Chapter 56 I don't remember. He whispered seductively in her ear, "Gu Xi, I..."
Xiao Heng did not sleep all night.
Just as I closed my eyes, I suddenly heard sobbing in my arms.
He opened his bloodshot eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing a few times, and hugged the person in his arms even tighter.
Gu Xi clutched his shirt and sobbed, "Aheng, Cailian is dead... Waaah... Why are you so late..." As she spoke, she raised her fist and kept hitting him.
The hand landed right on the wound where he had been stabbed the night before. He silently endured it, feeling that the pain was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.
He was too late, which caused her so much suffering.
She cried for a long time, and only after she calmed down did he coax her to sleep.
He tucked her in, placed his palm on her cheek, kissed her forehead, and then quietly left the room.
Outside the door.
"Have you found the person?" Xiao Heng asked in a deep voice, his eyes filled with murderous intent mixed with surging anger.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, we've found him... in the dark room," Wei Ran replied.
He still can't understand why Lu Yong would be so foolish as to do such a thing.
"Call her maid over to watch over her."
"Yes! ...My lord, your wound..." Wei Ran reminded him, looking at the blood seeping from the wound on Xiao Heng's chest.
Xiao Heng glanced down, ignored it, and strode towards the darkroom.
*
Inside the darkroom.
A man was chained and suspended from a wooden frame. His face bore the marks of branding irons, and his entire body was covered in wounds from torture instruments, not a single spot unscathed. Dark red blood seeped from the wounds, splattering onto the ground. Upon closer inspection, some areas had even had flesh gouged out, exposing the stark white bone, a sight that evoked a pang of unbearable sorrow.
Xiao Heng raised his hand and grabbed his throat, his knuckles digging into his flesh, the veins on his neck throbbing: "I wondered who dared to hurt her, it turns out it was my poor management of my subordinates!"
"I taught you to protect her, and you dared to kill her? Is this how you repay me?!" Xiao Heng's eyes were bloodshot, the killing intent in them like a drawn blade, ready to take the other's throat at any moment.
When he sensed that the other person was about to drown and suffocate, he would suddenly let go, repeating this process to control their life and death.
"I won't let you die so easily. I'll make you pay for what she suffered a thousand times over!" With that, she violently shoved him away.
Lu Yong coughed violently, the sound like a ghostly gasp in the damp, dark room.
He endured the excruciating pain throughout his body, gritted his teeth, and looked up, his voice hoarse: "My lord, this woman will ruin you!"
They could have gotten the Ministry of Justice's help from Consort Li, and the Right Chancellor had repeatedly pledged allegiance on the condition that the Imperial Concubine be made Empress. But the Emperor hadn't agreed to any of these offers, and he knew it was all because of this woman!
"I, Lu Yong, am not afraid to die, but my lord's great cause is not yet accomplished. I cannot stand by and watch this woman ruin you!"
"Ruined me?" Xiao Heng sneered, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. "Do you know that if it weren't for her, I wouldn't even want this throne!"
At first, he only wanted to live to see her again, but when he met her again, he found that he could not be satisfied with that. He wanted her to be by his side at all times, so he began to plot step by step to seize the throne.
Because he knew he couldn't compete with Xiao Che, and only by taking control could he win her over.
Lu Yong looked at Xiao Heng in disbelief: "My lord..." as if he had never imagined it would be like this.
Xiao Heng snorted coldly and instructed the others in the dark room, "Get him to talk and find out who's behind him!"
He refused to believe that he could accomplish all of this on his own.
"Yes, my lord!"
*
When Xiao Heng left the darkroom, it was almost noon. He went to change his clothes first.
As he approached the side room, he slowed his pace, afraid of disturbing her.
Pushing open the door, I found that she was already awake, her head resting on her maid's shoulder, her eyelashes slightly drooping, and there were still wet marks at the corners of her eyes, as if she had just been crying.
Hearing the sound, Gu Xi suddenly sat up straight, opened her arms, and looked at him with affection. He took three steps in two to walk in front of her and accepted her hug.
Zhu Yin tactfully withdrew.
After a long while, he sat down with her on the edge of the bed, and she seemed to have recovered a lot.
"Are you hungry? Get up and get something to eat?" Xiao Heng asked softly, his chin resting on the top of her head.
Gu Xi hummed in response, her voice still carrying a heavy nasal tone.
After washing up, she sat in front of her dressing table, preparing to simply put her hair up in a bun, but was startled by her reflection in the mirror.
"Aheng, why do I have so many injuries on my face?" Gu Xi asked in surprise.
Xiao Heng paused slightly upon hearing this.
"Was I unconscious for a long time?" she asked, looking at the scars that had fallen off and revealed pale pink marks.
She remembered falling off the cliff, and these must have been the injuries she sustained then. But what about these two new wounds?
"You don't remember?" Xiao Heng frowned slightly.
"Remember what?" Gu Xi asked, looking puzzled.
Xiao Heng stared at her for a long time before finally saying, "It's nothing."
After lunch, Xiao Heng held her and they took a nap on the bed.
Gu Xicai realized that half a month had passed since she fell off the cliff, and he didn't know what had happened in between or how he had found her.
She looked up at him, her eyes searching, and asked, "Aheng, did you save me?"
Xiao Heng glanced at her, then lowered his eyes and hummed in agreement.
Upon hearing the reply, Gu Xi buried her face in his chest and rubbed against him like a kitten, her affection seeming to deepen even further.
Xiao Heng tightened his grip on her arm, his eyes growing increasingly dark.
*
After noon, in the next room.
They arrived in a hurry last night, and the few remaining rooms in the inn were all occupied by them. Bai Xingzhi happened to be staying in one of these rooms.
So last night she screamed in grief all night, and he was heartbroken, staying up all night as well.
Beside the tea table, two distinguished men sat on either side. The man in white was brewing tea at his usual unhurried pace, showing no sign of fatigue in his eyes. The man in black held a teacup in his hand, his expression inscrutable.
“She doesn’t remember,” Xiao Heng said.
"What?" Bai Xingzhi asked, puzzled.
“She doesn’t remember anything after she fell off the cliff,” Xiao Heng paused before saying.
Bai Xingzhi's hand holding the teacup trembled uncontrollably, and he almost lost his composure.
Xiao Heng continued, "Since you've forgotten, there's no need to bring it up again."
Bai Xingzhi gazed into the distance for a long time before recovering and said with a faint smile, "That's natural."
The two sat in silence. For a long time, the only sounds in the room were the clinking of cups and the faint rustling of wind as sleeves brushed against the tea table.
"When did it start?" Xiao Heng asked casually.
What do you mean?
"When did your feelings for her begin?"
Bai Xingzhi paused slightly, looked down at the tea swirling in the teacup, and said, "You're overthinking it."
Xiao Heng scoffed inwardly. He never expected that someone like him could fall in love.
If he was still uncertain before, last night's events proved everything. If he hadn't been moved, how could he have risked his life to save her, given his nature?
He should thank him anyway, for saving her again last night.
*
at night.
Xiao Heng lay on the bed, lost in thought.
Gu Xi nestled against his chest and asked, "Aheng, I want to visit Cailian's mother before I go back to the capital and give her some money." She lowered her eyes, hiding the sorrow in them. "Cailian is gone, and I'm afraid she'll have a hard time." She had promised her that she would take good care of her mother, and once they arrived, she would hire someone to help her out.
"Is it okay?" Gu Xi asked expectantly.
"Okay," Xiao Heng replied casually, then rolled over and pinned her down.
He leaned down, his nose lightly touching hers, his hot breath spraying onto her face, causing her eyelashes to flutter. He lowered his head and covered her lips with his, then his tongue pried open her teeth, enticing her to respond, his hands beginning to wander downwards...
After realizing what was happening, Gu Xi quickly pushed him away, saying, "Aheng, no, Lord Bai is still next door..." Then she saw the wound exposed under his half-open robe and exclaimed, "You're injured..."
Xiao Heng said nonchalantly, "It's nothing, just a minor injury."
Gu Xi stroked his face, her expression full of heartache, and asked, "You did this to save me..."
Before she could finish speaking, he captured her lips with his, sucking hard, as if he didn't want to hear what she was saying.
"Aheng, no, your wound..." Gu Xi pushed him away again with a trembling voice.
"But I want you, Gu Xi..."
His deep, husky voice carried a hint of pleading, and Gu Xi's heart softened, so she had no choice but to let him continue his wanton acts on her.
Gu Xi bit her lower lip tightly, trying not to make a sound.
But Xiao Heng relentlessly teased her, determined to make her make some noise. He whispered seductively in her ear, "Gu Xi, I want to hear..."
"No, Ah Heng... um..." Gu Xi tried hard to restrain herself, but still let out a soft moan.
"He can't hear, sweetie..."
"Hmm..."
Listening to the tender, lingering sounds from next door, Bai Xingzhi felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. He suddenly realized that the pain of being stabbed last night was nothing compared to one ten-thousandth of what he felt today.
He had imagined countless times how she would writhe and submit to another man, but none of those thoughts were as heart-wrenching as hearing it with his own ears today.
But he couldn't blame anyone. He was the one who pushed her out. He knew that changing the ancestral rules for the imperial concubine selection would make her a candidate. He also knew that she came to the palace to find him because she wanted him to help her out of her predicament. But he stopped in his tracks because of the words, "Young master, your great cause is not yet accomplished. You cannot be entangled by personal feelings. Besides, the Sixth Prince is also deeply in love with her."
The low moans from next door poured into his ears and pounded on his heart. He really didn't want to listen anymore. He tried to remain calm and walked out of the room, but he still stumbled and bumped into the person who came in.
"Mr. Bai, are you still going out so late?" Zhao Fuquan happened to be passing by.
Bai Xingzhi ignored him, his face turned pale, his eyes were lifeless, and he looked like he had lost his soul.
Xiao Heng took her again and again. He knew he shouldn't have taken her at this time, but he couldn't suppress his inner demons.
The pain from the wound on his chest, pulled and stretched with each movement, gave him a sadistic pleasure.
And the two new scars on her face, so red they were glaring, only fueled his desire for more.
She asked him several times today about what happened after the fall off the cliff, but he avoided talking about it.
Since she regained consciousness, she has become increasingly attached to him. He thought that he was the one who saved her, and that this attachment may have originally belonged to another man, which he had despicably stolen.
He recalled her dependence on Bai Xingzhi during the days she had amnesia, and couldn't help but wonder if she had fallen in love with him, and if she remembered, would she also laugh at his despicable behavior?
He had taken her from Xiao Che before, and now he had stolen her from Bai Xingzhi. He was like a thief, never having possessed her openly and honestly.
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Author's Note: Poor Lord Bai! [laughing and crying emojis]
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