Jiang Caiping said from the side, “Exactly! If we saw Shen Yunyi, we would immediately tell the Eldest Young Master so he could bring her to justice.”
Li Jiancheng looked at Yunyi with pointed meaning, saying, “It better be true, otherwise… it won’t be something that can be settled with just a few days in the dungeon.”
“Big Brother!” Just then, Li Shimin’s voice rang out beside everyone’s ears.
Li Jiancheng said in surprise, “Second Brother, weren’t you searching for the assassin with Third Brother? Why did you come here?” Speaking to this point, a trace of joy appeared in his eyes, “Did you catch the assassin?”
Li Shimin shook his head and said, “There’s no news of the assassin yet, but Luoyang just sent an imperial edict. Father wants you to go there immediately.”
Li Jiancheng’s face darkened. Right after an assassination attempt, an imperial edict arrived—no matter how he thought about it, this couldn’t be good news. He immediately said, “Alright, I’ll go right away. Have people watch this place closely. Once the assassin appears, capture her immediately and don’t give her any chance to escape again!”
“I understand, Big Brother, don’t worry.” Just as Li Jiancheng was preparing to leave, Shen Moping, who hadn’t made a sound since being hung up, suddenly said weakly, “Li Jiancheng, don’t you want to know where Yunyi is hiding? I can tell you.”
Li Jiancheng’s steps halted, and he looked up coldly, saying, “Trying the same old trick again? Do you think I’ll still fall for your deception?”
Shen Moping smiled with effort and said, “You can choose not to believe me, but… don’t regret it!”
Li Jiancheng was a very suspicious person. If Shen Moping had sworn and vowed that he would definitely reveal Yunyi’s hiding place, Li Jiancheng might not necessarily believe him. But now that he said this, it actually made Li Jiancheng uncertain of the truth. After pondering for a moment, he said, “What are your conditions?”
Shen Moping glanced in Yunyi’s direction and said with effort, “I only want you to give me a quick death. I… really can’t take it anymore!”
After being hung here, Li Jiancheng hadn’t cut off his food and water. When he refused to starve himself, Li Jiancheng even had servants force-feed him—bird’s nest soup, ginseng, lingzhi mushrooms—forcing all sorts of things down his throat. All of this was just to keep him alive to lure Yunyi out.
Li Jiancheng pondered for a moment and said, “Take him down.”
“Big Brother, be careful of tricks, and Father is still waiting.” Regarding Li Shimin’s reminder, Li Jiancheng said dismissively, “He’s already in this state—what tricks do you think he can pull? After I find out where the assassin is hiding, I’ll naturally go see Father. This moment won’t make a difference.”
Seeing him say this, Li Shimin couldn’t say anything more, only turning his head to whisper to Duan Zhihong, “Watch closely and don’t let him have a chance to harm Big Brother.”
“This subordinate understands.” While they were talking, the guards had already brought Shen Moping down. He lay on the ground without even the strength to move.
Li Jiancheng looked down at him from above and said, “Actually, you should understand that whether you confess or not, Shen Yunyi can’t escape this Governor’s mansion. Rather than dragging this out, why not give each other a quick resolution?”
The ropes on Shen Moping’s hands and feet were still there, forcing him to wriggle toward Li Jiancheng like a worm. After crawling to his feet, he revealed a tragically sorrowful smile, “You’re right. From the moment you captured me, I was destined to have no way out. No one can save me!”
Li Jiancheng smiled coldly and said, “Speak then. As long as I find Shen Yunyi, I’ll give you a quick death and spare you from suffering here.”
“She’s at…” Shen Moping looked up at Yunyi, his eyes filled with endless sadness and reluctance. Although Yunyi and Meixue looked exactly the same, having been by Yunyi’s side for many years, he recognized at a glance that the person before him was not Meixue, but Yunyi. He just didn’t know why she would appear here under Meixue’s identity, much less where the real Meixue had gone. But none of this mattered to him at this moment. What mattered… was only one thing!
Not hearing him continue, Li Jiancheng impatiently urged, “Hurry up and speak! Where exactly is she?”
Duan Zhihong made eye contact with several guards nearby. Having worked together in the Governor’s mansion for many years, one glance was enough for them to understand Duan Zhihong’s meaning. They all gripped their sword hilts in unison, ready to act immediately if Shen Moping showed the slightest intention to harm Li Jiancheng.
“She’s at…” After saying just two words, Shen Moping’s expression suddenly turned fierce. Before anyone could react, he opened his mouth and bit down hard on Li Jiancheng’s right leg, causing the latter to let out a scream.
Caught completely off guard, Li Jiancheng was bitten until blood flowed freely. He cried out in pain, “Quick, pull him off! Pull him off!”
Li Shimin reacted fastest. Before Li Jiancheng even spoke, he had already rushed behind Shen Moping and pulled hard, trying to make him release his grip. Unfortunately, Shen Moping bit down firmly and refused to let go no matter what. The pulling only made Li Jiancheng’s pain worse.
Li Jiancheng’s right foot already had an ailment, making walking more difficult than for normal people. Even every step caused him pain. Now with this bite, it was pain upon pain. He lifted his other foot and frantically stomped on Shen Moping’s back. Blood could be seen constantly flowing from the latter’s mouth, mixing with the blood from Li Jiancheng’s leg. Even under these circumstances, he still bit down firmly and refused to let go. Instead, Li Jiancheng himself couldn’t stand on one foot and fell to the ground.
Jiang Caiping was terrified by this bloody scene and frantically pulled at Yunyi’s hand, saying, “This place is so frightening! Sister, let’s leave quickly!”
But no matter how she spoke or pulled, Yunyi stood there motionless, staring blankly at that bloody, horrifying scene as if she had lost her mind.
Jiang Caiping couldn’t move her and didn’t feel comfortable leaving her alone here, so she could only stamp her feet and stay in place, though she tightly closed her eyes, not daring to look at the scene anymore.
“Quickly think of a way to pull him off!” Li Jiancheng sat on the ground, screaming miserably, his eyes showing rare fear. As for Shen Moping, his face was covered in blood, like an evil ghost crawling up from the eighteenth level of hell!
Li Shimin snatched the knife from Duan Zhihong’s hand and brought it down hard, chopping viciously at Shen Moping’s leg. Blood flowed like a fountain. “If you don’t let go, I’ll chop your legs off inch by inch, making you unable to live or die!”
The intense pain made Shen Moping break out in cold sweat, but his mouth biting Li Jiancheng’s right leg never opened. If it were just a piece of flesh, that would be one thing, but what he had bitten was the shinbone. Li Jiancheng could even feel his teeth touching the bone beneath his flesh. If this were bitten through, combined with his foot ailment, he might have trouble even walking in the future.
Thinking of this, he panicked and shouted loudly, “Second Brother, quickly kill him! Kill him!”
As he spoke, Li Shimin delivered several more cuts to Shen Moping’s legs. Both legs were already a bloody mess, revealing white bone. But no matter how heart-wrenchingly painful it was, he never loosened his grip. Such determination left even the usually resourceful Li Shimin at a complete loss.