Chapter 190
Just as Xiao Qiyun was preoccupied with dealing with the impeachment of "overstepping his authority in troop deployment" in the court and was ordered by the emperor to stay in the Eastern Palace, unable to take care of himself; and General Shengxuan was also tied up with military affairs and unable to get away from the capital camp—the Second Prince's new wave of poisonous schemes had already silently attacked Su Zhelan, who was completely unaware of the storm.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the window, casting dappled patterns of tranquil light. Su Zhelan sat on a low couch by the window, perusing medical books; everything seemed peaceful and normal.
However, this calm did not last long.
A few very faint muffled thuds came from outside the courtyard, as if something heavy had collapsed to the ground, and then everything fell silent again, so quickly that it seemed like an illusion.
Su Zhelan's fingers, which were turning the pages of the book, paused slightly as he caught a whiff of something unusual—a faint, almost imperceptible, sweet and exotic fragrance seemed to be mixed in with the air.
His heart sank. He immediately held his breath, and almost simultaneously, a slight dizziness struck. But his body, tempered by various highly toxic drugs since childhood, had developed a strong resistance to it, and the dizziness only lasted for a moment before quickly subsiding.
In a flash, Su Zhelan understood his predicament. Someone was targeting him! And it was highly likely related to Xiao Qiyun's recent troubles!
The fear was fleeting, quickly replaced by a cold, resolute resolve. Who was it? Who wanted to use him to strike at Xiao Qiyun? He couldn't sit idly by and wait for his death, nor could he become a burden to Xiao Qiyun.
Su Zhelan acted decisively, his body going limp as the medical book in his hand slipped to the ground with a "thud." He closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and made himself appear as if he were completely unconscious, slumped on the couch, motionless.
Almost the instant he "fainted," the door of Zhufengxuan was silently pried open. Two dark figures flashed into the room like ghosts, their movements swift and professional.
They glanced at Su Zhelan on the bed, and one of them quickly stepped forward, covering Su Zhelan's mouth and nose again with a black cloth soaked in a potent sedative. Then they tied his hands behind his back with a strong rope and put a black cloth bag over his head.
The other person stood guard at the door, listening intently to any sounds outside.
The entire process was swift and efficient, with almost no unnecessary noise. The two exchanged a glance, one hoisted Su Zhelan onto his shoulder, while the other brought up the rear, quickly disappearing outside Zhufeng Pavilion.
Unbeknownst to them, the seemingly oblivious boy's fingers twitched very slightly inside his sleeve the instant he was lifted up.
A moment later…
Su Yan came to Zhufeng Pavilion to find Su Zhelan, but found the two servants who were supposed to be on duty lying unconscious under the eaves outside the courtyard gate!
Su Yan's expression changed drastically, alarm bells rang in his mind, and he immediately rushed into the courtyard. He found the door ajar, the room empty, with only a medical book lying forlornly beside the bed.
"Su Zhelan?!" Su Yan called out several times, but there was no response. He examined the area carefully and immediately discovered traces of drug residue!
"Oh no!" Su Yan's handsome face turned pale instantly. He turned around and ran out, only to bump into Gu Linzhao, who had rushed over after hearing the news.
"What happened?" Gu Linzhao asked immediately when he saw Su Yan's panicked expression.
"Su Zhelan is missing!" Su Yan's voice was filled with a rare mix of shock and anger.
Upon hearing this, Gu Linzhao slammed his fist against the pillar beside him, making a dull thud: "You bastard! You're utterly audacious! In broad daylight, you dare to kidnap someone in the inner courtyard of the Su residence! Do you think I'm dead?!" His anger almost burned away his reason. Su Zhelan had been kidnapped right under his and Su Yan's noses, which was undoubtedly a slap in the face!
He forcibly suppressed the urge to rush out and give chase, and said urgently to Su Yan, "Immediately inform His Highness the Crown Prince and Sheng Xuan! I will gather manpower and search the ground three feet deep to find them!"
Before he could finish speaking, Gu Linzhao's figure shot out of the courtyard like an arrow, leaving only the echo of his fury and the panic of the mess in the air.
Su Yan dared not delay and immediately turned and rushed to the study. His hands were even trembling as he laid out paper and ground ink, preparing to use the most urgent code to send this devastating news to Xiao Qiyun, who was under house arrest, and Sheng Xuan in the military camp.
The bumpy ride and darkness lasted for an unknown amount of time before the carriage finally came to a stop with a screeching sound of brakes.
Su Zhelan was roughly carried off the carriage, the cold, hard shoulders digging into his abdomen, causing him discomfort. He was led into a confined space filled with thick dust, rotten wood, and a faint musty smell.
The air was stagnant and cold. He was thrown mercilessly onto the cold, rough ground, kicking up fine dust. The black cloth bag on his head was suddenly ripped off.
The sudden light made him uncomfortable, so he abruptly closed his eyes, then forced himself to open them quickly to adjust to the dim environment.
The abandoned warehouse was tall and empty, with cobwebs hanging like gray curtains between the decaying beams and pillars. Only a few dim oil lamps on the distant walls flickered, casting ghostly shadows that made the entire space eerie and terrifying.
His gaze, like that of a cheetah with the sharpest eyes, instantly and accurately locked onto the person standing in front of him.
It was Zhao Cangqu, the very same leader of the Southern King's subordinates who had once disgusted him. His triangular eyes gleamed with undisguised smugness, lewdness, and a nauseating lust as he scanned Su Zhelan from head to toe, as if he were sizing up prey.
"Tsk tsk tsk, little beauty, didn't expect that, did you? Even God is on our side, we meet again." He grinned, squatted down, and his calloused, rough fingers uncomfortably pinched Su Zhelan's chin, forcing him to raise his head. The force was so strong that Su Zhelan frowned slightly.
"You managed to escape last time, which resulted in me getting a good scolding from General Zhao! This time, let's see who can come to your rescue, hmm?"
Su Zhelan suppressed the nausea churning in her stomach and the surging murderous intent in her heart, lowering her long eyelashes and casting a fragile shadow on her pale cheeks.
He deliberately made his body tremble slightly, making himself appear weak and helpless due to fear and the lingering effects of the drug. He also deliberately adjusted his breathing to be rapid and shallow, as if even maintaining consciousness was extremely difficult.
Seeing this, Zhao Cangqu let out an even more arrogant and triumphant laugh, his spittle almost splattering onto Su Zhelan's face: "Hahaha! I thought you were so capable, but you're nothing special. Without the Crown Prince's protection, you're just a piece of trash! This special sleeping potion isn't pleasant, is it? Feeling weak all over, isn't it? Don't be afraid, don't be afraid..."
He lowered his voice lewdly, his other dirty hand reaching for Su Zhelan's collar, "I'll let you taste something even more pleasurable in a moment, I guarantee you'll forget about that prince..."
Su Zhelan flinched, letting out a very soft, tearful, and helpless whimper, trying to back away, but seemingly powerless to break free.
This completely submissive attitude, as if he had resigned himself to his fate, greatly pleased his desire to conquer, causing him to completely throw away his last bit of vigilance.
"You're smart enough to behave! Wouldn't it have been better if you'd been this obedient from the start?" Zhao Cangqu felt that Su Zhelan was already a fish on a chopping board. He turned his head and impatiently waved his hand at the two guards next to him who were watching the commotion with their arms crossed: "What are you all standing there for? Untie these ropes! Tying your hands and feet like a piece of wood is so boring!"
"This...isn't that a bit too risky?" An older guard glanced at Su Zhelan's seemingly harmless appearance, still somewhat hesitant.
"Safe my ass!" Zhao Cangqu interrupted him impatiently, spitting out the curse, "I personally administered the dosage of the medicine, it's potent! He's like a lump of mud right now, he can't even walk steadily, what can he possibly do? Hurry up! Don't spoil my fun!"
The two guards exchanged a glance, not daring to disobey any longer, and had no choice but to step forward and roughly untie the rough ropes that tightly bound Su Zhelan's hands.
The deep red marks left by the rope were particularly glaring on Su Zhelan's fair and slender wrists, and in some places the skin had even been rubbed raw.
Su Zhelan moved his slightly numb and tingling wrist very slowly, still with his head down, his long hair falling down, covering most of his face and the cold glint that flashed in his eyes. He still looked like a weak and easily bullied, frightened bird.
Zhao Cangqu rubbed his hands together, then leaned closer again, the stench of alcohol and bad breath hitting him: "That's more like it... Come here, little beauty, let me pamper you..."
As he spoke, he impatiently leaned down and pressed his body down, his lewd hand grabbing straight for Su Zhelan's belt!
Just as he leaned closer, his repulsive face almost touching Su Zhelan's, and all attention was focused on the lewd act—
Su Zhelan's eyes, which had been lowered, suddenly lifted! Beneath her long eyelashes, those once clear and gentle eyes were now devoid of any fear or confusion, only filled with killing intent and composure!
His arm, which had been poised for a long time, shot out like a venomous snake that had been lying in wait, with astonishing speed and angle! So fast that it left only a blurry afterimage in the dim light! The silver needle at his fingertip, which had been prepared for a long time and was coated with a deadly poison that could kill on sight, flashed with an extremely faint, eerie blue light under the dim oil lamp, and pierced into Zhao Cangqu's unsuspecting neck slit with perfect precision and ruthless decisiveness!
"Well--!"
The expression on Zhao Cangqu's face instantly froze, his pupils contracted to their maximum size, filled with extreme horror and disbelief!
He opened his mouth wide, trying to scream or call for help, but found that only a chilling, gurgling sound could be squeezed out of his throat! A cold, piercing numbness spread like lightning from his neck to his entire body, and all his strength was instantly drained away!
He couldn't even lift his hand to push Su Zhelan away. His body convulsed violently out of control, and then he fell straight backward like a lump of mud, crashing heavily to the ground with a "bang." His eyes were wide open, and his face turned bluish-black at a visible speed. He was already dead!
All of this happened so fast, as fast as lightning!
The two guards next to him hadn't even recovered from the shock of the captain suddenly collapsing to the ground!
Without the slightest hesitation, Su Zhelan sprang to his feet like a taut spring! His eyes were as cold as ice, and his movements were swift, precise, and ruthless to the extreme! Taking advantage of the fatal moment when the two guards' attention was drawn to the fallen Zhao Cangqu, their minds went blank, and their reactions were slow, he swung out his other tightly clenched hand, spraying the pungent and irritating powder he had been hiding between his fingers onto the two guards!
"Ah! My eyes! I can't see!"
"Cough! Cough! Ptooey! What the hell is that?!"
The pungent and irritating powder instantly blinded them, choked them, and caused intense burning pain, coughing, and momentary blindness and confusion! The two were immediately thrown into disarray, screaming and instinctively covering their eyes as they staggered backward.
Su Zhelan wanted this fleeting opportunity!
His figure moved as close as a ghost, his steps light and swift, without making a sound! The poisoned needle in his hand once again transformed into an invitation to death, drawing two deadly streaks of light in the dim light.
Screech! Screech!
Two extremely faint, yet chilling sounds of sharp objects piercing flesh rang out almost simultaneously.
The two guards didn't even see where the attack came from. They only felt a sudden numbness in their throats or chests, followed by a tearing pain that instantly spread throughout their bodies! Everything went completely black before they could even groan. They collapsed to the ground like felled tree stumps, their bodies twitching unconsciously a couple of times before falling silent again, quickly following in Zhao Cangqu's footsteps.
From the sudden attack to the deaths of three people, it all happened in just two or three breaths!
The warehouse, which had been so arrogant and filled with foul language just moments before, was now utterly silent! Only the occasional crackling of the oil lamp wick and Su Zhelan's slightly rapid breathing could be heard. A heavy stench of blood, mixed with the smells of dust and medicinal powder, began to permeate the air.
Su Zhelan stood still, his chest rising and falling slightly. A few drops of blood splattered on his handsome face, giving him a strange and broken beauty. His cold gaze swept over the three corpses on the ground, their postures twisted and their deaths gruesome. There was no wavering or lingering fear in his eyes, only an almost indifferent calm, as if he had merely cleaned up a few disgusting pests.
He quickly knelt down and carefully wiped the blood off the poisoned needle from Zhao Cangqu's corpse, then put it back into the hidden pouch in his sleeve. He then straightened his slightly disheveled robe, pulled up the torn collar, and tried his best to wipe away the bloodstains that had accidentally gotten on his cheeks and fingertips.
The entire process was clean and efficient, without any unnecessary delays, demonstrating a chilling decisiveness and execution that erupted after extreme suppression.
He hurried to the warehouse's only window and cautiously peered out through the cracks in the wooden planks. The night was deep, and he could vaguely see several indistinct figures moving about in the distance, keeping watch, but they seemed unaware of the brief but deadly event that had transpired inside the warehouse.
Su Zhelan took a deep breath of the cold air, gripped the poison needle and the remaining poison powder in her sleeve, and began to think about her next escape plan.
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