Chapter 192 Killing the Chicken to Warn the Monkey

Upon hearing the word "punishment," the maid trembled with fear, tears welling in her eyes, but she dared not cry out, only shaking her head desperately.

"No...it's alright...this servant can wash myself..."

Looking at her pitiful appearance, Shen Yiqiu understood, sighed, and took off a fine jade bracelet from her wrist, handing it to her.

"Take this, it might be enough to cover the cost of this dress. The rest... consider it a little something to calm your nerves."

The maid's eyes widened when she saw the crystal-clear jade bracelet; she had never seen anything so valuable in her life!

She was so frightened that she waved her hands repeatedly:

"No... I dare not! This servant cannot accept it! Miss, this is too precious!"

Shen Yiqiu forcefully placed the bracelet into her hand, staring at the scabbed wounds on her hand:

“Take it. A dress may be important to you, but to me, it's not as important as the fright you suffered. It's just…”

"Don't let Prince Fu know. If he asks, just say I accidentally spilled it, understand?"

The maid held the warm jade bracelet, both surprised and frightened. She was so grateful that she wanted to kowtow on the spot, but Shen Yiqiu helped her up.

She glanced quickly at Shen Yiqiu, then lowered her head again and nodded vigorously:

"...Yes, this servant...this servant understands! Thank you, Miss! Thank you, Miss!"

She hurriedly tidied up the overturned medicine bowl, picked up the tray, and bowed as usual to leave.

Just as she reached the door, she suddenly stopped.

He looked up as if by accident, his gaze quickly sweeping across a corner of the room.

There was a vent that had accumulated some dust.

Her gaze lingered on the vent for a moment before she quickly looked away, hurriedly leaving the room and carefully closing the door behind her.

Shen Yiqiu was originally lost in thought with her eyes down, but this glance drew all her attention.

This is……

Once the footsteps outside had faded away, Shen Yiqiu quickly moved the old cabinet that was partially obscuring the ventilation opening and examined it carefully.

Upon seeing this, I was immediately overjoyed.

This is no small ventilation opening; it's clearly a narrow passage large enough for one person to pass through.

The entrance was covered in a thick layer of dust, indicating that it had not been used for a long time.

Hope ignited in my heart instantly. Perhaps it was something that predecessors had dug when they tried to escape, but in any case, it was a possible way out.

It turns out that the little maid... wanted to help her...

Without further hesitation, she took a deep breath and bent down to crawl inside.

The passage was dark and cramped, filled with years of dust and musty smells. One could only crawl forward by feeling, with one's heart pounding in one's chest.

Just as she had crawled about two or three zhang (approximately 6.6-7.6 meters) and thought she was about to see the exit, the passage began to narrow rapidly.

The space that was originally enough for her to crawl forward became narrower and narrower until finally, there was only a small hole about the thickness of an arm left. In front of her was a hard stone wall, and there was no way to go.

She... was completely trapped in this hopeless situation where there was no way to retreat.

Just then, a loud, jarring sound came from behind as bowls and plates were smashed violently.

Fu Langxing's sinister voice came from the entrance of the cave she had just crawled into:

"Yiqiu...you're being naughty."

Shen Yiqiu froze!

The next moment, a hand suddenly grabbed her ankle and roughly dragged her back through the narrow passage with all its might, showing no mercy whatsoever.

The cave was rough to begin with, and the intense friction between the inner walls and skin tore the clothes on the arms, leaving streaks of blood on the exposed skin that stung painfully.

She was thrown heavily onto the floor of the room, covered in dust, which made her cough twice.

Fu Langxing looked down at her, his eyes devoid of any tenderness.

He looked at her disheveled state and a smirk appeared on his lips.

"Explain?"

Shen Yiqiu gritted her teeth, propped herself up, stubbornly raised her head to meet his gaze, and remained silent.

Explanation? It's all in vain.

Her silence infuriated Fu Langxing.

Why did you lie to me?

He grabbed the extinguished incense burner from the table and smashed it hard against Shen Yiqiu's forehead.

Shen Yiqiu's forehead instantly became red, swollen, and the skin broke open, with fresh blood slowly flowing down.

"You wretch! Do you know that it's only thanks to this Soul-Sealing Incense that your inner strength has been temporarily dissipated, saving your life? Zhao Ke'er and the Three-Hit Guards could come and take your life at any moment!"

"Only when you become a helpless cripple, posing no threat to them, will they allow you to live a few more days. I went to great lengths to obtain this incense, and this is how you treat me? Are you so eager to die?!"

Shen Yiqiu raised her hand to wipe the blood from her forehead, her eyes filled with mockery:

"Save my life? Fu Langxing, you just want to keep this chip in your hand! Don't make it sound so noble!"

"Oh……"

Fu Langxing's laughter was chilling, and he clapped his hands.

The door was pushed open, and two guards escorted the maid who had brought the food earlier into the room.

The maid was already pale with fright. Seeing Shen Yiqiu's miserable state, she collapsed to the ground, begging for mercy with tears streaming down her face.

"Your Highness, spare me! Your Highness, spare me! This servant knows nothing! I didn't say anything!"

Fu Langxing didn't even glance at the maid; his gaze was fixed on Shen Yiqiu.

"After investigating for a long time, the last person to see you alone was this wretched maid. The marks on the ventilation duct were also fresh... Did she tip you off and direct you there?"

Shen Yiqiu frowned and said sternly:

"Release her! This has nothing to do with her!"

Fu Langxing seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, and his smile became even more ferocious:

"She's just a lowly maid; does she deserve your pleading?"

"I'll show you the consequences of disobeying me."

Before he finished speaking, he drew the sword from the waist of the guard beside him and swiftly slashed the little maid's neck.

"No--!"

Shen Yiqiu cried out and rushed forward, her face splattered with warm blood.

The little maid didn't even have time to let out a complete scream before she collapsed in a pool of blood, her eyes wide open, and she lost her life.

Her wrist slipped off, revealing Shen Yiqiu's bracelet, which shattered on the ground.

Fu Langxing casually tossed the blood-stained knife to the ground and wiped the bloodstains from his hands with a handkerchief.

"This is what happens when you misbehave. I hope you remember it."

He said no more, and instructed the guards:

"Lock her to the bed with iron chains! No one is allowed to untie her without my order!"

Shen Yiqiu's limbs and neck were firmly locked to the bed, making it impossible for her to move.

"You'd better save your energy; not even a fly can get out of here."

Fu Langxing walked to the incense burner, relit the suffocatingly potent incense, and watching the rising smoke, he turned back to Shen Yiqiu with a twisted smile:

"Enjoy it, Yiqiu."