A familiar sense of dizziness washed over Lin Qinghe as she entered the body of the original host in a new world.
Lin Qinghe opened her eyes to see a magnificent palace.
It seemed this was another ancient world.
Lin Qinghe absorbed the relevant information provided by the system in her mind.
You Rong, a distinguished general with numerous battle achievements, son of You Jiang, a descendant of a military family. You Jiang was unwilling to participate in the struggle for the throne between the princes. When the second prince, Mu Rongqing, failed to win him over, he became enraged and plotted to frame You Jiang for colluding with foreign enemies and attempting rebellion.
You Jiang was stripped of his family and executed publicly for treason. All the servants in his mansion were exiled to the frontier. The emperor, in consideration of his past meritorious service to the Eastern Li Dynasty, spared his children. You Rong and his younger sister, You Yue, were thus sent into the palace to serve as lifelong slaves.
Under the arrangement of You Jiang's former subordinates, You Rong did not undergo actual castration before entering the palace. From then on, You Rong endured humiliation and hardship within the palace.
The original host was the Emperor's favored Fifth Princess. She had been looked down upon by You Rong and harbored resentment. After he entered the palace as a slave, she directly demanded that he serve her personally. She subjected him to all sorts of humiliation, beating and scolding him. The original host also maintained close contact with Mu Rongqing. To please her second brother, Mu Rongqing, she intensified her torment of You Rong.
Later, You Rong encountered the female protagonist, Princess Chang'an, Yun Ruobing. Yun Ruobing, with her outstanding talent and beauty, pitied You Rong for being bullied by the original host. She spoke up for him on several occasions, even risking offending the original host, and went to great lengths to help You Rong's sister, You Yue. This led to You Rong falling for her.
Yun Ruobing devised ways to help You Rong ascend to the position of Chief Eunuch. You Rong gained the Emperor's trust, holding immense power in the court and single-handedly controlling the Emperor. He secretly managed the entire court, thus gaining the opportunity to investigate the framing by the second prince, Mu Rongqing, and clear the You family's name of treason.
The second prince met a tragic end. The original host, who brought about her own downfall, naturally did not fare any better. She was married off by You Rong to a barbarian tribe for a political alliance, where she was abused and tortured to death by the barbarian Khan.
You Rong confessed to Yun Ruobing that he had not undergone palace castration, and they lived happily ever after.
After receiving the relevant information from the system, Lin Qinghe then absorbed the memories of the original host.
The scenes flashing through her mind gave her a splitting headache.
In every world, the original host was never the most self-destructive, only more so.
Mei Lan, a palace maid, saw Lin Qinghe frowning and sighing. She turned pale in fear and immediately knelt on the ground, saying fearfully, "Fifth Princess, please calm your anger. This servant deserves death. This servant knows her mistake. Please spare this servant, woo woo..."
As Mei Lan knelt, the palace servants in the hall also knelt down in panic, begging for mercy in unison.
"Fifth Princess, please calm your anger. We know we are wrong..."
"We know we are wrong, please spare our lives, Fifth Princess..."
"..." Lin Qinghe's mouth twitched fiercely twice.
Was she that terrifying?
However, judging from the original host's memories, she was extremely arrogant and overbearing. If she was displeased in the slightest, she would beat and scold the palace maids and eunuchs around her. She was extremely cruel, even gouging out people's fingernails. Such vicious methods were commonplace.
Lin Qinghe sighed and supported her forehead, saying, "This Princess did not intend to punish you. Get up."
Mei Lan exchanged glances with Zhu Ju, seeing astonishment in each other's eyes.
What was wrong with the Fifth Princess today? She wasn't punishing them? Had the sun risen in the west?
Seeing them still kneeling, Lin Qinghe said impatiently, "Why aren't you getting up? Do you all want to keep kneeling?"
Mei Lan lowered her head and quickly replied, "Yes, this servant thanks Your Highness the Princess."
After the palace servants tremblingly stood up, Lin Qinghe flipped through the original host's memories. You Rong had already been brought to Huayao Palace by her request.
Lin Qinghe pondered for a moment and asked, "Where is You Rong? Take this Princess to see him."
A hint of pity flickered in Mei Lan's eyes, but she dared not disobey Lin Qinghe's orders. She replied, "Yes, Princess. According to your wishes, You Rong is confined in the backyard, watched over by Xiao Xizi and the others."
Lin Qinghe nodded. "Let's go. Follow this Princess."
"Yes, Your Highness the Princess."
Upon arriving at the simple and dilapidated house in the backyard with Mei Lan, Xiao Xizi immediately fawned and flattered as she approached. "Your Highness the Princess, you've come. Do you want to see this lowly slave You Rong? This servant has followed your orders and administered the whip. But this lowly slave is very stubborn and hasn't begged for mercy even once!"
Lin Qinghe frowned and quickened her pace inside.
The original host, for some unknown perverted reason, insisted on humiliating You Rong and witnessing him cry and beg for mercy.
You Rong, a descendant of a military family with an unyielding spirit, naturally would not beg for mercy, especially not from an arrogant princess whom he had previously disdained and scorned.
Lin Qinghe walked into the room, which reeked of blood. Upon seeing You Rong, who was stripped to the waist, tied to a stake, his body torn and bleeding, almost beyond recognition, her heart still trembled.
Although she had prepared herself mentally from the original host's memories, seeing it with her own eyes was another matter entirely.
The weakened You Rong, beaten to the point of barely breathing, sensed someone entering. He slightly lifted his eyelids, his gaze as cold as ever.
As their eyes met, Lin Qinghe unconsciously clenched the hand hanging by her side.
Seeing Lin Qinghe's expression change and her lips tighten without a word, Xiao Xizi thought she was dissatisfied with You Rong's pathetic state. He quickly pointed to the whip soaking in a wooden bucket and said, "Your Highness the Princess, rest assured, this servant soaked the whip in salt water. When it strikes this lowly slave You Rong later, he won't be able to avoid begging for mercy! If he still refuses to beg, this servant will splash this entire bucket of salt water on him. That kind of pain... even with his backbone, he won't be able to withstand it and will beg for mercy."
Saying this, Xiao Xizi picked up the whip and fiercely lashed You Rong's body.
"Filthy slave! Let's see how long you can stay tough!" Xiao Xizi cursed viciously.
You Rong let out a muffled groan from the pain, gritting his teeth. The veins on his forehead bulged with agony. Before he could utter a second cry of pain, he slumped his head and lost consciousness.
Lin Qinghe, regaining her senses, was furious to the point of madness.
Couldn't they stop making her tasks more difficult!
She angrily said, "Xiao Xizi! How dare you! Did this Princess tell you to lay hands on You Rong!"
Xiao Xizi's hands trembled in fear. The whip dropped to the ground. His legs went weak, and he knelt before Lin Qinghe with a thud, saying fearfully, "This servant, this servant... Your Highness the Princess, this servant was acting according to your wishes..."
"My wishes? When did this Princess tell you to act?"
"Your Highness the Princess, you, you..." Xiao Xizi was so scared he was about to cry. He dared not say that she had always instructed him this way before, so he could only kowtow and beg for mercy. "Your Highness the Princess, this servant knows his mistake, this servant dares not do it again, please spare this servant's life..."
Lin Qinghe said coldly, "Xiao Xizi, for disrespecting your mistress, you are punished with twenty lashes! Execute it immediately!"
"Your Highness the Princess, this servant knows his mistake, spare me, spare me..."
Amidst Xiao Xizi's tearful pleas, he was dragged away by two other eunuchs and immediately made to endure whipping.
Lin Qinghe's gaze returned to You Rong. She stepped forward herself to untie the ropes binding him and sternly said to Mei Lan and Zhu Ju, who were staring in shock, "What are you two still standing there for! Come and help You Rong to the side hall, and then invite an imperial physician to treat him!"