Chapter 44 Rescue Plan
In the dimly lit secret room, Ning Xuanzhou took a red-hot branding iron from a servant and said to Xiao Sui, who was tied to the torture device, "Where do you think I should brand him?"
He gestured in the air, "Chest, arm, or...face?"
Xiao Sui had several whip marks on his body, his skin torn open, but he remained expressionless, not uttering a single word, not even a sound of pain.
“If you don’t speak, I’ll make the decision myself,” Ning Xuanzhou said with a smile. “I’ll mark your face with my slave mark, then I’ll chain you up like a dog and take you to the Huaguang Sect. I’ll let everyone know that you, Xiao Sui, have become my slave. Then I’ll cut off your limbs, turn you into a human pig, and slowly torture you until you cry and beg me to kill you.”
He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and the extremely hot branding iron in his hand slowly approached Xiao Sui. It was a pity that he was blind and could not see Xiao Sui's fearful and pleading expression.
Thinking of this, Ning Xuanzhou hated it even more. Without caring whether it was aimed at Xiao Sui's face or not, he pressed it directly onto Xiao Sui's body.
At this moment, a guard rushed in and said urgently, "Your Highness Prince Jing, please return to your bedchamber immediately."
"Who's so inconsiderate?" Ning Xuanzhou frowned unhappily. "Didn't I tell you not to bother me no matter what? Drag this deaf brat out and give him twenty strokes of the cane."
The attendant immediately said, "Your Highness, it is the Emperor and Princess Hexi who have arrived."
"Why didn't you say so earlier!" Ning Xuanzhou cursed. He knew that his father had never visited him since he was injured, and he thought he had been abandoned by his father.
Has Father not forgotten him?
He excitedly threw down the branding iron, which landed at Xiao Sui's feet with a clanging sound. He spat at him and said, "Consider yourself lucky. I'll deal with you when I get back."
Xiao Sui's usually calm face froze for a moment when he heard the word "princess".
Ning Xuanzhou was helped out of the secret room by his servants and went straight to his bed. During the process, he pulled out a few strands of his hair, making him look very haggard.
He heard several footsteps outside the door and knew that his father had arrived.
Someone pushed open the door and came in, their light footsteps darting in. "Brother, I've come to see you!"
It was his sister's voice, but for some reason it gave him a chill.
It must be an illusion.
He gave a kind smile. "Xiao Xi."
A soft hand grasped his, and she asked with concern, "The imperial physicians said your recovery is going quite well?"
Ning Xuanzhou nodded, his attention drawn to the heavier footsteps behind Ning Qi—it was his father's voice.
"You," the Emperor's voice was full of affection, "you yourself encountered such a dangerous situation, and as soon as you came back, you were concerned about your brother's injuries, without even taking care of your own health."
What does this mean? Ning Xuanzhou felt a chill run down his spine after hearing this. His father's words were all about his sister's concern, and he seemed to be just an afterthought. But he still forced a smile and asked with concern, "What happened to Xiaoqi?"
Ning Xi said, "It was so dangerous! When I went on a mission with Brother Yan, we encountered an earthquake and then a zombie demon. I almost got bitten."
Corpse Demon? Ning Xuanzhou recalled something, his expression stiffening slightly, but fortunately no one noticed.
"You'll need to take more guards with you when you go out in the future," the emperor said worriedly. "Should I send a few more people for you?"
"No need, they protected me very well."
What a harmonious and joyful scene of father and daughter! Ning Xuanzhou could hardly maintain his smile.
"Oh, right," Ning Xi turned her head and said, "I've already spoken to Father Emperor, and I'm planning to stay with my brother temporarily to take care of him."
Ning Xuanzhou was stunned. "How can that be? Xiaoxi, you're not in good health yourself, how can you take care of me? I have people here to serve me."
"That's what I said to Xiaoqi too." The Emperor smiled. "But Xiaoqi said she hasn't been close to her brother for a long time, so she came here to strengthen their relationship and look after each other."
"Mmm." Ning Qi nodded.
"I'm afraid..." Ning Xuanzhou declined several times, but finally managed a smile. His younger sister was deeply favored by their father, so it was good for her to stay with him. Maybe he could also gain the emperor's favor.
But what about Xiao Sui, who was locked in the secret room?
He frowned. Oh well, his sister probably wouldn't stay long, maybe two or three days at most. He'd just have to bear with it and torment her after she left.
Outside the Prince Jing's Mansion.
Ning Qi saw the emperor off to his carriage, and only then did the smile on his lips fade. He whispered to Zhizhi beside him, "Quietly send people to search the entire palace. Make sure to find Xiao Sui's whereabouts."
Zhizhi nodded: "I understand."
Ning Qi smiled again and returned to Ning Xuanzhou's dormitory.
Ning Xuanzhou had already sat down in a chair and said to her, "Xiaoqi, I've had the servants prepare a room for you to stay in for the next few days. It's probably not as comfortable as your own courtyard, and I'm sorry to trouble you."
“It’s alright,” Ningxi said. “I can stay in your outer room. It’s inconvenient for you to go in and out since you’re blind. I’ll be your eyes for the next few days and show you around.”
"How can that be..."
Before he could even utter a word of refusal, Ning Qi interrupted him, "Father has already agreed, if you refuse again, it means you don't respect me."
“I absolutely did not mean that,” Ning Xuanzhou said immediately.
His younger sister was the Empress's only daughter. The Empress had been gone for more than ten years, and the Emperor had not established a new Empress. He doted on this daughter even more.
His mother taught him from a young age to spend more time with Ningxi to gain her favor so that he could earn more opportunities in front of his father.
Now that he's in this state, he's offended Ning Qi and will surely be even more disliked by his father.
He dared not take that risk.
"That's good." Ning Qi called to Zhi Zhi, "Help me tidy up the outer room."
Hearing the sounds of servants moving furniture in and out, Ning Xuanzhou couldn't help but frown.
Ning Qi was here, and he could neither torment Xiao Sui nor find young men and women to amuse himself with. It was simply too painful.
In the following days, Ning Qi and Ning Xuanzhou were practically inseparable, not only eating and living together, but also going out together.
Ning Xuanzhou's personal guards couldn't help but sigh at how good the relationship between the princess and him was.
"Of course," Ning Qi said after hearing this. "We've been close since we were little."
She helped Ning Xuanzhou to a pavilion in the lake, and under the pretext of getting him some pastries, she left a distance to ask about Zhizhi's search.
"We haven't found Young Master Xiao's whereabouts yet," Zhizhi shook her head.
“The Prince Jing’s mansion isn’t very big. Where exactly did he hide the person?” Ning Qi pondered, stroking her chin.
Zhizhi added, "It seems there's been some progress with Ashen. He said someone wants to see you."
"Oh? Who is it?" Ning Qi raised an eyebrow.
She split her forces into two groups: she restricted Ning Xuanzhou's movements so he wouldn't have a chance to torture Xiao Sui, while she sent A Shen to find incriminating evidence against Ning Xuanzhou so the emperor would completely despise him, thus successfully rescuing Xiao Sui.
“A maidservant from the concubine of the Minister of Personnel,” Zhizhi replied.
"The Minister of the Imperial Secretariat?" Ning Qi was quite surprised. "What does she want with me?"
However, she had been gone for some time, and to avoid arousing Ning Xuanzhou's suspicion, she did not ask any further questions. She took the pastries from Zhizhi's hand and walked towards the pavilion.
"Xiaoqi, you should go back to Huaguang Sect. You're wasting so much of your cultivation time here every day," Ning Xuanzhou said earnestly. "I'm already crippled, but I can't be a burden to you."
“How can you be a burden?” Ning Qi raised her voice. “Brother, you can’t be so self-deprecating.”
Ning Xuanzhou's helpless expression was quite obvious.
Ning Qi certainly sensed that he wanted her to leave, but she was determined not to go until she found Xiao Sui.
That evening, Ning Qi planned to go out and meet the maid after Ning Xuanzhou fell asleep, so she pretended to be asleep.
Finally, as the third watch of the night approached, she was about to get up when she suddenly heard a noise from the inner room, so she immediately lay back down.
Ning Xuanzhou, leaning on his cane, walked out of the house and tentatively called out to her, "Xiao Qi?"
Ning Qi did not respond, but secretly opened his eyes a crack and saw that Ning Xuanzhou had returned to his bedroom.
What are they secretly planning to do?
She carefully got out of bed and sneaked to his inner room. She saw him standing in front of a decorative wooden shelf, his fingers touching a white porcelain vase. He grabbed the mouth of the vase, twisted it a few times, and the shelf split in the middle, revealing a narrow doorway that could only accommodate one person at a time.
There's a secret room in this house!
Ning Qi was extremely surprised.
Could it be that Xiao Sui is imprisoned inside?
We can't let him in!
Ning Xi quietly returned to her bed, turned over, kicked off the blanket, and called out "Brother" twice.
It was like a thunderclap in a quiet environment.
She waited a while and heard someone walking up to her with a cane, asking, "Xiaoqi, what do you want?"
She pretended to open her eyes groggily, grabbed Ning Xuanzhou's sleeve, and said anxiously, "Brother, I just dreamt that you were lying in a pool of blood, and even your head was cut off. It rolled to my feet and scared me awake."
Ning Xuanzhou patted her back, "Xiaoqi, don't be afraid, I'm fine."
"Mmm." Ning Xi grabbed his sleeve. "Brother, you have to stay with me, or I'll have nightmares again."
Ning Xuanzhou smiled helplessly, "I'll have them send in some calming soup."
“Okay.” Ning Qi rolled her eyes and said, “I have a special recipe that works really well. I’ll have Zhizhi cook some for us to drink together.”
She called Zhizhi in and instructed her to brew some calming soup. Taking advantage of Ning Xuanzhou's blindness, she pointed at him and made a sleeping face.
Zhizhi nodded gently, "Okay, I'll go cook it now."
Ning Qi was relieved. Zhi Zhi was always smart and should understand why she wanted her to give her some sleeping pills.
Two bowls of brown soup were quickly brought over. Before entering, Ning Xuanzhou's guards tried to inspect them, but were scolded by Zhizhi.
"How can you not even trust the princess? The princess takes care of your master with all her heart every day. Aren't you afraid of the emperor's wrath for doubting her like this? You'd better watch your heads then."
Those people immediately stopped trying to stop her and let her in.
Zhizhi nodded to Ningxi and handed the two bowls to the two of them respectively.
Ning Xi watched Ning Xuanzhou finish his drink in one gulp, and said, "Brother, let me help you to bed."
The medicine took effect quickly, and Ning Xuanzhou became drowsy, letting the two women carry him to the bed.
Ning Qi waited a moment and saw that his breathing was even.
Zhizhi gestured to her to tell her that he had already fallen asleep.
Ning Qicai said, "There's a secret room in his house, and I want to go in and take a look."
Zhizhi stared in surprise, “But Ashen’s side is all ready, just waiting for you to come. That maid seemed very anxious, saying that she had something very important to give you.”
Ning Qi thought for a moment. Even if she went down to find Xiao Sui now, she wouldn't be able to take him out smoothly. After all, there were still Ning Xuanzhou's guards outside. She should go and see what the maid had in her hands first.
She nodded. "Okay."
She changed clothes with Zhizhi as planned, then covered her face and left the house.
The night was deep, and it did not alert the guards.
Ning Qi asked the system for another disguise pill, and under the pretext of helping the princess go back to get medicine, she left the Jing Prince's mansion and boarded the waiting carriage.
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