Zhao Zhi was about to study the map carefully when he suddenly heard two muffled groans from outside.
She thought to herself, "This is bad!" She quickly stuffed the map under the covers and blew out the candlestick.
Almost the instant the candlestick was blown out, the person arrived at Zhao Zhi's bedside, grabbed her hair, and dragged her off the bed.
Zhao Zhi hissed and gasped. Enduring the excruciating pain, she flipped her wrist and inserted a silver needle into the other person's acupoint.
But the other party was clearly prepared, and squeezed Zhao Zhi's wrist hard. Zhao Zhi immediately felt her wrist break, and the silver needles fell to the ground.
Since the other party did not harm her, Zhao Zhi felt that the people who came were probably not Yun Chao's group.
"I have no grudge against you, sir. What brings you into a woman's boudoir so late at night? Hiss—"
The pulling pain in her back and the throbbing pain in her wrists made Zhao Zhi cry out in agony.
"Bring the things here!" Shen Hanshan said, his anger barely concealed.
"Chen Hanshan!" Zhao Zhi's heart pounded. "What is it? I've already given you the box."
Shen Hanshan threw Zhao Zhi onto the bed, and Zhao Zhi cried out "Ah—" in pain.
"Stop pretending, Zhao Zhizhi. I didn't use much force on you. Tell me honestly, where did the things in the box go?"
"I don't know! You can kill me and I still won't know!" Zhao Zhi already knew that what was inside was of great importance. She thought to herself, even if I hand it over, there's no guarantee that this won't affect the safety of other people in the Zhao family. Now, she could only deny it to the death.
"Zhao Zhizhi, my patience is limited!" Shen Hanshan leaned forward, gripping Zhao Zhi's chin and saying fiercely, "Don't be stubborn and ask for trouble!"
Zhao Zhi burst into tears from the pain. She choked out, "I really didn't touch that box. There's a mechanism on it; I tried, but I couldn't open it at all."
Shen Hanshan felt warm liquid dripping onto his hand and realized that Zhao Zhiying must have been crying. However, he thought she was just pretending to lie to him.
"Zhao Zhizhi, the day you stole the box, you deliberately let Yun Chao's group see you enter the palace. Your move to shift the blame was brilliant! Then, as you wished, I annulled our engagement and even dealt with Yun Chao's mess for you! And what did you do?! Zhao Zhizhi, you gave me an empty box! Do you think I'm stupid?!"
"It hurts—it hurts—" Zhao Zhi cried uncontrollably. "I really didn't touch the box. If you really don't believe me, arrest me. I know you have many methods when you interrogate people, so feel free to use them on me!"
She's gambling.
According to Du Nanxing, Shen Hanshan, who had drawn many portraits of her, was reluctant to torture herself. But clearly, she made the wrong bet.
"Fine! Zhao Zhizhi, you asked for this!" Shen Hanshan was furious. He picked her up and prepared to leave.
"Wait, wait a minute," Zhao Zhi pleaded, enduring the pain, "I'm a girl after all, please at least let me put on some clothes."
Shen Hanshan snorted coldly, put Zhao Zhi down, and stood with his back to her.
Taking advantage of the moment, Zhao Zhi hurriedly hid the items in a hidden compartment under the bed, then pretended to fall to the ground and pleaded, "Please help me up, I can't get up."
"You're always putting on an act!" Shen Hanshan scoffed, roughly pulling Zhao Zhi up from the ground, wrapping his arm around her waist, and disappearing into the vast night.
When she was thrown to the ground again, Zhao Zhi's eyes welled up with tears from the pain. She cursed, "Shen Hanshan, I curse you to never have a wife or children in this lifetime!"
"I have 120 instruments of torture here," Shen Hanshan said expressionlessly, introducing the contents of the secret room to Zhao Zhi. "Tell me, which one do you want to start with?"
He picked up a red-hot branding iron and approached Zhao Zhi.
Zhao Zhi listened to the crackling flames in the brazier not far away, then looked at the scalding hot branding iron on her face, and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She scanned the room, and all the torture methods she had learned about in storybooks or from storytellers were here. There were even some she had never heard of before.
Zhao Zhi swallowed nervously.
She said dejectedly and helplessly, "What good will it do if you hurt me all over? I really didn't touch that box."
Su Mu, who had been waiting there, saw that Zhao Zhi's demeanor seemed genuine and whispered to Chen Hanshan, "Your Highness, perhaps Miss Zhao really hasn't touched this box. The box's mechanism is ingenious; it took us a whole day just to open it!"
Shen Hanshan remained silent, moving the branding iron in his hand closer to Zhao Zhi's face.
Zhao Zhi was so frightened that her body involuntarily leaned back. In the struggle, she aggravated the injury on her back and couldn't help but hiss.
It was this pain that sparked a sudden idea in her mind. Enduring the pain, she used her good hand to pull off the outer garment draped over her body.
"Su Mu, turn your back!" Shen Hanshan suddenly ordered sternly.
Su Mu, unaware of what was happening, obediently turned his back, hearing the rustling sound of fabric.
Shen Hanshan gazed thoughtfully at Zhao Zhi, wanting to see what tricks Zhao Zhi was up to. Did she think that just because they had slept together twice, she could seduce him with her body?
He couldn't help but snort coldly. But when he saw the crisscrossing whip marks on Zhao Zhi's back, who was only wearing a bellyband, Shen Hanshan's smile vanished.
He hurriedly took off his coat and draped it over Zhao Zhi, demanding, "Who dares to hurt you like this?"
Zhao Zhi endured the pain and brushed his clothes to the ground, asking in return, "What? Does Your Highness still want to avenge his former fiancée?"
She glanced at her other wrist, which had been dislocated, and said with a self-deprecating laugh, "Isn't the prince hurting me too?"
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