Eighth Chapter
With an awkward expression, Yixiao untied the silk ribbon sealing the sachet and shook out a cold, heavy piece of metal. She looked up at him in surprise. "This is the arrow I used before?" Feng Suige stared at her coldly. "Are you going to say you don’t remember? This was dug out of my shoulder."
Yixiao thought for a moment, then shrugged indifferently. "There were so many people on the battlefield. If I had to remember each one, my brain wouldn’t be able to handle it." Her eyes sharpened as she spoke. "If this arrow struck the Imperial Son’s shoulder, then it only means you were very close to His Highness at the time!"
Feng Suige sneered. "You’re quite loyal to him, aren’t you?"
Yixiao’s gaze darkened. She casually tossed the sachet and arrowhead back to him. "As I recall, Vermilion Sand Country signed a peace treaty with the Brocade Dynasty. Can the Imperial Son’s actions be seen as a provocation against Brocade?"
Feng Suige deftly caught the sachet and leaned in with a wicked smirk. "If I were to explain kidnapping you from Brocade and bringing you back to Vermilion Sand as retrieving a runaway lover in a fit of anger, whose story do you think people would believe more?"
Instead of anger, Yixiao laughed and even tilted her head closer to Feng Suige, her eyes brimming with allure. "In that case, I’d be more inclined to believe the Imperial Son was trying to take advantage of me." Feng Suige visibly faltered for a split second. Seizing the moment, Yixiao swiftly pulled out the hairpin holding her bun and lunged at him with all her strength—only for her wrist to be caught in an iron grip faster than her strike.
With a loud thud, Yixiao was shoved against the carriage wall before collapsing onto the carpeted floor. Clutching her throbbing wrist, she glared back at Feng Suige, who advanced on her like a beast ready to devour its prey, his face dark with fury. "I almost forgot—the more beautiful the flower, the more likely it is to be poisonous." Yixiao bit her lip, refusing to back down as she met his gaze head-on.
The carriage curtain was abruptly flung aside as a burly guard rushed in. "Imperial Son—" His words died in his throat at the sight of the two locked in confrontation. Feng Suige, still seething, turned to glare at him. "Who told you to come in?!" The humiliation of nearly falling for her trap because of her beguiling smile burned in his chest.
The guard stammered, "This subordinate heard movement inside, so—" "Get out!" Feng Suige snarled through clenched teeth. The guard hastily bowed and retreated.
Turning back to Yixiao, Feng Suige growled, "You should thank him. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee I wouldn’t have strangled you just now. Now answer me—what has Xia Jingshi had you doing these past four years? How does it connect to him feigning illness to delay the marriage alliance?"
Yixiao’s eyes widened in disbelief. After a long pause, she suddenly burst into laughter. Enraged, Feng Suige hauled her up by the collar. "Stop playing the fool and answer me!"
"Fine, I’ll answer!" Yixiao’s laughter ceased abruptly. "I threatened to kill myself to force him to abandon the marriage alliance. For the past four years, I’ve done nothing but travel around. He’s been waiting for me to return, which is why he never fulfilled the agreement." She broke into laughter again.
Feng Suige scoffed. "Do you take me for an idiot?"
Tears of mirth welled in Yixiao’s eyes. "If you’re not an idiot, then what are you? Though I never imagined I was important enough to sway the marriage alliance between two nations—" Before she could finish, Feng Suige struck her hard on the neck, knocking her unconscious.Holding a scroll of books but unable to read a single word, Yixiao's tearful eyes kept flashing before his eyes. Xia Jingshi paced restlessly around the study. This time, he had truly hurt her. Even four years ago, she had never spoken such resolute words.
Suddenly, the Empress Dowager's wild laughter intruded into his thoughts. "So this is how it is... Xia Jingshi, you are destined only to be a prince, never to inherit the throne, hahaha... How unexpected, how pitiful... You pitiful worm!!!"
Shaking his head, he forcibly suppressed the bitterness and pain rising in his heart. Xia Jingshi tossed the scroll aside and strode toward the door. Perhaps he should send someone to bring Yixiao back—with her fiery temper, who knew what reckless thing she might do.
Before his hand could touch the latch, a palace guard announced from outside, "General Ning requests an audience." Xia Jingshi paused mid-step. "Summon him!"
Ning Fei almost burst in the moment the words were spoken. As soon as he entered, he knelt before Xia Jingshi. "Yixiao may have acted rashly, but I beg Your Highness to consider her past military merits and not hold it against her..."
Xia Jingshi frowned. "Rise and speak. What has she done now?"
Ning Fei looked up at him in confusion. "Did Your Highness not detain Yixiao? Then where has she gone?"
Unbidden, that stubborn figure flashed through his mind again. Xia Jingshi turned away to hide his expression. "She left."
Ning Fei asked uncertainly, "Does Your Highness know where Yixiao went?"
Xia Jingshi picked up the discarded scroll and flipped through a few pages absentmindedly. "No. She said she wouldn't return..."
Ning Fei stood up in alarm. "Your Highness, something must have happened to Yixiao!"
Xia Jingshi stiffened and turned to face him. "What do you mean?"
Ning Fei hurriedly explained, "I don’t know the details myself. Earlier, I escorted Miss Ling back to the Captain’s residence, but she couldn’t find Yixiao anywhere. Seeing Yixiao’s belongings gone, she insisted on leaving. I accompanied her to the city gate and casually asked the guards when Yixiao had departed. But they said they hadn’t seen her at all. Miss Ling panicked and urged me to check all four gates—yet the answer was the same. No one saw Yixiao leave the city..."
Xia Jingshi mused, "Perhaps the guards missed her in the crowd."
"That’s what I thought too. But Miss Ling said if Yixiao had left the city, she would have waited for her at the nearest post station along the main road to Caocheng. So I accompanied her there, but Yixiao was nowhere to be found," Ning Fei took a step forward. "Your Highness, should we seal off the city and conduct a thorough search for Yixiao?"
Xia Jingshi considered briefly. "If the military mobilizes on such a large scale and Yixiao is merely delayed somewhere in the city, how will I explain the disturbance to the citizens?"
Ning Fei faltered, then admitted sheepishly, "To be honest, Your Highness, I’ve already sent men to investigate..."
"You—" Xia Jingshi was momentarily speechless, glaring at him. "We’ll settle this after we find Yixiao. Go now!"
Ning Fei grinned and swiftly obeyed, dashing out the door.
When Yixiao awoke, she found herself in a spacious cell. Her wrists and ankles were shackled with iron rings, and a chain cinched around her waist, pinning her to the wall. She tried to move but remained immobilized, inwardly cursing her own carelessness.Xueying must be frantic not finding her at the posthouse. Perhaps he would return to Lucheng to seek the Prince's help...
At the thought of Xia Jingshi, a wave of bitterness surged in her heart. Years of wholehearted devotion had been trampled underfoot by him. If not for him, how could she have ended up in such a state?
She struggled a few more times, a faint sheen of sweat appearing on her forehead, the places where her wrists and ankles were shackled stinging slightly from the friction.
Faintly, she heard the coquettish voices of women. The door to the cell swung open abruptly as Feng Suige walked in, arms around two alluring women.
Seeing her awake, Feng Suige smiled. "So you're awake after all." A guard following him brought over the armchair from the corner of the room. Adjusting his robes, Feng Suige sat down leisurely. "Still unwilling to tell the truth?"
Yixiao stared fixedly at him. "I already told you in the carriage. Why bother asking me again?"
Feng Suige chuckled lightly. "Even your lies are so poorly crafted. What makes you think you can compete with Xiyang for Xia Jingshi?"
Yixiao's expression darkened instantly, and she retorted sharply, "You can't even distinguish truth from lies, no wonder you've never once bested His Highness!"
Her words struck like a resounding slap, wiping the smile from Feng Suige's face. He glared at her darkly, then suddenly turned to one of the women beside him. "Tell me, what method of torture is most effective for extracting confessions?"
The woman smiled seductively. "Yunyi has heard that whips soaked in a mixture of chili powder and saltwater can make every lash excruciatingly painful and burning, tearing the flesh open. Most people would confess anything after just ten lashes."
Feng Suige smiled faintly. "She's not most people. Perhaps she'll need a hundred lashes." His voice hardened as he commanded, "Go prepare it now!" Yunyi acknowledged and hurried off.
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