Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Seven
Yixiao remained hunched over, frozen in place. After a long pause, she suddenly let out a low chuckle, as if oblivious to the dagger pressed against her neck, and slowly straightened up. "I was wondering who it could be. Turns out it's just a drowned dog."
Contrary to her expectations, the Holy Emperor did not fly into a rage. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, his gaze fixed on Feng Xiyang lying on the bed. "Tsk, she's quite tenacious, isn't she? If I recall correctly, that strike should have pierced her twice. How is it that Feng Suige didn't settle the score with you? Or perhaps I underestimated your seductive tricks?" Yixiao clenched her teeth, listening while discreetly scanning her surroundings for any object within reach that could serve as a weapon. Unfortunately, she found nothing.
Suddenly, a hushed voice came from the doorway. "Your Majesty, this is not a safe place to linger..." The Holy Emperor gave a noncommittal hum and began to step back, but Yixiao's feet remained rooted to the ground, unmoving. The blade dragged across her neck, leaving a thin trail of blood. The Holy Emperor pursed his lips and chuckled softly. "So stubborn. Fine, if you won't leave—go ahead and kill the one on the bed first." The latter was clearly directed at the person outside.
The moment the voice acknowledged the order, Yixiao gasped, "Don't hurt her! I'll go with you." "Now that's more like it," the Holy Emperor said with a faint smile, seizing Yixiao and pulling her toward the door.
Outside, nearly ten men stood scattered about. Upon seeing them emerge, they immediately stepped forward, binding Yixiao and shoving her toward the bamboo grove beside the house. Once they were a fair distance from the cottage, Yixiao suddenly stopped and laughed darkly. "I bet you won't kill me here!" In the split second the Holy Emperor hesitated, Yixiao took a deep breath and screamed, "The Holy Emperor is here! Feng Suige, save me!"
The previously quiet infirmary erupted into chaos, voices clamoring in all directions. The Holy Emperor's jaw tightened in anger, but wisely, he chose not to engage further. Ordering his men to carry her, the group swiftly made for the courtyard wall.
Dangling upside down over a man's shoulder, Yixiao struggled and cursed the entire way, causing her captor to stumble repeatedly. Finally, the Holy Emperor lost his temper. Reversing the dagger's hilt, he struck Yixiao hard on the head.
Feng Suige burst into the cottage before he could even fasten his robe, his long, wet hair clinging to his bare shoulders and back. Finding the room empty, he let out a furious roar and turned to leave. At the same moment, a faint murmur reached him. "Brother..." "Xiyang!" He skidded to a halt and rushed back to the bedside. "You're awake! Where's Yixiao?" "The Holy Emperor was here," Xiyang gasped, struggling to sit up and weakly pushing away his supporting hand. "Hurry..." Feng Suige gave a sharp nod. "Rest well! I'll send someone to watch over you."
As he dashed out the door, Xiao Weiran came panting from the other side. "I heard Yixiao shouting—" Feng Suige's expression darkened. "The Holy Emperor was here!" Before Xiao Weiran could react, a shout rose from the bamboo grove nearby. "Phoenix Prince! There's blood over here!"
Shocked and frantic, Feng Suige shoved Xiao Weiran aside and sprinted toward the bamboo grove.Yixiao had been missing for two full days, as if she had vanished from the world without a trace. Apart from the scattered bloodstains in the bamboo grove, nothing was left behind. By the time Xia Jingshi returned to the small town with the Elite Cavalry, Feng Suige’s eyes were already red from exhaustion, and Xiao Weiran looked utterly haggard. Xia Jingshi ordered the skilled Cavalry Scouts to search the surroundings while he stayed at the medical clinic to discuss countermeasures with Feng Suige and Xiao Weiran.
“In the end, it was my negligence,” Xiao Weiran sighed regretfully after a fit of violent coughing. “If I had stationed more guards around the courtyard, they wouldn’t have slipped in unnoticed, and Yixiao wouldn’t have been taken.”
“It’s not your fault,” Feng Suige muttered gloomily. “I didn’t expect the Holy Emperor to return either—I shouldn’t have left her alone in the house.”
Xia Jingshi absently tapped the table with his fingertips before suddenly lifting his gaze to Feng Suige. “The Holy Emperor couldn’t have gone far!”
“What do you mean?” Feng Suige immediately sprang to his feet.
Xia Jingshi tugged at the corner of his lips, but there was no trace of a smile. “He’ll come to us himself. All we can do is wait patiently—”
“And what about Yixiao?!” Feng Suige roared, unable to contain himself. “Yixiao’s fate is unknown, and you’re telling me to wait patiently?!”
“She’s a bargaining chip,” Xia Jingshi replied calmly, lowering his lashes. “He won’t harm her.”
“Bullshit!” Feng Suige slammed his fist onto the table in fury, nearly shouting directly into Xia Jingshi’s face. “Then how do you explain the blood in the bamboo grove?! The Holy Emperor was with you the whole time, yet you didn’t even notice when he escaped! If anything happens to Yixiao, I’ll kill you first!”
Faced with his overwhelming rage, Xia Jingshi remained silent, head bowed. Xiao Weiran stepped forward and spoke in a low, placating voice, “Phoenix Prince, His Highness is right. The Holy Emperor took Yixiao to force an exchange with us. Though we don’t yet know his demands, His Highness will do everything in his power to ensure her safety. He’s just as distressed about her abduction—please bear with him a little.”
Feng Suige snorted coldly, shaking off Xiao Weiran’s hand from his shoulder before storming out without another word. Just as he reached the door, Xia Jingshi’s sigh drifted from behind him.
“If anything happens to her, I won’t forgive myself either.”
Outside the town, in a long-abandoned temple deep in the woods, several Imperial Guards sat or crouched, eating dry rations while murmuring among themselves. The Holy Emperor, seated atop a cleaned-off altar with his back against a crumbling statue, coldly studied the unconscious Fu Yixiao in the corner.
He had seen her before, of course, but back then, he had merely regarded her as a woman infatuated with Xia Jingshi at any cost. If not for Xia Jingshi’s unusual behavior after Su Sha’s wedding, he might have even believed Xia Jingshi had no interest in her. Had he realized her importance sooner, perhaps he would have revised his plans. Perhaps…
Fu Yixiao…
At first glance, this woman was easy to overlook. But once those eyes opened, they blazed with an unyielding ferocity, radiating the owner’s indomitable will like a beast’s. Maybe it was those eyes that made Xia Jingshi fall for her—that cold, ruthless man, who loved Fu Yixiao with near-devotion.
Even the Empress Dowager had once said that Xia Jingshi had another fatal weakness in her hands.So, he wouldn't lose. He was determined to turn the tables himself!
In her dazed state, she wanted to turn over but found her limbs numb and her head throbbing painfully. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw a strange place—a dusty floor, broken furniture. Looking up, she met a pair of scrutinizing eyes not far away.
The Holy Emperor! Yixiao nearly jumped in shock. Seeing her awake, the Holy Emperor raised an eyebrow in surprise and hopped down from the altar table, walking toward her.
Altar table... Yixiao instinctively tried to move, only to realize she was tightly bound. Suppressing a wave of dizziness, the events of the day she was captured flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern, her last memory ending with a sharp pain at the back of her head.
"Awake?" The Holy Emperor approached, grabbing her hair and yanking her up, aggravating the wound on her head. The pain made her grit her teeth. "You slept so soundly. Did you have any pleasant dreams?" "I dreamed I killed a despicable, shameless villain," Yixiao sneered maliciously, baring her teeth. "He looked exactly like you."
"Such a sharp tongue—both hateful and endearing," the Holy Emperor said coldly, releasing his grip. Yixiao fell back to the ground. "Enough nonsense," she snapped, struggling to turn over. "If you've got the guts, just kill me!" The Holy Emperor smirked, straightened up, and suddenly kicked her, making her curl up in pain. "Shut your mouth. I don't have Xia Jingshi's patience!"
Light footsteps sounded outside. An Imperial Guard near the door peeked out, then opened it a crack as a figure slipped in—the scout sent out earlier to gather information.
"Your Majesty, Xia Jingshi has arrived," the man reported briskly with a low bow. "He's brought hundreds of Piao Cavalry and has already joined forces with Feng Suige and Xiao Weiran!" "Good," the Holy Emperor sneered, glancing at Yixiao curled up on the ground. "Let's see just how much he's willing to concede for you!"
Yixiao spat and closed her eyes. "Keep dreaming. You won't succeed!" "Is that so?" The Holy Emperor chuckled darkly. "You underestimate yourself. Besides Xia Jingshi, I'm also looking forward to seeing Feng Suige's reaction!"
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