The 7th image is of catching a fox.
But upon closer sniffing, the faint fragrance from before was nowhere to be found, as if that fleeting moment had been nothing more than his illusion. However, Qin Shaozong never doubted his sense of smell.
In the early years, the imperial court repeatedly sent people to assassinate members of the Qin clan, using methods including but not limited to ambush, assassination, poisoning, and sniping from within.
During his teenage years, Qin Shaozong had been involved in such sordid acts as poisoning at least ten times, but he never fell ill from external poisoning.
He could keenly detect any unpleasant odor in soups, wines, and even bitter medicines.
Qin Shaozong scanned the small space. The courtyard was not large. There were mangers and stables on the south side, where the unusually tall red horse was neighing and snorting. To the west was a neighboring courtyard connected by a small archway, and the view was unobstructed. To the north, opposite the stables, there was a small door that allowed servants to enter and exit the stables without having to pass through the two pavilions where distinguished guests lived.
In the northwest corner, carriages with their horses unloaded were placed side by side against the wall, completely silent. The small courtyard was unlit, and the rows of carriages, bathed in darkness, resembled a large box shrouded in black gauze.
"Will you come out on your own, or shall I drag you out?" The male voice was deep and broad, with a faint smile, as if it were a final courtesy before drawing a weapon.
There were only him and Qin Shaozong there. Mo Yanyun initially thought that the Marquis was talking to him, and subconsciously replied with "What?" But when he saw that the other party was looking straight ahead into the distance, and then he realized the meaning of the words, he suddenly realized that the words were not meant for him.
Could it be...?
Mo Yanyun's face was filled with astonishment.
How...how is that possible?
After playing tricks on the lord, and knowing that many people were searching for her all over the mansion, how could she dare to come back?
He couldn't help but turn his gaze to the rows of carriages, where there was no sound at all; not even a mosquito could be heard, let alone a person.
Unbeknownst to the puzzled Mo Yanyun, Dai Li had been so frightened that she was almost about to scream. At this moment, a layer of sweat broke out on her back, and the night wind made her skin crawl and her spine feel cold; she truly lived up to the phrase "chillingly frightening."
The courtyard was so quiet that every sound seemed amplified. Dai Li heard footsteps; the approaching footsteps were slow and deliberate, yet each one seemed to precisely strike her meridians, causing her blood to stagnate and her hands and feet to turn cold.
The footsteps were still approaching.
Could it be that what he said just now wasn't just a casual lie?
Dai Li bit her lip, shrinking her body further in fear.
"My lord, how did you know she was hiding here?" Mo Yanyun couldn't help but ask.
Qin Shaozong simply said, "Whether it exists or not, we'll know once we see it."
For ease of loading and unloading, the wagons used for transporting goods always had two doors, one at the front and one at the back. The soldiers who were finishing up last were perhaps a bit obsessive-compulsive, as they closed all the doors on each wagon.
Qin Shaozong raised his hand and pushed.
The wooden axle turned with a piercing sound, and the small door at the front of the carriage opened in response.
But it was empty.
"Crunch, crunch..."
One after another, the small doors of the carriage were pushed open, and the two of them found time and time again that the carriage was empty.
When the last carriage door was opened and the inside was found to be empty, Mo Yanyun was stunned.
No?
We've checked all the carriages, but found nothing. Could it be that your words just now were merely a whim, a ploy to trick that audacious young lady into thinking she might be here?
But the next moment, he saw Qin Shaozong turn to the side and then continue forward, entering through the narrow passage between the wall and the carriage, which was extremely narrow to him.
After only three or four steps, Qin Shaozong had reached the end. Looking horizontally from here, the rear of all the carriages was completely visible, and there was... no one there.
Qin Shaozong raised his eyebrows with interest and turned his gaze to another place.
From Dai Li's perspective, hidden under the car, the scenes before her were more terrifying than the most horrific horror movies.
The creaking sound of the wooden hinges opening came from afar, and a moment later, she saw two pairs of black boots stop in front of her. Even though all the carriage doors were open, the two men still hadn't left. Dai Li clenched her hands over her chest, trying to suppress her increasingly rapid heartbeat.
One of the black boots moved, but instead of leaving, it came in through a side alley.
He was right next to her, so close that she could touch his boots with just a reach.
Dai Li instinctively held her breath as the black boots quickly disappeared from her sight. She knew he had gone around to the back, but she dared not turn around, or even move, for fear of making any noise that he might hear.
"My lord, I actually think that young lady doesn't have the guts to come back..."
"Pull this car out."
Two voices rang out simultaneously.
The superiors gave the order, and the subordinates got to work. Without much thought, Mo Yanyun instinctively grabbed the axle and pulled forward.
The rumbling sound reached Dai Li's ears like a thunderclap, or like the only beast that could protect her being driven away trembling by a vicious tiger.
The clouds that had blocked the full moon for half the night were finally blown away by the wind, and the pale moonlight shone down.
Dai Li was horrified to see that all the carriages around her cast shadows in the moonlight, except for her own.
There was no trace of her, because her shadow was completely covered by a tall, mountain-like black shadow behind her, making it impossible to see her at all.
"She's really here?!" Mo Yanyun exclaimed in surprise.
At that moment, besides extreme astonishment, something else inexplicably came to mind:
The Lord's earlier words were not a lie; he was truly certain she was here. Now, by circling around to the rear and ordering the carriage to be pulled, it seems he deliberately put her in a pincer movement, intending to... utterly destroy her will to escape?
But why did it come to this? Now that she's been caught, she'll probably realize her insignificance and won't be able to entertain any more ulterior motives.
Dai Li didn't know what Mo Yanyun was thinking; she only knew that she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, so frightened that she couldn't even breathe properly.
Every nerve in her body was screaming for her to get out of danger, and Dai Li instinctively wanted to run. However, she had just stood up and hadn't even taken a step when a strong arm reached out from behind, grabbed her waist, pulled her back, and yanked her backward.
"I thought I'd just run into a rabbit, but it turns out to be a cunning fox," he laughed.
Dai Li was caught off guard and bumped into a strong chest. In this chilly spring night, the other person was surprisingly lightly dressed, and a continuous stream of heat came from behind her, like an unquenchable wildfire or a scorching hot rock wall. This heat did not warm Dai Li at all; instead, it made her shiver.
Qin Shaozong embraced her from behind, feeling as if he were holding a soft cloud. He lowered his head and buried his face in the side of her neck, where her hair was disheveled. The fleeting fragrance from before was now much richer, lingering in his nose and refreshing his heart.
His nose brushed against her neck, his hot breath like the bared fangs of a wild beast. The connection in Dai Li's mind snapped instantly; instinctively, she used her nails and hands to try and break free of the iron arm around her waist. "Let go!"
The restraints around her waist suddenly loosened, and she was turned around, from having her back to him to now facing him.
The full moon was setting in the west behind him, and the man's face was hidden in the darkness, with only his pair of beast-like brown eyes exuding a powerful sense of oppression.
Dai Li suppressed her panic and was about to say something when, in the next instant, both her feet left the ground, and he lifted her up on one shoulder.
Her vision suddenly shifted, and Dai Li's mind went blank. Her waist and abdomen were pressed against his broad shoulders, one hand was forced to wrap around his neck, her legs couldn't reach him, and she couldn't use her other hand to exert any force.
Mo Yanyun stared in disbelief as Qin Shaozong carried the struggling woman away.
He had followed the Lord in his campaigns for so many years, and he had never seen the Lord so eager.
Is this because they were truly provoked, or...?
*
The courtyard was only a few steps away from the main house, so the distance between Qin Shaozong's carrying and putting down the house was actually very short.
"Bang." The door was pushed open.
The man strode into the house, walked through the outer room, and went through the small door into the inner room.
When Dai Li was placed on the bed, her cheeks were still flushed, and her chest was heaving. The soft couch was spacious, with plenty of room behind her, so as soon as she stepped onto it, she instinctively shrank back.
As soon as she moved, her left ankle was grabbed. The man's large hands and long fingers flicked her ankle, and the round-toed silk shoes on Dai Li's feet fell with a "thud" onto the footrest in front of the bed.
With an injury on her ankle, Dai Li gasped slightly in pain. It hurt, but it was like a bucket of ice water being poured over her on a sweltering summer day, calming her dizzy and throbbing head.
The room was lit, the flickering candlelight illuminating everything in perfect detail. The man's face, which had been hidden in the darkness, was now illuminated; his eyebrows were sharply defined, his eyes were deeper than average, and his gaze was intensely aggressive.
At this moment, he had a smirk on his lips, looking somewhat lazy, but his gaze was fixed on her. Dai Li felt as if she were seeing a vicious tiger licking its paws, about to chew on a bone.
She thought, "This is a very assertive man." Assertiveness also implies arrogance.
She might be able to make use of...
The beautiful woman on the couch lowered and raised her thick eyelashes, revealing a look of fear and grievance on her face: "It's not that I don't want to serve Your Majesty, but there are reasons for this, and some things I have no choice but to do."
Qin Shaozong suddenly raised his hand at this moment.
Dai Li's pupils trembled slightly, and it took a lot of self-control to stop herself from bending her elbow to block.
He was very tall, and his large, thick fingers could easily cover Dai Li's face when spread out. His palm was against the side of her head, and his calloused thumb touched her forehead, slowly wiping away the rice powder that covered the red mole on her forehead.
The woman's skin was as white as fine porcelain, shimmering with a pearly luster under the candlelight. Her hair was thick and lustrous, making her look like a bright and beautiful painting.
Qin Shaozong raised the corners of his lips in satisfaction. "Oh? What exactly caused you to break your promise, then hide and go into hiding, and finally put up a stubborn resistance? Tell me about it."
The places that were carefully touched seemed to ignite, or as if they had been grazed by the barbed tongue of a wild beast, sending a shiver down her spine. Dai Li choked on the words she wanted to say.
"Haven't come up with a response yet? Then don't bother thinking about it." The large hand, slightly dusted with rice flour, moved downwards, its long arm encircling the waist of the person in front of it, circling and pulling back, before finally resting its head on the couch. Dai Li was already pressed against the couch by the back.
A dark shadow loomed over her, and for a moment, Dai Li thought she had returned to the stable courtyard.
A note from the author:
Dengdeng could see all the "mines" and nutrient solutions Baozi threw backstage, thank you all! [Orange heart][Red heart][Green heart] Now, the scene officially begins! [Shrug]
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