick. Those too ill to continue were wrapped in straw mats and thrown to mass graves, their bodies completely devoured by wolves – a common occurrence.

The male brothels on Qiling Road were different from regular brothels.

Among those low-class commoners, occasionally one or two had unusual tastes. Women’s bodies were delicate and couldn’t withstand rough treatment, while the young men in these male brothels differed from the better ones in the capital – they weren’t the refined, pale, delicate youths. Most came from impoverished families who, unable to earn much through manual labor, sold themselves here. These young men had strong, hardy bodies – appearance wasn’t the most important factor. But even such hardy youths often died from mistreatment.

This day, a male brothel on Qiling Road received new business. The madam looked at the three people, smiling at the first two but frowning at the last one. She pointed with her short, thick finger painted with rouge and winked at the man across from her: “Sir, what do you mean? The first two are fine goods indeed, but this one… Are you mocking me?”

The people on the ground were shabbily dressed. The first two appeared to be young men in their twenties. Though disheveled, their faces showed delicate, tender skin – top quality goods. In this male brothel, they would qualify as star attractions. But the one behind them appeared to be a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, corpulent and truly… disgusting.

Jin Yi ignored the madam’s coquettish behavior, taking out a bank note from his clothing: “This is silver.”

Seeing the bank note, the madam immediately beamed with joy, laughing: “If sir trusts me, leave these people to me. Though he’s older, his body is well-maintained and tender. Some here enjoy excitement – we’ll extinguish the room’s lights for more fun. If you don’t look at his face and break him in a few times, he’ll naturally become suitable.”

Speaking so brazenly about such perverted matters made even Jin Yi uncomfortable: “All three must be properly broken in. Madam, please take care.”

Having worked in this business for many years, the brothel madam was naturally no saint. Hearing Jin Yi’s words, she understood somewhat – just another wealthy family’s revenge. She only handled money and work. Seeing this person’s bearing wasn’t that of an ordinary family, she smiled: “Does sir not trust my methods? Rest assured, since this is the case, I’ll arrange for them to serve clients today.” She looked at Jin Yi, practically waving her handkerchief in his face, voice sickeningly sweet: “Would sir like to witness it personally?”

Jin Yi shuddered with goosebumps: “No, thank you.”

…

When Li An awakened, Li Yang and Li Dong were still unconscious. Having practiced martial arts regularly, Li An had some foundation. When he tried to circulate his internal energy, he discovered his entire body was weak and powerless.

He was stunned, squinting as his vision gradually cleared. Li An looked around, seeing this was a small room filled with a strange fragrance – like women’s cosmetics but containing something indescribable. The room’s decorations were both cheap and gaudy. He sat on a bed hung with peach-pink curtains, resembling a woman’s boudoir yet not quite.

No matter how clever Li An usually was, he couldn’t determine what kind of place this was. Seeing Li Yang and Li Dong lying unconscious on the bed, his heart tightened, knowing they had been trapped.

Since the opponents dared kidnap them from the imperial prison, they must be fearless. But what was the purpose of such actions? Where exactly was this place?

As he pondered, the door creaked open and someone gracefully entered.

Slow footsteps approached from outside, sea-crabapple colored dress hem bright and passionate. Following the gorgeous skirt upward revealed a shapely figure, charming face, gentle smile, but eyes sharp as knives.

“Miss Jiang, it really is you,” Li An sneered coldly.

He had already suspected this. Upon seeing Jiang Ruan, he couldn’t describe his feelings – anger and unwillingness, gnashing teeth with hatred, or perhaps calm acceptance of inferior skills and willing defeat?

Jiang Ruan smiled slightly: “Second Young Master truly differs from ordinary people. The eldest young master and Chancellor are still unconscious, yet Second Young Master has already awakened.” She paused: “But awakening now may not be a good thing.”

“What do you want to do?” Li An asked.

Jiang Ruan said: “Doesn’t Second Young Master want to see what kind of place this is?”

Li An looked at her with heavy eyes, hearing Jiang Ruan gently and softly explain: “This is a male brothel, not an ordinary one. The young men here specifically serve those low-class laborers who sell their strength.”

Li An’s initially disdainful expression changed dramatically upon hearing this, his body involuntarily stiffening.

“What do you mean?” After a long pause, he squeezed out these words through gritted teeth.

“Chancellor has commanded wind and rain all his life, treating human lives like ants. Countless commoners have died by his hand. The eldest and second young masters are the same. If one day you must struggle and cry beneath those commoners you despise, wouldn’t that taste be more exquisite?”

Li An stared at her intently, his gaze no longer as calm as initially. He wanted to roar angrily, but the drug made his body weak and prevented him from raising his voice. He said: “Bitch!”

For a sheltered young lady to devise such methods! He could face death without fear, could endure other torments, but the thought of doing those filthy things beneath commoners made Li An feel cold all over – he wanted to vomit!

Jiang Ruan watched him with interest, smiling: “So Second Young Master can feel fear. I thought nothing in this world could stump Second Young Master – why do you repeatedly lose to me?”

These words were heart-piercing, yet she didn’t stop there, continuing to smile: “I imagine Second Young Master has always wanted to excel at everything in life, but with the Chancellor’s residence now collapsed, Second Young Master will never again taste being first. So I kindly want to help Second Young Master.” She smiled with extreme satisfaction: “I see you three father and sons are quite handsome. Starting today, father and sons will serve clients together – I wonder if Second Young Master can achieve that first place.”

Li An’s eyes seemed ready to bleed. All his life he had faced countless opponents and could defeat them effortlessly. But he had never encountered someone like Jiang Ruan – her every action seemed terrifyingly calculated in advance. Even at the end, she clearly understood what his true weakness was. Death wasn’t frightening – what was frightening was living worse than death, and this kind of existence had no end.

His heart was extremely panicked, desperately seeking an escape method. But seeing the young lady’s slightly mocking gaze, despair arose in his heart.

Escape was impossible. The young lady before him wasn’t human – she was a devil, a poppy growing from hell’s depths. She appeared beautiful and moving, but once approached, would use bloody vines to cruelly entangle people and drag them into hell’s depths together.

She didn’t refrain from action – she simply ensured total defeat when she acted.

Li An slowly raised his head to meet her gaze: “Why do you target the Chancellor’s residence?”

Jiang Ruan looked at him quietly, very quietly. The gentle, charming smile in those upturned alluring eyes suddenly vanished completely, showing undisguised hatred toward him for the first time. Like a calm sea raising shocking waves, only surging blackness remained, yet that black emotion contained bloody vengeance – deep blood feuds, irreconcilable enmity.

Being stared at by such eyes, Li An felt his spine turn terrifyingly cold. He suddenly realized that opposing the young lady before him was the most foolish decision of his life.

Jiang Ruan stood properly in the room, the young lady’s beautiful face cold and gorgeous, carrying frightening terror. Her hands were tucked in her sleeves, calmly folded across her chest – a dignified, elegant posture that seemed like death approaching.

She sighed softly: “Perhaps because in my previous life, the Chancellor’s residence owed me an enormous debt of lives.”

Li An was stunned. Jiang Ruan’s words made no sense, yet he had the absurd feeling that everything she said was true. He stared motionlessly at Jiang Ruan, then suddenly laughed bitterly: “Willing to bet and accept loss – I lost.”

“Wrong,” Jiang Ruan looked at him, her smile still gentle and sweet. “I never competed with Second Young Master over anything. I only wanted to destroy the Chancellor’s residence, and Second Young Master – you failed to protect it.”

She said indifferently: “All one hundred and three people of the Chancellor’s residence were beheaded at the Meridian Gate yesterday. His Majesty was furious and executed nine generations of the family.”

One hundred and three lives for one hundred and three lives – the previous life’s debt was exactly settled.