Chapter 118 The night before, if you're weak, don't cause trouble. Wait until you have the ability...
The man's features, from his brow bone to his thin lips, were sharply defined in the nighttime palace lanterns, and his cold gaze seemed to be intent on taking revenge on her.
Feng Tan felt a pang of fear when she recalled Xiao Yinshi's methods, but courage slowly welled up in her chest again. She slapped away Xiao Yinshi's fingers as he wiped his cheek, not wanting to speak to him, and knowing she couldn't anger him at this critical moment, she pursed her lips, took a few steps back, and walked straight back to the plum grove.
Tan Yinyin was stunned. As expected of the stubborn person who could make Xiao Er kneel down in the arena, no matter whether Xiao Yinshi was a powerful minister or an emperor, she only had one name for him.
Mad dog.
He heard her curse Xiao Yin like that.
Ahead were envoys from various countries and officials from the court who had come to attend the banquet, and behind them were thirty-two people riding in high sedan chairs. Feng Tan didn't want to be looked at like a monkey, nor did he want to obediently go into the sedan chair as he was told, so he had no choice but to take a detour through the plum grove.
However, since Xiao Yinshi had given the order, the Luosha Army naturally understood and blocked Feng Tan's path. Behind them, all was quiet except for the sound of men's footsteps approaching on the snow.
Xiao Yinshi walked towards Feng Tan, stopping half a foot behind her, and looked at her back, saying, "Don't make me say it a second time."
That feeling of being exposed and cornered returned. Feng Tan suppressed the anger in her chest, turned around and looked at Xiao Yinshi, her eyes filled with clear disgust.
Xiao Yinshi was already used to her giving him the cold shoulder. Feng Tan was always tough, but tonight he was clearly in a bad mood, his anger lingering from beginning to end. He glanced at Zhu Qi and said, "Bring the chain over."
Upon hearing this, Feng Tan clenched her fingers. Seeing that Zhu Qi had already prepared the chains, her calm expression changed slightly. In the end, one cannot fight against one's superiors; resisting is of no benefit when one is in a weak position.
Xiao Yinshi followed her into the sedan chair. All the anger he had been holding back erupted at once. He grabbed Feng Tan and pulled her close, tearing open her clothes to reveal the red and purple bruises on her chest from being kicked. His expression grew even more hostile. "You were so swift when you slapped me, hit me, and kicked me. How come you become such a coward outside? When he kicked you, didn't you know to dodge? Where are all those guns you can throw away?"
Feng Tan was terrified. The defense map she had just obtained was still hidden in the lining of her clothes. Fortunately, Xiao Yinshi had roughly ripped the clothes off her shoulders, preventing it from being exposed.
Xiao Yinshi's emotions, honed over his many years on the throne, were unfathomable; his outward display of anger tonight was quite unusual. Feng Tan, after being berated by him, sneered inwardly. If it weren't for the need to get close to obtain the defense map, why would she have bothered to endure a beating? Li Xi's kick contained eighty percent of his internal energy; she wasn't stupid enough to rush into getting beaten up.
With his palm imbued with internal energy, Xiao Yinshi placed it on Feng Tan's chest. The little internal energy Xiao Yinshi had just recovered was enough to smooth out the congested blood in Feng Tan's chest.
He stared intently at Feng Tan's face, and when he saw her turn her head to spit out the remaining blood, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly. He wiped his mouth clean with a handkerchief and said, "If you're weak, don't cause trouble. It's not too late to wait until you have the ability."
Feng Tan looked at Xiao Yinshi with amusement. This man was really funny. She jumped off the city wall and he got angry. She was beaten and he got angry too. She had been holding her anger in for so long without letting it out, but he took advantage of his high position to vent his anger on her whenever he had the chance.
“Ants have their own way out of prison, you don’t need to worry about it.” Feng Tan put her torn clothes back on and turned to look at Xiao Yin. “The little injury he gave you is nothing compared to what you did.”
With his sarcastic tone and indifferent gaze, Xiao Yinshi recalled that she had indeed cried out in pain a few times the night before last. At first, he thought she was just being delicate, but when he woke up the next day, he saw that she was covered in bruises. He couldn't help but pinch, squeeze, and suck her skin all over. Even the redness and swelling from being bumped on her thighs and hips hadn't subsided.
However, external injuries are not comparable to internal injuries. Her external injuries were treated with medicine every day during her three days of sleep and have now healed. But the internal injuries caused by Li Xi's attack will be difficult to heal if the blood stasis is not forced out.
Incense burned on the golden nanmu table, and the thin smoke from the burning incense blurred the gazes of the two people who were looking at each other. Xiao Yinshi saw that her blood and qi had recovered a bit and said, "Tell me, why did you flick my forehead?"
Just because he didn't directly settle the score for the tricks she played on him yesterday didn't mean he wouldn't. Feng Tan knew that he wanted to settle each score one by one, and that he always left the things he wanted to retaliate against for last.
Feng Tan was not one to speak without reason, and Xiao Yinshi knew this very well. She paused for a moment and said, "Xiao Liling killed my teacher, and Tan Yinyin killed Aunt Shang. I can't stand either of them. As for that Li Xue, she bullies people."
Xiao Yinshi looked at Feng Tan and said, "Lord Feng, who hates evil like poison, you were raised to be so upright. Why didn't you tell me to always act within my capabilities?"
Although it was a question, he used a declarative tone. Feng Tan raised his chin slightly, and an indomitable light shone through his clear eyes. He curled his lips into a sarcastic smile and said, "If you have to think about whether everything can be successful, then you might as well not do it at all."
Feng Tan grabbed Xiao Yinshi's collar for leverage to straighten up, shifted back slightly, and sat facing him. She then changed the subject, saying, "Xiao Yinshi, you've recently added more than ten beauties to your harem. You must find them far more novel than I do. You've gotten everything you wanted... Can you let me go now?"
Seeing Feng Tan's unfriendly gaze, Xiao Yinshi was amused and a smile appeared on his lips. "Emperor Chongming offered the territory of Dahuang in exchange for me. With such an enticing offer, why would I refuse?"
Feng Tan said, "It seems you really like me."
Xiao Yin remained noncommittal.
Feng Tan looked at him and said again, "But I don't like you."
dislike.
Xiao Yinshi pondered these three words, but didn't care much. He said indifferently, "It's not important."
Feng Tan knew that was what he was thinking. For a ruler, achieving his goal was enough; he didn't care about the lives of the ruled. She suddenly remembered what Feng Youming had said: in later research, there was a type of personality that was extremely extreme, which they called antisocial personality disorder. Such people had no emotions and were vicious disruptors of order.
In the shadows against the light, Feng Tan exhaled deeply and said, "What's important? The trap you set at the Empress's coronation ceremony?"
Xiao Yinshi's gaze was sharp and dangerous. He stared at Feng Tan for a long time before slowly speaking, "Where did you hide Arslan?"
Neither of them answered the other's question, their words a back-and-forth of scheming and probing. When Feng Tan looked at Xiao Yin against the light and shadow, she laid bare his scheme, saying bluntly, "You made a deal with Xiao Liling, promising her the position of Empress in exchange for setting a trap to capture the First Prince Xiao Zhan, thus achieving your goal of wiping out Emperor Jingde's lineage. As for who you marry, you don't care."
A cold-blooded executioner doesn't care about empty things like titles; he only needs to hold onto what he wants.
The conversation shifted again, and Xiao Yinshi's fingers, which had been touching Feng Tan's brow bone, suddenly moved to the back of her neck, pulling her closer. The man's dark eyes became increasingly dangerous. "Xiao Zhan has reached a cooperation agreement with Arslan. Arslan... where exactly is he?"
Feng Tan's facial expression remained unchanged as she looked at him and said, "I don't know this person."
"You don't recognize her?" Xiao Yinshi clearly didn't believe Feng Tan's explanation. His calm eyes were unfathomably dark, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he tightened his grip on the back of Feng Tan's neck, tilting her head back slightly. "Xiao Zhan knows he's not qualified to fight me, so he formed an alliance with Arslan. But what qualifications does Arslan have? Feng Tan, you are their only breakthrough point. Arslan will not hesitate to intervene."
Feng Tan's heart pounded. Xiao Yinshi's thin lips moved slightly, and he made a decisive statement: "Therefore, the one who wants to fight me is you."
As he finished speaking, his forehead gently touched Feng Tan's forehead, feeling the fine beads of sweat on her skin. He chuckled softly and asked, "What are you going to do?"
Feng Tan quickly calmed down, grasped Xiao Yinshi's wrist and released him from his restraints, saying, "I told you, I don't know him. In Dahuang, I've always heard that Lord Xiao has his own methods for judging people, and many of the tortures he uses are quite terrifying. If you don't believe me, you can let me try my thunderous methods."
The iron horse-drawn carriage outside the sedan chair swayed and made a jingling sound. The dim light shone on Xiao Yinshi's eyebrows and eyes. He looked at Feng Tan, who was calm and composed, and slowly pursed his lips.
He didn't need to use those tortures on her.
He couldn't do anything about her.
***
The winter was cold. The rolling mountains along the border of Dahuang resembled a giant dragon winding and coiling across the land. The peaks were layered, but the lush greenery was gone. A few withered leaves hung on the dark brown tree trunks, and as the east wind swept by, they slowly fell into the palms of the people below.
Feng Tingxiao toyed with the thin stem of a withered leaf, sighed, and recited: "Thirty years have passed in vain, yet I have achieved nothing in either scholarship or swordsmanship..."
After returning to the capital, the Princess Consort of Chu was seriously injured while on a mission. Standing beside her now was Zheng Biao, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who was wearing a mask. After hearing the Prince of Chu's lament, Zheng Biao comforted him, saying, "Your Highness, do not grieve. Everything in the city is in place. We are just waiting for your command. We will replace the old dynasty with the new one, even at the cost of our lives."
"To take, you must first give," Feng Tingxiao crushed the withered leaves in his hand, letting them turn into dust and fall to the ground. "Are the manpower ready?"
Zheng Biao said, "Your Highness, Emperor Chongming is suspicious. The security of the capital has always been jointly managed by the Five City Garrison and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The Embroidered Uniform Guard is directly under Emperor Chongming's control, so it is not easy to get involved. However, the Five City Garrison is under the jurisdiction of the court, with more than two hundred patrol officers under its command. It is not easy for the patrol censors to organize them, so we secretly inserted some of our manpower."
Feng Tingxiao said, "Well done. Has there been any unusual activity on Da Hua's side?"
Zheng Biao shook his head and said, "The spies haven't sent any news. They only know that the coronation ceremony is imminent, and many small countries and tribes in the surrounding area have gone to Huachao to pay homage."
Feng Tingxiao scoffed and said, "Xiao Yinshi has a good plan, but little does he know that he wanted to be a drill, but he ran into Feng Tan, who is a nail. It's a tough fight. In this contest, whoever is tougher will win."
Zheng Biao said, "How could Princess Yongle be more ruthless than the once-powerful Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"
Feng Tingxiao's expression turned slightly cold, but then a rare hint of warmth appeared in his eyes. "It's hard to say."
She was naturally unteachable and incredibly resilient. Even if she was trapped in Xiao Yinshi's trap, even if he broke her legs and crippled her lightness skill, she still hadn't avenged her great grudge or accomplished what she wanted to do. So she could crawl back to Dahuang.
Another winter wind swept in, causing the corner of Feng Tingxiao's crimson robe to flutter. As he looked at the magnificent landscape before him, he suddenly recalled the image of her learning to speak in his arms years ago.
It was better back then; when she looked at him, her eyes always shone with a clear, bright light, not with the disgust she showed now.
Xiao Yinshi was no god; the soldiers he left for her in the Dahua Palace were enough for her to successfully escape the predicament.
But what will she do if she finds that Dahuang has already staged a coup?
They would definitely kill him without hesitation.
Feng Tingxiao composed himself, smiled slightly, and said, "You'd have to have the ability to do that. If he can create one Evil Spirit Island, he can create a second one to trap her."
As the sun completely set, Feng Tingxiao stepped into the darkness of the Dark Crossing, his voice as still as deep water, like a stone anchoring its precipice, "After so many years of preparation, let's launch it."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
