"Since when did it become your place to tell me what to do?" He narrowed his charming eyes and suddenly turned to look at the two people who were watching me. "Have I ever allowed outsiders to come in here?"
The two were startled and immediately knelt down and kowtowed, but they didn't even dare to ask for mercy.
"she……"
"Don't interfere in my family affairs."
He glared at me. Okay, I admit that Xiao Lianjue can be quite authoritative at times. But I'll still remember the time he cut me off.
"You go back first." Fortunately, the tone and voice were normal.
"...She herself said she didn't want to stay here. Sir, you never force people."
I just said it wasn't my business, so why is it all going back to me? How annoying!
"I have my reasons, you don't need to worry about it."
A hint of murderous intent flickered in his dark brown eyes; if that woman said another word, she'd probably be in trouble.
She opened her mouth, and coincidentally, my chair finally arrived, so her voice didn't come out in time. How could she have calculated so accurately?
It's a pity we didn't see any dark waves rise to the surface. The show ended with the woman's departure, which was really boring.
Chapter 114
I hate being woken up when I'm sound asleep, and Yunzhi and I are the same in this respect. So when the person Xiao Lianjue sent forcibly woke me up, I didn't hesitate to slap him across the face, and the servant was caught off guard and fell to the ground.
"you!"
Judging from the soft, delicate voice and the delicate, orchid-like fingers pointing at the person, it turned out to be a eunuch.
I lifted my foot and stomped his hand down. He's got some nerve, daring to pull off my blanket!
"You dog of a servant, do you have a death wish?"
You're out of luck. All that pent-up temper has finally exploded. I'll make you regret this.
"I……"
"Shut up!"
He stomped his foot, and the pain immediately contorted his face, making a sound that was utterly repulsive.
"Eunuch Quan!" Two guards rushed in and tried to pull the person I was stepping on, but I glared at them and they stopped.
"Hey, what are you all standing there for? Hurry up and pull them apart..."
Not satisfied with just stomping on him, I chased him harder, and his unpleasant noise subsided. But a moment later, a tearing scream followed.
The guards couldn't bear to watch any longer and hesitated for a moment before coming over and pulling me away. Before I could even stand up straight, they rushed back to the eunuch's side and carefully helped him up.
"Tie her up and bring her with me!"
Perhaps because of the clash between pain and anger, his voice, which was already unpleasant, became so shrill that it was almost unbearable to hear at this moment.
I didn't struggle much. In fact, I couldn't beat those two guards in terms of martial arts, so I obediently let them tie me up. I couldn't ignore myself, but I couldn't ignore the baby in my belly.
After leaving the house, I didn't take a boat. I walked along Tinghu Lake for a while and then turned into a large courtyard at a fork in the road. Just as I was about to curse, I heard someone singing opera deep inside the courtyard.
After entering the courtyard and passing through several corridors, you will see a golden-roofed building. In front of the building, there is a stage where opera troupes are singing loudly early in the morning.
On the rooftop terrace, there were three tables and chairs. At the left table sat a woman I had never seen before, with a plump and elegant demeanor. At the right table sat the woman I had met just two days ago. At the middle table sat the culprit who had been disturbing my peaceful sleep.
"Hey, what are you doing?" The culprit was obviously distracted, not watching the show at all, but instead his sideways eyes spotted me standing in the most inconspicuous spot.
My father-in-law was furious. He pushed me out with all his might, and I almost fell to my death.
"Rong Lian, have you been naughty again and caused trouble?"
"Pah, I'd rather be full than in space." I rolled my eyes at him. This guy always dresses up so extravagantly, even at home... Suddenly I realized something: I had actually come out wearing just a thin shirt and with my hair down. Oh well, I've never liked dressing up anyway.
"Master Quan, slap him." The woman at the left table said, blowing on the tea as she held it.
These words were like an imperial edict. Not only did Eunuch Quan feel flattered, but even the two guards responsible for watching me seemed to have their faces gilded. They were so smug and arrogant. As the saying goes, they were just bullying others because of their master's power.
"Although I don't spend much time in the palace, how come I didn't know when the Crown Prince's position changed hands?"
Xiao Lianjue smiled with narrowed eyes, his gaze already fixed on the stage, looking quite interested in the female lead on stage.
The slap that was about to land on my face just barely grazed my cheek because of those words. The next moment, I saw Grandpa Quan tremble and kneel down, then start kowtowing repeatedly. His previous spirit and energy had completely vanished.
"No wonder Consort Tang was so interested so early on. Was the play good?"
The man on the left put down his tea and smiled nonchalantly, “It’s all because I love watching plays. The Wang family troupe of Peking Opera has been scheduled until the end of the year, but as soon as Boss Wang heard that you wanted to watch a play, he immediately canceled his original plans and rushed over. He only had time this morning, and he still has shows to attend this afternoon.”
"Well, in the eyes of outsiders, I've earned another reputation for bullying others. I canceled what was originally planned... How nice to say that."
The atmosphere was tense. I really wanted to laugh, but it wasn't the right occasion.
"Hey you over there, don't hold back your laughter and get sick, or I won't be able to explain it to your brother." He stood up, stretched, and slowly walked down the street.
What's wrong with this person's eyes? Do you think my face is cramping?
"It's good that you're here, it saves me the trouble of going there. Come on, come with me."
He hooked one end of the rope and gently pulled on it, then pulled me away without untying it. The golden roof and the grand stage behind us instantly became just a backdrop.
Where to?
"Go where you should be."
I immediately guessed where it was. I walked out from behind the golden roof and, sure enough, I stopped in front of the dungeon.
The dungeon wasn't as dark as I'd imagined; instead, it was brightly lit. But being underground, it was inevitably damp, and I sniffed it—it smelled rather unpleasant.
Below the stone steps was a long corridor with cells on both sides. Looking into them, it was pitch black and I couldn't tell if anyone was there. The dungeon was very quiet. When I reached the wooden door at the end of the corridor, I could hear sounds behind it. At first, I didn't realize it, but when I did, I couldn't help but gasp.
The person in front opened the door, and was halfway through preparing when suddenly a bloody, mangled body appeared before them, with blood dripping from its feet onto the blue bricks, forming a large pool of blood. A wave of nausea washed over them.
"...Such a strong reaction? No way, shouldn't someone who's been around Nangong Ling by now be used to this?"
The pungent smell of blood almost brought tears to my eyes; Yunzhi never lets me see such filth.
Xiao Lianjue looked at me for a while, lost in thought, before finally leading me to a corner of the stone chamber to sit down. He picked up a spiked whip from the rack and walked towards the person suspended by iron chains. Watching his movements, I grew increasingly tense. When the first lash struck the man's chest, I choked on my own breath, frozen in place as Xiao Lianjue continued to lash the man's chest with each strike. The man wielding the spiked whip moved with effortless grace, his expression indifferent, as if he were dealing not with a living person but with a lifeless sack. The man being tortured remained silent, his eyes fixed on Xiao Lianjue.
Although I am usually domineering, it is absolutely impossible for me to be like Xiao Lianjue. Yun Zhi is right, I am just a paper tiger.
"Tsk, you're quite resilient. How many whips have you used already?"
As the fight progressed, Xiao Lianjue lost interest, so he casually tossed aside the thorny whip and went over to drink some tea.
"Would you like to try it?" He pointed to a row of torture instruments on the shelf.
Seeing that my face was deathly pale, he shook his head and smiled, "Looks like you're not as ruthless as Consort Tang."
"Can't you just say what you want to do? I hate guessing what people are thinking."
"You brought Li Yu out before, do you know what he brought out?"
"What?"
"Li Mu's command seal."
I was taken aback. It turned out that the kid knew I was going to run away all along. It wasn't that I was watching him, but that he was watching me the whole time. It was all premeditated.
"That kid is very clever, but it's his first time out here, so it's normal that he fell into the bandits' trap. These old hands are all as slippery as eels, and they're incredibly tight-lipped. I've been holding him for half a month now and haven't gotten any leads out of him."
"So, the only way to find their hideout is through this person?"
"He's quite smart, otherwise I wouldn't have kept him around until today."
His peach blossom eyes narrowed, and his smile was sinister, sending a chill down my spine. I knew he wouldn't let me off easily; this show of force was devastating. He brought me here specifically to show me just how capable he was.
"These bandits were quite clever. They knew they had stolen something extraordinary. Not only did they take the commander's seal, but they also went back to try and capture him. Unfortunately, they failed and mistakenly arrested one of his attendants."
At this point, I saw the bandit raise his head slightly, while Xiao Lianjue merely sipped her tea and glanced at him indifferently.
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll have no choice but to send your thief leader to his death. Even if Li Mu really captured his son, he might not be able to blackmail him, let alone a mere servant.”
He was just killing time, waiting for his chance. He figured that by now, the thief leader should be facing a knife to his throat. Whether he would say anything or not depended on how much this old mudfish cared about their leader.
Chapter 115
The night was still dark, the moon was just rising, and the curtains of the Luoxiao Pavilion were half-rolled up, with red candles flickering. It was a beautiful night, but an uninvited guest had arrived.
"If you come again, I'll be skinned alive by your harem of wives and concubines."
"I have to come. I have a feeling that Nangong Ling is hiding something from you. If I don't keep an eye on you, something bad might happen."
I gritted my teeth inwardly. This guy comes every day, so I have no chance of escaping. And I still don't understand the terrain here. In front of this Luoxiao Pavilion is a long, winding lake, and behind it is a golden-roofed building built against the mountain. Once Xiao Lianjue gets on the boat, he will definitely find out. It's a good place to imprison people. I think this Eastern Palace is just a prison that has been magnified countless times.
"You can let my older brother do it."
He smiled but said nothing, and took a sip of the tea I had just brewed.
It turns out he was someone who trusted no one.
When do you plan to release me?
“I always do things by eliminating the root of the problem. You want me to release you?” He chuckled and nodded. “You’re the first person who has dared to ask me to release you. Fine, I’ll give you two choices: either I release you first and then have someone kill you, or you become my Crown Princess. How about it?”
Everything was fine until the last sentence, which made it all fall apart. These royals are really funny; they all seem to like married women.
"What about Consort Tang?"