"Ask her if she is willing to meet with Seventeenth Miss Ran." Ran Yan spoke.

When the yamen runner outside saw that Liu Pinrang wasn't opposed to it, he complied and went to the big boat. The yamen runner had yet to ask the question when the door from the boat's cabin was opened.

A maid dressed in a pale blue ruqun silently stood in front of the door, her eyes were slightly lowered and her expression unclear, "My Miss asks if Seventeenth Miss Ran is here?"

The painted boat wasn't far from the boat with a black awning. Ran Yan and the others could hear the dialogue happening on the boat; and those on the boat heard the words Ran Yan had just spoken.

"I am." Ran Yan left the boat and, with Wan Lu's support, stepped over the two nearby boats until finally reaching the painted boat.

The maid raised her eyes a little, moving her sight from Ran Yan's face to Wan Lu, then her expression turned complicated when she saw her. She returned her gaze towards Ran Yan and slightly bowed, saying: "Miss invites Seventeenth Miss Ran to go inside."

Ran Yan had just started to move when she was grabbed by Wan Lu. Turning her head, she saw that Wan Lu had a surprised and distrustful expression as she stared at that maid, "Wei Xia."

The maid that Wan Lu referred to as Wei Xia had a small pause in her steps, but she didn't turn around.

"Do you know her?" Ran Yan asked.

Wan Lu nodded, "She was once Fourth Miss Yin's personal maid. After Fourth Miss Yin disappeared, I heard that all her maids were sold. I didn't expect that she would still be at the Yin Fu. Miss, could it be that"

Ran Yan knew what Wan Lu meant. She believed that the suspicious Wei Xia was harboring a deep resentment towards the Yin Fu, and she may be plotting and scheming ways of getting her revenge.

"This Wei Xia, is she good at applying make-up?" Ran Yan remembered the dead Fan Chun's face that was wearing make-up . Concealing so perfectly the swelling of a drowned body certainly isn't a work an ordinary girl is capable of doing.

"I don't know about this nubi, but Fourth Miss Yin was originally exceptionally skilled with her hands. Presumably, her maidservant wouldn't be any different." Wan Lu was full of suspicion and didn't understand why Ran Yan had suddenly asked this question.

Ran Yan nodded and advanced into the cabin. Wan Lu was unable to pull her, so she simply followed along.

Pushing aside the bamboo curtain, the situation inside the cabin came into their view: Fourth Master Qin was tied up on top of a small couch, a satin ribbon tied around his mouth, his dark hair hanged loosely, and it appears that the ribbon was initially being used to tie his hair. There was a mix of rage and fear being displayed on his handsome face, twisting his changed appearance.

Ran Yan followed Qin Musheng's gaze until the window in front of him: a person wearing a dark green paofu [1], hands and feet tied, a cloth also tying the mouth, a tall and slender build, and a white face; that person was Zhang Fei.

The space between Zhang Fei's legs had a terrifying amount of blood. Yin Miaomiao's face that always had a warm expression was now carrying a strange smile. Suddenly, she pulled out the dagger that was inserted in between his legs, and fresh blood spurted along with the extracted dagger, gushing out like a fountain and going straight upwards, splashing onto the boat's ceiling.

Wan Lu immediately pulled Ran Yan two steps back.

Zhang Fei's fair face contorted, and a loud shriek came from his mouth, but because of the cloth in it, the sound reached his lips and changed into a sorrowful and piercing whimper. Even though Ran Yan had her fair share of horrifying corpses, she was still shocked by this. Within the mist of blood, Yin Miaomiao got up and went towards Ran Yan with a gentle smile, "Ah Yan, you came!"

A daisy-like smile stained with the fresh falling blood; it was something not only extremely bizarre but also extremely frightful.

Wan Lu trembled as she stood in front of Ran Yan, protecting her from the many drops of blood that were spattering on her body. A sweet bloody smell filled the whole air, sickening those who sensed it.

The yamen runners outside heard the sounds from the boat and immediately charged inside. But as soon as they entered the room, they were shocked by the scene in front of them: the entire cabin was stained with blood. Before this moment, they had never imagined that a person's body could have this much blood inside.

The air was still enveloped in a thin mist of blood. When the door was opened, the air from the outside came along and dispersed the mist inside.

"Ah Yan, did you know, only by his blood can I free myself. This beast! Scum! Hahaha!" Yin Miaomiao loudly laughed. She laughed and laughed, but her voice was tainted with deep desolation.

"Why do you want to kill him?" Ran Yan slowly asked.

"Why?" Yin Miaomiao's voice abruptly sharpened, piercing one's eardrum to the point of it feeling a dull pain. However, her tone soon softened, "I have always thought that the person who sullied me two years ago was Fourth Master Qin, but I hadn't imagined that it was actually him! He fooled Fourth Master Qin into writing me a letter, luring me away and taking mine innocence.

Yin Miaomiao leisurely walked towards Qin Musheng's side and kneeled in front of the couch. She took out a handkerchief from her bosom, gently helping him wipe away the bloodstain on his face, tenderly speaking, "Do you still remember? The night of the Lantern Festival when the colorful lanterns were lit through all the streets. You came down from the painted boat into the pier, wearing a set of dark blue clothes with a straight collar and large sleeves. Your smile was bright and clear, and when I thought that not even the street lanterns could match with it, you turned around and smiled."

Yin Miaomiao's tears fell from her eyes, washing away the blood on her face and exposing her fair and clear skin. She stretched her hand to untie the ribbon around Qin Musheng's mouth, whispering: "Have you ever liked me? Even if it was just a little bit?"

[1]

T/N: Considering the amount of blood shown in this chapter, I guess the author watched a Tarantino movie before writing it