Beside him, Mu Zhengnan lay on the bed with his eyes closed, whether from exhaustion or asleep, it was unclear.
Grabbing a coat at random and wrapping it around her small, black body, Qin Ruoyan rolled off the bed, glanced at Mu Zhengnan with his eyes closed, smiled mysteriously, reached out and grabbed his wrist, dragging him behind the screen.
A strong, strange smell hit him, and a sharp pain shot through his wrist. Mu Zhengnan frowned and slowly opened his eyes, which were filled with exhaustion. He saw a small room with various knives, whips, swords, candles, and many other things he couldn't name on the walls.
His hazy thoughts instantly cleared: "Where am I?"
"This is a place for you to enjoy yourself!" Qin Ruoyan said ambiguously, dragging Mu Zhengnan to a long bench and tying him up tightly. Mu Zhengnan was powerless and couldn't break free, but he didn't want to show weakness, so he pretended to be calm and said, "Qin Ruoyan, what are you going to do?"
"Hehe, I just wanted to make you feel good. Shut up and enjoy it!" With that, Qin Ruoyan waved her hand, and the whip lashed down hard on Mu Zhengnan's chest.
"Crack!" The long whip lashed across the naked chest, leaving a long, bloody welt. Mu Zhengnan struggled desperately, his shrill screams piercing the clouds and echoing through the night, particularly eerie in the stillness.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!" Qin Ruoyan ignored his fierce struggles, his sad screams, and his pleas for mercy. With excitement in her eyes, she swung the whip forcefully, each lash accurately leaving one wound after another on his body.
Gradually, Mu Zhengnan's body sustained more and more wounds, his struggles became weaker and weaker, and his pitiful cries grew softer and softer. Finally, his head lolled to the side, and he fell silent completely.
Qin Ruoyan pouted. She fainted so quickly. How useless.
Slowly untying the rope, Qin Ruoyan grabbed his arm and dragged him into another small room like a dead dog.
In the center of the small room was a pool that could accommodate three or four people bathing at the same time. However, the water in the pool was as calm as a mirror, and seemed to be a bit thicker than water.
Qin Ruoyan flung her hand, and Mu Zhengnan's tall body was thrown into the pool. The pool water soaked his wounds, and waves of pain, like needles pricking him, quickly spread throughout his body. He suddenly opened his eyes, and his shrill scream shocked everyone once again.
Qin Ruoyan stood by the pool, laughing heartily: "Mu Zhengnan, wine is a good medicine for healing wounds. After your wound has been soaked in wine, combined with my exclusive secret recipe, it will definitely not leave a scar!"
His taste was passable, and she planned to enjoy it for a while. However, this man was also quite useless, making such a terrible fuss over such a small injury. Sigh, when will she meet a useful man who can endure such pain without crying out?
After having dinner and taking a bath at the War King's Mansion, Shen Lixue went to the second floor of Lixue Pavilion. On the large bed in the lounge, a white figure lay—it was Dongfang Heng.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. The three of them had dinner together. She and Dongfang Heng went to take a bath around the same time. She had just returned when he was already asleep.
Gently taking the book from his hands, Shen Lixue grasped his wrist, preparing to place it under the thin blanket. Seeing his brows furrowed and his handsome face contorted with deep pain, she was startled and quickly shook him: "Dongfang Heng, wake up!" Heart disease is unlike other illnesses; if it becomes severe, one may die in their sleep.
Dongfang Heng coughed a few times, opened his eyes, his gaze filled with exhaustion, and his voice was weak: "I'm fine!"
"I'll go brew your medicine!" Shen Lixue turned to leave.
Dongfang Heng reached out and grabbed her wrist, a faint smile playing on his lips: "It's just a little sore, not a relapse of the illness, no need to take medicine!"
"Then I'll use silver needles to relieve your pain!" With that, Shen Lixue opened the bedside drawer, took out a silver needle kit, and quickly began to undress Dongfang Heng.
His buttons were complicated, and Shen Lixue didn't know how to button them. It was also troublesome to unbutton them. It took her a lot of effort to barely manage to undo one of them.
Seeing Shen Lixue's anxious gaze, Dongfang Heng smiled and said, "Let me do it. At your speed, you won't be able to untie these five knots in half an hour!"
Her jade-like hand rose and moved towards the button, her movements extremely slow, as if expending immense strength. When her hand touched the button, she slowly unbuttoned it, lacking her usual decisiveness and efficiency, and a layer of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.
"Dongfang Heng!" Shen Lixue could tell that Dongfang Heng was in great pain; otherwise, with his martial arts skills, he wouldn't have been so slow in unbuttoning his clothes.
Her soft, boneless hand reached out, grabbed his collar, and pulled it forcefully to both sides. Buttons fell off, revealing his bronze chest. Under Dongfang Heng's deep gaze, Shen Lixue took out silver needles and quickly inserted them into his acupoints.
One, two, three... Shen Lixue inserted dozens of silver needles into Dongfang Heng's chest to protect his heart meridian, while quickly grabbing his wrist with her other hand to take his pulse and monitor the extent of his heart pain.
"Li Xue!" Dongfang Heng's gentle voice rang out softly.
"What is it?" Shen Lixue breathed a slight sigh of relief and looked down at Dongfang Heng.
"Thank you!" Dongfang Heng gazed deeply into her eyes, then slowly, slowly closed them, a faint smile playing on his lips. The pain faded, and his furrowed brows relaxed.
"Zi Mo, where is the Ghost Doctor of Southern Xinjiang?" Dongfang Heng was asleep, and Shen Lixue didn't want to wake him, so she asked Zi Mo instead. His condition was getting worse and worse, and he was about to collapse. Why hadn't the Ghost Doctor of Southern Xinjiang arrived yet?
"Your Highness, news came this morning that we will be arriving in the capital soon!" Zi Mo's voice rang out from outside the door.
Shen Lixue's gaze deepened. The arrival of the Ghost Doctor from Southern Xinjiang had been delayed again and again; someone must be sabotaging him behind the scenes: "Zimo, is someone preventing the Ghost Doctor from coming to the capital?"
Zi Mo remained silent for a long time before firmly uttering a single word: "Yes!"
"Can you find out who it is?" Shen Lixue's voice was as cold as ice.
“They sent suicide squads. After each attack, if they failed, they all committed suicide. We didn’t find any useful clues on their bodies!” Zi Mo’s voice was low and helpless.
Shen Lixue frowned deeply. Dongfang Heng's invitation to the Ghost Doctor from the Southern Frontier was a very secretive matter, unknown to most people. It seems that the person who sent assassins to prevent the Ghost Doctor from entering the capital must be someone close to him. Who exactly is that person?
The next day, the sun shone brightly. Dongfang Heng slowly opened his eyes and saw light blue curtains. Outside the window, everything was lush and green. He felt a gentle touch on his wrist. Looking to the side, he saw Shen Lixue sleeping by the bedside. Her small hand was on his wrist, as if she was taking his pulse.
Her handsome, sword-like eyebrows twitched slightly, and a certain string in her heart was gently touched. She fell asleep while holding his pulse.
Her jade-like fingers gently caressed Shen Lixue's beautiful face; the silky smooth touch was unforgettable.
In a hazy state, Shen Lixue felt a tingling sensation on her face, as if something was floating on it. She gently waved her hand, and the thing was driven away, but after a moment, it returned and continued to move around on her face.
He opened his eyes with displeasure, only to meet Dongfang Heng's unfathomable gaze.
Shen Lixue was taken aback, then thought of what happened last night and quickly looked Dongfang Heng up and down: "You're awake. Does your heart still hurt?"
"I'm fine, thank you for your hard work!" Dongfang Heng sat up, his sharp eyes slightly narrowed. Last night, his heart was really aching so badly that it felt like it was about to break. When the silver needles were inserted into his body, the pain was indeed relieved a little, but it was not completely cured.
Until Shen Lixue grasped his wrist, it was as if an invisible force flowed into his body, reaching his heart and relieving the pain. She held his wrist all night, and he slept soundly all night.
Turning to look out the window, Dongfang Heng didn't have time to ask any other questions. He gave Shen Lixue a quick kiss on the lips, then got out of bed and pulled her outside, saying, "Thank you for treating my illness. I'll take you somewhere."
"Where?" Shen Lixue blinked, asking in confusion.
You'll see when you get there!
The place Dongfang Heng brought Shen Lixue to was a private room in a teahouse. Sitting by the window, one could overlook most of Qingyan. The closest place was a square. Today, the mastermind and accomplice who poisoned Prince Liang and framed Duke Wu were to be beheaded here.