Unconsciously, she clenched her hands, her mind filled with a jumble of chaotic information.
The worst-case scenario is that Qi Yu discovers her true identity, knows she is Xia Jingfeng's goddaughter, and perhaps even knows she deceived him with a fake son.
As for the fact that she is Xia Yixin, she felt that he probably didn't know yet.
Based on past experience, she could only try to admit her mistake first, and then think of a temporary solution. If that didn't work, she would have to reveal her true identity and hope that he would listen to her explanation out of consideration for their past relationship.
Finally reaching the innermost part, the screams grew even more intense. As expected, she saw the plump figure of the tea shop owner, but now he was hanging up, tortured to the point of being a bloody mess, with someone from the Eastern Depot holding a branding iron to his chest.
Screams, the sizzling sound of flesh burning, and the dungeon filled with the aroma of meat.
She covered her mouth, suppressing the nausea and vomiting, unable to bear watching any longer, when suddenly someone rushed out from the cell next to her.
She was startled, and upon closer inspection, she realized it was a thirteen or fourteen-year-old apprentice from the tea shop.
He cried out in terror through the iron bars, "Madam, save me! Madam, save me!"
The young shop assistant was unaware of the truth, but he knew that this woman frequently visited the tea shop. Seeing her boss being abused beyond recognition, she feared she would be next and was on the verge of a breakdown.
Xia Yixin felt her hands and feet were ice cold, and she could barely hear her heartbeat. She hadn't expected the situation to be more serious than she thought.
She understood that he might have begun to doubt her identity.
At that moment, a cold, aloof figure emerged from the shadows opposite her, his voice deep and icy: "Does Madam recognize these two people?"
She didn't know how much he actually knew, so she beat around the bush for a moment, saying, "I used to buy tea from their shop often, so I recognize them."
At this moment, the tea shop owner screamed again, accompanied by the sizzling sound of meat being roasted, as the branding iron burned his right chest once more.
She couldn't bear to watch, so she closed her eyes and clenched her fists tightly.
Qi Yu sneered, "Then Madam is really careless. This man is a spy from Beiwu. I got quite a few interesting pieces of information from him. Which one would you like to hear, Madam?"
"My lord, I don't understand what you mean." She couldn't admit anything now, or it would be even worse.
Qi Yu stared at her for a long time, so long that she broke out in a cold sweat and subconsciously took a step back.
Her heart sank immediately; something was wrong.
She was afraid of him.
Qi Yu had long since seen through her thoughts and actions after spending this time together. She noticed the smile in her eyes when she was smug, the wandering gaze when she felt guilty, and the hunched shoulders when she was afraid of herself.
If you have nothing to hide, why be so afraid?
Recalling what she had heard yesterday, the tender love she expressed for "that man," jealousy instantly snapped the last thread of her reason.
She sensed danger, but before she could react, her neck was suddenly grabbed.
Qi Yu was filled with murderous intent.
After his initial jealousy, he was furious to discover that he had fallen for her; he had fallen for a conman, just like he had ten years ago.
In a daze, he seemed to have returned to ten years ago. When he walked out of the cliff covered in blood, looking at An Wu being devoured by wolves, and all the guards who died on the cliff, he felt that in the vastness of the world, he was all alone.
When he stumbled back into the woods and actually dug up his mother's body, at that moment, his world was filled only with darkness and hatred.
It wasn't until he saw her body that he realized he couldn't even let go of his hatred.
He didn't want to repeat the same mistake.
If it was destined to be deception and betrayal, he might as well have killed her from the beginning; perhaps then he wouldn't be in so much pain.
The rapid lack of oxygen left her mind blank.
She stared in disbelief at Qi Yu's cold and indifferent face, her face turning blue as she struggled violently. The way he looked at her was as if he were looking at a dead person.
She had considered countless possibilities, but she never imagined this would happen.
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, landing on the back of the man's hand.
Instantly, as if struck by lightning, he regained his senses and abruptly let go.
Xia Yixin knelt on the ground, breathing heavily. When she felt his hand approaching, she shrank back.
She tried to speak, but found that her throat felt blocked and she couldn't make a sound.
Qi Yu's face had turned completely black.
He withdrew his hand, suppressing the trembling and reluctance in his heart, and said coldly, "Ghost Zero, help her up. I want her to see with her own eyes what happens to those who betray me."
After giving the order, Gui Ling hesitated for a moment before carefully helping Xia Yixin to watch the execution.
If Xia Yixin couldn't speak before, she was now completely speechless because of the chill in the air.
This was the first time she had witnessed Qi Yu's cruelty towards his enemies.
The branding iron was just the beginning; the subsequent tortures were even more horrific. Although Xia Yixin wasn't afraid of blood, she couldn't bear to watch someone being tortured to death right in front of her, especially since she had a past relationship with him. Before he died, the fat boss didn't reveal the identity of the person he had sent the message to.
Xia Yixin knew that he actually knew.
The tea shop owner died because of her.
She felt as if every strike from Qi Yu was hitting her body.
His gaze towards her was utterly devoid of warmth.
When the people from the Eastern Depot dragged out the innocent waiter, Xia Yixin was anxious to say something, but suddenly her throat tightened and she spat out a mouthful of blood.
Gui Ling was shocked and watched helplessly as Xia Yixin fainted.
Only then did Qi Yu, who was filled with murderous intent, seem to realize something. By the time he came to his senses, he was already carrying the little child out of the death row.
The night wind outside calmed him down and dispelled his murderous intent. For the first time, he felt that she was so light, as if she might drift away at any moment.
A familiar yet strange sense of dread washed over him, and with bloodshot eyes, he growled, "Call the imperial physician, quickly!"
The atmosphere in the entire Eastern Depot and the Supervisor's Mansion was oppressive. The imperial physician received the news from the Eastern Depot and rushed over.
However, the situation was not optimistic. After taking Xia Yixin's pulse and prescribing medicine, the imperial physician couldn't help but say a few more words, "Your Excellency, Madam Cao is delicate and frail. Last time, she damaged her internal organs while saving you. She was originally supposed to take medicine for half a year, but now she has vomited blood due to emotional distress, and with the added burden of depression, she will need to take medicine for at least two years to recover. Even then, she can only recover to 60-70% of her original state, and after that, she may never be able to recover again..."
Before the imperial physician could finish speaking, he suddenly remembered that the other person was a eunuch, so he swallowed back the words "perhaps he can no longer have children."
Then, changing the subject, he said, "By the way, the one most affected is probably Madam Cao's voice. She was already getting better, but this time she was pinched again. The redness and swelling have gone down, but I'm afraid she won't be able to speak for a while, and once she can speak again, it will probably be difficult for her to fully recover. Alas..."
The imperial physician, braving Cao Anmin's (Qi Yu) murderous aura, left in fear. Of course, according to the information he knew, there were villains who wanted to ambush and kidnap Xia Yixin that night.
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