Inside the dimly lit tent, Ye Luan's hands were too tired to lift.
She opened her mouth and bit his shoulder.
"Aren't you attending court tomorrow?" kanδん
Xiao Chizhan lowered his head and kissed her, his voice hoarse, "I can still manage."
Ye Luan couldn't stand it any longer and took the initiative to hook him, kissing his lips, his chin, and moving downwards.
Their skin touched, tightly, leaving no gap.
"Don't tease me."
Ye Luan didn't listen to him, and twisted her waist.
Instantly, his sexy low groans sounded in her ear.
"I'll die by your side sooner or later."
Ye Luan's face instantly turned crimson.
He grabbed her waist with a fierce and powerful grip, more arrogant, making her unable to resist, and she could only cling to his shoulders.
At midnight, under the full moon, the sounds within the house finally subsided.
Ye Luan was too tired to move, her eyes half-closed, lazily lying there, wrapped in the blanket.
Xiao Chizhan leaned against the bed, satisfied, and looked down at her.
"Are you that tired?"
"You still ask."
She glared at him reproachfully.
Xiao Chizhan chuckled, got off the bed, picked her up, and carried her towards the bathroom at the back.
Ye Luan let him serve her, not wanting to manage anything, too tired to even stay awake.
Later, she didn't know when she fell asleep. When she woke up, it was already late, and everyone had returned from court.
After Xiao Chizhan shed the chill, he walked over and reached under the blanket to hold her.
"Get up and eat."
Ye Luan was very tired, but she was concerned about Wei Qingge's injury and forced herself to sit up.
As she dressed, she glanced at the marks on her body and glared at him fiercely.
Xiao Chizhan, not understanding, asked, "Are you angry?"
Ye Luan snorted, "No self-control."
Hearing this, Xiao Chizhan awkwardly touched his nose and rubbed against her waist.
"Stop being a nuisance, go to work after eating."
Ye Luan pushed him away and went to the washroom at the back to wash up.
He followed her in.
"Aren't you busy soon?"
Xiao Chizhan narrowed his eyes displeasedly, "Are you tired of me?"
"---"
Ye Luan didn't want to argue with him in the morning. Her eyes softened, and she coaxed him, "You go first, I'll be there soon."
Xiao Chizhan didn't leave and walked over to hug her from behind.
"I'll wait for you."
Ye Luan rolled her eyes inwardly, her movements becoming faster.
Being entangled by him, this delay made it late.
After they finished eating, he went to the military office, and Ye Luan went to Langyuan.
"Miss Ye."
Ye Luan looked at Jingyu and asked, "Has Qingge woken up?"
"Yes, she's in the hall."
She nodded. As soon as she walked in, she heard two noisy voices from inside.
"I won't eat, I want to go back to my manor, get away from me."
"Don't touch me, you damned liar."
Ye Luan listened to the strong scolding from inside, paused her hand that was lifting the bead curtain, and turned to leave, but then she heard.
"Aluan, come in."
Wei Qingge saw the splash of red, kicked away the person holding her feet, and called out.
Ye Luan turned back and saw Li Qiongyu coming out from inside with a fan in his hand, a smile on his face.
"Why are you leaving? Come in."
Show-off.
"Mm."
Li Qiongyu watched her enter and then turned to walk out.
"Young Master, I've been up all night, I can't take it anymore."
Li Qiongyu raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and strode out.
In the dungeon.
Li Cheng was bound to the torture rack, his eyes vacant, terrifyingly dull.
With a bang, the carved stone door was opened, and light flooded in.
He strained his eyes to look.
A man in red, bathed in white light, strode in, radiant, his eyes like the sun and moon, as if spreading spring colors everywhere. His arrogant demeanor met his gaze, making the grim and dark dungeon seem brightly illuminated as if by flames.
He was startled, and his heart filled with hatred, surging like a tide. His eyes were dark and filled with immense resentment.
Perhaps from severe torture, though no wounds were visible on his body, he seemed withered, exuding a deathly aura.
Li Qiongyu walked closer, fanning himself, and looked at the undisguised hatred in his eyes, chuckling softly.
"Your Highness is already finished?"
Li Cheng wanted to roar, but after being tortured all night, he was already exhausted, even speaking was difficult.
The fan in Li Qiongyu's hand was a specially made hidden weapon, with blades concealed on the fan surface. He slid it inch by inch down Li Cheng's skin, causing the latter to writhe with pain, tears streaming down his face.
Blood dripped bit by bit, dazzlingly red.
He seemed to be playing, slicing across his eyes, tearing his flesh, no one knew where he would strike next. This torture was close to breaking point.
Li Cheng endured the pain so much that he gritted his teeth and spat out words one by one, his eyes seeming as if he wanted to devour him.
"Li! Qiong! Yu!"
Li Qiongyu chuckled, "I heard Your Highness is fond of skinning people. Would Your Highness like to try it yourself?"
Skinning?!
Li Cheng's mind instantly recalled those horrific scenes, frightening him so much that his face turned ashen, utterly lifeless.
"No--don't."
But it was not up to him to struggle. Guards immediately stepped forward and removed him from the torture rack, burying him in a pit that had already been dug.
Li Qiongyu brought a vessel filled with mercury and crouched down.
Li Cheng cried out in terror, begging for mercy.
Li Qiongyu's lips curved into a faint smile, and he placed the fan against Li Cheng's forehead. The cold blade approached, scaring him stiff.
"I'll cut open your flesh on your head and pour mercury in, and you'll writhe and twist uncontrollably from the pain--"
"Finally, only your skin will remain in the soil. If the skin is peeled off, it will be given to your good lover as a solemn warning. What do you think, Your Highness?"
His voice was light, without a hint of killing intent, but it made Li Cheng despair, skinning him, the pain, it would kill him.
"I heard Your Highness also likes to boil people. I have a cauldron for cooking."
"Oh, yes, there is a record in the Hell's Catalogue of a torture called lead pouring, where a person's flesh is burned alive, and they suffer the agony of molten copper pouring into their blood during their lifetime."
"Which one does Your Highness wish to try? I will certainly obey Your Highness's will."
Li Cheng was so terrified by his words that he fainted, foaming at the mouth, which was extremely eerie.
Li Qiongyu looked at the unconscious man, raised an eyebrow, and stood up.
"Useless trash."
"Dig him out."
"Yes."
Li Cheng was dug out again, and the imperial physician who had been waiting immediately pricked him with a needle to wake him up.
As soon as he woke up, he was confined in a human-shaped dark room. The air was sealed all around, with only a small opening for ventilation.
Li Qiongyu opened the secret door, "Blindfold him."
'Yes.'
Ye Yu stepped forward to do it, looking at the terrifyingly silent dark room, and swallowed slightly.
This kind of torture was called the water-drop torture, waiting for death in despair.
Li Cheng was already neurotically weak, unable to struggle.
He could clearly feel someone cutting his finger and placing a drip counter on him. Blood from his finger dripped down drop by drop.
The secret door was closed, and it was extremely quiet all around, as fear slowly grew.
More terrifying than death itself was waiting for death.
Li Qiongyu walked out with his fan, his voice playful yet chilling.
"Played enough, kill him."
"Yes."
After he left, he returned directly to Langyuan.
The hall was quiet, without any movement.
"Where is the person?"
Jingyu saw his young master come out with a cold face and immediately said, "Miss Wei has returned to her manor."
"Who took her?"
"Her cousin from the Wei manor. He said Miss Wei's mother has returned from the border and is eager to see her."
Cousin?!
Li Qiongyu narrowed his eyes slightly and sneered, "Is it that young master Dan Yan from the Dan family in Hedong Commandery? Her cousin?!"