question
Wang Qianqian couldn't stand Chen Run's arrogant and condescending attitude even now, so she shouted, "Pull him harder! I don't believe he won't feel pain!!"
The two servants immediately exerted all their strength, and Chen Run's eyes began to glaze over in pain, but he bit his lower lip until it bled, without uttering a single cry of pain in front of them.
The two servants were still pulling with all their might, and Chen Run, unable to bear the pain of broken bones under their violent and brutal treatment, fainted.
"Is he dead or just unconscious?" Wang Qianqian asked coldly as she saw Chen Run's head slumped to one side.
A servant stepped forward and checked Chen Run's pulse, saying, "He's fainted."
"Splash water on him to wake him up!" Wang Qianqian seemed possessed, determined to derive some pleasure from tormenting Chen Run.
The two servants then went to fetch water.
Looking at the disheveled and weak Chen Run slumped on the ground, Wang Qianqian couldn't help but say, "No matter how proud you are, no matter how humble you are, in the end you'll still lose everything!"
Xiao Yiqing witnessed everything Chen Run had just suffered, but she acted as if she hadn't seen it at all. To be precise, it was as if she was looking at another world through Chen Run's torture.
Two servants quickly carried a bucket of water back.
Before they even reached Chen Run's side, Wang Qianqian impatiently shouted, "Splash him awake! One bucket isn't enough, two buckets won't do. I'm going to make him talk today!!!"
Just as the two servants carried the bucket of water to Chen Run's side and were about to pour it over him, something seemed amiss, and they suddenly knelt down on the ground with their heads bowed low, looking terrified.
Seeing their reaction, Wang Qianqian yelled, "You're afraid of a worthless piece of trash? What are you kneeling for? Get up!!"
The two servants remained kneeling and motionless.
Wang Qianqian was furious and wanted to rush to them and kick them, but just as she was about to rush at them, her shoulder was suddenly pressed down hard.
She didn't see who it was; in fact, she was completely obsessed at that moment, her eyes and mind filled only with tormenting Chen Run.
"Let go!!"
Wang Qianqian struggled for a moment but couldn't break free from the man's hand. She struggled a second time, but still couldn't break free. So she angrily cursed and turned to look at him, but as soon as she glanced at him, her eyes widened in fear.
Before Wang Qianqian could even call out the person's name, the person had already slapped her hard across the face without any politeness.
"What a vicious heart! Was I too merciful? Allowing you to harm a minister of Zhou right under my nose?"
Wang Qianqian stammered, frightened by Shang Guanzeyu's icy gaze and overwhelming anger, "No, no, it's... it's the... the Queen..." Her right index finger trembled as she pointed at the still bewildered Xiao Yiqing.
Shangguan Zeyu looked at Xiao Yiqing, who happened to be looking at him as well. Xiao Yiqing stared at him blankly for a long while before she reacted, first with surprise, then with delight, and then with panic, she said, "Your Highness, Your Highness, please listen to what I have to say..."
Shangguan Zeyu glanced at her with utter disappointment, then looked back at Wang Qianqian, who was kneeling at his feet, weeping bitterly.
"Even I couldn't bear to torture Lord Chen, yet you, a mere woman, have injured him so severely! I think you should suffer the same pain as Lord Chen, so that you can truly understand suffering and what kindness is."
Upon hearing this, Wang Qianqian nearly fainted from shock. She quickly grabbed the hem of Shangguan Zeyu's robe and cried out, "Your Highness, please understand! Qianqian didn't do this out of selfishness! Qianqian did this to relieve Your Highness's worries. Qianqian wanted to help Your Highness find out the whereabouts of Ruyi! Your Highness, please understand!! If Your Highness doesn't believe me, you can ask the Princess Consort. The Princess Consort and Qianqian are on the same side!!"
"You vile woman! Even now you're still spouting lies? Still unrepentant? Do you think I'm deaf and blind to what you've done?" Shangguan Zeyu was truly disgusted with Wang Qianqian. He kicked her to the ground and shouted, "You two! Torture Lord Chen however she tells you to! If you dare show any mercy, I'll take your heads!!!"
Chen Run had already been picked up by Zhang Qin. He exchanged a glance with Shangguan Zeyu and hurriedly ran out.
Wang Qianqian was so frightened that she screamed like a banshee. She looked so pathetic; she really should have known better than to do it in the first place!
The servants brought two chairs for Shangguan Zeyu and Xiao Yiqing. Shangguan Zeyu sat down in one of them, but Xiao Yiqing, perhaps knowing he was guilty, did not sit down and remained standing.
Wang Qianqian's weak and frail body couldn't withstand any torture at all. She fainted from the pain after only five blows.
Shangguan Zeyu showed no mercy, saying, "Splash with water! Wake her up and continue!!"
Wang Qianqian was doused with a bucket of cold water, which instantly jolted her awake. But before she could recover, she was struck repeatedly in the groin with a stick, the pain so intense that she couldn't even groan "ouch."
After being flogged, Wang Qianqian was dragged to the ground and subjected to further torture while still dazed. Seeing her miserable state, Xiao Yiqing couldn't help but plead with Shangguan Zeyu for her life.
"Your Highness, Madam Wang, at least..."
But before she could finish speaking, Shangguan Zeyu coldly retorted, "What's wrong with that?"
Xiao Yiqing was flustered and didn't know what to say for a moment, hesitating.
Shangguan Zeyu said, "I know everything you and she have done, every single thing. Tell me, how can I possibly forgive her? Her heart is so wicked, living is a sin!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yiqing suddenly knelt down before him, tears silently streaming down her cheeks, and said, "Your Highness! This matter arose because of me. I wanted to know Liu Ruyi's whereabouts, so I asked Madam Wang for help."
Shangguan Zeyu seemed very surprised: "Are you sure? When did you become so kind-hearted? When you conspired with her to harm others, did you ever think about their plight? You caused chaos in the palace and took lives for your own selfish desires. I gave you chances for each and every one of these things, didn't I?"
"Your Highness, I dare not deny it. I ask for nothing more than that Your Highness spare Lady Wang's life!"
Shangguan Zeyu couldn't help but find it laughable, and exclaimed, "Spare her life? With your own? If you had any brains, if you were of any sense, you should be able to see that she's using you!!!"
Xiao Yiqing smiled bitterly and said, "I know. I did it willingly."
Shangguan Zeyu was even more confused: "Why?"
Xiao Yiqing was distraught, and said with a bitter smile, "Why? Your Highness, you ask me why? Haha, what else could it be? Of course, it's for Your Highness!!!"
Shangguan Zeyu was not surprised at all by her answer, and said, "Even if you have a thousand reasons and a thousand sufferings, you should not disregard human life!"
Xiao Yiqing could only smile bitterly, lost in thought, and said, "Yes, all of this is my fault! I deserve it!! But Your Highness, if you had even a shred of sincerity towards me, why would I have suffered like this? Why do you always turn a blind eye to my feelings for you and always betray me?"
Shangguan Zeyu took a deep breath, closed his eyes weakly to rest for a while, then opened his clear eyes and said, "I have already told you that you are the one who is stubbornly clinging to your delusions."
"Hahaha, stubbornly infatuated? Your Highness, you are so stubbornly infatuated with Liu Ruyi, can you even comprehend the slightest bit of my stubbornness towards you?"
Upon hearing this, Shangguan Zeyu was momentarily stunned, then calmly said, "Fate cannot be forced."
"Can't be forced? Then may I ask Your Highness, is your relationship with Liu Ruyi entirely consensual? If Liu Ruyi had even the slightest affection for you, she wouldn't have run away when you were imprisoned, and then become entangled with Chen Run! Your Highness! Liu Ruyi was almost going to marry Chen Run!!! So, you also believe that Liu Ruyi has feelings for you? That there was no deception or concealment between you?"
But Shangguan Zeyu said firmly, "You wouldn't understand! You are not her! I know and understand everything she did."
Xiao Yiqing cried even more bitterly: "Yes, she is kind, she deserves your love, so even if she disregards your feelings and causes you pain, you still side with her and love her, right? Yes, throughout the whole process, I am a joke, a complete joke."
Shangguan Zeyu looked at her with a complicated expression, but didn't say another word.
Wang Qianqian had already lost all her strength; she either fainted or woke up from the pain. In any case, the pain she had inflicted on Chen Run had been repaid this time.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
