Chi You woke up again to find herself confined in a room, her limbs bound.
The room was dimly lit and bare, with a rack of torture instruments resting beside her.
She narrowed her eyes slightly and looked up, spotting a figure seated at a tea table in front.
"Yo, awake."
The person turned around, and Chi You, upon seeing her face, let out a cold sneer.
It was a concubine of that beast.
The beautiful concubine stood up, her gaze darkening as she looked at Chi You's belly.
"If you get rid of the bastard in your womb, perhaps the Prime Minister won't like you anymore."
Chi You looked at her, then surveyed her surroundings, realizing the assassins who had captured her were nowhere to be seen.
Her heart suddenly understood.
The guards' attacks were vicious, clearly the work of private experts, and not this concubine's doing.
She suddenly recalled Qin Yunshang's sudden abduction. Could it be such a coincidence in the world?
This must be Qin Yunshang's doing, and this concubine was merely a pawn.
As the thought crossed her mind, she felt a twinge of unease.
Liu Rongruo was cunning and resourceful; he couldn't possibly be unaware. What was he planning?
"You were instigated by Qin Yunshang. Is the news of her assassination and abduction false?"
The concubine, stirring a bowl of abortion soup, let out a few giggles at Chi You's words.
"Still has some brains."
If Qin Yunshang married in, she could be promoted to the Prime Minister's secondary wife. With a child to secure her position, she wouldn't meet a tragic end in the backyard. She had to take a gamble.
Chi You sneered, "But you have no brains, fit only to be a target for others."
The concubine's expression turned cold, her malice in her eyes undisguised.
She paused, set down the bowl of abortion soup, and picked up a long spear from the weapon rack.
"Rather than letting this bastard live, I'll kill you to eliminate future trouble."
Chi You nimbly untied the ropes behind her back, deliberately provoking her with her expression.
Qin Yunshang was foolish to send her personal assassins to capture her and then expect this concubine to take the blame. But Liu Rongruo was not foolish; he wouldn't see through her scheme. Who knew what that beast was planning? She had to save herself quickly.
As the thought flashed, a sharp pain hit her abdomen. She kicked the lunging concubine away and casually grabbed a large saber from the weapon rack, plunging it into her heart.
Blood splattered all over her. The person beneath her soon went silent.
Chi You withdrew her hand and walked to the table.
She looked at the abortion soup before her, then glanced down at her belly. Her eyes turned slightly red, but she didn't hesitate, raising the bowl to drink.
However, just as the rim of the bowl touched her lips, the door was kicked open from outside. A sharp blade flashed, shattering the soup bowl on the floor.
Startled, she turned her head and saw Liu Rongruo, radiating hostility.
He stood at the doorway, clad in black, exuding a fierce gust of wind. The terror in his eyes seemed capable of devouring people.
"I've been watching you for a long time."
He slowly walked in and grabbed her by the neck.
"You lied to me again."
Chi You struggled to breathe, her hands clawing at him, trying to push him away, to pry his fingers off. But his grip was so strong she couldn't budge him. Tears of distress streamed from her eyes. Just how high was this beast's martial arts cultivation? She hadn't noticed at all.
"Xuan Qing? So it is your childhood sweetheart. To trespass into the capital for you."
He spoke casually, but the hand tightening around her neck did so inch by inch. His cold, indifferent eyes held no warmth as he looked at her.
Chi You couldn't bear the pain. With a snap, the mechanism in her silver bracelet activated, and a hidden dart flew out.
Liu Rongruo swiftly dodged it. Before Chi You could react, a shadowy figure flashed before her. She parried, and they began to fight. Her guess was indeed correct: Liu Rongruo had known about Qin Yunshang's schemes all along and had played along, wanting to see if she would run, if she would abort the child, and even wanting to trap Xuan Qing and the others. This beast, his schemes were truly deep.
"The Prime Minister can't handle his personal affairs, allowing your fiancée to abduct me and tie me here, and now you're treating me so ruthlessly. Isn't this too much?"
Liu Rongruo twisted her arm and sneered.
"You lied to me, trying to escape me."
Chi You looked into his sinister eyes and forced herself to calm down.
"You know in your heart that it was your fiancée who wanted to harm me."
"You were about to drink the abortion soup."
As he spoke, the ruthlessness in his eyes seemed about to devour her. Chi You pursed her lips, remaining silent. The air was so still one could hear a needle drop.
He looked at her unmoved face coldly and said with dark intensity.
"Dare to snatch someone from my hands? When I catch him, I will tear him limb from limb."
She remained silent, her expression terrifyingly indifferent.
"Guards, take her back."
Kirin entered from outside. She was forcefully taken back to the Liu manor.
Liu Rongruo did not return to the manor; he went straight to the Qin family. His arrival filled the Qin family with anxiety. Although the two families were related by marriage, the Prime Minister was always aloof, and this was his first visit to their residence. The head of the Qin family, unsure of his intentions, looked at the man seated in the main seat with unease. Just as he was about to inquire, he heard his granddaughter's sharp, angry curses from behind.
Everyone turned to look. They saw guards escorting the supposedly missing Qin Yunshang from the rear hall. What was going on? Madam Qin was also shocked. Weren't the hidden guards killed, and her whereabouts at the temple unknown? How many guards had they dispatched to search? How could she be in their own residence?
As Qin Yunshang entered the hall, she saw the senior brother she had longed for. Her body stiffened, and she froze in shock.
"Sen-Senior Brother--"
Liu Rongruo raised his eyes. His eyes were clearly clear and cold, yet she felt as if she were drowning in their chill.
Someone pushed her, and she stumbled to the ground. Madam Qin quickly moved to help her, but upon seeing the Old Ancestor's gaze, her heart ached, and she averted her eyes. What had this fool done?
"Senior Brother."
Liu Rongruo looked at the person prostrating on the ground. His body, seated on the chair, leaned forward slightly. He grabbed her neck and pulled her towards him.
Everyone's expression changed drastically.
"Do you know what happens to those who use me?"
Qin Yunshang's face turned purple from being choked. Looking at the face drawing closer, her fear grew uncontrollably. She shouldn't have forgotten that her senior brother was extremely cruel at heart.
"I--"
She wanted to speak, but her neck was being held tightly. Only broken sounds escaped, and she was in suffocating pain. She desperately tried to struggle, but she couldn't break free.
The world was utterly silent. No one in the Qin mansion dared to step forward. Liu Rongruo looked at her indifferently, his grip relentlessly tightening. With just a little more force, her slender neck would snap.
Madam Qin, ultimately driven by her love for her daughter, seeing her child rolling her eyes and about to collapse, lost her composure as a matriarch of a prominent family. She knelt and tearfully begged for mercy. Setting aside the master-disciple bond, they were also old friends and engaged. No matter what mistake she had made, he shouldn't strangle her to death.
"Yunshang made a mistake. It is I, your humble servant, who failed to discipline my daughter. I beg the Prime Minister to show leniency and spare her life."