Chapter 27 Humiliation "See clearly, this is the consequence of betraying me..."
The long silence completely exhausted Jiang Xu's patience. He had already lowered his head, but the young woman showed him no respect whatsoever.
Does she still think he'll fawn over her?
Just then, someone came to report from outside the door, lifted the curtain and handed in the medicine. Upon seeing this, he quickly and silently stood to the side, and only after receiving Jiang Xu's approval did he hand over the medicine cup.
"Miss Wan'er, drink your medicine while it's hot."
"Please leave it here for now, thank you." Jiang Xu was watching her intently from the side, and she didn't want to show any weakness at this moment. But after a moment, she lowered her head first. "Your Majesty, could you tell me... how is Liu Ying?"
Upon hearing this, the person delivering the medicine quickly retreated and closed the door tightly.
Inside the tent.
Jiang Xu remained unmoved, merely glancing at the bowls and cups beside her. Shi Wan suddenly had a flash of inspiration, immediately tilting her head back and gulping down the medicine in a few mouthfuls.
The bitter taste of the medicine instantly filled her taste buds. Shi Wan suppressed the urge to vomit, her brows furrowed slightly. She steadied her breathing before asking, "May I ask, Your Majesty, how are Liu Yinghe and the others?"
“Anyone who dares to collude will naturally be punished according to the rules,” Jiang Xu said. Seeing that Shi Wan seemed extremely concerned, he suddenly scoffed, “If you are really so concerned, why don’t you come with me to take a look?”
The tone of those words was too cold, but Shi Wan didn't care about that. Liu Ying and Feng Hui were implicated by her, and now that the matter had come to light, she would still have to make a living in the mansion in the future. No matter what the considerations were, she couldn't just turn a blind eye.
Shi Wan quickly agreed, "Then I'll trouble Your Majesty to take me...to see it."
Unexpectedly, Jiang Xu merely glanced at her upon hearing this. His gaze was deep and icy, and for a moment, Shi Wan had the illusion of being stared at by a hungry wolf.
After a moment, Jiang Xu gave her a cold look. "This is an opportunity you personally begged for."
Shi Wan was taken aback, instinctively sensing that something was off about those words, but no matter what, she had to go. Jiang Xu hesitated to speak, simply because he was interested; if she refuted him repeatedly, he probably wouldn't get away with it.
If she had another chance, she would definitely improve and be more cautious, and never take things for granted. Shi Wan pondered this, then obediently agreed, "Okay."
Her constantly changing expressions only fueled Jiang Xu's interest.
A more assertive personality is needed to conquer others and gain a sense of accomplishment.
Furthermore, Wan'er's appearance was indeed his type, and it would be too much of a pity if he didn't get to eat her before he was about to.
Coming to their senses, the two walked out of the tent together. The morning mist shrouded the temporary camp like a veil, and soldiers passed by them from time to time, but they kept their eyes straight ahead and walked in a regular rhythm.
The dew on the grass mingled with the dampness that smelled of rust, and from the reeds came the uneasy snorting of horses.
Upon entering the reeds, a breathtaking view suddenly appeared before him. Behind the snow-white natural barrier stood several soldiers holding batons, who quickly saluted Jiang Xu as he approached.
Shi Wan vaguely realized something and searched carefully, but still couldn't find Liu Ying and Feng Hui. Feeling uneasy, she heard Jiang Xu say gently, "Bring them up."
These soldiers had been instructed early in the morning, and soon they arrived with nearly twenty men, who lined up in order and stood on the grass. Most of them looked dazed, with dark circles under their eyes, and it was clear at a glance that they had been interrogated.
Jiang Xu looked around, a warm smile spreading across his face. "Three days ago, around dusk, who was on duty?"
The old woman's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly tried to steal a glance at Jiang Xu's expression. The soldier who had brought her there saw this and quickly scolded her, "What are you looking at! When the King asks a question, answer the truth!"
"Stop trying to play tricks!"
Before she could finish speaking, her mouth was covered by a guard, and a solid blow landed on her body with a stick. "Behave yourself!"
"Then let's get started."
After a beating, the servants lost all other thoughts. Their skin was torn and bleeding, and they were all on the verge of death, tears and snot streaming down their faces. They cried out, "This servant knows his mistake!" "This servant has failed in his duty!"
Jiang Xu didn't hear what he wanted to hear, and his smile widened as he curved his lips into a smile. "Continue."
In an instant, the soldiers became even more ruthless.
Shi Wan had seen this kind of tactic before at Willow Terrace, but compared to this, how could it compare to the scale of today's attack? Her heart sank into an ice cave, and she instinctively wanted to tell the person beside her to stop.
But as soon as she looked up, she saw Jiang Xu gazing at her with a smile, and noticing that her eyes seemed to be brimming with tears, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's wrong?"
His tone softened slightly as he gently coaxed, "Why are you crying?" As he spoke, he raised his hand to wipe away her tears.
Shi Wan felt a chill run through her body and murmured, "Could you...make them stop?"
Jiang Xu chuckled twice, then changed his mind and gently pinched her cheek. Her cheek was a little cool, so the man's fingertips were especially noticeable when they got close.
Everything happened in an instant. A moment later, Shi Wan heard Jiang Xu's calm voice, "Didn't you insist on coming here yourself?"
His brows furrowed slightly, as if he were looking at a clueless child. "This is nothing!"
On the riverbank, a maidservant soon succumbed to the pain and fainted. The soldiers carrying out the punishment splashed her with a basin of cold water, forcibly revived her, and then subjected her to further torture. Amidst this, there were shouts and accusations from several people.
Fortunately, Jiang Xu heard the information he wanted to hear very quickly. A maid who was about ten years old confessed that she saw Liu Ying sneaking around the servants' quarters looking for several male guards in the mansion.
Jiang Xu gave a signal, and the guards who were carrying out the execution immediately released the man. Shi Wan stood to the side, feeling her body tremble and almost unable to stand.
Jiang Xu already knew that she had asked Liu Ying for this matter, so why bother with all this trouble? Was it to make an example of her and completely eliminate any possibility of her escaping in the future?
This is to completely cut off her escape route!
Shi Wan's gaze unconsciously drifted towards the maid who had confessed. Sure enough, the maid was also staring at her. As soon as their eyes met, the maid hurriedly lowered her head, but Shi Wan could still clearly see the dissatisfaction and hatred in the maid's eyes.
The maidservant stopped looking at her, enduring the excruciating pain, and sobbed, "About half a month ago, I discovered that Liu Ying often went to see the guards in the mansion, and one of them had a particularly close relationship with her."
"Take her away and question her properly," Jiang Xu said calmly. "Bring those two over here as well."
Shi Wan's heart ached slightly, and she almost immediately realized who the two people were. In the open space not far away, the other soldiers carrying out the executions raised their clubs and brought them down, making several dull thuds as they hit flesh.
After several blows, the whimpers of several of the tortured maids suddenly changed tone, their voices becoming extremely pitiful. As Shi Wan listened, the mask of composure she had been maintaining for so long finally crumbled and began to tear.
The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end, and her tone of voice changed unconsciously, "Stop hitting them... Don't let them come!"
The scent of fresh blood carried on the wind intensified her sobs, "Don't let them come, Jiang Xu!"
"Don't let them come!!!"
Hearing Wan'er call him by his given name, Jiang Xu's expression became slightly complicated for a moment, and an indescribable sense of pleasure welled up in his heart, as if a long-closed Pandora's box had been suddenly opened.
It's about to get out of control.
A dark cloud instantly settled over Jiang Xu's eyes, his lips tightened, and he asked her, "Not enough."
This reason is not enough.
"I was wrong, I won't run away anymore, you..." A few tears slid down Shi Wan's cheeks and rolled onto her clothes. Her eyes were red, as if she had been holding back for a long time. Her gaze was filled with grief and indignation. "Please, don't hit me anymore."
"I was wrong, Jiang Xu."
"...I'm not running anymore."
He saw that Shi Wan had her head down and was trembling, and his gaze suddenly froze.
He immediately reached out and plucked away the single tear that was about to fall from her chin, then licked it with his other hand. Seeing that she looked away in disgust, he sneered and suddenly grabbed the back of her neck, forcing her to look directly at the side of the torture bench: "Look carefully."
The armor coldly brushed against Shi Wan's trembling cheek, forcing her to look at the dark red pools winding down the bench, word by word.
"This is the consequence of betraying me."
......
*
Shi Wan had almost forgotten how Jiang Xu had brought her back to the camp.
The dark red bloodstains seemed like some kind of signal, assaulting all her senses again and again. Even though Jiang Xu did eventually stop, she was still absent-minded for a long time after returning to her tent.
The medicine he drank this morning had been vomited up shortly before, and this was the scene that Jiang Xu saw when he returned after giving his instructions.
"You should tidy up now," he said.
Shi Wan had no choice but to accept it. She glanced at the man in front of her, swallowed the discomfort in her throat, and tried to cheer herself up, but her tone was still weak and floating. "...I need to change my clothes. May Your Majesty excuse me?" When she woke up earlier, she found that a woman's dress had been placed on her left side. Although it was a peach-pink color that she did not particularly like, she had no choice but to change into it now.
It's better than wearing this straight-cut outfit and being subtly glanced at by Jiang Xu.
What's more, she only feels nauseous now, and can barely vomit.
Unexpectedly, the person on the other end of the line slowly changed their posture upon hearing this, showing no intention of leaving.
After a brief standoff, Shi Wan, still unwilling to give up, said again, "Your Majesty, could you please excuse us for a moment?"
Seeing that the other party remained unmoved, he simply turned his back and began to change in front of him. After a short while, a rustling sound came, and Jiang Xu finally lifted his eyelids to look.
Wan'er turned her face away from him, her whole body half-shrunken, looking aggrieved and a little afraid.
The woman's smooth back was like white jade, her fair skin slightly flushed with pink. A line faintly disappeared into the center of her back, hidden beneath the gray-black hem of her dress.
On the left shoulder, a deeper touch of red, resembling a petal shape, adorns the area.
Jiang Xu's breathing became tight, and his knuckles under his sleeves clenched until they turned white. It should have been time to continue questioning him, but his gaze involuntarily lingered on that patch of snow, and then spread outwards.
Yesterday at dawn, it was still shrouded in the silken robes of lies; now, it is exposed to the full force of its own breath.
In this scene, one can almost smell the lingering fragrance in her hair, tinged with a hint of bitterness.
His voice was a little hoarseer than I had imagined. "You certainly made a quick decision."
Shi Wan was busy changing into her new clothes when she heard this, so she moved even faster. Just as she was hurriedly tidying up her inner clothes, she suddenly felt an extremely heavy sense of pressure coming from behind her.
The man's gaze was almost tangible. Shi Wan noticed his gaze and her breathing became flustered for a moment. Before she could think of a solution, he suddenly turned to face her.
His breath fell on her neck like the breath of a venomous snake, its forked tongue slowly tracing her outline from bottom to top, a chilling sight.
A moment later, Shi Wan heard his voice, which contained a faint desire and a complex emotion that was hard to describe.
"Liar." Jiang Xu's face was grim, and he almost gritted his teeth as he uttered the two words. "He won't even tell you his real name." His words seemed to suggest that he wanted to devour her whole.
His face was pressed against her snow-white neck, his breaths coming in gasps, like murmurs in his sleep.
In his nightmare, he was the same, his fierce eyes revealing a ruthless expression, his hands moving without mercy as he stabbed her, trying to kill her.
A sharp pain and itching sensation rose in her chest again, and Shi Wan was sweating profusely from the pain. Now, she was in so much pain that she couldn't even utter a single word.
Jiang Xu was oblivious, sniffing the fragrance, when he suddenly bit her on the back of the neck. He probably hated her for escaping this time, biting her fiercely without any pity.
Intense pain instantly shot up her back. Although the man had not made much physical contact with her, his heat easily traveled to her back and spread wildly across most of her skin. His burning body temperature seared every nerve in her body.
The blush that had risen on her face from shame and humiliation had faded, leaving only a pale, paper-white complexion and tightly furrowed brows.
Jiang Xu was more than half a head taller than Wan'er, so even when he was leaning over her neck, he could still clearly see the pain on her face.
Her expression was angry, her eyes were glistening with tears, and her whole body was trembling with sensitivity.
It was a completely different feeling from the trembling I felt while watching the execution.
Jiang Xu deliberately pulled the apricot-colored silk ribbon, making a soft rustling sound as the silk brushed against her waist. With a sudden burst of strength, he dragged it down to her collarbone and then tied it around her neck.
So delicate. Jiang Xu stepped back slightly, gazing at that fair, snow-white neck, and suddenly recalled the first time Wan'er wore a new dress. He had specially ordered someone to tailor the style, and it fit her just as well.
But now, everything is different.
This person, this body.
Everything should be different now.
Behind him, Jiang Xu remained silent for a long time, but his man-eating gaze was even more terrifying than before.
Shi Wan finally felt a surge of fear again. She took a deep breath, but her body still trembled uncontrollably. She called out to him, "Your Majesty..." She nervously closed her eyes, trying hard to calm herself down, "No..."
“You didn’t call me that just now.” After a few breaths, Jiang Xu finally spoke again. The distance between the two suddenly became much closer. After a while, Shi Wan even forgot about the discomfort. She just subconsciously felt the man’s breath, which fell very slowly and then rose again.
Beneath the gentle tone lay a long-suppressed ruthlessness and lust that threatened to tear her apart. "You shouldn't have done that." The tone was even more intense and overt than before.
Several candles burned inside the tent. Jiang Xu wore a light suit of armor, its cool metallic texture barely touching Shi Wan's face. The armor's cold sheen, combined with the candlelight, gilded her silhouette, making her look like a butterfly trapped in amber. It also clearly reflected her current disheveled state and fear.
This time, Shi Wan saw the desire in his eyes, which he openly directed at her.
With an interest and stubbornness that he had never felt before.
“You shouldn’t have run away so early.” Jiang Xu’s knuckles circled the ribbon, then slid down her hair to her waist, like a hunter stroking a rabbit still struggling in a trap.
"I would risk my life for you, but I'd spend a fortune on you."
Shi Wan's heart tightened, and she hurriedly tried to turn around to see his expression, but Jiang Xu extinguished all the lights in the tent with a single palm strike.
In the sudden darkness, his breath, tinged with amusement, landed on my ear, carrying a peculiar purpose. "You said..."
"Now, how should I punish you?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
