The pigeon had been knocked unconscious.
The note was handed to Bai Lian, who unfolded it and showed it to Chu Linzhang.
Only two words were written on it:
It’s done.
Chu Linzhang frowned.
“Should we alter the message?” Bai Lian asked.
“No need. Release it.”
Chu Linzhang was completely baffled.
He had no idea what those people were plotting this time—or what they had supposedly succeeded in doing.
After quietly releasing the pigeon, Bai Lian returned.
“Li Shi was beaten by Chen Dali. They also shaved half her head. She’s sporting a half-shaved hairstyle now and is heading this way.”
Chu Linzhang immediately understood.
She was coming to complain and force him to stand up for her.
But he was nothing more than a cripple now.
How exactly was he supposed to defend anyone?
Before Bai Lian had even finished speaking, Li Shi arrived, sobbing dramatically.
Even though she’d already lost one eye, it didn’t stop her from courting disaster.
Her face was swollen and miserable.
The injured eye had been wrapped in a handkerchief tied behind her head, forming a crude eye patch.
At least it hid the bloody socket where the eyeball was missing.
The moment she saw Chu Linzhang, she burst into pitiful wails.
“Look at the wonderful wife you married!”
“She had people ruin my face!”
“They even shaved the hair of an elder like me!”
Looking at her half-shaved head, Chu Linzhang frowned.
“What does this have to do with her?”
“It was her!”
“She colluded with the guards to humiliate me by shaving my hair!”
“She’s shown utter disrespect to her elders!”
“If you don’t teach her a lesson today…”
“I’ll die right here in front of you!”
She was threatening him.
These past few days had stripped away every illusion Chu Linzhang had about family and human nature.
He knew she was merely bluffing.
Did she really think he could be intimidated so easily?
One look from Chu Linzhang was enough.
Bai Lian immediately understood.
He grabbed Li Shi by the throat and lifted her off the ground.
Her eyes widened in terror.
“Y-What are you doing?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to die?”
Chu Linzhang sneered.
“I’m simply helping you along, in case your resolve isn’t strong enough.”
Bai Lian tightened his grip.
The sensation of suffocation overwhelmed Li Shi.
Her feet kicked wildly in midair while both hands desperately clawed at Bai Lian’s wrist, trying to pry it away.
Bai Lian’s expression never changed.
His eyes radiated killing intent.
Looking at Chu Linzhang’s cold, indifferent gaze—
A realization finally dawned on Li Shi.
Her usual tricks of crying, throwing tantrums, and threatening suicide no longer worked.
Chu Linzhang wasn’t the same man anymore.
He’d gone mad.
Terrified, Li Shi hurriedly begged for mercy.
“Help…”
“I was wrong…”
“I won’t dare again…”
“Please… don’t kill me…”
“Your Third Uncle… still needs someone to care for him…”
Chu Linzhang merely snorted.
Bai Lian casually tossed her back onto the ground before withdrawing his killing intent.
Li Shi struggled to crawl upright.
A pair of spotless cloth shoes suddenly appeared before her.
They stood in sharp contrast to her own filthy, worn-out shoes with holes in the soles.
Her gaze slowly traveled upward.
When it landed on Hua Zhiyun’s smiling face…
Her remaining eye contracted in fear.
“Y-You…”
“What do you want now?”
“You already ruined my hair…”
“Isn’t that enough?”
“So…”
“You were reporting me?”
Hua Zhiyun tapped Li Shi’s forehead.
Her smile was bright and beautiful.
Yet in Li Shi’s lone eye, it looked utterly terrifying.
She frantically shook her head.
Hua Zhiyun laughed.
“I heard everything.”
“You even suggested they shave my head.”
She gently rubbed the coarse stubble left after Li Shi’s hair had been shaved.
Li Shi felt her scalp go numb.
Goosebumps erupted all over her body.
She couldn’t stop trembling.
“You’ve been a naughty girl.”
Li Shi completely broke down.
She immediately kowtowed.
“I was wrong!”
“I’ll never do it again!”
“Please spare me!”
“There won’t be a next time.”
Hua Zhiyun withdrew her hand in disgust and gave her a look that plainly said:
Get lost.
Li Shi scrambled away as fast as she could.
A puddle of liquid remained where she’d been.
On such a sunny day…
Where had the water come from?
Another glance.
Oh.
It was urine.
A short while later, Third Uncle Chu could be heard cursing loudly.
“Shameless!”
“You’re a grown woman and you wet yourself?”
“You’ve completely disgraced me!”
Li Shi: “…”
Everyone nearby pointed at her.
They whispered.
Mocked.
Ridiculed.
Even Chu Linquan moved farther away from her in disgust.
Watching all this, Li Shi touched her half-shaved head.
Under the clear blue sky, her vision began to darken.
Back beside the prison cart, Hua Zhiyun said,
“I’m here to change your dressings.”
“Thank you.”
Chu Linzhang smiled gratefully.
She immediately looked away.
Too painful to look at.
Chu Linzhang: “…”
Removing the bandages, she found the wounds still somewhat infected.
“Have you eaten?” she asked.
“I had a bowl of porridge, two steamed buns, and an egg.”
“You can have the egg.”
Chu Linzhang glanced at Bai Lian.
Reluctantly, Bai Lian produced a boiled egg from inside his robe.
Hua Zhiyun accepted it without the slightest hesitation.
Bai Lian: “…”
Couldn’t she at least pretend to refuse first?
Completely unfamiliar with the concept of courtesy, Hua Zhiyun cleaned away the decayed flesh around Chu Linzhang’s wounds, applied fresh medicine, and wrapped them again.
All her tools were stored inside a rough canvas-like bag she’d hastily sewn together on the carriage.
The fabric came from the Hua family.
Since she was officially Hua family’s daughter, using their cloth wouldn’t arouse suspicion.
If she started using items from the imperial palace…
Those all bore royal insignias.
She wasn’t foolish enough to bring them out while everyone was watching.
Even a thief had to be an intelligent thief.
She might not have been a genius…
But she certainly wasn’t brainless.
After finishing with his arms and legs, she moved on to his face.
The prison cart wasn’t spacious.
The weather was scorching hot.
After sitting in the blazing sun all morning, Chu Linzhang felt dizzy.
To make treating him easier, his head rested on Hua Zhiyun’s lap.
The dizziness became even worse.
He quietly tried to move his head away from her slender legs without attracting attention.
Instead, Hua Zhiyun firmly pushed it back.
She even smacked him lightly on top of the head.
“Don’t move.”
Her voice carried a clear warning.
Chu Linzhang: “…”
Bai Lian inhaled sharply.
His Princess Consort…
Had just smacked the Prince.
Amazing.
Then he looked again.
Why did the two of them…
Look so intimate together?
Noticing several people sneaking glances toward them, Bai Lian frowned.
One icy glare from him was enough.
Everyone immediately looked away.
Bai Lian’s eyes drifted toward the carriage that belonged to Hua Zhiyun.
An idea quietly formed in his mind.
Meanwhile, Hua Zhiyun had no idea someone was eyeing her carriage.
She examined the wounds on Chu Linzhang’s face.
They were troublesome.
Fortunately, she had sufficient medicine.
A few more debridement procedures should solve the problem.
She couldn’t administer anesthesia every single time.
What if repeated anesthesia made him stupid?
“There’ll be some pain.”
“Bear with it.”
“All right.”
As Chu Linzhang spoke, his lips happened to brush against her fingertip.
It felt almost like he had kissed her finger.
Both of them froze.
Meeting Hua Zhiyun’s teasing peach-blossom eyes, Chu Linzhang felt awkward.
Whether it was from the blazing sun or something else…
His head spun.
His heartbeat sped up.
From such an unflattering angle…
He somehow found Hua Zhiyun beautiful.
Sweat glistened on her forehead.
Her smiling eyes sparkled brilliantly.
“I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
Hua Zhiyun laughed.
“I thought you were trying to thank me by kissing my finger.”
Chu Linzhang hurriedly shook his head.
He had barely moved before Hua Zhiyun held his head still again.
Looking down at him, she warned,
“Don’t move.”
He immediately behaved.
Giving her an apologetic look, the tips of his ears turned bright red.
“If you were a handsome man, I might accept that.”
“But looking the way you do now…”
“I honestly can’t.”
“Don’t do that again.”
“Or I’ll hit you.”
Kindly, Hua Zhiyun took out a handheld mirror with an antique-style frame.
She had made it herself by attaching a modern cosmetic mirror onto an old bronze mirror.
It fit perfectly.
The reflection was crystal clear.
She held it up so Chu Linzhang could finally see what he looked like.
Completely unprepared, Chu Linzhang came face to face with his own reflection.
His face was mangled.
Covered in wounds and dried blood.
Worst of all…
The branded criminal character burned into his left cheek struck him like a knife.
Chu Linzhang: “…”
So ugly.
It really was remarkable.
Despite facing such a ruined face…
She could still smile at him.