Yi Xiao hesitantly untied the silk ribbon and shook out a cold, heavy piece of metal from the sachet. She looked up at him in surprise, “Is this an arrow I used before?”
Feng Suige stared at her coldly, “Are you saying you don’t remember? This was taken from my shoulder.”
Yi Xiao thought for a moment, then shrugged carelessly, “There were so many people on the battlefield. If I had to remember every single one, my brain wouldn’t be enough.” As she spoke, her eyes flashed sharply, “If this arrow was shot into the Prince’s shoulder, it only proves that at that time, the Prince was very close to His Highness!”
Feng Suige sneered, “You’re quite loyal to him!”
Yi Xiao’s eyes darkened as she casually tossed the sachet and arrowhead back to him. “I remember that the Shusha Kingdom signed a peace treaty with our Jinxiu Dynasty. Could the Prince’s behavior be seen as a provocation against the Jinxiu Dynasty?”
Feng Suige caught the sachet and leaned in maliciously, “If I explain to others that I ventured deep into Jinxiu to retrieve a runaway lover, whose words do you think people would believe more?”
Yi Xiao laughed instead of getting angry. She even leaned her head closer to Feng Suige, her eyes full of allure, “In that case, I’m more inclined to believe that the Prince wants to take advantage of Yi Xiao.” Feng Suige was visibly stunned. In this moment of distraction, Yi Xiao swiftly pulled out her hairpin and thrust it at him with all her might, but her wrist was caught by an even faster iron grip.
With a loud crash, Yi Xiao was pushed against the carriage wall, falling onto the fur-carpeted floor. Rubbing her painful wrist, she turned to glare at Feng Suige. His face was dark as he approached step by step, like a beast ready to devour its prey. “I almost forgot, the more beautiful the flower, the more likely it is to be poisonous,” he said. Yi Xiao bit her lip, meeting his gaze without backing down.
The carriage curtain was suddenly swept aside, and a tall, strong guard rushed in. “Prince…” The rest of his words died as he saw the two facing off. Feng Suige turned to glare at him in anger, “Who told you to come in!” He was furious at himself for almost falling for her trick, mesmerized by her smile. It was a great humiliation.
The guard stammered, “This subordinate heard a commotion inside the carriage, so…” “Get out!” Feng Suige gritted his teeth. The guard quickly bowed and retreated.
He turned back to Yi Xiao and said in a deep voice, “You should thank him. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee I wouldn’t have strangled you just now. Now answer me, what did Xia Jingshi send you to do these four years, and what does it have to do with him feigning illness to delay the marriage alliance?”
Yi Xiao’s eyes widened, staring at Feng Suige in disbelief. After a while, she suddenly burst into laughter. Feng Suige, enraged, pulled her up. “Stop pretending to be crazy. Answer quickly!”
“Fine, I’ll answer!” Yi Xiao’s laughter stopped abruptly. “I forced him to give up the marriage alliance by threatening to kill myself. These four years, I did nothing but travel around. He’s been waiting for me to return, that’s why he hasn’t fulfilled the agreement.” After saying this, she started laughing again.
Feng Suige sneered, “Do you take me for a fool?”
Yi Xiao had laughed to the point of tears, “What are you if not a fool? I just never thought I was important enough to influence the marriage alliance between two countries…” Before she could finish, Feng Suige struck her heavily on the neck, and she immediately lost consciousness.
Holding a scroll, unable to read a single word, Xia Jingshi paced around his study in frustration. Yi Xiao’s tear-filled eyes kept flashing before him. This time, he had truly hurt her. Even four years ago, she had never spoken such resolute words.
Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager’s wild laughter invaded his mind again, “So that’s how it is… Xia Jingshi, you’re destined to be just a prince, you’re destined not to inherit the throne, hahaha… I never thought… How pitiful… You pitiful wretch!”
Shaking his head, forcefully suppressing the bitterness and pain rising from his heart, Xia Jingshi tossed the scroll aside and walked out. Perhaps he should send someone to bring Yi Xiao back. Otherwise, with her volatile personality, who knows what foolish things she might do?
His hand had not yet touched the door latch when he heard a palace guard announce, “General Ning seeks an audience.” Xia Jingshi paused, “Let him in!” Ning Fei almost burst through the door as soon as he was called, immediately kneeling before him, “Yi Xiao may have been reckless, but I beg Your Highness to forgive her for the sake of her past military achievements…”
Xia Jingshi frowned, “Stand up and speak. What has she done now?”
Ning Fei looked up at him in confusion, “Didn’t Your Highness detain Yi Xiao? Then where has she gone?”
That stubborn silhouette flashed through his mind again. Xia Jingshi turned away to hide his expression, “She left.”
Ning Fei asked puzzled, “Does Your Highness know where Yi Xiao went?”
Xia Jingshi picked up the scroll he had tossed aside earlier, casually flipping through a few pages, “I don’t know. She said she wouldn’t come back…” Ning Fei stood up anxiously, “Your Highness, Yi Xiao must be in trouble!”
Xia Jingshi started, turning to look at him, “What happened?”
Ning Fei explained urgently, “I don’t know the details. Earlier, when I escorted Miss Ling back to the Commandery Prince’s mansion, she couldn’t find Yi Xiao anywhere. Seeing that Yi Xiao’s luggage was gone, she insisted on leaving. I took her to the city gate and casually asked the guards when Yi Xiao had left, but they said they hadn’t seen her at all. Miss Ling became anxious then, urging me to question all four gates thoroughly, but the answers were all the same – no one had seen Yi Xiao leave the city…”
Xia Jingshi pondered, “Perhaps there were many people, and the guards just didn’t notice her.”
“That’s what I thought too, but Miss Ling said if Yi Xiao had left the city, she would wait for her at the nearest post station on the official road towards Caocheng. So I accompanied her there, but still no trace of Yi Xiao,” Ning Fei stepped forward, “Your Highness, should we seal off the entire city and thoroughly investigate Yi Xiao’s whereabouts?”
Xia Jingshi thought for a moment, “If the military makes such a grand gesture to investigate, how will I explain to the disturbed citizens if Yi Xiao is merely delayed somewhere in the city?”
Ning Fei was at a loss for words, stammering, “To be honest, Your Highness, I’ve already sent people to investigate…”
“You…” Xia Jingshi was immediately exasperated, glaring at him, “I’ll deal with you after Yi Xiao is found. Now go quickly!”
Ning Fei grinned, quickly acknowledged the order, and rushed out.
When Yi Xiao woke up, she found herself in a spacious prison cell. Her wrists and ankles were shackled with iron rings, and an iron chain tightened around her waist, fixing her to the wall. She tried to move but remained immobile, inwardly annoyed at her carelessness.
Xueying must be frantic, unable to find her at the post station. Perhaps she would return to Luocheng to seek help from His Highness…
Thinking of Xia Jingshi, her heart filled with bitterness. Years of wholehearted love, yet he treated it as worthless. If not for him, how could she have ended up in such a predicament?
She tried to struggle a few more times, a thin layer of sweat appearing on her forehead, and the places where her hands and feet were shackled stung slightly from the friction.
Faintly, she heard the coquettish voices of women. The door of the cell suddenly opened wide, and Feng Suige entered, arm in arm with two beautiful women.
Seeing her eyes open, Feng Suige smiled, “So you’re awake.” A guard who followed him in moved a large chair from the corner of the room. He lifted his robe slightly and sat down gracefully. “Still unwilling to tell the truth?”
Yi Xiao stared at him steadily, “I told you everything in the carriage. Why do you need to ask me again?”
Feng Suige chuckled lightly, “With such a clumsy lie, how do you have the audacity to compete with Xi Yang for Xia Jingshi?”
Yi Xiao’s face changed, and she immediately retorted, “You can’t even distinguish truth from lies. No wonder you’ve never won against His Highness!”
Her words were like a resounding slap, wiping the smile off Feng Suige’s face. He looked at her darkly, then suddenly turned to ask one of the women beside him, “What do you think is the most suitable torture for interrogation?”
The woman giggled coyly, “Yun Yi has heard that a whip soaked in a mixture of chili powder and salt water can make the victim feel both pain and burning with each lash, tearing their flesh. Ordinary people would confess everything after just ten lashes.”
Feng Suige smiled slightly, “She’s not an ordinary person. Perhaps she’ll need a hundred lashes.” He paused, then commanded sternly, “Go prepare it quickly!” Yun Yi acknowledged and hurried away.