Chapter 9 The Ninth Face of Trust

The inner room was completely silent, so quiet it was unsettling. Lu Huantang, who had just been detoxified, was unable to break free from the restraint of four or five burly men and was dragged and pulled into the torture chamber.

Before the iron gate closed, Lu Huantang asked Chen, "Is this your idea or Miss's?"

"I work for Miss, and I'll think of things she can't even imagine. You should stay here and clear your head first," Chen said before leaving.

Compared to Qi Lingjun's impassive defense, Chen's hostility was easier to guard against and exploit.

Lu Huantang was too tired. He had been running around all night while poisoned. At this moment, he didn't want to think about anything else. He closed his eyes and tried to conserve his energy.

The next day, around noon, Jiang Linzhi finally recovered. Looking at the somewhat haggard Qi Lingjun, she said to him like she was coaxing a child, "Don't be afraid, I'm not going to die."

Seeing her nonchalant expression, Qi Lingjun recounted everything that happened that night, concluding, "Those lackeys certainly don't have that much ability; there must be someone behind them. If the Regent was plotting against him, he might have silenced him, which would have been fine. But I'm afraid this is a ruse he conspired with the Regent to gain your trust, so I didn't have him tortured; I just kept him locked up."

Jiang Linzhi did not answer, seemingly lost in thought.

Qi Lingjun continued, "This man's thoughts are unpredictable. Are you sure you want to keep him?"

Jiang Linzhi smiled and said, "He was probably being used by the Regent. He's skilled in martial arts, intelligent, and handsome—there aren't many people like him. Even if he's on the Regent's side, I'm confident I can make him submit to me."

Just as Jiang Linzhi was about to look at Qi Lingjun's expression, a wet cloth was draped over her head, blocking her view.

The force was not gentle as it rubbed her face hard, and a calm voice said in her ear, "You can proceed as planned."

In the cold and filthy torture chamber, unhurried footsteps approached. Lu Huantang leaned against the corner of the wall, listening intently. It seemed that the person delivering food to the torture chamber had changed today; he sounded like a young man.

He guessed it was a young man who had been suppressed and was bringing him food. Indeed, such tasks were usually given to newcomers. Lu Huantang ignored him and continued to regulate his internal energy.

They usually dumped the food on the ground outside the cell, but today the people actually opened the door.

Fearing something might go wrong, Lu Huantang quickly calmed himself down and leaned against the wall, pretending to be weak after being detoxified.

The scent of Xun Lingxiang was particularly refreshing in the damp and musty dungeon, but it inexplicably irritated Lu Huantang.

Sure enough, what came into view was a gorgeous dress, which seemed to have embedded all the flowers of spring on its body, adding infinite spring beauty to this cold and gloomy room.

Jiang Linzhi, who seemed completely out of place in prison, placed a gold-inlaid ebony food box in front of Lu Huantang. Ignoring the dirt and dust, he lifted his robe and sat down on the ground opposite Lu Huantang, smiling slightly as he said, "Try my stewed beef brisket?"

The state of Sui wished it could use all its land to grow chrysanthemums, and it relied almost entirely on the state of Wu for grain. Arable land was scarce, and any spare land was used to grow expensive fruits and vegetables. Therefore, cattle were practically useless; they were only raised for food, but cattle remained a delicacy reserved for high-ranking officials and nobles.

Lu Huantang understood the kindness of providing such a meal to a destitute prisoner, but he still couldn't help feeling a touch of emotion.

Lu Huantang forcibly suppressed the emotion that shouldn't have arisen. Seeing her charming smile, he remembered the sharp claws she had shown that night and knew that she was testing him. He said, "Doesn't Miss have any questions for her subordinate?"

“Lingjun has probably already asked all the questions he wanted to ask. As for me, I’ve encountered this kind of thing a lot, and I’m used to it. Besides, I don’t want to ask at all, and I wouldn’t get any answers anyway, would I?” Jiang Linzhi knew all too well what she was good at. She shrugged and said indifferently, “But if you want to say something, I can listen.”

"I have nothing to say, but I haven't paid for the antidote yet, and I need your help, Miss," Lu Huantang said truthfully.

Jiang Linzhi looked at the man in front of her and burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that her body trembled, and only after she had finished laughing did she say, "Eat quickly! Eat up and pay me back!"

He agreed so easily, without Lu Huantang needing to use any of the prepared rhetoric. His astonishment was impossible to hide; he even forgot to use honorifics and asked, "You just believe me like that?"

Jiang Linzhi glanced at Lu Huantang blankly, her expression somewhat bewildered. After a moment, she said, "When did I ever believe you?"

Now it was Lu Huantang's turn to be bewildered, and he immediately began to despise himself.

Seeing that he was silent with his eyes down, Jiang Linzhi patted his shoulder and continued, "I only believe my own judgment at this moment, not others'."

Lu Huantang nodded, picked up the bowl of rice, and said, "Miss is intelligent; it was I who overstepped my bounds."

Jiang Linzhi sniffed the hand he had used to pat Lu Huantang, frowned and said, "You must be feeling unwell after all these days. Get yourself ready first, then we'll go."

The scenery along the way became increasingly bizarre, from desolate wilderness to a cemetery of crows. Jiang Linzhi remained unfazed and even took a short nap in Lu Huantang's arms.

Lu Huantang slowed down by pulling on the reins, so that Jiang Linzhi could sleep more comfortably.

The girl, feeling the cold, huddled in his arms wearing a fluffy veil, like a hibernating mouse.

Lu Huantang was adept at dealing with women and never dared to underestimate any of them. However, Jiang Linzhi was unlike any he had ever met, and he was at a loss for how to handle her, feeling only apprehensive. It was like a blind man walking in the night, not knowing where to go.

The horse stopped beside the cemetery, and Lu Huantang helped Jiang Linzhi down. The slight jolting woke Jiang Linzhi, and she steadied herself by hugging Lu Huantang's neck, quietly following him into the secret chamber.

Upon arrival, a group of elderly women surrounded the dazed Jiang Linzhi, pulling at her arms and touching her waist, curiously examining her.

Jiang Linzhi allowed himself to be looked at and scrutinized. Sometimes, when he was tickled by being touched, he would point at the chestnut and say something in an unintelligible dialect.

Seeing the old woman stuff handfuls of chestnuts into her arms, it was obvious that Jiang Linzhi was asking a stranger for chestnuts.

Lu Huantang had been somewhat worried, thinking that Jiang Linzhi would be unwilling. But now it seemed that she could even speak this strange language and get along well with these eccentric old women. He had worried too much.

Seeing Jiang Linzhi chatting happily with the old women, the itinerant doctor pulled Lu Huantang aside and asked, "How effective was the medicine you asked me for last time? Did that person experience any side effects after taking it?"

Lu Huantang said in a low voice, "I couldn't find him, so I put the medicine away first."

The itinerant doctor's expression instantly became complicated. After hesitating for a long time, he asked, "Is that person important to you?"

The person who was poisoned was Lu Huantang's senior brother, who understood him better than his own brothers and sisters. How could he not be important?

Although Lu Huantang had prepared for the worst, he still couldn't accept the possibility of his senior brother dying from poisoning, and asked evasively, "What if someone else saves him? Will he still die?"

"Ordinary doctors might save a patient's life, but even if their hands and feet don't rot, they'll be crippled. I can cure any disease with my medicine. I'm not bragging, but have you ever seen a doctor more skilled than me?" The itinerant doctor stroked his beard, quite pleased with himself.

Lu Huantang's expression darkened further. He didn't discuss the matter further and said directly, "How much longer will your wife be? I should take her back."

The traveling doctor chuckled, "Since you saved my life, I'll give you a heads-up: your new master can speak the language of the dungeon and can tell that only that plate of chestnuts here isn't poisoned. He's not simple."

"What is an underground city?" Lu Huantang asked, subtly straightening up and getting up from the chair he was leaning against.

"It's just that we poor people who can't survive are huddled together in this extremely cold place. In your words, it's a refugee camp," the traveling doctor said with a sneer. "Refugees from all over the world have fled here, and with all the languages ​​mixed together, it's become a hodgepodge."

Didn't the Wu Kingdom implement a policy of returning refugees to their homeland? Didn't they say they took in refugees from various countries? How come there are still some who have run to the Sui Kingdom? Lu Huantang assumed it was only a small number, so he didn't continue the topic.

"Why does your wife want to see her?" There must be something going on here.

The itinerant doctor neither knew nor cared, only saying, "My wife is obsessed with making poisons. She probably wants to see what secrets this girl, who has been repeatedly poisoned, has."

This is indeed strange. So many people in the Sui Kingdom wanted to kill her, and she must have been poisoned countless times. Yet she always managed to escape death. It seems no one has ever wondered how this mere mortal body could survive.

Lu Huantang suddenly asked, "Is there... a poison that can guarantee death?"

The itinerant doctor looked at him in shock, then quickly regained his composure and lowered his voice, saying, "Are you sure? You can bring yourself to hurt such a beauty?"

"It's not for her, it's just to leave myself a way out," Lu Huantang casually remarked.

Hearing that he was only protecting himself, the itinerant doctor didn't believe him but didn't want to investigate further. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Alright, five hundred taels. Come back in a month to collect it."

When they came out, Jiang Linzhi was carrying a large basket of chestnuts and followed behind Lu Huantang. Lu Huantang asked, "What exactly were those people doing to Miss?"

"I don't know," Jiang Linzhi said, chewing on a chestnut. Chestnut crumbs flew as she spoke, and she quickly covered her mouth, tilting her head with some confusion. "You don't know about the debt you owe?"

Lu Huantang was speechless. "I have failed in my duty. Please punish me, Miss."

Jiang Linzhi handed him a handful of chestnuts, saying, "They're very nice people. They didn't do anything to me, and they even gave me this big basket of chestnuts. Your punishment is over."

Although Lu Huantang intended to use Jiang Linzhi, seeing her completely unguarded state today, he couldn't help but remind her, "Miss, you shouldn't be so... too trusting of your own judgment. These people..."

Jiang Linzhi changed his tune from a few hours earlier, saying, "I trust others, not myself. If I don't trust others first, and give them the opportunity to do whatever they want, how do I know if they are worthy of my trust? For example, you, I trusted you twice, and you didn't harm me, did you?"

Lu Huantang was about to say something when Jiang Linzhi stuffed a peeled chestnut into his mouth, silencing him. "Over the years, hundreds, if not thousands, of people have killed me. Don't worry about me. But you..."

Jiang Linzhi turned around and walked up to Lou Butang, backing away as he asked, "Are you sure you want to stay by my side?"

There wasn't even a crow around except for the graves. The girl's floral dress fluttered in the cold wind, like a pair of large wings spreading behind her, as if she wanted to be carried away by the wind. She seemed to be the only living thing with color, yet she was so harmonious with her surroundings.

Many years later, Lu Huantang finally understood where this harmony came from. At that moment, Lu Huantang reached out and grabbed her, saying in her questioning gaze, "The road was uneven."

Lu Huantang reached out to support Jiang Linzhi and continued, "As long as Miss needs me, even if I am not by your side, I will still serve you."

Whether he compromised or resigned himself to fate, he finally boarded her ship. A smile overflowed in Jiang Linzhi's eyes, blossoming brilliantly as it reached his lips.

Jiang Linzhi reached out and grabbed Lu Huantang's forearm, then confidently and boldly strode backward, stepping over the rubble and broken limbs, over the bumpy road. "With you here, I feel at ease."