Seeing Qin Yining remain silent, sitting sideways on the ground and gazing at him with those lustrous eyes that seemed to shimmer with water light, Lu Heng was deeply wounded by the incomprehension and disapproval in her gaze. His heart felt as if it were being stirred by a needle, the pain causing him to involuntarily clutch his chest tightly with one hand.

“What kind of look is that? You don’t believe that I worry about you, that I care for you?”

Qin Yining’s willow-like eyebrows furrowed as she pressed her lips together without saying a word.

Xiao Xue beside her couldn’t bear it any longer and scolded, “Watch your mouth! Don’t you dare insult my Princess Consort’s reputation!”

“Ha!” Lu Heng laughed coldly, slowly walking closer before suddenly slapping Xiao Xue hard across the face.

After the crisp “smack” sound, Xiao Xue’s head was knocked to one side. She immediately glared fiercely at Lu Heng and leaped up.

However, Lu Heng’s men were already prepared. People on both sides immediately pressed down on Xiao Xue’s shoulders and back, forcing her down hard onto the ground. Xiao Xue’s face was scratched by the small stones on the ground, causing intense stinging pain.

Qin Yining couldn’t help but bite her lower lip with her pearly teeth, but she knew she couldn’t speak up for Xiao Xue at this moment. If she opened her mouth to plead for Xiao Xue, it would very likely provoke Lu Heng to kill her.

She could sense that this man was already somewhat unhinged!

Lu Heng looked at Qin Yining with surprise, “Don’t you always care for your subordinates? Why aren’t you pleading for her? Hmm?”

Qin Yining frowned and said, “Lord Lu, if you kidnapped me for some purpose, you might as well speak directly. Why beat around the bush?”

Hearing this, Lu Heng acted as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world. He suddenly threw back his head and laughed uproariously, swaying back and forth with laughter. Finally, gasping for breath, he pointed at Qin Yining, “You want me to speak directly? To stop beating around the bush? I, I was being too considerate of you, which is why I’ve been beating around the bush all this time! Beating around until I now have nothing left, and it’s too late for regrets!”

Lu Heng suddenly stepped forward and grabbed her shoulders, lifting her up.

“Princess Consort! You surnamed Lu, stop being so rough! What kind of hero are you, bullying a weak woman!” Xiao Xue struggled frantically on the ground but was held down firmly.

Qin Yining’s shoulder blade wound was pulled, causing her to suck in a sharp breath from the pain.

Lu Heng seemed not to notice, his cool, slender hands gripping her shoulders, “Tell me, wasn’t I good enough to you? We were once close friends who shared hardships together. Why did things come to this point later! My Lu family is a distinguished clan of a hundred years. Although the Northern Ji Kingdom’s power and court influence are strong, one word from my Lu family could influence their opinions!”

“For your sake, I didn’t strike ruthlessly against Pang Zhixi! Otherwise, do you think a nobody who appeared out of nowhere without any foundation could have survived until now! I always thought that meeting face to face, there would at least be some remaining affection. But how did you treat me! You and Pang Zhixi colluded together! You conspired to calculate against me, stole the treasure, and made me bear the blame!

“The Lu family’s century-old foundation! Now the tree has fallen and the monkeys have scattered! My family members, young and old, main branch and side branches, countless people have been implicated, and who knows how many have been convicted and executed! All of this was caused by you and Pang Zhixi! And you still want me to speak directly? I truly wish I could capture you and Pang Zhixi and tear you into ten thousand pieces!”

Lu Heng’s voice wasn’t loud; in fact, every sentence was spoken slowly with clear pronunciation.

But his hands gripping Qin Yining’s shoulders were gradually tightening, as if he wanted to crush her bones to temporarily relieve the anger in his heart.

Qin Yining’s wound was aggravated, making her face increasingly pale with pain, but she still refused to cry out.

“I know nothing about what you’re talking about. What treasure? My prince has suffered plenty of troubles because of your treasure affair! If you’re trying to capture me now to ask about the treasure’s whereabouts, your plan will only fail! You’d be better off thoroughly investigating your own people and finding ways to evade His Majesty’s pursuit—that’s what’s important!”

“Even at this point, you’re still trying to sow discord between me and my subordinates!”

Lu Heng shook Qin Yining violently in his fury, “Are you truly heartless! Can’t you feel my feelings for you at all! Even at this moment you’re still saying such things! I really should kill you!”

Qin Yining was shaken until she felt dizzy and disoriented. The scraped wound on her shoulder blade began bleeding again, causing her to frown tightly with a pale face from the pain.

Lu Heng looked at her face, which gradually showed suffering yet became even more pitifully beautiful. For a moment, he felt both love and hate. He roughly pulled her into his embrace, forcibly dragging her several steps to one side. After what seemed like intense inner struggle, he released her again, still gripping her shoulders and looking at her with burning eyes.

“Tell me, where exactly did you and Pang Zhixi hide the treasure! As long as you tell me, all past grievances will be written off. I’ll treat things between us as if they were still like before. I’ll forget about your scheming against me! From now on, I’ll treat you well. You just need to stay peacefully by my side. I won’t be as useless as Pang Zhixi, causing you to lose family and everything. If you follow me, I’ll only give you happiness. Speak, speak quickly!”

Qin Yining bit her lower lip, her gaze contemptuous. Ignoring the pain in her shoulder blade, she raised her arm and shook off Lu Heng’s hands.

“You lost something yourself—is it so difficult to admit you weren’t thorough enough? How can you determine that the matter must be related to me! If you ask me now, will you be able to find the treasure? As for your talk about giving me happiness and having me follow you—you’re simply dreaming!”

Qin Yining raised her finger and pointed at Lu Heng: “In the past, I considered you a responsible gentleman with proper conduct and considerable restraint. Now you’ve completely changed! You speak such nonsense and slander me! Opening and closing your mouth with such transgressive words—and you claim to be from a great family! Bah!”

After being spat upon, Lu Heng looked at Qin Yining in disbelief, his gaze gradually changing from burning passion to mockery.

“Ha, haha!”

Lu Heng laughed maniacally, “Well said, well said! It was my foolish wishful thinking. I shouldn’t have retained feelings for you, shouldn’t have valued you more than family honor and clan interests! But things have come to this point—what can I do now…”

He seemed to be asking Qin Yining, but more so, he was questioning himself.

The Lu family had recently been uprooted completely. Although he had escaped with the main forces, bad news about the Lu family arrived every day, nearly driving him to collapse.

Perhaps grandfather was right not to intend to pass the family head position to him. Had he long foreseen that the Lu family would be destroyed in his hands?

But he had fought for the position of family head, only to lead the Lu family down a path of no return.

Self-blame and regret tormented him daily. Lu Heng felt he had reached a dead end, but circumstances pursued him from behind, forcing him to persist step by step.

Thinking carefully, what did he have left?

What he desired—power, status, family prosperity, and the woman he loved—were all gradually slipping away one by one.

Lu Heng’s gaze was so terrifying that Qin Yining tensed up like a small animal encountering danger.

Noticing Qin Yining’s reaction, Lu Heng’s self-mockery intensified, and he no longer wanted to easily let her go because of his feelings for her.

“Come here!” Lu Heng stood with his hands behind his back, spine straight, his face completely serious.

“Master.”

“This woman is in your hands. Use every method to make her reveal the treasure’s whereabouts.”

“Yes!”

Several men cupped their hands in acknowledgment and strode toward Qin Yining.