"You..."
Seeing Nan Shiying stand up, the man's eyes widened instantly, but the next moment, he became excited again.
A woman who resists is more fun than a wooden block.
He untied his belt, took off his outer clothes, and then lunged towards Nan Shiying.
Nan Shiying grabbed the man's wrist, and with her other hand, she fiercely shoved upwards against his chin. With a "crack," the man's jawbone made a scalp-numbing sound, and then his jaw fell open.
The man let out a mournful whimper.
Nan Shiying twisted his wrist upwards, and with another "crack," broke his wrist.
Recently, Nan Shiying had been studying human anatomy, and with each move, she could accurately dislocate the man's bones – his wrists, jaw, arms... Nan Shiying was thoroughly enjoying herself, as if playing a disassembling game.
In just a short while, all the dislocatable, yet non-fatal, bones on the man's body had been dislocated by Nan Shiying.
The pain of this bone displacement brought the man close to unconsciousness.
Looking at the man, who was almost coiled into a ball, she smiled, squatted down, and with a sudden pat, reset his jaw.
"Tell me, who sent you?"
With his jaw back in place, the man could finally speak. His face was pale, his eyes wide. Although he was trembling all over from the pain, he still threatened loudly in a show of bravado, "Do you know who I am? I am the biological brother of Noble Consort. How dare you touch me? If you know what's good for you, release me immediately, or I will ensure your family is wiped out."
"Zou Yun'er's biological brother?"
Nan Shiying raised an eyebrow. It made sense; if it were someone else, how could they have entered Zou Yun'er's Lilan Palace.
"How dare you!"
Hearing Nan Shiying directly address Zou Yun'er by name, Zou Yunming scolded her loudly.
Nan Shiying retreated a few steps and sat on the soft couch, shaking her head slightly. "Dare? Do you know who I am?"
"This Palace?"
This self-address made Zou Yunming's heart skip a beat.
To refer to oneself as "this Palace" within the imperial palace meant one was the mistress of a palace, with a rank of at least a consort. However, the rank itself was not important; what mattered was if this person was a woman of the Emperor. What he was doing now could be a crime punishable by clan extermination.
"You, you stop talking nonsense. I've entered the Imperial Palace many times. If you were an imperial consort, wouldn't I have seen you?"
Nan Shiying smiled, "Who said I am an imperial consort?"
"Not?"
Zou Yunming's fear instantly vanished. He became indignant, "Then how dare you call yourself 'this Palace' and impersonate an imperial consort? That is a crime punishable by death and clan extermination. If you are sensible, you will obey me; if not, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Nan Shiying burst into laughter, "I am not an imperial consort, but I am a Princess Consort... the Princess Consort of the Regent."
"What did you say?"
Zou Yunming's face turned ashen. The terror in his eyes was even more profound than before. Even when he thought she was an imperial consort, he had never felt such panic and fear as he did now.
The Regent, the powerful Regent of Lingyuan Kingdom.
He was an existence even more fearsome than the Emperor.
Zou Yunming never imagined that the woman before him was the Princess Consort of Regent Ji Jinmo. He suddenly felt a sense of surviving a disaster. He could not believe what kind of inhuman torture he would suffer if he had dared to lay a hand on Ji Jinmo's Princess Consort.
Damn it!
Damn it!
Who tricked him!
"Finally figured it out?"
Sensing the fleeting malice in Zou Yunming's eyes, Nan Shiying said softly, "Now tell me, who tricked you here?"
Zou Yunming gritted his teeth and said, "My sister's maid, Xiaocui."
Nan Shiying tapped her fingers on the soft couch, remaining silent for a moment. Zou Yunming, enduring the pain, pleaded, "Your Highness, Princess Consort, I know I was wrong. I beg you to be magnanimous and spare me this once."
"What, no more family extermination?"
Nan Shiying asked teasingly.
Family extermination?
Did he dare? Could he?
Zou Yunming twitched the corners of his mouth and said fearfully, "Your Highness is joking. I, even if you gave me a hundred more courage, I would not dare!"
Nan Shiying let out a soft hum from her nose.
Then she fell silent again.
Zou Yunming's expression changed repeatedly. He couldn't fathom this woman's intentions. He suddenly recalled the rumors he had heard about her and thought that the people outside were just a bunch of foolish gossips.
Look at him, a grown man, who was almost twisted into a ball. His torture methods were even more potent than those of the palace's Imperial Punishment Department's matrons.
Zou Yunming thought for a moment and then said, "Your Highness, the person behind this wicked scheme must want to destroy both you and me completely. Fortunately, Your Highness is exceptionally astute and saw through their scheme. But now, they have likely gathered people and are heading here. Your Highness..."
Nan Shiying looked down at him and raised her hand to stop him. A sound came from outside the door. Zou Yunming's face turned deathly pale. Glancing around, he noticed that the woman on the couch remained calm and composed, showing no reaction, and a flicker of surprise appeared in his eyes.
Xuan Yi pushed open the door of the side room and dragged Xiaocui in, bound.
He glanced at Zou Yunming, whose bones were almost all dislocated. Although he looked pitiful, Xuan Yi felt no sympathy for him.
This man deserved it!
Only when Xiaocui was thrown beside him did Zou Yunming understand the reason for the woman's calm expression. He struggled to raise his head and looked at the man standing beside him.
"Princess Consort, the person has been brought back," the man said respectfully.
Nan Shiying hummed and took out a bottle of medicine from her embrace, throwing it to Xuan Yi. "Force-feed her."
In Xiaocui's terrified gaze, Xuan Yi poured the medicine into her mouth. Afterward, Nan Shiying instructed Xuan Yi to untie the ropes binding her.
"You, you..."
As the terrified question began, it was followed by an excruciating wail. Xiaocui clutched her stomach, writhing on the ground.
She felt as if her internal organs were being grasped by a hand, twisted, torn, and compressed.
Nan Shiying remained silent, watching Xiaocui suffer for a few minutes before slowly asking, "Who is your master?"
"Zou, Noble Consort Zou!"
"You're lying!" Seeing Xiaocui still implicating his sister, Zou Yunming became furious. If he could move, he would have slapped her soundly.
Nan Shiying hummed. To Zou Yunming, this sound caused his expression to change drastically. "Your Highness, Your Highness, don't listen to this vixen's nonsense. It wouldn't be my sister; my sister wouldn't harm me!"
Nan Shiying ignored him and said to Xuan Yi, "Since someone is obstinate, then let's resort to some methods."
"Peel out her heart, and I shall see who made her so loyal."