Chapter 68 Make a decision as soon as possible

Shen Xiao lay in the bathtub, her eyes devoid of life.

She was like a puppet, manipulated by these maids.

She knew that after she washed up, she would have to accompany Xie Hanyu to play his inhuman games again.

Shen Xiao had attempted suicide before, but each time her maidservants stopped her.

Xie Hanyu also threatened her that if she dared to try to kill herself again, he would turn her into a human pig and throw her into a latrine to die!

Shen Xiao closed her eyes, recalling scene after scene from the past two days.

I felt like she was about to shatter.

The two maids were already used to Shen Xiao's expression.

After all, there were many women in the Prince's mansion whose fates were far worse than hers, and they were already used to seeing such expressions of despair and pain.

Two maids lifted Shen Xiao out of the bathtub and prepared to wipe her body.

Suddenly, their movements stopped, and the next second, they collapsed to the ground.

A man dressed in night clothes appeared from behind the two maids!

Shen Xiao stared in shock at the person in front of her, then grabbed a piece of clothing from the side to cover her body.

After all, she was completely naked!

"Who...who are you?"

The man in black took out a porcelain bottle and handed it to Shen Xiao.

"I was sent here by the Wen family of Baizhou. This bottle contains a drug to fake death. If the young lady wants to escape without implicating her family, she can only do so under the guise of faking her death."

"After taking it, you will be completely lifeless within seven days, and you will wake up on your own after seven days. At that time, I will send you to your uncle in Baizhou. Never return to the capital, and never try to contact anyone again."

The man in black spoke in a very low voice, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

"Madam Wen said this is the only way for you to survive. Prince Cheng is ruthless. If you don't get away, you'll likely suffer even more humiliation. Miss, please make a decision as soon as possible!"

Shen Xiao gripped the cold porcelain bottle, her fingertips turning white from the force.

Feigning death...is this really the only way out?

If Xie Hanyu is still not satisfied with her death and wants to tear her apart, wouldn't she be completely ruined?

Seeing her hesitation, the man in black urged, "Miss, there's no time to hesitate! The replacement maid will be here in a moment. If we're discovered, I won't be able to sneak into Prince Cheng's mansion anymore!"

Shen Xiao took a deep breath, a resolute glint in her eyes.

Even being torn to pieces by Xie Hanyu is better than being tortured by him day after day!

She uncorked the bottle and drank the powder inside in one gulp.

The powder tasted bitter with a strange fishy smell, and slid down the throat into the stomach.

Soon, a strong sense of dizziness struck, her vision began to blur, and her body slumped backward. Before losing consciousness, she seemed to hear the man in black whisper, "Take care."

The maid outside the door, seeing that Shen Xiao hadn't come out yet, assumed that she was just being difficult and trying to stall for time.

The maid sneered: "You think you can just stall for time and not go? What an idiot!"

She pushed open the door, but the scene inside made her freeze in place.

The two maids lay unconscious on the ground.

Shen Xiao, who should have finished washing up, was lying motionless on the ground, her face as pale as paper, and blood was gushing from her mouth and nose.

The maidservant touched Shen Xiao's nostrils with trembling hands and found that he had already stopped breathing.

Her heart clenched, and she scrambled out screaming, "Something's wrong! Princess Shen...she's not breathing!"

The piercing scream instantly shattered the silence of the palace.

Soon, the steward of the Prince Cheng's mansion arrived with a group of guards. When he saw the scene inside, his expression changed drastically. He knelt down to check Shen Xiao's breathing and then felt her pulse. Finally, he shook his head dejectedly: "There's no hope."

Upon learning of Shen Xiao's death, Cheng Wang Xie Hanyu was so enraged that he smashed the mask off his face.

His face, scarred with dozens of cuts, was revealed.

"That bitch! That bitch! She actually dared to try to kill herself!"

With bloodshot eyes, he kicked over the pear wood table next to him, shattering the tea set on the table and splashing tea and porcelain shards all over the floor.

"She thinks death will bring her relief? Let me tell you, even if she dies, I will make sure she never has a moment of peace!"

Xie Hanyu roared, his voice hoarse and terrifying like that of a wild beast.

"Guards! Hang her body at the city gate and leave it exposed for three days! I want everyone to know the consequences of daring to harm me, Xie Hanyu!"

The steward trembled with fear, but dared not disobey, and could only reply in a trembling voice, "Yes, Your Highness."

The night was as dark as ink, and a cold wind howled past the city gate, swirling up the withered leaves on the ground.

Shen Xiao's "corpse" was bound with thick hemp rope and hung on the crossbeam of the city gate like a piece of tattered merchandise, his thin clothes fluttering in the wind.

Passersby who saw this horrifying sight from afar all avoided looking at it in fear, whispers rising and falling in the darkness, but no one dared to take a single step closer.

Xie Hanyu's ruthlessness had already spread throughout the capital, and no one wanted to provoke him.

Three days later, as dawn broke, the guard responsible for watching the body yawned and went to check, only to find that there was only a broken piece of hemp rope left on the beam, and Shen Xiao's "body" had vanished.

The guard was terrified and scrambled back to the palace to report.

...

When Shen Xiao woke up, they were already on a dirt road dozens of miles away from the capital.

The man in black was leading Shen Xiao toward Baizhou, just as they had agreed.

No!

She can't go to Baizhou!

Shen Xiao gritted her teeth tightly.

That vile woman Shen Shu ruined her life, leaving her like a stray dog. How could she just leave like that, doing nothing and watching Shen Shu enjoy wealth and honor in the capital?

"Brother bodyguard, I beg you, please don't take me back to Baizhou."

The man in black frowned: "I have been ordered to bring you back at all costs. Now that you have escaped, you can live a carefree life as long as you remain anonymous..."

Before the man in black could finish speaking, Shen Xiao kissed him.

"If you take me to the borderlands, I'll be yours..."

General Chi Hu of Bianzhou once greatly admired Shen Xiao.

Back then, she was too proud to look up to a mere warrior like Chi Hu, so she rejected his advances without a second thought.

But now, he has become Shen Xiao's only lifeline.

Chi Hu commands a large army; if I could gain Chi Hu's favor, I wouldn't have to worry about finding a way to deal with Shen Shu.

But she was just a weak woman, and the journey to the border was too far for her to make alone. She could only rely on the help of the secret guards.

Right now, she has nothing to bribe him with; the only thing she can use is her body.

Anyway, she had already been humiliated by King Cheng enough. She had tried all kinds of men, so one more wouldn't make a difference.

The man in black was stunned by the kiss.

As the legitimate daughter of the Bo Gong family, Shen Xiao was actually willing to submit to him, a mere bodyguard?

Driven by intense vanity, the man in black couldn't resist and grabbed Shen Xiao, lunging towards the carriage.

He thought to himself, "What's the difference who I serve as a bodyguard? What does it matter whether I go to Baizhou or Bianzhou?"

The warm, soft, and fragrant beauty before me is more important.

…

Prince Cheng's Mansion.

Xie Hanyu led his men to the Uncle's Mansion to settle accounts with the Shen family.

He thought to himself, Shen Xiao's body has disappeared without a trace, it must have been done by the Shen family!

Just as they were about to leave, they saw Eunuch Fu, who was by the Emperor's side, arrive.