“Damn it, I’ve been chased all the way by government officials, and he gets to sleep so comfortably right here.”
Glaring at Meng Qing as he lay across the straw, Zhao Tianying felt his anger flare up and kicked out fiercely. This kick was meant purely to vent his rage; delivered with tremendous force, Meng Qing felt his chest constrict as a wave of coppery sweetness surged up his throat. Tilting his head aside, he vomited a mouthful of fresh blood.
This sight brought immense, gratifying pleasure to Zhao Tianying, who burst into loud, unrestrained laughter: “Hahahahahahahahahahaha, does it hurt? When your Prince Ning interrogated my family members, he used pincers and hot iron. They must have suffered a lot more than you are right now.”
This sentence carried an immense amount of information. Meng Qing shook his head, trying to force himself to clear his thoughts.
So, this kidnapping is an act of revenge. But I rarely leave the manor; have I offended anyone?
Wait—leaving the manor, the tavern, the gambling den the Zhao family.
The only people he had ever offended, and who possessed the capability and motive for revenge, were members of the Zhao family.
Meng Qing raised his eyes to look at the man before him, who had lost all reason like a rabid dog. Zhao Tianying’s frame was small, his figure even appearing somewhat lean, and his complexion was as pale and grey as paper. A centipede-like scar stretched horizontally across his left eye, which, paired with his frenzied expression, made him look terrifyingly ghastly.
What should I do? Judging by his state, he looks intent on torturing me to death.
Think of a way, think of a way quickly.
“Hu Si, prop him up for me and make him kneel.” Zhao Tianying raised a hand to pinch Meng Qing’s chin, the scar on his face looking all the more gruesome on that ferocious countenance. “Since there’s no escaping now anyway, I’ll finish you off right here, and you can go down first to scout the road ahead for me.”
“You can’t kill me. If you kill me, the Prince Ning won’t let you off.”
“Clap—” Zhao Tianying struck him across the face with a hard backhand slap. “Do you really think that with me acting like this, the Prince Ning would let me off, or let my family off?”
Meng Qing only felt a burning, stinging pain across his face, while his left ear began to buzz and ring incessantly with tinnitus. Yet the more critical the crisis, the calmer he paradoxically became.
Meng Qing drew a breath and stared straight at him. “The Prince Ning lets innocent people go. Isn’t your daughter A-Ruan innocent? Do you want to see her implicated and dragged down because of you?”
Zhao Tianying froze, and the movement of his hands ground to a halt.
A gamble that paid off.
Meng Qing let out a slight internal sigh of relief. Earlier, when Zhao Tianying had raised his hand, a bamboo dragonfly had exposed itself at his chest, engraved with the character [Ruan]. Guessing it must be a toy for a child, he decided to stake everything on one final gamble.
Enduring the pain in his body, Meng Qing pressed on. “His Highness Prince Ning is benevolent and kind-hearted; the people of the capital all praise him as impartial, just, and strict in reward and punishment. A-Ruan is still young and hasn’t been dragged into this. If you let me go, His Highness Prince Ning guarantees that she will be properly looked after and settled.”
Before the words had even faded, Zhao Tianying suddenly lunged forward to clamp his hand around Meng Qing’s throat, his fingers tightening steadily. His bloodshot eyes were overflowing with unadulterated hatred.
Meng Qing’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as he stubbornly locked eyes with him.
Yet as his breath was squeezed away bit by bit, he felt as though he couldn’t hold on much longer.
At the very last second, Zhao Tianying loosened his grip. “As expected of the person the Grand Tutor divined, rather interesting. But I still won’t let you go.”
“Cough, cough, cough, cough…” Meng Qing slumped weakly onto the floor, clutching his throat and gulping down mouthfuls of air.
Too close. I almost died.
“Young Master, we caught someone.” Hu San, who had been keeping watch outside, walked in and tossed a drugged person straight onto the ground. “He said he was passing by and wanted to ask for a cup of water. I was afraid he was an undercover government scout, so I added a little something extra into his cup.”
Zhao Tianying took one look: silk fabric, top-tier jade pendant, and features as delicate and carved as jade. Which young master from a prominent household had wandered out here?
“Tie him up first. When we make our run for it, we’ll extort a heavy ransom from his family.”
“Hehe, as wise as ever, Young Master.” Hu Si gave a thumbs-up.
“I still have matters to discuss with Lord Zhang, so you two keep a tight watch on both of them.”
“Guaranteed to complete the mission!”
Once Zhao Tianying had departed.
Hu Si: “Brother, I’m kind of hungry.”
Hu San: “Let’s go, brother will take you to get something good to eat.”
Hu Si: “What about those two, then?”
Hu San: “One’s locked up with iron chains, the other’s tied down with ropes how could they possibly run? Come on, let’s go eat.”
“Hehe, alright.”
When Shinian regained consciousness, the first thing that entered his vision was a person draped in a lake-blue brocade robe, leaning weakly against the corner of the wall. His eyes were tightly closed, one hand bound tightly by cold iron chains while the other rested gently against his abdomen, as if trying to ease a dull ache. A shockingly stark red welt of strangulation wrapped around his snow-white neck, looking exceptionally vicious, and dried blood still stained the corners of his lips, clearly indicating he had previously suffered cruel torture.
Yet, this person possessed extraordinarily striking features; even in such a disheveled and miserable state, those wounds seemed paradoxically to imbue him with a strange, alluring vulnerability, unconsciously provoking the deepest impulses of cruelty hidden within a person’s heart.
Seemingly sensing movement, the person slowly opened his eyes. For a moment, Shinian didn’t quite know how to describe those eyes: they seemed brimming with shimmering moisture, yet exceptionally bright and crystal-clear. Just a single glance was enough to make one feel his surging, vibrant tenacity of life.
“You’re awake? That’s wonderful!”
His voice sounds incredibly nice too, Shinian thought silently to himself.
Being a professional criminal investigator, however, Shinian took in the person’s current state—disheveled hair, cracked and peeling lips and judged from experience that he had likely been locked up for roughly a day or so. Although his clothes were somewhat messy, there were no signs of sexual violation, which ruled out the possibility of a kidnapping driven by lust; moreover, his body bore numerous wounds evidently inflicted through deliberate torture, clearly pointing not to simple robbery, but to calculated, malicious revenge. Recalling the notices posted by the Patrol Office along his way out of the city, what did they say again…?
The Consort must not be harmed; all other conditions are negotiable.
The Consort, the Consort—he was the kidnapped Prince’s Consort, Meng Qing.
And the men holding them captive were none other than the wanted eldest young master of the Zhao family, Zhao Tianying.
“Meng Qing?” Shinian tested the waters with a question.
“You know me?” Meng Qing looked somewhat startled, having no recollection of anyone matching this person’s face.
Of course I know you; you’re the protagonist shou, after all.
And honestly, as expected of a Danmei protagonist shou, even bullied and battered to this degree, he still looked fragrant and alluring.
“The Prince Ning’s missing-person notices are plastered all over the city both inside and out; it’d be stranger if someone couldn’t guess it,” Shinian replied smoothly, keeping his expression entirely unreadable.
“Really? Then His Highness the Prince Ning should be able to find us very soon. We’re going to be rescued immediately!” Hope flared instantly in Meng Qing’s eyes, sparkling with bright brilliance as he seemingly caught sight of the dawn of victory.
Shinian hadn’t the heart to shatter his hopes, but in order to evade Bai Wujou’s pursuit, he had intentionally taken numerous winding, desolate backroads just to reach this godforsaken place. For the Patrol Office to track them down here, the absolute fastest would probably still take another two days.
“Damn it, that Prince actually cares so much about this cheap wretch, dispatching so many people to search for him. Good thing our hideout is tucked away out here; they won’t reach this place anytime soon,” Hu San’s voice drifted in clearly from outside.
…The spark of hope that had just ignited in Meng Qing’s eyes was blown right back out.
“Hah, have you seen that face of his? Who wouldn’t treasure a treasure like that?” Hu San chimed in.
Hu Si fell silent for a moment, seemingly recalling something, before his voice rang out a long while later: “Brother, I’ve never tried it with a guy before. We’re going to kill him sooner or later anyway; let me have some fun with him before he dies.”