~Caught in the act~

'I've found a soul, a broken soul, a vengeful broken soul'~ The king of Yama

"Second young miss, I've brought your medicine" a soft voice called out while shaking a sleeping Huang Fei.

Huang Fei suddenly stirred as she opened her eyes revealing bright beautiful black orbs. The maid known as Tao Ruan suddenly felt herself in a daze; she had always known that their second young miss was extremely beautiful but now she felt that her eyes which had always been dull now seemed so bright and full of a strange sense of in-depth.

As though Huang Fei just noticed her presence, her eyes shot back intensely to the maid beside her as her gaze suddenly became covered with layers of malice.

Tao Ruan froze on the spot as she felt as though all the air in the room had suddenly been seized and a thousand needles were pointed at her, one wrong move and she would be a goner!

"Tao Ruan, Tao Ruan!!" Huang Fei called out again as the she hid the coldness in her eyes.

"Huh? What...." Tao Ruan asked as she came out of her daze and stared at Huang Fei only to notice a blank expression on her face--'This?' she thought as she remembered the hatred she once saw in her eyes; she couldn't help but shiver unconsciously--was it all her imagination?

"This?" Huang Fei asked with a confused expression as she stared at the bowl in Tao Ruan's hands. Tao Ruan's heart finally felt calm at her expression as she snorted in her heart --'This second miss is still as stupid as ever!'

Huang Fei, however, didn't miss out on the relief that flashed across the maid's face.

"Second Young Miss, Eldest miss secretly sent me to give you this medicine to alleviate your wounds" Huang Fei watched as Tao Ruan pushed the bowl over to her while beckoning on her to drink it. Huang Fei picked up the bowl and pretentiously brought it close to her lips when a strong smell attacked her senses.

Normally, weak cultivators like her wouldn't be able to detect anything wrong with this medicine but since she had dispelled the poison from her body her senses had become much stronger especially her sense of smell which had become 10 times sharper compared to that of a normal cultivator.

She could easily smell the aphrodisiac that had been mixed with the medicine as her brows raised up slightly.

Ming Zhi was really desperate to finish her off!

Fine! Two can play this game!

A quiet sob escaped Huang Fei's lips as she spoke solemnly "Eldest sister truly cares for me *sob* Not even father bothered to ask about me" Holding Tao Ruan's sleeve she spoke out with a smile "Please send my regards to eldest sister"

Tao Ruan simply nodded as she stared at Huang Fei with a sarcastic smile "Of course, now go on and drink up before it becomes cold" Huang Fei nodded before picking up the bowl with shaky hands and gulping down the liquid.

Tao Ruan stared at her sinisterly as she sneered in her heart 'what an idiot'-- she thought

Seeing as Huang Fei had completely finished the medicine, she gave her a warm smile before picking up the bowl and was about to exit the room when Huang Fei called out to her coldly.

"Tao Ruan!" The maid froze and unconsciously shivered as she once more felt that feeling of dread wash over her, turning her head she saw Huang Fei smiling at her although she felt the smile was somewhat strange but seeing her usual blank expression, she couldn't point out any faults.

"Remember to send my regards to eldest sister." Tao Ruan nodded her head quickly as she hurriedly left the room.

A sinister smile appeared on Huang Fei's face as she stood up while picking a small bottle from her sleeves.

'Since this is how they wanted to play, she wouldn't mind giving them a taste of their own medicine'

A figure totally dressed in black maneuvered its way through the shadows to the rooftops of one of the courtyards where voices could be heard talking in whispered tones.

"Did she drink it" a clear crisp voice spoke out, Huang Fei furrowed her brows tightly when she heard who spoke, was this not Bai Lan? Ming Zhi's favorite and most trusted maid servant.

"Yes, now all we have to do is wait for the 3rd Master Bo to complete the deed" Tao Ruan spoke out.

Huang Fei suddenly felt disgusted by their words, who didn't know her 3rd eldest cousin Wei Bo popularly known for his unscrupulous ways, he was a flower pants and already had over 20 concubines, if that man was found with her in such a vulnerable situation, not only would she be kicked out of the family, she might even be forced to kill herself in order to give her family face!

Huang Fei slowly gritted her teeth in anger as she clenched her fists tightly.

At first, she had planned to torture this family slowly, but it seems that it would have to change! She would rather watch them finish each other with their own hands rather than stain her hands with their dirty blood.

"Quick some time has passed now, go and alert the 3rd Master Bo to complete his part while I'll alert everyone" Bai Lan spoke as she hurried Tao Ruan out of the room while going towards another direction.

Slowly Huang Fei retreated into the darkness as she moved onto the next stage of her plan.

"Mmmh..Ugh!... Aah! ... Aah!" Moaning and groaning noises could be heard coming out from the room in the Shu courtyard of Huang Fei as people stood outside with twisted and disgusted looks on their faces.

The constant slapping sounds and screams of "Faster... Aaaahh!" echoed throughout the night attracting even more people to the scene.

Meng Han who was the third young miss and whom Huang Fei senior with a few months stood in front of the courtyard with a smile on her face while saying mockingly

"Has it gone to the extent of second sister inviting men into her courtyard! Just how much does she crave for attention that she wishes to sully her own body!"

Zhan Lan who was Ming Zhi's concubine mother and second madam of the house also spoke out "who knows if this is her first time, can't you hear the kind of gruesome noises they are making, Tsk! obviously they must be passionate lovers, such disgraceful child!"

Lan Zhao, who was Huang Fei's father, angrily rushed towards the courtyard upon hearing the news; he had been in a meeting with a few officials when his hidden guard had reported the incident to him.

How could he bear to allow such a disgraceful incident to be committed in his own household!

Today if he doesn't personally end Huang Fei's life then he is not Xiao Lan Zhao!

However, upon hearing the moaning and grunting sounds coming from the room, his face mortified in a thousand different ways "Huang Fei! You disgraceful ingrate!!, you dare commit such unscrupulous act in my Xiao household!" he roared loudly as he glared at the door of the room with murderous intent.

How could he eat such a loss! Today that child must die in order to avoid losing face!

As he grabbed a sword from the nearest soldier and was about to barge into the room, a soft shaky voice called out to him from behind which made him freeze in his tracks, to his surprise as well as everyone bewilderment, there stood Huang Fei, her face was pale and her body was thin, her face seemed very confused at the large crowd in her courtyard as she held her wooden clutches tightly in her hands for support to prevent falling over.

Lan Zhao paused for a while as he stared at this daughter, everyone could guess the question in his heart, they could all still hear the moaning noises coming out from the room, so if it isn't Huang Fei, then whom exactly, was it?

"Father? What is going on?... why is every.. " But she suddenly paused when she heard the moaning noises coming from her own courtyard as her face shriveled up in confusion.

Tao Ruan stood shocked as she saw Huang Fei as a strange feeling of dread suddenly overcame her, looking around vehemently she figured out something she had actually missed. The eldest miss was not present with them and not only her but even Bai Lan was absent!

Zhan Lan who saw Huang Fei couldn't believe her eyes as she spat out angrily.

"You slut! How dare you bring a man into the Xiao household! Ungrateful brat!"

Huang Fei stared wide eyed at Zhan Lan as tears started escaping her eyes while muttering out fearfully "A man? What Man? I wouldn't dare... I've been with Aunt Yao throughout this evening..."

Zhan Lan instead snorted as she pointed out to Huang Fei accusingly "Liar! Everyone knows that you and Sister Yao are not close, how dare you lie with her name, you ungrateful..."

"That's enough!" Zhan Lan immediately swallowed the rest of her words as she looked ahead only to see a beautiful older woman approaching them. She walked slowly towards the scene, her voice was as soft as a feather not sounding at all like a middle aged woman as she spoke out "Younger brother, instead of you watching your daughter being falsely accused why don't we open the door and find out whom exactly we are to blame" as she said this her eyes drifted over to Zhan Lan's figure in annoyance.

"Aah! Of course, sister Yao" Xiao Zhao spoke out as he tried to cover his embarrassment.

"Guards break down that door and drag out those shameful ingrates!" Upon hearing this order, the guards immediately broke into the room while dragging out two figures that were continuously screaming and thrashing against the ground.

Everyone was surprised when they found out that it was their 3rd master Bo and Bai Lan!

Tao Ruan was shocked at first but felt a bit calm when she realized that it was not Ming Zhi but her hopes were soon short lived when she saw a third figure being dragged out of the room.

It seems as though she had fainted, bite marks and bruises of purplish and red colors could be seen scattered all over her milk like skin, her clothes were totally tattered hiding only little skin and leaving her bare for the world to see. This? --- everyone gasped as they recognized the young lady --- Their eldest miss-- Xiao Ming Zhi!

Zhan Lan nearly turned crazy when she saw this as she quickly ran over to cover her daughter's nakedness; she sobbed continuously while screaming "Injustice!"

As she realized that the girl who had been in the room all along was indeed not Huang Fei but her own daughter and her maid, with the 3rd Master Bo for that matter!

It seemed as though her mind had finally gone insane as she realized the dire consequences of this. Her daughter had just been recently engaged to the king's nephew yesterday and now she had ended up sleeping with another man. This? --- if discovered! Would it not mean that she had cheated on a Prince? The punishment for such would thereby mean the cutting of the adulteress legs!

Zhan Lan shivered unconsciously at this thought. No! She won't let her daughter die like that! This matter must never be known!

Her Zhi'er is destined for great things, she's a Phoenix, she won't allow her to crumble like this! Holding her unconscious daughter closely to her chest, she missed out the disgusted faces of everyone around her, how could they not understand the situation.

For her to cheat on a royal Prince, that was an extremely shameful act!

Lan Zhao, however, felt that this situation was the most unbearable; he more than anyone understood the dire consequences of his daughter's actions. Once the matter spread and reaches the palace, not only would his daughter be gruesomely slaughtered, but his position might even be affected, the safest method would be to end this daughter's life and avoid future embarrassment but even he couldn't bear to kill this daughter as she was his favorite!

His Zhi'er had always been the smartest and sharpest out of all his daughters and that was one of the reasons he was happy to exchange Huang Fei's engagement to hers but now he couldn't help but regret it!

Lan Yao who could clearly see the conflicted expression on her younger brother's face couldn't help but snort out coldly "Everyone says that the Second young miss of the Xiao household is talentless and useless but who knew that even the eldest miss is worse off! A girl who could easily give her body to another man, if word of this spread out what do you think would be the fate of the Xiao household! at least the second miss didn't easily sell her pride!"

At this point Lan Zhao really regretted giving Huang Fei's engagement to Ming Zhi.

Tao Ruan and the other maid servants were really scared at this point. Everyone knew that the prime minister really cared about Ming Zhi and so would definitely not kill her!

So, to prevent this matter from spreading wouldn't it mean that they would have to silence all the servants that had witnessed this! At this realization cold sweat suddenly dribbled from Tao Ruan's forehead as she realized her fate!

The prime minister, who understood his sister's words, nodded his head as he signaled his hidden guards.

Within a few minutes screams and shouts could be heard as the concubines and their daughter's witnessed the brutal scenes of blood being splattered and the rolling of heads of all the maids and other servants.

Tao Ruan and Bai Lan were also not spared as Bai Lan head was quickly dismembered from her body while Tao Ruan was pierced in her heart!

The last feelings of these two maidservants before their death was regret! as they wished that they had never crossed path with the Xiao Household!

Lan Yao watched calmly the scared expressions of the other concubines and their daughters and even snickered when she saw those who had fainted out of fright but was surprised when she saw the calm look on Huang Fei's face as though she had witnessed this scene a thousand times and was not in the least surprised at the amount of blood shed.

"Listen carefully..." Lan Zhao spoke out as he glared at his concubines, sons and daughters, "..not a word of this must in any way escape outside, if it does then don't blame me for being ruthless!"

With these words he quickly dismissed everyone. He watched solemnly as his favorite daughter was carried away by her concubine mother while the 3rd master Bo was being dragged by the guards to the dungeon.

His eyes darted once more towards Huang Fei's figure which stood straight and unblemished as somewhere in his heart he silently wished that the person in Zhi'er condition was her instead.

But how could Huang Fei not understand her father's heart! Looking away from his gaze she turned towards her aunt who was staring at her with an inquisitive gaze.

Lan Yao was however shocked when she started seeing tears in Huang Fei's eyes as well as noticing her trembling figure. It was then she understood that this child had really been frightened!

The earlier expression of her being unfazed had totally vanished making Lan Yao wonder whether it had all been her own imagination, although there were some questions in her heart, she quickly swallowed them down as she held the girl's hand while speaking softly

"Fei'er must have been frightened by today's scene, why not come and rest in my courtyard for a few days?"

How could Huang Fei refuse such goodwill, although this aunt had never been really close to her, nor had she ever mistreated her or meant ill will. She was a neutral woman who could distinguish right from wrong!

"Then I will have to trouble Aunt" Huang Fei replied curtly. Lan Yao nodded her head in approval as she felt that this child suddenly seemed more pleasing in the eyes.

Everyone finally dispersed the area as the hidden guards quickly cleaned off all traces of blood.

Huang Fei's eyes glinted sharply with an unknown dangerous glow.

This was just the beginning!