In the dim corridor, Xue Yao leaned the back of his head against the wall, steadying his breathing as he listened to the conversation coming from behind him at an angle.
All of a sudden, he found it a little amusing.
Perhaps even that traitor Pei himself had never expected that confining him in the dungeon for three years would instead allow him to thoroughly grasp the standard layout of official prisons.
He carefully observed his surroundings. Back when he had been dragged out by Pei Di and used like a puppet, he had once seen a map of the dungeon in the torture chamber, and had memorized it on the spot. This place, the Shouzhou prefectural yamen dungeon, likewise belonged to an official institution.
Just now, he had merely wanted to give it a try, yet it turned out to be exactly as he had guessed.
Suddenly, a faint fragrance drifted quietly closer, followed by Lu Dantao’s deliberately lowered voice. “Hey, that man…”
He glanced sideways and saw her pointing in Pei Di’s direction, her eyes curved in a smiling crescent. “He looks a lot like you.”
“That arrogant, sky-high attitude of his is especially similar to yours.”
The young girl’s face flickered indistinctly in the firelight, apricot cheeks flushed like peach blossoms, her gaze clear and bright. Within it, there was only sly delight and undisguised provocation.
There was not the slightest trace of joy at seeing a lover… nor the grief and indignation of meeting a heartless man.
Xue Yao’s brows drew together slightly as he stared intently at her smiling face, and an unbelievable thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
He fell silent for a moment, then probed, “That man? You don’t recognize him?”
Lu Dantao shot him a puzzled sideways glance, her tone perfunctory and deliberately affected. “I only recognize you, my dear ally.”
Looking at the undisguised foolishness on her face, Xue Yao took a deep breath. The murky stench of the dungeon rushed straight into his lungs. He forcefully suppressed the faint surge of gloom rising in his chest and decided to confirm it once more.
Fixing his gaze on that small face, he spoke word by word, slow and deliberate.
“He is Pei Di.”
“Your former fiancé, the one you swore to chop into minced meat. You… don’t recognize him?”
The moment his words fell, Xue Yao saw the person before him blink, as if she had yet to process it.
After two breaths, she slowly turned her head, staring blankly at the young man in the corridor, then slowly turned back.
In the next instant, the expression on her face changed at a visible speed, shifting from dazed confusion to bone-deep hatred, her teeth clenched tight.
“Of course I know he’s Pei Di.”
“It’s precisely because I know that I say I don’t recognize him.”
“That bastard who slaughtered my entire family, I’d rather believe I had never known him in this lifetime!”
Xue Yao: …
His gaze swept over her still clear and limpid eyes. Slowly, he leaned back and closed his eyes.
Confirmed.
This fool truly did not recognize Pei Di.
An indescribable frustration instantly lodged in his throat.
His mind suddenly buzzed, leaving him dazed and blank, as several scenes flashed wildly before his eyes—
Himself enduring the pain of his injuries while hiding outside the kitchen to spy, her boldly downing the medicinal soup in one gulp, her sneaking around like a thief as she shielded him and said there was something strange about the dungeon, him using her as a shield…
A surge of intense speechlessness and anger rushed straight to his head. Xue Yao was so furious that he laughed instead, lowering his head as a low chuckle slipped out.
Lu Dantao pressed her slightly dry lips together, looking at Xue Yao with a mix of fear and concern as he laughed in a daze. She quietly edged backward.
‘Has the male lead gone mad?’
‘Don’t let the big villain hear this.’
She secretly glanced toward the corridor. The tall, slender young man stood there with an upright posture, a faint smile on his lips as he looked down at Lord Huang, who resembled a hippopotamus.
He did not seem to have heard anything.
She blinked, still somewhat unconvinced. ‘This is the big villain?’
‘He looks… completely different from what I imagined.’
But that was not important for now.
What mattered was, what was wrong with the male lead? Could it be that he had seen through her act?
‘No way.’ Lu Dantao bit her lip and dismissed the thought. ‘My reaction just now was perfectly natural.’
She looked at Xue Yao again. Seeing that he had already stopped laughing and was lowering his head, seemingly lost in thought, she tilted her head, unable to make out his expression.
Lu Dantao felt a bit uncertain. Just a few days ago, she had confidently claimed that she understood Pei Di extremely well, even knew his fatal weakness, yet in the next moment she could not even recognize his face.
Not to mention the male lead, anyone would think she was running some kind of scam.
Moreover, she thought darkly, given the male lead’s temperament, he might very well suspect that she and Pei Di were in cahoots, then push her out as a shield, let her get stabbed into a hedgehog, and take the chance to slip away himself.
Just imagining it made Lu Dantao shiver all over. ‘No, I absolutely cannot let something like that happen!’
“He has already been blacklisted in my memory,” she moved closer to Xue Yao, her tone extremely sincere as she emphasized again, “Right now, in my world, there’s only you, my dear ally.”
Xue Yao’s voice was indifferent, impossible to read any emotion from. “Is that so?”
Lu Dantao nodded heavily. “Of course!”
Xue Yao curled his lips slightly and lifted his eyelids to look at her. Sensing his gaze sweep over, Lu Dantao tilted her head and silently asked, “What’s wrong?”
He let out a cold snort, not wanting to bother with her at all, his gaze shifting once more toward Pei Di.
No.
Perhaps he had been thinking too simply. That traitor Pei had always been full of schemes.
If it was to completely win his trust, to have her cut off from all contact with the outside world and fully play the role of having lost her memory, so as to avoid any future flaws…
It was not impossible.
“Master, the hour of Zi[1]The “hour of Zi” (子时) refers to a traditional Chinese time period from 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM. It marks the first hour of a new day in the traditional system, so once the hour of Zi has passed, … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2021961_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2021961_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); has passed. Today is already the nineteenth of the seventh month,” another unfamiliar voice sounded in the corridor.
Seeing that Xue Yao was ignoring her, Lu Dantao puffed her cheeks and craned her head to see who was speaking.
It was a saber-bearing guard by Pei Di’s side, around sixteen or seventeen years old, currently bowing as he made his report.
Pei Di nodded, lowering his gaze as he gently brushed his sleeve. Only after a long moment did he speak, “In that case, make the preparations.”
The guard, Ting Feng, acknowledged the order. “Yes.”
He then walked over to Huang Youcai. “Lord Huang, we will have to trouble you to make arrangements for the Madam.”
Huang Youcai piled on a smile. “This is what this official ought to do. Shall we choose the location in the garden by Sui Lake?”
Sui Lake was the only lake in this barren northwestern region of Shouzhou, exceedingly rare and precious.
Ting Feng frowned slightly and looked toward Pei Di. Seeing that he had no objection, he said, “Remember, do not make it too ostentatious. On the mourning couplet, write… Lu Dantao, daughter of Lu Zhiyi of the capital.”
‘Mourning couplet?’
Huang Youcai’s smile stiffened. ‘Lu… Lu Zhiyi’s daughter?’
Lu Zhiyi, that name was far too familiar to him.
He had just come across it a few days ago while studying Pei Di’s life. It was precisely because Pei Di had cracked the case of the Jingzhao Prefect Lu Zhiyi a month ago that he had been promoted to chief envoy.
Pei Di’s childhood sweetheart was that Miss Lu?
The one he had killed… was his own future father-in-law’s entire family?
But if they were already dead, then who were the two people in the apothecary?
Huang Youcai stole a glance at Pei Di, only to see him gazing at the torch, seemingly lost in thought. He hesitated before speaking, intending to lower his voice, yet failing to control it, “This Jingzhao Prefect Lu family… weren’t they executed with their entire household due to their crimes?”
Ting Feng nodded. “Yes. Today happens to be the Madam’s fifth seventh.”
The fifth seventh referred to the thirty-fifth day after a person’s death.
Lu Dantao: …
Even though she was not the original owner of this body, hearing it still felt… somewhat uncomfortable.
Her thoughts shifted, and she seized the opportunity, turning to Xue Yao with a fierce tone. “Look at this dog of a man, he killed my entire family and still has the nerve to hypocritically observe my fifth seventh. He’s simply a scumbag.”
Unexpectedly, the male lead did not even glance at her.
Seeing that he had no reaction, Lu Dantao gave a cold snort and stopped trying to warm up to him.
After all, extremes produce the opposite effect. If she said too much, he might think she was trying to cover something up.
In any case, right now she only needed to stick close to the male lead and make it through this dungeon.
According to the analysis posts, the turning point in the male lead’s fate lay with that strategist from the former Xue Family Army.
Lu Dantao rubbed her chin.
The people imprisoned in this dungeon were from the Xue Family Army, which meant that strategist might also be here.
It seemed that the male lead’s opportunity was right here.
Just perfect. The villain thought she was thoroughly dead, so she could follow the male lead, encounter a powerful benefactor, build her own career, and in the future live beautifully as a female prince of a different surname. Then the male lead would cut down the villain and avenge the original owner’s entire family.
She clapped silently to herself. Perfect!
“But…” Huang Youcai’s hesitant voice sounded.
After the initial shock, he quickly came to his senses. Pei Di had come to Shouzhou to search for remnants of the Xue Family Army. If the Lu family’s daughter was already dead, then the woman with the red mole between her brows must be an imposter. He had been worrying about how to curry favor with Pei Di, and now this was like a pillow delivered just as he grew drowsy.
Only when Ting Feng looked at him did he slowly speak, “But your Madam appeared in Shouzhou just yesterday.”
The moment those words fell, the entire dungeon fell into silence for an instant—
Lu Dantao’s hands stiffened, her pupils trembling violently. ‘?!!’
Xue Yao’s brows pressed down sharply. …
Pei Di suddenly lifted his eyelids, his icy gaze slicing toward Huang Youcai like a blade.
Ting Feng froze for a moment, then asked in shock, “What did you say?”
Pei Di abruptly turned around and strode over to Huang Youcai.
Huang Youcai looked up and suddenly realized that the man before him was completely different from the benevolent figure he had appeared to be just moments ago.
Pei Di looked down at him from above, his gaze pressing onto him like something tangible. Only after a long while did he speak, “Talk. What happened?”
Cold sweat instantly covered Huang Youcai’s back. He bent his waist even lower, forcing himself to endure the fear. “Th-this official heard that Your Excellency had arrived in Shouzhou. I had already prepared everything, yet I did not see you for a long time. I was anxious, fearing that Your Excellency might have encountered bandits—”
Suddenly!
His throat was seized by a cold, powerful hand. Pei Di’s sinister voice drilled into his ears. “Get to the point.”
Huang Youcai stared in terror at that pale, slender hand, trembling like a sieve. “Ye-yesterday late at night, the steward received a report from an apothecary in the city. They said there was a young girl in the shop, with a red mole between her brows, who had brought a severely injured young man to seek treatment two nights ago.”
“When this official arrived early this morning, the man and woman had already disappeared without a trace.”
The hand gripping his throat loosened. Huang Youcai staggered back a few steps, gasping for breath. “This official thought that was Madam and… Your Excellency.”
Pei Di’s gaze darkened abruptly.
Ting Feng cursed angrily, “What kind of lowly scoundrels would dare impersonate Your Excellency and Madam!”
After hearing this, Xue Yao understood most of it. He cast a cold glance at Lu Dantao.
The moment he saw her, he was reminded of how he had previously probed this fool from the side, analyzing her every word and action as if unraveling threads, making himself look utterly ridiculous.
He pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, on the verge of laughing from sheer anger again.
Never had he imagined that she truly had nothing to do with that traitor Pei, that she had genuinely dragged him out from the mass grave and brought him to a bandits’ den. All her oddities were truly only because she was a fool.
Everything she said… had actually been true!
Lu Dantao trembled.
It was over.
This time, it was really over.
Only now did she suddenly understand why, at the apothecary during the day, the old physician had assumed that the male lead had brought her from the capital to Shouzhou. So the so-called imperial envoy referred to Pei Di. The physician had mistaken the male lead for the big villain and thought she had come with him.
Now that the villain had heard there was someone with a red mole between her brows, whether it was truly her or not, to eliminate all future trouble, he would definitely uproot everything.
Don’t be fooled by how he acted as if his feelings ran as deep as the sea. Men were all like this. If he had truly loved the original owner, he would not have exterminated her entire family.
She shrank back, her fingers unconsciously brushing her neck. ‘I’m finished.’
Just now, when Pei Di had seized that hippopotamus-like Lord Huang, it was as easy as grabbing a chick. Crushing her… would that not be as effortless as stepping on an ant?
With her heart in her throat, she cautiously craned her head out and saw Pei Di slowly rotate his wrist before calling, “Lord Huang.”
Huang Youcai scrambled forward on his hands and knees, throwing himself at Pei Di’s feet. “Th-this official is here!”
“Where did you gather these people from?”
Huang Youcai replied in a trembling voice, “All of them were found by searching hidden farmhouses and the mountain forests…”
Pei Di curled his lips slightly. “How long have they been locked up here?”
Xue Yao narrowed his eyes, instantly seeing through Pei Di’s intent.
He withdrew his gaze and glanced at Lu Dantao beside him, who had shrunk into herself like a quail. Even in the dim prison, it was clear her small face had turned deathly pale from fright.
She was slumped on the ground, her skirt pooled around her. The hem of her pale pink dress overlapped with his, the two light pink skirts standing out starkly against the dark, filthy dungeon.
He remembered that before he was injured, he had not been wearing this set of clothes. When he woke up and saw that his clothes had been changed, he had originally assumed it was done by someone under Pei Di.
Now that he thought about it, it must have been after she rescued him from the mass grave and brought him to the apothecary, seeing how filthy and foul his clothes were, that she had gone into town to buy them.
Xue Yao curled his lips slightly and let out a long breath of turbid air.
What he had originally taken to be a suspect and a shield had suddenly turned into an inescapable burden, which made him extremely displeased.
But… in the end, she had saved him.
Since she had saved his life, he could not simply abandon her.
Fine. He would bring her safely out of the dungeon and consider the debt repaid.
After that, he would never want to see Lu Dantao again!
Lu Dantao held her breath, concentrating as she pricked up her ears to listen to the conversation between Pei Di and Huang Youcai—
She heard Huang Youcai reply, “The longest… have been locked up for over a month, the shortest… also about five days.”
“Oh?” The clear male voice drew out the sound, as if genuinely puzzled.
Her brows knitted tightly, her fingers clenching her sleeve as her heart rose to her throat. What the villain was saying seemed unrelated to her, yet for some reason, she had a very bad premonition.
A warm breath suddenly brushed against her ear.
She jolted in fright. Before she could even turn her head, Xue Yao’s low voice had already slipped into her ears, his breath blowing against the tip of her ear and raising waves of goosebumps.
“Take off your clothes.”
Lu Dantao froze. “?”
She abruptly turned back, shoved Xue Yao away, and clasped her hands tightly over her chest, shaking her head desperately. “What are you trying to do to me! I won’t!”
References[+]