The thought, like a venomous snake, instantly burrowed into her mind, bringing a sharp sting and deeper confusion! How could she... how could she feel emotions beyond responsibility and guilt towards a man who deceived her, imprisoned her, and controlled her?
Absurd! Ridiculous! Incomprehensible!
Xin Jiuwei jerked her head away, trying to banish the terrible thought. She struggled violently against her wrist, which was being held captive, her voice hoarse and broken with anger and some indescribable emotion: "Let me go!"
Xiao Xun finally reacted.
In the absolute darkness, Xin Jiuwei felt him slowly turn his head, his two cold, sharp gazes landing on her face as if they were tangible, carrying a heavy pressure. He didn't let go; instead, he tightened his grip on her wrist, as if he wanted to crush her under his control.
"Let you go?" Xiao Xun's voice rang out in a low voice, like ice colliding in a secluded valley, devoid of any warmth. "Want me to go through the Cold Pool Temple again? Go through the deadly trap at the West Suburb Post Station again? Xin Jiuwei, your life isn't that worthless to me."
His words were cold and harsh, each syllable like an icicle striking. Yet, beneath that icy exterior, Xin Jiuwei detected a subtle, almost imperceptible tension—was it lingering fear?
What was he afraid of? Was he afraid she would really die from Zhao Mingwei's poisoned arrow? Or was he afraid she would escape his control?
This realization, far from bringing Xin Jiuwei any warmth, only fueled her anger! What right did he have?! What right did he have to deceive and exploit her, and then act as if he controlled her life and death?!
"My life is my own!" Xin Jiuwei's voice rose with excitement, sharp and shrill. "It's not your place to decide whether it's worth anything! Xiao Xun, stop with your hypocritical act! You've meticulously orchestrated this whole charade, tricking me into coming to the capital. What are you really after?! Just to lock me in this gilded cage and watch you put on a show?!"
The air inside the carriage seemed to freeze. The scent of agarwood became incredibly thick and heavy. In the darkness, Xiao Xun's breathing seemed to pause for a moment, then became even slower and longer. That invisible, suffocating sense of oppression spread as if it were a tangible reality.
He didn't answer immediately. The long silence, like a dull knife cutting into flesh, tormented Xin Jiuwei's taut nerves.
Just when Xin Jiuwei thought he wouldn't answer, or would once again brush her off with a cold command, Xiao Xun's deep voice, like an echo from the depths of a dark pool, slowly rang out:
"The capital has become the eye of the storm. Qi Huaiyu is merely a scum on the surface." His voice was devoid of any emotion, as if stating a cold, hard fact. "Your staying in Yuncheng may seem safe, but it's like a child carrying gold in a bustling marketplace. Your second brother's blade and Qi Huaiyu's poison could fall on Yuncheng at any moment, and on the person you care about most."
Xin Jiuwei's heart sank! Yuncheng! Her sister! Her father! Her brother! The Qi family!
“My ‘critical illness’ is the bait.” Xiao Xun’s voice remained calm and even, yet it carried a coldness that seemed to see through everything. “What I’m fishing for are the demons and monsters lurking in the shadows, my second brother’s henchmen, and also… Qi Huaiyu’s whereabouts. And you,” his gaze seemed to pierce through Xin Jiuwei’s soul in the darkness, “are the most alluring fragrance on this bait.”
Xin Jiuwei felt a chill run through her body! She understood! She understood completely!
Xiao Xun not only tricked her into coming to the capital by feigning critical illness, but also used her as bait to attract the attention of the Second Prince Xiao Zhuo and Qi Huaiyu! He placed her at the center of the storm, making her the sharpest and most dangerous pawn on his chessboard! He was using her safety to stir up the undercurrents in the capital and to lure out his true enemy!
A chilling aura and a deeper rage instantly gripped her! She had become a puppet in his hands! Her worries, her fears, her actions, even her anger at this moment, were all part of his calculations!
“So…” Xin Jiuwei’s voice trembled slightly with extreme anger and coldness, “All my worries…all my pain…in your eyes…are just…just part of the plan? Just props to make this play more realistic?” She could hardly utter a complete sentence, each word carrying a bloody accusation.
In the darkness, Xiao Xun seemed to take a slight breath. His fingers, gripping Xin Jiuwei's wrist, unconsciously tightened their hold on her cold skin, as if trying to grasp something, yet forcibly suppressed by a deeper restraint. His Adam's apple bobbed almost imperceptibly, finally fading into a soft, yet heavy, sigh-like response:
"yes."
One word, cold and clear, like a final verdict, completely shattered the last vestige of unrealistic fantasy in Xin Jiuwei's heart.
All the anger, all the accusations, all the grievances, were frozen solid at this moment by that cold "yes." She stopped struggling, stopped questioning, and simply leaned stiffly against the cold car wall, letting the force that gripped her wrist remain.
A sharp, numbing throbbing pain shot through the wound on her left shoulder, causing her body to convulse uncontrollably. She clenched her teeth, making no sound. In the darkness, a single, scalding drop of liquid slid uncontrollably from the corner of her eye, quickly disappearing into the cold fabric of her clothes.
It's not that I feel wronged, absolutely not!
It's just...it hurts so much...yes, it hurts so much...
The carriage sped along the silent streets of the capital, its wheels churning over the cobblestones with a monotonous and oppressive sound. The dark carriage, like a moving cage, carried a silent confrontation and an unfathomable abyss, heading towards the brightly lit yet even more suffocating inner palace of the prince.
She was now deeply caught in the eye of the storm. The man who had pushed her into this vortex sat opposite her, calmly proclaiming the cruelest truth. Between them lay not only the chasm of deception, but also a bottomless abyss of exploitation and scheming.
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