C7 Punishment Palace
To her surprise, the two maids were pale but silent, though the sweat dripping from their foreheads clearly showed they were in significant pain. She thought of the maid she saw in the hallway, the bodyguards, and then of Muhan. It seemed leaving this place was not just difficult, but nearly impossible. Confrontation was not an option.
Su Ranxi gathered her thoughts, maintaining her initial calm demeanor. "Lead the way," she said, her tone casual and commanding, as if instructing her own household staff. The butler immediately recognized the inherent arrogance in her voice, a natural aura developed from long-term authority, not something that could be easily faked. This girl was no ordinary person, but to assume she was a spy seemed a bit far-fetched.
As this thought crossed his mind, the butler's face showed a moment of realization as he watched his young master’s retreating figure. So, it was for...
The two maids reluctantly glanced at Muhan, and seeing his expressionless face, they shivered and quickly started leading the way. Su Ranxi followed them, retracing her steps back to the castle, but not along the same path. Instead, they took a different route. This path had no maids, and the walls were bare, with no decorations. They walked for what felt like ages, as if treading in place, making the corridor seem endlessly long.
Finally, they stopped in front of a door. The maid opened it and motioned for her to enter, but just as she reached the doorway, she was shoved from behind. Caught off guard, she fell to the floor, and the door slammed shut behind her. Mocking voices followed.
"Hmph, don't think that just because you shared the master's bed, you're the lady of the house now. Here, it doesn't matter what you were before; you're just a servant like the rest of us."
"If we hadn't been caught off guard at the stables, you wouldn't have had the upper hand so easily."
"But the young master actually let you into the Punishment Palace. Enjoy your stay."
The voices faded away, but Su Ranxi had already grasped why they resented her—it all boiled down to her time with Feng Muhan. Yet, what they considered a badge of honor was, to her, a deep shame. One day, she vowed, she would make that scoundrel pay.
Taking a deep breath to suppress her anger, Su Ranxi began to survey her surroundings. It wasn't quite what she had imagined. The room was about 1,000 square feet, empty, with cold walls on all sides. Judging by the maids' gloating tone, the Punishment Palace wouldn't be this simple.
She stood up and started tapping on the walls, trying to find something, anything. Finally, in a corner, she spotted a surveillance camera.
The ceiling was notably high, over ten feet, which made her abandon any thoughts of jumping up to smash it.
"Do you enjoy spying that much?" Su Ranxi sneered, flipping off the surveillance camera.
Her defiant tone and gesture came through loud and clear on the monitor to Feng Muhan. The butler, usually unfazed even by the elite, couldn't hide his fear as he watched his young master’s smile widen.
"Cut the power, cut the food, cut the water, and keep everyone away."
...
Darkness, endless darkness. Here, Su Ranxi couldn't sense the passage of time. It felt like an hour had passed, yet it also seemed like just a minute.
The world was silent, utterly devoid of sound. If not for the hunger gnawing at her stomach, she might have forgotten she existed.
It felt like the world had abandoned her.
She needed to find something to do, to avoid losing herself. Su Ranxi couldn't remember when she started tracing the walls, walking slowly to conserve energy, gauging the passage of time by the frequency and intensity of her hunger.
Meanwhile, she tried to recall her lost memories, but they remained elusive, while that one night became increasingly unforgettable.
Fueled by her resentment towards Feng Muhan, she pressed on, even as her steps faltered and she practically dragged her feet. Still, she moved forward. It was the only way to prove she was alive. Only by surviving could she discover who she truly was...
