Chapter 54 Sudden Rain "We haven't even started peeling yet, and you can't take it anymore?"...

Chapter 54 Sudden Rain

The snow stopped sometime ago.

A biting, damp wind swept in from all directions. Lu Xiuyi and his men cleaved open the hanging flower gate of Zhenhuazhai with a single sword stroke and dragged Meng Yin, who was removing her makeup and humming a little tune, out of the room.

A torrential downpour suddenly began.

Yuan, who had just finished resting, was awakened by a loud noise. Just as she was putting on her clothes, Deng Mama rushed in with a look of panic on her face, shouting, "Madam, it's terrible! The third, the third young lady is missing! General Lu has dragged the fourth young lady out and is going to torture her severely!"

“Lu Xiuyi, this is the capital city, right under the emperor’s nose,” Yuan’s face immediately darkened. Before she could even be shocked, Jiang Xuanli’s sharp shout seeped in through the wide-open door, “You dared to carry out the execution without a thorough investigation. Even if it costs me my life, I will definitely file a complaint with the authorities.”

In the cold winter, just an hour ago it was snowing, but an hour later it started raining heavily. Everyone in the Pillow Flower Studio was awakened and was surprised to see this strange phenomenon.

Winter shoes are warm but not rainproof. Heavy rain hit the shoes and soaked through, wetting the socks. The biting cold seeped into his body from the soles of his feet and spread to every part of his body, but Lu Xiuyi was completely unaware.

As if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, he coldly looked at the two people on the ground and sneered, "They really are birds of a feather. No wonder they are destined to become husband and wife. Jiang Xuanli, do you think you are a person of high moral character? Or do you think the woman you are protecting is some kind of good person?"

Jiang Xuanli held Meng Yin tightly, his gaze sharp as a knife: "Lu Xiuyi, what kind of good person do you think you are?"

“I never consider myself a good person, so I can’t say such high-sounding words,” the sharp tip of the knife turned out a chilling edge in the darkness, and Lu Xiuyi’s eyes were full of ruthlessness. “Do you believe that even if I kill both of you tonight, I can still walk out of this capital city unscathed?”

Jiang Xuanli stared intently at him, pursing his lips and remaining silent.

"Guards, drag this woman out and torture her."

Lu Xiuyi gave a cold shout, his armor blending into the night, stirring up a chill. After the soldiers stepped forward and dragged Jiang Xuanli, who was tightly holding Meng Yin, away, they were about to subject her to the torture of finger-crushing.

Madam Yuan staggered out, knelt on the ground, and cried out to Lu Xiuyi, pleading, "General, the disappearance of the Third Miss has absolutely nothing to do with Yin'er. I can guarantee that Yin'er is kind and innocent; how could she do such a thing?"

Lu Xiuyi was annoyed by what he heard and originally wanted to have someone pull Yuan away, but when he heard the words "kind and innocent", he couldn't help but laugh: "If your daughter is kind and innocent, I'm afraid there will be no more despicable and shameless people in this world."

Not wanting to say anything more to her, Lu Xiuyi immediately ordered, "Initiate the torture."

Upon hearing the news, Meng Yanqing and Meng Zhangzhou arrived at the door, where the soldiers guarding the entrance immediately stopped them.

"ah……"

The finger clamp tightened, and Meng Yin's heart-wrenching screams pierced the sky.

Braving the torrential rain, Meng Yanqing kowtowed and pleaded tearfully, "General, General, please spare Yin'er. Yu'er's disappearance must have nothing to do with her. Please investigate further."

Meng Yanqing's voice pierced through the heavy rain and reached Lu Xiuyi's ears. His sharp brows furrowed even more: "Presumably? They are both your daughters, Father-in-law. You should ask yourself what you mean. Her mother doesn't know what kind of person Meng Yin is, but don't you know?"

After being rebuffed, Meng Yanqing felt as if a fishbone was stuck in her throat, and for a moment she couldn't say anything.

Seeing his younger sister being tortured, and hearing Lu Xiuyi openly and subtly belittle Meng Yin, and that his father did not refute him, Meng Zhangzhou was greatly shocked. In his memory, Meng Yin, although a bit unruly, would never have committed such a horrific act as murdering her sister.

Rain soaked his clothes, and a chill crept into his body. Meng Zhangzhou's face turned pale. He bit his lip, looked up, and blurted out, "Lu Xiuyi, what did you mean by those words? Explain yourself clearly, don't smear an innocent person."

"Explain yourself?"

Lu Xiuyi, who had been holding his breath for a long time, finally lost control when he heard Meng Zhangzhou's last few words. He suddenly released his grip and shouted, "Make it clear that on the night of the old lady's birthday, it was this slut who drugged me, trying to use her body to gain power. Make it clear that it was Jiang Xuanli, this hypocrite, who made a deal with me. He was fully conscious when he went to your sister's bed that night."

These words struck like thunder and lightning, leaving everyone present stunned and bewildered.

Meng Yanqing stared blankly at Jiang Xuanli; he had originally thought Jiang Xuanli was the victim…

Meng Zhangzhou, standing nearby, stared at the couple in disbelief. He seemed to hear a loud "boom," as if something was collapsing with lightning speed.

Yuan rushed forward, crying and slapping Meng Yin. Then she turned around and began to beat the motionless Jiang Xuanli like a madwoman: "You bastard, you ruined my daughter's life, I'll kill you..."

She was about to pull out the hairpin.

Chu Ze knocked her unconscious with a single slap.

Deng's mother was so frightened that her legs went weak. Seeing this, she still shakily crawled forward, trying to help her into the house, but the nimble soldiers took the initiative and picked up Yuan Shi and threw her into the house.

Lu Xiuyi didn't even raise his eyes, remaining seated in the armchair like an incomparably noble young master: "Where is Meng Yu?"

After he finished speaking, he looked up at Meng Yin.

Seeing his furious yet helpless expression, Meng Yin felt much better: "What's the rush? You'll see her on the street tomorrow."

A bad feeling welled up inside him. Suppressing his anger, Lu Xiuyi asked in a cold voice, "What do you mean?"

Meng Yin curled her lips: "What do you mean? It means making her a slut, to be ridden by a thousand men, to be played with by ten thousand men, to be paraded through the streets on horseback..."

Snap!

A crisp slap pierced the rain, and the words came to an abrupt halt.

Chu Ze looked up and saw a bright red handprint blatantly covering Meng Yin's face. Due to the force of the blow, her head was tilted to one side, and thick blood seeped into the corner of her mouth.

The air pressure was so low that it was almost impossible to breathe, and apart from the pattering of rain on the ground, there was not a sound of human voices.

Even Meng Yanqing and Meng Zhangzhou, who were kneeling outside the hanging flower gate, were shocked by her words and stared wide-eyed, as if they could not believe that the usually lively and cheerful person would say such despicable things and would actually harm their own siblings.

Lu Xiuyi took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands, then threw the handkerchief into the air.

The sword flashed with a cold light in the night, and the handkerchief was crushed inch by inch by the blade, turning into pieces that fell into the mud.

Lu Xiuyi's voice, as if laced with ice, resounded deeply in everyone's ears: "If she cannot live, I will let you experience what it means to be ridden by a thousand men and on top of ten thousand men, what it means to be unable to live and unable to die."

The soldiers who went to search in various places all came back to report that they still had not found any news of Meng Yu.

Just then, the soldiers who were torturing Tingyue outside hurriedly came back and forth with their heads down: "Reporting to the general, the maid has confessed that the fourth young lady had someone drug the madam and take her to the abandoned City God Temple outside the city, where there are a lot of beggars."

Lu Xiuyi's expression hardened, and he immediately sheathed his sword, mounted his horse, and left only a few soldiers to guard the place.

The group rode swiftly out of the city under the cover of night, arriving at the City God Temple in less than a quarter of an hour. But apart from the beggars who had already lain down to rest, there was no sign of Meng Yu in the dilapidated temple.

A cold wind, accompanied by raindrops, poured in from all directions through the leaks. Suddenly, the iron cavalry arrived, and the beggars were immediately startled to their feet, cowering in a corner with expressions of fear.

"Did someone bring a woman over just now?" The man on horseback asked in a deep voice, his sword held horizontally in front of him.

The beggars looked at each other and shook their heads.

Chu Ze glanced around and shouted sharply, "Tell the truth, or you will be killed without mercy."

The crowd was so frightened by him that their legs went weak and they knelt down, trembling as they said, "Reporting, reporting to Your Excellency, we, we really didn't see anyone coming."

Is there anything unusual nearby?

Everyone fell silent.

“Just, just half an hour ago,” a beggar in the crowd suddenly raised his hand, “there was a loud bang coming from over there, from the mountain over there.”

As soon as these words were spoken, someone immediately chimed in: "Yes, yes, the wind was strong at the time, so the sound wasn't very loud or obvious, but if you listened carefully, you could still hear what sounded like something turning over."

Immediately, more and more people chimed in: "Speaking of which, I heard it too, but at the time I just thought it was a hallucination, so I didn't think about it in detail."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiuyi suppressed the unease rising in his heart, steadied his trembling hands, and immediately spurred his horse onward in the direction the beggar had pointed.

When they arrived, they found only an overturned carriage and a pool of blood inside.

As dusk settled and the rain continued to fall, the surroundings appeared shrouded in darkness.

"Go back and mobilize manpower to search outwards from this carriage, leaving no corner, ravine, or grove unchecked."

Rainwater streamed down Lu Xiuyi's jawline. He was relieved to find no one there. When he rode over just now, he was terrified that he would find her motionless corpse.

Chu Ze returned to the western camp and dispatched a large number of people to search the area around the mountain overnight. However, they searched until dawn but found no trace of Meng Yu.

Lu Xiuyi's heart sank deeper and deeper.

His clenched fists turned white as he finally lost his temper. He returned to the Meng family, dragged Meng Yin out, tied her up in the courtyard, and had her whipped repeatedly.

Seeing his fury, Meng Yin guessed that he must not be able to find Meng Yu. Thinking of this, the pain in her body lessened a little, and a cold smile appeared on her lips: "Even if you beat me to death, that bitch Meng Yu will never come back."

*Smack!*

The soldier next to him slapped him across the face.

"She's a slut..."

*Smack!*

Another slap.

"cheap……"

The crisp sound echoed repeatedly in the morning light until Meng Yin's face was swollen high and he could no longer utter a single word, at which point the sound gradually subsided.

Although she could no longer speak, she still looked at him with a cold smile, as if she were watching a joke.

Lu Xiuyi's face was gloomy and ruthless. His eyes were like knives and arrows as he looked at her. He said coldly, "Take off all her clothes. Have everyone come over and watch with their eyes wide open. Anyone who dares to close their eyes will have their eyes gouged out."

The order fell abruptly, and Meng Yin's smile froze instantly. She was terrified for a moment, then her expression turned ferocious as she roared, "Lu Xiuyi, how dare you!"

Lu Xiuyi smiled coldly: "Why wouldn't I dare? Besides, wasn't it you who taught me? You can't even take it off yet?"

Just then, a soldier rushed in with a serious expression and reported: "General, the lady has returned."

prick! ! !

Lu Xiuyi suddenly stood up, pushing the armchair backward with a jarring sound.

When he arrived at the door, he saw Chu Ze carrying Meng Yu back. She was covered with Chu Ze's black cloak, but the torn hem of her skirt at her ankles and her exposed skin constantly reminded him of everything that had happened to her.

With trembling hands, Lu Xiuyi took Meng Yu from Chu Ze's hands, his desire to kill Meng Yin reaching its peak in an instant.