Аn Shiсhоng sаt оn his horse, silеntlу wаtсhing thеm get beatеn hаlf to deаth beforе аsking аgаin, "Whеrе are thе people yоu kidnаpрed?"
Тhis timе, thеу darеd nоt dеlау. Thе bandits immediatеlу pоinted to the thаtched hut bеhind them. Xu Нuаizu dismоuntеd аnd rushеd insidе, his Everlаsting Нatrеd Вlаde hеld horizоntаlly befоrе his chеst, alreadу prepаrеd tо bloсk any hidden wеарons.
Ноwеvеr, whеn thе doоr wаs pushеd oрen, therе was оnlу а pilе оf strаw аnd a beautiful wоman lying comfortаbly on the grаss, resting. Thеre wеrе no trаps or hidden weapons, not even any extra guards.
"Seriously?" Regretfully lowering his blade, Xu Huaizu said, "This is too sloppy. We prepared for so long, thinking you had encountered some formidable kidnappers."
"My apologies for disappointing you, young master." Feng Yue stood up, brushed the straw off herself, and walked out, holding the vermilion paper in her hand. "Where is His Highness?"
The kidnapped person showed no signs of panic or distress from a life-and-death struggle. Instead, she asked so calmly, which made Xu Huaizu even more disappointed. He followed behind her, crestfallen, and said, "He's drunk, resting at the Marquis's residence."
Her steps paused briefly before continuing as if nothing had happened. Feng Yue smiled with a hint of sarcasm. "How convenient that he got drunk."
"Hmm?" Xu Huaizu didn't catch it clearly. "What did you say, miss?"
"I said these two are not ordinary bandits." Seeing An Shichong dismount and approach, Feng Yue smiled. "They wanted me to poison His Highness."
Oh, poison.
Huh? Poison Yin Gezhi?! An Shichong's face darkened, and Xu Huaizu shuddered. He immediately turned around and roared, "Take these two to the magistrate's office!"
"Yes!"
"How could such a thing happen?" An Shichong was shocked, glaring at Feng Yue. "Master is the First Prince of the Wei Kingdom, responsible for the peace and diplomatic relations between the two nations. Who would dare harm him?"
Such an innocent and naive young man. Feng Yue shook her head. "There are plenty of people who dare harm His Highness. Last time at the Dream Return Pavilion, assassins came in the middle of the night. The accountant from the Three Judicial Commissioners' residence even used me to give His Highness poisoned pastries. In light of that, today's vermilion paper is nothing unusual."
Is Master really in such danger? An Shichong looked utterly incredulous, while Xu Huaizu frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "Though he's said to be responsible for peace, Master has no power or influence. If he were harmed, nothing could be done. Bold people would naturally dare to target him repeatedly. Now that we've become his disciples, we should protect him well."
"That makes sense." An Shichong nodded in agreement.
Looking at these two indignant youths and thinking of the unscathed Yin Gezhi, Feng Yue sneered inwardly, her eyes filled with mockery.
What a First Prince in need of protection! Without doing or saying anything, he simply had her go out and wait to be kidnapped, successfully playing the victim. She was the one who suffered, while he reaped the benefits.
What was even more infuriating was that, even though she saw through it, she could only go along with it, not daring to ruin his plans.
Filled with anger, Feng Yue grabbed the reins and mounted her horse. She said to the two, "Let's go back," then spurred her horse and galloped straight toward the Marquis of Anguo's residence.
"This..." An Shichong stared in astonishment at his own distant steed. "Miss Feng Yue is actually such a skilled rider!"
Xu Huaizu nodded repeatedly. "Master's chosen ones are indeed no ordinary people."Then she pulled An Shichong onto her own horse and followed in pursuit.
The person lying in the guest room was leisurely enjoying the scenery outside the window when he heard footsteps outside the door. He immediately closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.
Nodding to the servant guarding the door, Feng Yue smiled so beautifully that the servant muttered as he walked away, "The maids at the Envoy's Mansion are really gentle!"
After everyone had left, the gentle maid's expression changed. She rolled up her sleeves, faced the tightly shut door, and kicked it with such force that the bolt snapped open!
Even Yin Gezhi was startled awake by the commotion.
Had the house collapsed?
But when he looked toward the door, he saw Feng Yue standing there, hands clasped, walking toward him with utmost grace. Her face was full of concern as she asked, "Are you drunk, Young Master?"
Feeling inexplicably guilty, Yin Gezhi rubbed his forehead and pretended to be in pain as he replied, "Yes."
"This servant will massage you to help you sober up," she said considerately, leaning closer. Though she spoke with a smile, Yin Gezhi shook his head seriously. "No need."
Ignoring him, Feng Yue took off her embroidered shoes, pressed the person on the bed face down, and knelt directly on his back! Her entire weight rested on her knees, which pressed against the bones of his back, producing a crisp crack!
Yin Gezhi's face turned green.
An Shichong and Xu Huaizu had originally intended to come in and pay their respects, but as soon as they reached the door and saw the scene on the bed, they each grabbed a side of the door and closed it, saying very understandingly, "Master, rest well!"
Could he rest? Feeling the intense anger from the person on his back, Yin Gezhi grunted, buried his face in the pillow, and offered no resistance.
Between clever people, there was no need for too much explanation, and excuses were even less useful. Considering she had returned quite quickly, he decided to let her have her way.
"Young Master, is this comfortable?" Feng Yue asked through gritted teeth, not holding back any strength.
The person beneath her was hard to read, but his tone was quite cheerful: "Comfortable... If you could let me turn over, it would probably be even more comfortable."
Turn over... Looking down at her own posture, even the shameless Feng Yue blushed. She stomped hard on his back and shouted, "Loosening the muscles and activating the meridians!"
"Mm." Yin Gezhi winced in pain but didn't lift his head, though a smile curled at the corner of his mouth in the pillow.
It had been a long time since anyone dared to treat him like this. He hadn't expected the little temptress to be quite amusing when angry. Gone was the hypocritical, seductive smile; she was now lively and jumping around like a frog, her mouth surely opening and closing, just missing a sound—
Croak.
His eyes smiled even more brightly, but he made no sound. Yin Gezhi lay there, letting the frog on his back wreak havoc, jumping up and down.
When she finally tired herself out, he reached out, lifted her to the side, and squinted his eyes with a stern expression to intimidate her. "Feeling bold, are you?"
Once her anger was vented, she easily grew timid. Feng Yue shrank her neck and whispered, "This servant was just trying to help the master sober up."
"The wine is gone, but my internal organs are nearly crushed by you," Yin Gezhi frowned and said disdainfully, "You're really heavy!"Still dare to talk about her? Feng Yue pouted, her eyes reddening: "I foolishly followed my master here today, thinking it was just to see the world. Who knew my master would throw me out as bait without a second thought, hooking two stupid kidnappers as decoys. You caught two foolish disciples! You're happy, but have you thought about me?"
"What happened to you?" Yin Gezhi said: "Aren't you fine?"
Just because she's fine, she can be sent out to be kidnapped? Feng Yue gritted her teeth, thought about how she couldn't beat him, so she might as well cry.
"Wah wah wah, I may look fine. But what I went through in between, how could you possibly understand?" Tears fell drop by drop, hitting the back of his hand. Feng Yue sobbed: "A delicate girl like me, tied up by two big men. Along the way, they didn’t hesitate to grope and take liberties with me..."
She had already prepared her story in her mind—she would say she was molested, and also beaten, preferably even thrown off a horse, nearly losing her life, to make it seem more tragic and make the person in front of her feel a bit guilty.
However, she had only just started and hadn’t even finished when the person beside her sat up.
Startled for no reason, Feng Yue covered her chest and looked at him: "Young master?"
The atmosphere around him wasn’t very friendly. Yin Gezhi glanced at her and got out of bed: "You go back first, I have matters to attend to."
Damn, he doesn’t even want to listen to her story? At least she’s the victim, can’t he show some respect? Even if he knows it’s made up, he could at least listen before leaving like this?
Angrily blinking her eyes, Feng Yue got out of bed in a huff to put on her shoes. When she went out, she didn’t even see his back.
In such a hurry to be reborn?
Pursing her lips and rolling her eyes, Feng Yue found the side door by herself, then located the Envoy's Mansion carriage, pitifully climbed in, and told the coachman to set off.
An Shichong was still at the Marquis’s residence. Xu Huaizu, however, was nowhere to be seen. Yin Gezhi walked over and asked expressionlessly: "Where is he?"
Thinking he was asking about Xu Huaizu, An Shichong quickly replied: "He went to the yamen. The kidnappers were caught. Miss Feng Yue said they were not simple and intended to harm you, so Huaizu went to personally guard them."
Nodding in acknowledgment, Yin Gezhi walked out while saying: "This master will also go take a look."
Since the master was going, An Shichong naturally had to go as well. He immediately brought horses, one for each, and they quickly rode toward the yamen.
Xu Huaizu was in the main hall of the yamen, lazily circling the two kidnappers: "Before the trial begins, you’d better confess. Who sent you?"
OpenNovel