(A note before we begin: due to word count requirements, the extra chapter is now directly following chapter 146. Please take another look at chapter 146, as it has increased from 1360 words to 4000 words.)
Su Tiyue gazed at him silently, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears. She opened her arms to hug Xiao Heye, her voice choked with sobs: "Master, I thought I would never see you again... I thought you would never find me..."
"Waaah..." She had only managed to say two words when tears started falling uncontrollably.
Xiao Heye reached out and gently patted her shoulder, his voice low but gentle: "I can find her, no matter where Yue'er is, I can find her."
Su Tiyue buried her head in his neck, apologizing repeatedly: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I always cause you trouble, I always make you worry. Xiao Zhangyin, being with me must be tiring..."
"How could that be? Yue'er is no trouble at all. It's my fault... I couldn't protect you." As he spoke, he used some strength to hold her tightly in his arms.
Xiao Heye has never been a good-tempered person.
He was unpredictable in temperament, and had no patience or principles. But when he was with Su Tiyue, Xiao Heye showed her almost all his good temper.
He gave her all his patience and gentleness, but even so, Xiao Heye still felt it wasn't enough; it wasn't enough.
The person I cherish and pamper with the most precious thing in my heart, no matter how much I give, I still feel indebted to them.
"Yue'er, I'm sorry I'm late and made you suffer." He released her and carefully wiped away the tears on Su Tiyue's face with his fingers.
Once Su Tiyue's emotions had gradually stabilized, Xiao Heye gently pinched the tip of her nose and asked with a doting expression, "Shall I take you back to the palace?"
"Mm." Su Tiyue nodded.
"Want a hug?" Xiao Heye asked her, tilting his head up.
She hesitated for a moment, then blushed and nodded again: "...Yes."
Xiao Heye scooped Su Tiyue up in his arms, a slight smile playing on his lips. "However, before we go back, I have something to take care of."
"Okay," she replied gently.
Knowing Xiao Heye so well, she could probably guess what kind of business he was referring to.
Tonight, many more people will die.
No one involved could escape unscathed.
Whether it was kidnapping her, seducing her, or intending to defile or kill her.
None of them will survive.
When Xiao Heye carried Su Tiyue out of the house, the empty courtyard outside was full of people.
The entire opera troupe was standing on the inner floor, along with the few petty thieves from earlier. They were clearly not a group, but they had all been arrested.
The outermost layer consisted of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot. Su Tiyue glanced at them and saw a large, imposing force of several hundred people.
It's clear that Xiao Heye mobilized a considerable number of people to find her. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to find her in such a short time.
In fact, in corners that Su Tiyue couldn't see, there were many, many more of Xiao Heye's people.
This time, he mobilized almost every available person in Yong'an.
Almost the entire Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were mobilized.
The row of Imperial Guards standing on the outer perimeter held torches, illuminating the darkness. At the very front of the crowd, on the steps, sat a small wooden table and two wooden chairs. Xiao Heye bent down and placed Su Tiyue on one of the chairs.
Immediately afterwards, he sat down next to Su Tiyue, with the small table between them.
He looked down at the people below, his voice cold and his words brief: "We need a few witnesses to identify who exactly ordered you to do this."
He turned his head, glanced tentatively at Su Tiyue, and then said to the group of people, "Nothing else is needed."
Seeing that Su Tiyue didn't plead for those people, Xiao Heye understood what was going on. He said, "Considering that my darling isn't injured, I'll give you a quick death, how about it?"
Upon hearing this, the people below panicked instantly and immediately knelt down to beg for mercy: "Please, Your Excellency, have mercy on us!"
"Please, sir, spare our lives..."
"..."
"Tsk. I'm not some living Buddha, why are you all making wishes in front of me? Hmm...?" Xiao Heye tapped the table with his long knuckles, looking at the group of people below with a blank expression.
"If only you had known this would happen, you wouldn't have done it in the first place!" He waved his hand, signaling his men to begin.
But then, the leader of the opera troupe crawled out from the crowd and boldly pleaded for his daughter. And his daughter was the little girl who had tricked Su Tiyue into coming to Xinrong Palace.
The man kowtowed three times to Xiao Heye, tears streaming down his face, "Please, sir, have mercy and spare my daughter's life. She's still an innocent child... And, sir, there are many elderly, weak, women and children in my opera troupe. We work hard to earn money for them."
"These are hard times. I have elderly parents and young children to support, and I was forced to take the wrong path. I dare not complain if you want to kill or torture me, but I only hope that you will spare their lives for the sake of these elderly people and children..."
"..."
Su Tiyue listened with her head down, her feelings complicated. At this moment, she didn't know what to say or do.
Xiao Heye turned his head again to look at Su Tiyue's reaction, and saw that she had her head down and seemed to have no reaction.
Tsk.
"Old, weak, woman, child? Ah... these words seem familiar." Xiao Heye lifted his loose sleeve, revealing the green sandalwood bracelet that Su Tiyue had given him on his wrist.
Xiao Heye still remembers that the name of the bracelet he held was Compassion.
He lowered his head, his eyes softly fixed on the green sandalwood bracelet on his wrist, his fingers casually fiddling with the small beads on it: "...I think I remember now."
“Someone once said something similar to us. She said she didn’t care who we killed. But then she asked us if we could occasionally show mercy and spare some innocent people? Spare some unarmed people like her…”
"She told our family to spare the elderly, weak, women and children." Xiao Heye smiled, his deep, dark eyes looking at the person kneeling below, a hint of kindness in them.
The man below assumed that Xiao Heye's words meant his request was granted, so he kowtowed again in gratitude: "Thank you for your mercy, Your Excellency! Thank you for your mercy, Your Excellency..."
"What does Yue'er think?" Xiao Heye's meaning was clear. He was asking Su Tiyue's opinion; whether to kill these people or not was entirely up to Su Tiyue.
If she pleads for them, Xiao Heye will really release those people.
However, after waiting for a moment, Su Tiyue simply raised her head slightly, and her clear and beautiful eyes met Xiao Heye's gaze.
Su Tiyue remained silent; her expression was indeed grim. There was hesitation and sadness, but also a hint of cold ruthlessness…
She finally made her decision.
This was the answer Xiao Heye wanted.
No wonder she's the woman he loves. Even when she's playing a villain, she's still so adorable and so pitiful.
...
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