Golden Cage
Aside from Li Yin, who would dare to have a grudge against her?
It must have been Li Yin who did it; it must have been that bitch.
Enraged, she roughly grabbed a wine glass and smashed it against Li Yin's head. Li Yin, of course, did not comply with her wishes and easily caught it. She was puzzled as to what serious illness had caused Zhao Lianying's sudden outburst.
He frowned slightly, staring at the wine glass in his hand. He looked at it carefully but couldn't see anything special about it. If he really had to insist on finding something special, it might just be the lip rouge from Zhao Lianying that had rubbed off his fingers from the rim of the glass.
Zhao Lianying, is this meant to disgust her?
That's really disgusting.
She put down her wine glass without saying a word. The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only the sound of glasses clinking together, which was not crisp but dull, carrying a strange, inexplicable quality that made people feel uncomfortable.
Immediately following the clinking of glasses came several more muffled "thumps," and more people collapsed.
Li Yin looked up at the person on the high platform. His face was full of anger, and his face was slightly flushed. He had the air of a beautiful woman who was charming and looked down on the world. But although he was beautiful, what he did was not beautiful at all.
Zhao Lianying, completely disregarding her image, grabbed the maid beside her and pointed at Li Yin. She then spat out a mouthful of blood, and the maid was immediately terrified. She knelt down and tremblingly kowtowed to the ground, saying, "Your Highness, spare my life."
Zhao Lianying was even angrier when she saw this. What kind of dog servant is this? He doesn't even understand what she means. Li Yin poisoned her, can't he see that? What a fool.
She raised her hand angrily and slapped the person across the face. The maid's eyes immediately reddened, and she hurriedly kowtowed, repeatedly saying, "This servant knows her mistake, please have mercy, Your Highness."
The maid's small figure trembled, but Zhao Lianying didn't care. Instead, she kicked the maid off the platform.
She rolled three times before landing. Zhao Lianying felt annoyed at the sight of this person and quickened her pace. Just as she finished going down the stairs, a slightly slender arm wrapped around her foot.
The maidservant cried out in tears, "Your Highness, the distinguished guests downstairs are in high spirits. We must not disturb them at this time, or we will all lose our lives."
"Please, Your Highness, have mercy!" she pleaded, each word dripping with blood, yet a strange fragrance wafted on the breeze as she spoke.
Immediately afterwards, a group of palace maids dressed in purple knelt down and said in unison, "Please, Your Highness, have mercy."
Zhao Lianying felt even more frustrated. All she wanted to do now was leave and confront the person who delivered the medicine. This person and this group of people were all trying to disobey her orders.
Well, so it turns out that all these people in the palace like to collude, stick together for warmth, and pledge their loyalty to each other. What a poignant and moving story.
She reached up and took a gold hairpin from her hair. Just as she was about to speak, she only managed a simple "ah" before turning the hairpin around so that the sharp end faced outwards. She gripped it tightly and, without hesitation, stabbed the hand clinging to her leg.
"Ah..." the maid screamed, her hatred no longer concealed as she glared at Zhao Lianying. Zhao Lianying, however, was only staring blankly at the blood-stained gold hairpin and did not notice the look in the eyes of the little maid.
Right now, besides Li Yin and Zhao Lianying, there are no other young ladies of official families who are awake. The maid is still wailing, but besides tears, her face is filled with overwhelming hatred, not panic or fear. On the contrary, she appears unusually calm.
Another strange fragrance wafted over, stronger than ever, lingering around their noses and reaching their brains. Li Yin and Zhao Lianying both collapsed.
Hearing a "plop," the maid released her grip on Zhao Lianying's ankle. She stood up and called out "Your Highness" several times, making sure Zhao Lianying had truly fainted.
The maid casually tore a strip of cloth from a corner of her garment, tied it to her wound to stop the bleeding, then squatted down, took the gold hairpin from Zhao Lianying's hand, and forcefully slashed Zhao Lianying's face. Blood splattered on the corner of her garment, like blooming new flowers.
After the maid finished doing these things, she got up and walked slowly to Li Yin's side. She gently placed the gold hairpin in Li Yin's hand, watching him as she did so. The hairpin landed on the table without making a sound.
The maid glanced around and, seeing that everyone was fast asleep, she left quietly and without a care in the world.
Li Yinyu's eyelashes trembled slightly, like a butterfly fluttering its wings. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the blood-stained gold hairpin in her hand. She gently picked it up, looked at the hairpin, and then at Zhao Lianying.
A voice echoed in her mind: "Kill her. Now is the best time."
Li Yin looked at the drop of blood on the hairpin, which seemed about to fall but didn't, and smiled slightly. Killing them now would be too easy for those people, and would suit their wishes. No one involved in the Li family case would escape.
A drop of blood fell onto the table, its color a vibrant red, contrasting sharply with the black, not particularly noticeable, yet eerie.
Li Yin took the hairpin, gently stood up, and walked to Chen Si's side. She forcefully slashed her palm with the sharp corner of the hairpin, and blood dripped onto the black wooden table, "drip, drip..."
Li Yin slowly placed the hairpin next to Chen Si. Blood slowly flowed down his slender hand, and a drop landed on Chen Si's face. Chen Si frowned slightly, reached up to touch his cheek, and gently scratched it. His eyelashes trembled as if he was about to wake up.
Li Yin pressed his bleeding hand against his face, the blood staining his cheeks and dripping down his chin, quickly staining his clothes.
She watched him deep in thought, paying attention to his human expression. Just as Shen Si was about to open his eyes, Li Yin picked up a jade cup with his other hand, raised his hand and held it in mid-air, then let go with a crisp "snap".
Many people were slightly awake, still a little drowsy, their eyes half-closed, but their minds were clear. When she saw the blood on Li Yin's beautiful face, she was stunned for a moment.
Seeing her like this, Li Yin's eyes reddened, and he cried out, "Miss, why do you have to do this? You want to ruin my appearance like this."
Listening intently, he became even more bewildered. What had she done? Disfigure someone?
She was about to defend herself when Li Yin's words struck like a thunderclap, startling everyone. Those who had just begun to wake up were instantly wide awake, while those who were still asleep fluttered their eyelashes as if they were about to wake up.
When Gu Si saw Li Yin looking like a demon from hell, she screamed, "Ah!"
She stood up and saw Zhao Lianying lying on the ground. She was so frightened that she immediately covered her mouth. A shocking gash stretched from the corner of Zhao Lianying's mouth all the way to her face, covering most of her face and so deep that the bone was visible.
All the noble ladies of the capital present knew this. Princess Daoping cared most about Wen Youqing, but besides that, she also cared about her own face, which was beautiful enough to fold the moon.
If word gets out about what happened today, I'm afraid...
The woman in the contemplative seat was closest to Daoping and had the clearest view of the situation. Her eyes widened in surprise as Li Yin, with his bleeding hand, pointed tremblingly at the gold hairpin on the table and said, "Isn't it enough that you've ruined the princess's face, young lady?"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Zhao Lianying on the ground.
Zhao Lianying was still unconscious on the ground, with a huge gash on her face. She was motionless, and her lips were very pale.
Chen Si waved his hand and protested, "I didn't, don't listen to her nonsense."
Upon hearing this, Li Yin gripped his bleeding hand tighter, causing more blood to flow and spill onto the ground, before rushing downstairs.
Seeing this scene, the crowd became even more credible of Li Yin's words, and their gazes toward the pensive man were now tinged with reproach, as if they were looking at a sinner.
As Li Yin descended the stairs, he loosened his grip and deliberately stumbled on the last three steps, knocking over the screen depicting mountains and flowing water.
With a loud crash, the screen fell to the ground, interrupting everyone's conversation and breaking their leisurely mood.
Li Yin fell to his knees, head bowed, his clothes, fingers, and face stained with blood, his eyes reddening as if he were about to shed tears. His pitiful appearance, like a lotus in full bloom, stirred the hearts of everyone present, softening their resolve.
In another day, given such a good opportunity, everyone would probably compete to make a good impression on the beauty.
The most distressing thing was that although this Miss Li was beautiful, she was already taken and was half a member of the Wen family. No one dared to step forward to help Li Yin up, and they remained sitting in the same spot, not daring to make any rash moves.
Zhao Jian felt an unusual itch in his heart whenever he saw Li Yin; this man was just too to his liking. He swallowed hard when he saw Li Yin's slightly exposed neck.
After only a few glances, I looked away and stopped looking; I didn't dare to look anymore.
Wen Youqing was looking at Li Yin with a half-smile. How come this person always managed to annoy him?
They will always be intentionally or unintentionally flirting with other women.
Flirting with women...
Thinking this, he smiled.
Li Yin, Li Yin, do I have to build a golden cage to lock you up before I feel at ease knowing that you are only coveted by me?
He got up and walked over. When Li Yin saw someone coming to pick her up, she lowered her head and said in a slightly tearful voice, "There's a girl who, for some reason, wants to ruin Princess Daoping's appearance, and even tries to..."
Before she could finish speaking, someone grabbed her wrist. She looked up and saw a familiar, handsome face. The man domineeringly picked her up in front of everyone without giving her time to react.
Wen Youqing gently bounced the person in her arms, and Li Yin subconsciously grabbed Wen Youqing's clothes to prevent himself from falling.
Wen Youqing's scheme succeeded. She smiled slightly, picked up Li Yin, and left.
But the play is only halfway done; if it's not finished, the effect will be halved.
She could only tug at Wen Youqing's sleeve, trying to communicate with him and ask him to let her down, but no matter how she pulled or tugged, Wen Youqing ignored her.
Li Yin had no choice but to accept his fate, letting Wen Youqing carry him as they went around the archway and came to the flower garden again.
A thousand flowers vie for beauty, a myriad of spring blossoms; a hundred flowers bloom, spring fills the garden.
Li Yin had no interest in appreciating the flowers, but the wind carried their fragrance, which lingered around his nose for a long time.
The wind howled, the trees swayed, and petals fell with the wind. One petal landed on Li Yin's face, gently brushing against him, and then, carried by the wind, brushed against Wen Youqing's lips, soft and tender, just like a lover's tender caress.
When Li Yin saw the flower brush against Wen Youqing's lips, she reached out to pick it up, but the wind wouldn't let her. Just as she reached out, the flower was blown away, brushing against Li Yin's fingertips.
Wen Youqing smiled, noticing Li Yin's hand hovering in mid-air, and teased, "You want to kiss me?"
Upon hearing this, Li Yin's ears turned red. He quickly withdrew his hand, turned his head away, and said calmly, "So you're willing to talk now?"
After saying that, she kept turning her head away, not looking at Wen Youqing at all. Only her reddened eyes and gradually pinkening neck betrayed her; she had also panicked.
Seeing Li Yin's shy appearance, Wen Youqing felt a tickle in his heart, like a cat scratching him. He really wanted to tease this person. So he said, "If you want, I won't refuse. Or was it you who wanted to touch me just now?"
Li Yin gripped Wen Youqing's clothes even tighter, then closed her eyes, buried her head in Wen Youqing's arms, and chose to remain silent.
Upon seeing this, Wen Youqing smiled even more broadly. You really are adorable like this.
However, you can only allow me to see you like this.
"Don't be angry, I apologize. It was my fault. I shouldn't have teased you. I just didn't know you would react like this..." He chuckled softly before finishing his sentence.
Li Yin opened her eyes upon hearing this, and retaliated by smearing all the blood on her face onto Wen Youqing's body. Wen Youqing simply let her be, neither angry nor annoyed, with a smile on her lips.
Not far away, in a secluded corner, came the sound of a tree branch breaking, followed by a flash of cold light.
Li Yin quickly looked around, but saw no one.
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