Taohong's movements could not escape Song Yinghuai's sharp eyes.
His gaze was like a fierce arrow, quickly falling on the table in front of him.
A leaf before the eye shuts out Mount Tai.
She'd hidden it well.
There was a barely perceptible coldness at the corner of his lips as he said to Taohong,
"Go down."
Taohong: ??
She was still floating on cloud nine after being suddenly summoned by the most noble man in Yan. But before she could even touch a corner of his robe, she was sent away.
This...
Zhang Yao, as if granted a reprieve, urged Taohong to leave quickly.
Song Yinghuai stood up and pretended to leave. "Since there are no rebels, I won't disturb you any longer."
Sure enough, when he said this, he noticed a faint sigh of relief from under the table.
Song Yinghuai's eyebrows suddenly twitched, a flash of cold killing intent crossing his eyes. He suddenly exerted force with his palm.
"Boom!"
His big palm struck the table in front of him!
Amid the thunderous sound, the great internal force instantly split the incense table in two!
"My Lord!"
Sure enough—
Caiyu's voice rang out with a sob.
A dagger glinting with cold light was pressing firmly against her neck. Dong Yurong, with sawdust all over her face, stood behind Caiyu in a panic.
The moment she saw Song Yinghuai, Caiyu's tears fell like broken beads.
The pent - up grievance and panic all collapsed at this moment.
It was like a drowning man grabbing a floating log, or a person in the dark waiting for a beam of light.
She had never longed to see Song Yinghuai as much as she did at this moment.
"My Lord, the dagger is poisoned..." Caiyu's voice trembled, much like a child in danger seeking help from a parent.
She bit her bloodless lips. Her dusty face was streaked with tears. She was pitiful but also full of stubbornness. Her efforts to restrain herself from crying out made Song Yinghuai's heart ache even more.
Song Yinghuai retracted his palm and stared intently at the two not far away. His slightly squinted eyes revealed a strong sense of danger. He was like a fierce god of war rather than a compassionate Buddha.
Even when he saw his subordinates return wrapped in horsehide on the battlefield, he was not as filled with the urge to kill as he was at this moment.
He had no intention of pursuing the remnants of the Dong family at this moment, nor did he care about the Buddha's mercy.
All he wanted was to snatch the offensive dagger in front of him and cut Dong Yurong into pieces, slice by slice!
The extremely cold and terrifying aura made Dong Yurong unable to recognize the gentle and modest man she used to know.
Dong Yurong opened her mouth, her voice trembling without her own awareness.
"Song Yinghuai... It's all your fault... If you hadn't ruined my family, I wouldn't have been driven to desperation. This is your retribution..."
"It doesn't matter. You can come at me." Song Yinghuai tightly grasped the Buddhist beads on his wrist and said word by word, "One should be responsible for one's own actions."
"Are you heartbroken?" Dong Yurong gasped in extreme panic, her mind twisting crazily. "I'm just a weak woman. How dare I go against His Highness the Prince of Yan? I had no choice but to capture her. I've let all kinds of men bully her these days, just to disgrace His Highness the Prince of Yan..."
In a moment of desperation, Dong Yurong knew that Caiyu still had the mark of virginity on her arm. But in this situation, it was satisfying for her to use words to provoke Song Yinghuai.
She wanted to see the pain, anger, and regret on Song Yinghuai's face after he learned that Caiyu had been insulted. She wanted him to regret not cooperating with the Dong family and regret being so ruthless to them.
However, she was disappointed.
She obviously underestimated Song Yinghuai's self - control, or perhaps overestimated Caiyu's position in Song Yinghuai's heart.
After saying those words, she saw no change on Song Yinghuai's face. Instead, he slightly hooked the corner of his lips with a cold expression.
"Miss Dong, have you got the wrong target? Threatening me with a maid? Do you think too highly of her or too lightly of me?"
"She's just an insignificant maid in the Prince of Yan's Mansion. If she lives, she's just my maid. If she dies, out of the kindness for her service, I'll chant a 'Sutra of Rebirth' for her to help her ascend to bliss and be reborn into a good family."
"If you've had her insulted, you must know that I've never touched her. How could I feel heartache?"
These words made the faces of the two women in front of him turn deathly pale.
Although Caiyu knew that her life was worthless and that she and Song Yinghuai were on opposite sides, she still felt a sharp pain in her heart when she heard his heartless words.
How stupid she was!
At the most dangerous moment, she actually hoped that Song Yinghuai would come to save her.
But he had come on official business, and meeting her was just a coincidence.
Not only did he not intend to save her, but he also exposed her embarrassing identity in front of everyone.
He had never touched her!
Humph!
He—had never touched her!
"You..."
Dong Yurong remembered the glaring mark of virginity on Caiyu's arm and was instantly stunned by Song Yinghuai's words.
Had she really placed the wrong bet?
Was Jiang Jinyue lying to her?
However, just as she was in a daze, the Buddhist bead hidden between Song Yinghuai's fingers shot out like a meteor!
Before anyone could react, the Buddhist bead turned into a sharp arrow and shot straight into Dong Yurong's forehead.
Dong Yurong didn't even have time to make a sound before she fell backward with her eyes wide open.
"Thud!"
Dong Yurong hit the ground, kicking up a small puff of dust.
The red lanterns were swaying in the Golden Phoenix Tower. A cold wind swept in through the door, fluttering Song Yinghuai's robe.
A snowflake was carried in by the wind and landed on Dong Yurong's wide - open pupil. It melted into a hot tear under the residual warmth and slowly flowed out along the corner of her eye.
Caiyu stood there in a daze, staring blankly at all this. There was no trace of fear in her heart, only a slight stinging pain in her neck.
Warm liquid slowly oozed out from her fair neck. Her vision was blurred, as if her tears had covered her eyes. She seemed to hear Song Yinghuai call her name in a somewhat nervous voice.
"Lan Caiyu!"
She reached up and touched the black blood on her neck. For the first time in her life, she smiled uglier than when she was crying.
She must be hallucinating.
How could Song Yinghuai be nervous?
The red lanterns in front of her started to double. Song Yinghuai's face in front of her began to distort.
She smiled and fell forward straight.
Vaguely, she seemed to be picked up.
Something seemed to be stuffed into her mouth.
The wind howled in her ears, and the sound of horses' hooves was like a torrential flood.
The cold wind in December was bone - chilling, but soon, the biting cold disappeared, and the warm air wrapped around her.
The stars twinkled above her head, turning into countless dots of light that fell into her half - open eyes.
There was a voice speaking in her ear, echoing. It was still as clear and cold as ever.
"Where is Master Guangzhi?"
"Save her!"
"Lan Caiyu! If you dare to die, I'll definitely drag your father out of exile and kill him with one blow!"
"Amitabha... My Lord, life and death are predestined, and wealth and honor are determined by heaven..."
...
In a daze, Caiyu felt that her body below the neck gradually stiffened and lost sensation. She couldn't even lift her arm to grab someone.
She felt as if she was lying on an extremely cold ice block.
The bone - chilling cold made her body tremble constantly, and the lost sensation seemed to be coming back...
She tried to lift her hand and touch her neck again.
She peeled off a hard scab, and the pain made her grimace in her daze.
Her hand was held by someone, and a faint scolding voice came from beside her ear.
"Can't you stop causing trouble for a single day?"
Who was causing trouble?
Caiyu wanted to retort indignantly but couldn't make a sound.
In her anxiety, she bit her tongue hard. The sharp pain forced her back to reality.
In an instant, she suddenly opened her eyes. Her blood - shot pupils shrank and then dilated...