Chapter 173 Bringing Him Down from His Altar
Shen Ci'an hadn't expected her to come over. He quickly grabbed his outer robe to cover it, but pulled on the injury on his back and let out a muffled groan.
The steward, Lin, who had just finished applying medicine to him, sighed, "The master went to the Northern Garrison early this morning, and he came back looking like this."
Shen Ci'an stood up, put on his outer robe to cover the wound on his back, and gave Butler Lin a cold look. "Didn't I tell you not to tell Madam?"
"My lord, how could you keep your marriage a secret from your wife? This old servant is old and has failing eyesight, and you don't allow the maids to serve you closely, so this old servant had no choice but to invite your wife over. I'll take my leave now."
After saying this, he put down the medicine pot, bowed to Jiang Zhi, and left.
Shen Ci'an looked at Jiang Zhi with a somewhat unnatural expression, "This injury only looks scary. It will be fine after a couple of days of rest. Miss, there's no need to worry."
Jiang Zhi frowned and stepped forward to help him put his outer robe on. "Why did the Northern Garrison torture you?"
Knowing he couldn't hide it any longer, Shen Ci'an told Lu Yuan how he had drugged him the day before.
"I went to the Northern Garrison Command myself to receive the punishment. As long as the marriage goes smoothly, it's worth enduring ten lashes."
Jiang Zhi was shocked.
Who is Lu Yuan? How dare Shen Ci'an drug him?
However, when I thought about how I had done something similar last night, I couldn't help but feel both angry and amused.
The whips of the Northern Garrison Command are no ordinary whips, and besides, Lu Yuan must still be holding a grudge against Shen Ci'an for being drugged by him later, so he won't show any mercy to her.
"How can you go to court like this?" Jiang Zhi asked worriedly.
Shen Ci'an smiled and said, "It's alright. His Majesty knows I'm newly married and has granted me a few extra days off. I can stay at the manor with you these days."
Jiang Zhi then didn't say anything more.
After all, she knew Lu Yuan fairly well, and with ten lashes, the matter was considered closed.
However, she also remembered her promise to Lu Yuan.
It's best to resolve this sooner rather than later.
Jiang Zhi said goodbye to Shen Ci'an and told him to take good care of his injuries before leaving the mansion for the Northern Garrison.
Upon seeing her, Lu Yuan couldn't help but sneer, "Miss Jiang, you've come so quickly, are you here to demand an explanation from Lord Shen?"
His eyebrows were lowered, and even the corners of his thin lips seemed cold.
Jiang Zhi tugged at the corner of her lips, "Lord Lu must have a bad memory. He should call me Madam Chen now."
Lu Yuan's hand gripping the teacup tightened suddenly, a flash of fierceness crossing his eyes before he quickly regained his composure.
"Madam Shen," he spat out the title through gritted teeth, "I personally carried out Lord Shen's flogging. I wonder if Madam Shen is satisfied?"
“I’m not here to interrogate you,” Jiang Zhi said calmly. “I’m here to fulfill my promise to Lord Lu.”
Lu Yuan was somewhat surprised, "Madam Jiang... is she really willing to leave her injured husband and come to this ominous place, even though she is newly married?"
Anyone who enters the Northern Garrison Command will suffer greatly, even if they don't die. Bloodshed and death are everywhere, and it has always been considered an omen of bad luck.
“I don’t care about such things, and Lord Shen won’t mind,” Jiang Zhi went straight to the point. “I wonder where that little palace maid from that day is being held? Could you please ask Lord Lu to take me there to see her?”
The prison remained as dark and gloomy as ever.
The young palace maid from that day's banquet was locked in the innermost cell. Unlike last time, she wasn't bound and hung up for torture; instead, she had been cleaned up.
Wearing prison clothes, with no visible injuries, his messy hair was tied up, revealing a fairly handsome face.
When someone came in, she didn't look up, just sat silently, her gaze unfocused on the wall in the distance.
Jiang Zhi stepped closer and looked at her silently.
"Do you know if the Crown Prince of Xiang's leg injury has healed?" she suddenly asked.
The little palace maid's indifferent expression visibly changed, but was quickly suppressed again.
But this one-second change is enough to illustrate the point.
Jiang Zhi's initial guess turned into confirmation.
The fragrance she smelled on the poison that the little palace maid found was the same fragrance she had smelled at the palace banquet.
However, there were many people around at the time, and she couldn't confirm who it was.
But before leaving the capital, when she was probing Xiao Yunheng's leg injury, she smelled that extremely similar scent on him again.
However, due to the long time gap between the two events, Jiang Zhi was not sure.
Now we have complete confidence.
"I don't know what you're talking about," the palace maid said in a hoarse voice.
Jiang Zhi laughed, "What is so special about the Prince of Xiang that makes you so loyal to him, even risking your life to protect him?"
The young palace maid remained silent.
"Has he been kind to you? Are you in love with him? Or have you two been having an affair for a long time?"
No sooner had she finished speaking than the young palace maid looked up and glared at her fiercely, "How dare you speak ill of him, a man as celestial as an immortal?"
Jiang Zhi suddenly realized, "Oh, so that means you admire him."
The young palace maid paused, then pursed her lips and remained silent.
"Since you admire him, don't you want to have him?" Jiang Zhi asked again.
The other party did not reply.
"Your expression just now confirms to me that this matter is inextricably linked to the Prince of Xiang. We just lack some evidence now."
"The evidence will be found sooner or later. If you confess, you'll not only suffer less, but you'll also—"
Jiang Zhi leaned down, smiling as she stared at her, "So you can get him sooner."
The young palace maid's eyes flickered. "Don't waste your energy trying to persuade me."
Jiang Zhi's face showed disappointment. "I was thinking, if something happens to him this time, and he's stripped of his title as heir and demoted to a commoner, wouldn't he end up like you?"
"Don't you want to stay by his side, even just to be close to him and take care of him?"
"Don't you want to bring him down from his pedestal and make him only have eyes for you?"
Her words were full of temptation, and the young palace maid's eyes darted away, her hands clenched tightly.
"Stop talking!" She suddenly stood up agitatedly and shoved Jiang Zhi away. "Shut up, shut up!"
Caught off guard, Jiang Zhi was pushed back a few steps. Lu Yuan quickly stepped forward to support her lower back and help her regain her balance.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
Jiang Zhi shook her head.
"Tie her up," Lu Yuan ordered, and soon someone came up and tied up the still agitated palace maid.
Lu Yuan was about to leave with Jiang Zhi when he turned around and inadvertently noticed that her collar had been slightly pulled open due to her movements.
The smooth, white skin on the back of her neck was covered with countless deep red marks.
What happened last night is self-evident.
His pupils were stung, and his face turned pale.
After waking up in Chuntang Garden, Lu Yuan knew that everything was already set in stone.
He used all the self-control he had ever had to barely stop himself from thinking about how she and Shen Ci'an had their wedding ceremony, how they drank the nuptial wine, and how... they had their wedding night.
But the obvious loving marks on her neck and the barely suppressed desire in her eyes told him the truth.
She's already married, someone else's wife, and she'll have to bear his children.
It felt as if molten lava had been poured into Lu Yuan's chest cavity, burning his internal organs with pain.
"Since you're so fearless, continue the torture," he said coldly to his men. "Haven't you eaten? After all this torture, you haven't gotten a single useful piece of information out of me?"
The subordinate shrank back, not daring to utter a sound.
What's wrong with the boss today? He was in a bad mood when he came to the office this morning, and now he looks like he's about to eat people alive.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
