After the assassination attempt of the Blood Rain Pavilion, Due to severe muscle and meridian injuries on Xiao Jin's arm, the plan to return to the capital was temporarily put on hold, and she chose to stay at the Qingzhou Mansion to recover.
During this time, Governor Xu visited the mansion several times and brought many medicines and supplements.
Although Xiao Jin was a little mentally sluggish due to Qin Xueyi's death, she still managed to maintain a composed exterior.
The Crown Prince also sent a lot of tonics, but Xiao Jin only thanked him and accepted them without actually taking them.
It was supposed to be the season of birds singing and flowers blooming in March.
Xiao Jin sat on the bed and watched Chu Shao stirring the brown medicinal soup with a porcelain spoon, her mind feeling somewhat muddled.
In recent days, she often lost focus while looking at things, and she began to seriously suspect that maybe she wasn't just transmigrated into a book, but was sleepwalking.
It's just that this dream was too long and she couldn't seem to wake up from it.
When the soup was no longer too hot, Chu Shao picked up the spoon and blew lightly on it before bringing it to Xiao Jin's lips.
She smiled gently and whispered, "Your highness, it's time to take your medicine."
The impact of this sentence was quite powerful.
Xiao Jin instantly snapped out of her daze.
After all, this sentence was practically a replica of "darling, it's time to take your medicine."
But as she lifted her head and saw Chu Shao's faint smile, she realized that she had gotten the channels mixed up.
She wasn't a pitiable darling.
And what Chu Shao was holding wasn't poison, but rather a traditional Chinese medicine to treat her injured arm.
As she watched the medicinal soup being brought to her lips, Xiao Jin couldn't help but feel bitter.
She never expected that, unable to even walk, she would now find herself in the position of needing someone to feed her medicine.
That night, in a moment of desperation, Xiao Jin had pulled back a five-stone bow that was beyond her own strength and even fired three arrows in succession.
As a result, her arm was unfortunately injured and she couldn't move it for the past few days.
Now Xiao Jin's arm was wrapped in white bandages, containing many pungent herbs inside.
As the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to heal a bone injury.
Although she didn't know how many treatment sessions she needed to fully recover, she understood that she was likely to return to her infancy period during this time.
Her arms were stiff and immobile, and her legs couldn't walk.
Only her eyes could move, proving that she was still alive.
Seeing Xiao Jin's furrowed brow, Chu Shao spoke softly to comfort her: "Your highness, you should drink the medicine as soon as possible. Taking the medicine will help you recover faster, and you won't need me to feed you in the future."
"..."
Hearing Chu Shao's tone, which was clearly similar to that of coaxing a child, Xiao Jin remained silent for a long time.
She moved her lips, wanting to explain herself, but Chu Shao didn't reveal her tactics of coaxing, and moreover, her smile was too beautiful.
So Xiao Jin had to swallow her pride and say calmly, "Thank you, Princess."
Then she lowered her eyes and watched as her slender fingers lifted the porcelain bowl and drank the soup medicine from Chu Shao's hand.
Chu Shao saw the lowered expression on Xiao Jin's face and her smile became more pronounced.
However, when Xiao Jin slightly opened her lips and touched the cold porcelain spoon, Chu Shao's hand momentarily shook and she couldn't hold the spoon steadily.
Because it was too close.
It was so close that what Xiao Jin thought she was biting with her lips was not the spoon, but her fingers.
Noticing the slight trembling of the other's fingers, Xiao Jin was a bit puzzled.
But fortunately, Chu Shao soon recovered and scooped up the medicinal soup in the bowl with two or three spoonfuls.
Everything seemed normal.
Chu Shao's smile was also very calm and natural.
Except for the untimely mechanical sound that rang out.
[Congratulations to the host, Chu Shao's favorality +5]
Xiao Jin was stunned and felt somewhat surprised by the inexplicable increase in goodwill.
She looked at the smile on Chu Shao's lips and tentatively asked, "Is the princess in a good mood today?"
Chu Shao put the spoon back into the bowl and replied in a relaxed tone, "Yes, the weather is very nice today."
"..."
Xiao Jin looked up and looked at the drizzling rain outside, and fell into silence again.
She tentatively guessed that Chu Shao probably forgot to bring her intelligence with her when she went out today.
To put it more deeply, it was like she lost her mind.
In theory, at this moment, Xiao Jin should have taken the opportunity to massively increase her goodwill.
But because of Qin Xueyi's death, she couldn't summon the energy to do so. Even smiling was extremely difficult, let alone increasing goodwill.
At this moment, Xiao Jin looked at the medicinal soup at the bottom of the bowl and suddenly remembered the other black-clad swordsman they caught that day.
So she shifted her gaze away and said to Chu Shao, "Since the medicine is drunk, the princess should take this prince to the interrogation room."
Chu Shao looked at Xiao Jin's arm wrapped like a mummy and asked with a smile, "Are you sure, Your Highness?"
"Sure."
Xiao Jin said expressionlessly, "The Blood Rain Pavilion owes me a life, so they must pay."
After listening to Xiao Jin's words, Chu Shao became somewhat serious.
She smiled playfully and said, "But many experts died at the Blood Rain Pavilion that day, so their losses may be greater."
"If the Blood Rain Pavilion wants to avenge their subordinates, they can of course come to me, and I'll be waiting for them."
"Although human life is not distinguished by high or low status, for me, if one of my people dies, a thousand or a hundred deaths of the Blood Rain Pavilion's people would be useless."
"The death of a thousand experts cannot compare to that one girl because I only know that girl, not them."
Xiao Jin said seriously to Chu Shao, "I am not familiar with them."
Chu Shao seemed to understand what Xiao Jin wanted to say.
So she suddenly laughed softly and said, "But the dead cannot be resurrected. Even if you find the mastermind behind it, that little girl will not come back."
"Indeed, the dead cannot be resurrected."
Xiao Jin said coldly, "But that doesn't mean they won't pay the price for it."
"I want to kill them not to comfort Qin Xueyi's soul in heaven, but because they are alive and very annoying, which makes me very unhappy."
"They shouldn't be alive, so they should die."
...
"To be honest, you really piss me off."
Ye Suyu, who had rushed back to Qingzhou from Yandi, was very angry.
At this moment, as the head of the intelligence department of the garrison army, Ye Suyu looked at the swordsman who was chained to a wooden frame and felt extremely unhappy.
She felt that this person might be the bottleneck in her career.
Jue Ge stood aside and slowly said to Ye Suyu, "Suyu, according to the intelligence we obtained, he is Shen Lan from the Ninth Courtyard of the Blood Rain Pavilion."
"Simply put, he is not only one of the top ten masters in the Blood Rain Pavilion, but also a famous swordsman in the Shen family village. It's not easy for him to confess."
"But I've already tortured him several times."
Ye Suyu looked at Shen Lan, who was covered in blood. Her steel whip had already beaten him until his skin was torn and his flesh was ripped apart, and there wasn't a single piece of good flesh left on his body.
Even so, he just spat blood on the ground, screamed again and again, and didn't reveal any useful information.
When they tried to torture him again, Shen Lan simply stopped screaming and laughed hysterically at Ye Suyu.
Ye Suyu: "Laugh, laugh at your fucking grandpa."
She was completely speechless.
She sneered at Shen Lan and threatened, "If you dare to laugh again, I'll pull your tongue out."
Jue Ge was a bit helpless.
She knew her little sister's temper well. If this person really got angry and did something extreme, she wouldn't be able to stop her.
But she actually didn't want to stop her.
After all, the people from the Blood Rain Pavilion not only caused the prince's arms to be injured, but also killed the young lady from the Qin family, causing the prince to be so sad.
Jue Ge was only responsible for interrogating Shen Lan, not forgiving him.
When she heard Shen Lan still laughing uncontrollably, Jue Ge couldn't help but frown and calmly said to Ye Suyu, "Suyu, go ahead and pull it out if you want. Even if he loses his tongue, he can still confess by writing with his hand."
Shen Lan was already in so much pain that he had lost consciousness and could only vaguely hear their conversation.
A sense of sadness surged in his heart: "I never expected that Shen would end up in such a situation, defeated by two women..."
Upon hearing this, Ye Suyu raised her eyebrows: "What's wrong with women? Although this girl is beautiful and kind-hearted, I can still cut off your tongue later."
She approached with a small knife, squeezed Shen Lan's chin, and after opening his mouth, she inserted the knife into his mouth. Just then, a voice suddenly stopped Ye Suyu's action: "Don't cut off his tongue. I still have use for him."
Ye Suyu stopped in her tracks, regretfully shaking her head.
She put away the small knife, turned around, and gracefully saluted Xiao Jin, who was in the wheelchair: "Greetings, Your Highness."The songstress behind her also saluted Xiao Jin.
However, when she saw Chu Shao standing next to Xiao Jin, she was slightly puzzled.
In such a serious and bloody scene, why did the prince bring the princess here?
Although Jue Ge had heard that Chu Shao possessed peerless martial arts and had helped the prince several times, there were still too many uncertain factors.
In other words, Chu Shao was ultimately just an outsider.
In fact, it would be best and safest if she didn't get involved in such confidential matters.
However, at this moment, Chu Shao was curious and looking at the instruments of torture and iron chains in the dark room.
She reached out her fingertips and touched the bloodstains on them, even smiling as if she were thinking about something.
Xiao Jin was now completely focused on Shen Lan, so she naturally didn't notice what Chu Shao was doing.
Xiao Jin raised her eyes and stared at Shen Lan indifferently.
After staring at him for a while, she felt that this person's eyebrows and eyes did indeed bear some resemblance to Chu Shao.
According to the intelligence, Shen Lan was from Shen Family Village and was Shen Lang's younger brother.
If that was the case...
Then Shen Lang was likely Chu Shao's father?
Xiao Jin silently thought, if that were true, wouldn't it mean that Yongning had put a colored hat on Yao Huang's head?
Combining the information previously obtained about Shen Lang, his life was nothing out of the ordinary. He was the eldest son of the Shen Family Village, and the disciple of the leader of the Tianya Sect.
Although his life was extremely legendary, it was not surprising since it was a common template for top experts in online novels.
Except for that one sentence-
"In the 22nd year of Yongning, Shen Lang met Rong Lian at the Jianjia Building."
Recalling this sentence, Xiao Jin thought that it seemed that Shen Lang and Rong Lian did have some sort of relationship.
Realizing that Shen Lan and Chu Shao were likely relatives, Xiao Jin still had no intention of easily letting Chu Shao go just because of his face.
After all, Shen Lan and the black-clothed person from that night really did intend to kill Chu Shao.
It's better to not have relatives like that.
Thinking of this, Xiao Jin looked at Shen Lan and said calmly, "Shen Lan has integrity and courage. Even though he has endured such torture, he still refuses to reveal the identity of the person who hired the killer. His strong will impresses me."
Shen Lan lowered his head.
He spat out a mouthful of blood and mocked, "Prince Yan, no matter what tricks you use, I won't say a word. If you want to kill me, just do it. The people of the Blood Rain Pavilion would rather die than break their word."
He had principles, but principles were useless in the face of absolute power.
Xiao Jin even smiled and said, "Shen Lan, don't be too sure. It's still early, why not think about it some more?"
As someone who has read countless novels, Xiao Jin found the other's words lacking in originality.
After all, countless antagonists had said the same thing and were immediately defeated.
Shen Lan didn't respond, and said coldly, "Prince Yan is joking. It's just death, what's there to think about? Only cowards are afraid of death."
It was clear that Shen Lan's determination was much stronger than that of an ordinary antagonist.
However, Xiao Jin had already figured out how to deal with him.
Xiao Jin smiled slightly and praised, "Shen Lan, I admire your attitude, but you're mistaken... I never intended for you to die, so there's no need for you to make that decision in advance."
Shen Lan was stunned.
Xiao Jin continued, "After all, it would be awkward if you changed your mind later, wouldn't it?"
Her words were sincere and it seemed like she was really considering his situation.
After listening to Xiao Jin's words, everyone present was stunned for a moment.
The first to come back to her senses was Chu Shao, and when she laughed, Jue Ge and Su Yu couldn't help but laugh too.
Shen Lan's face grew increasingly dark.
He gritted his teeth, looked at Xiao Jin with hatred, and wanted to say something.
However, a taste of rust surged up his throat, and when he opened his mouth, he only spat out a mouthful of blood.
To be honest, Shen Lan couldn't fully understand Xiao Jin, who was sitting in a wheelchair.
He didn't know what this person was really talking about.
Xiao Jin smiled and began to tell another interesting story. "Shen Lan, have you ever heard of how to make bulls plow the fields obediently?"
Shen Lan looked at Xiao Jin coldly and didn't want to answer.
Xiao Jin didn't expect Shen Lan to respond to her, smiling as she asked and answered herself, "Bulls are just like people. At first, they are not hardworking and loyal animals because their energy is very strong and they don't listen to the farmers' wishes to plow the fields obediently."
"To make bulls stop wasting their energy and obediently plow the fields, farmers have come up with a method called 'hammer and castrate.'"
Hearing this, Jue Ge was a little surprised.
She didn't understand how the prince, who grew up in the palace, knew about this... even somewhat disgusting thing.
Xiao Jin didn't think it was disgusting. She just smiled slightly and calmly continued, "Shen Lan, do you know how to perform the hammer and castrate method? The process is not complicated."
"All you need to do is tie the bull down and let it lie on its side. Then tie up those two things and use a hammer or a board to hit it."
"The force doesn't have to be too heavy. It's best to lightly pound with a hammer first and then hit it hard, allowing the bull to slowly experience the whole process. Repeat this several times until the lump of meat is pounded into soft mud."
"After being castrated, the bull will forever lose its drive. It will drag around a lump of mud, full of pent-up energy and forced to work hard day after day, hopelessly living on."
Xiao Jin turned to look at Shen Lan and asked seriously, "Shen Lan, if this happened to you, what kind of experience would you have?
I'm really looking forward to it."
...
The dark room was silent.
Chu Shao looked at Xiao Jin's eyes, which were extremely cold and smiling, and then at Shen Lan, who had a pale face.
She felt that after this incident, Xiao Jin had really changed.
Changed in a way that she liked more.
As expected by Chu Shao, Shen Lan seemed to not believe that the dignified Prince Yan would use such methods.
Still trying to maintain her composure, she angrily cursed, "Xiao Jin, a scholar can be killed but not humiliated! You have gone too far!"
Xiao Jin felt really strange.
She frowned and asked in confusion, "Shen Lan, a scholar can be killed but not humiliated... who did you hear that from? I want to humiliate you now. Can you break free from the chains and kill me?"
"Now you are weak and I am strong. If I don't take advantage of you, I will regret it."
After listening to Xiao Jin's words, not only was Shen Lan trembling with anger, even Suyu and Jue Ge who were watching from the side were stunned.
Such shameless words, were actually spoken by a prince.
Such unreasonable words actually made them feel...extremely comfortable.
Before Suyu and Jue Ge could figure out why, Xiao Jin thoughtfully said to Shen Lan, "It's true. You think that as a prince, I wouldn't do anything to damage my reputation. So you still have the strength to curse at me, and you believe that I wouldn't dare to do anything to you."
"What about her? Do you think she would show mercy to you?"
As soon as she finished speaking, there was a clear sound of footsteps in the dark room.
Everyone looked up and looked in the direction of the footsteps.
Vaguely, they saw a person dressed in mourning clothes, wearing a white flower on her chest, slowly walking towards them.
When that person walked out of the darkness and stood in front of everyone with an iron hammer in her hand, everyone instantly understood who she was.
The girl's eye circles were still slightly red, but her face revealed a calm and coolness that was not commensurate with her age.
Even though she was in a dark room filled with the smell of blood, she showed no fear and maintained her manners.
She gracefully knelt down and her voice still sounded moist with tears as she respectfully greeted Xiao Jin, "I am Qin Xueting, and I humbly greet Your Highness, the Prince Yan."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's note: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or watered me with nutrients between 2022-03-2700:00:05~2022-03-2800:00:33.
Translator's note: Our future General Qin Xueting!, Make him pay for what she did!!
TO BE CONTINUE...