"Brother A Li..." Lan Guifan pitifully hid behind A Ye.
Brother A Li's expression was the ugliest it had been since their reunion.
Lan Guifan even wondered if he had done something wrong.
A Ye's wolf body trembled slightly. He hunched his body and tucked his tail.
He looked like he was admitting his mistake with his head down.
At a time like this, it was better to lower his stance.
What the Wolf King was, what dignity was...
None of it mattered.
What mattered was his life.
Li Muge sneered as he looked at Sheng Jiangli. "Sheng Jiangli, I think you need to deal with your family affairs properly. His Majesty's decree has arrived. You are ordered to return to the capital immediately and explain why you only defended but did not attack in Jizhou..."
"Once you leave tonight, if your fiancée and future brother - in - law dare to play any tricks under my nose again, I won't show any mercy!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Muge felt the man's gaze on him. The icy coldness in it was so overwhelming that it instantly made him shiver all over.
"Try touching them." Sheng Jiangli said coldly.
Li Muge immediately put on a smiling face. "Just joking, just joking... General Sheng, it's more important to catch the adulterers."
Sheng Jiangli snorted and said to Duo Yong, "Take the young master back! If the people are let out again, I'll gouge out the eyes of the soldiers guarding the door!"
With that, the man strode into the dungeon.
His throat rolled several times. His turbulent eyes stared straight at the two entangled shadows in the cell.
"Shu'er!"
Sheng Jiangli didn't step forward. He just called out from afar, looking at the black shadows on the wall.
The two shadows suddenly twisted violently.
Then they separated. The graceful figure bounced away as if seeing a ghost. It seemed that she even raised her arm, but it never came down.
Only then did Sheng Jiangli step out.
What he saw still made his eyes sting.
Cai Yu's lips were slightly swollen and moist. A few strands of hair had fallen loose on the side of her face. Her expression was flustered.
His gaze shifted downward.
Thankfully, the buttons on her clothes were still tightly fastened.
Looking at the man in the cell again, his breathing was also a bit short. His face was flushed. His usually cold eyes were filled with desire.
"Brother A Li!" Cai Yu called out, annoyed and guilty. She lowered her head nervously.
She was both ashamed of what had just happened between her and Song Yinghuai and guilty for not listening to Sheng Jiangli and rescuing the people without permission.
"I'm sorry." Cai Yu didn't dare to look up at him.
Because of Song Yinghuai's interference, she failed to release the people and was caught in the act.
"Yu'er." Song Yinghuai spoke up. "Why are you apologizing to him?"
He looked at Sheng Jiangli, his expression proud. "She didn't intend to rescue me. She just came to see me out of old feelings."
Although Song Yinghuai's words were very euphemistic, Sheng Jiangli still understood.
What Song Yinghuai meant was to let him deal with Li Muge and absolve Cai Yu of the crime of breaking into the dungeon without permission.
Sheng Jiangli concealed the coldness in his eyes. Suddenly, he hooked his lips. "It's rare. His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan is actually willing to humble himself and lie for a woman."
Song Yinghuai remained silent.
Li Muge led his soldiers and stood not far away, eyeing the people in the cell menacingly.
Sheng Jiangli said, "You go back to your room with them first. Don't go out without permission again. Do you hear me?"
Cai Yu nodded obediently. "I hear you."
What else could she do if she wasn't obedient?
Song Yinghuai refused to leave himself. He was just asking for death.
She simply couldn't understand Song Yinghuai's thoughts at this moment.
No, it should be said that she had never understood Song Yinghuai's thoughts.
Just as Cai Yu was about to leave, Song Yinghuai suddenly spoke up. He sighed softly. "Yu'er, when you faked your death and left back then, did you ever have the slightest bit of nostalgia for me?"
Cai Yu's steps faltered. Her face changed slightly.
She had her back to Song Yinghuai and couldn't see the eager look in the man's eyes behind her.
But facing Sheng Jiangli, she could see the tense expression on the man in front of her.
She quietly clenched her fist hidden in her sleeve and strode out of the dark dungeon without hesitation.
Nostalgia?
Yes!
But she wouldn't say it.
In the dim candlelight, the sitting man's fingertips trembled slightly. The flickering side shadow set off his slightly parted thin lips.
She was really a heartless girl.
She didn't even give him a glimmer of hope.
After Cai Yu left, Sheng Jiangli said, "I have to return to the capital tonight to report on my duties as ordered. The young emperor only allows me to leave Jizhou alone... After I leave, if Shu'er makes another mistake and sneaks into the dungeon without permission, I won't be able to save her and her younger brother. So..."
Sheng Jiangli's eyes shifted slightly. His words were threatening. "Your Royal Highness the Prince of Yan, you'd better not let Shu'er have the thought of coming to see you again."
"She won't come to rescue me again." Song Yinghuai retreated to sit on the haystack. He looked calm. "I angered her just now."
Although it should have been a good thing for Sheng Jiangli, he still understood the implication.
His fists suddenly tightened. He resisted the urge to punch Song Yinghuai. "Your Royal Highness the Prince of Yan, as a prisoner, I advise you to keep a low profile. Otherwise... To prevent you from escaping, I'm afraid that Lord Li behind me will 'greet' you well."
"Since I joined the army, what severe punishments haven't I seen?" Song Yinghuai didn't even lift his eyelids. "That Lord Li is originally a cunning and treacherous person. Even if there is no reason, I'm sure he will create one to 'entertain' me well."
Hearing this, Li Muge finally burst out laughing. He walked forward leisurely with his hands behind his back.
"Your Royal Highness the Prince of Yan really understands me!"
"In that case, if I don't take good care of you, I'd be sorry for your evaluation."
He said to Sheng Jiangli, "General Sheng, I know that you are embarrassed because of Miss Cai Yu. If you were to do it yourself, it would surely upset your fiancée... Why don't I be the bad guy? You're going back to the capital anyway. Even if Miss Cai Yu knows about it, there's no one for her to plead with or make a fuss about. I can even avenge you for the woman you almost lost. How about it?"
Sheng Jiangli's eyes flashed. He let out a chuckle. "Well, that's great. Then I'll have to trouble Lord Li!"
Li Muge was right.
He had wanted to beat Song Yinghuai for a long time.
It was just a pity that he couldn't beat him, and with Cai Yu around, he couldn't do it himself.
With this villain Li Muge around, it would be great to let him beat Song Yinghuai for him.
Seeing that Sheng Jiangli was sensible, Li Muge immediately became excited. He ordered his subordinates:
"Quick! Invite His Highness the Prince onto the rack!"
...
In an instant, Song Yinghuai's wrists were firmly tied to the rack with fishing lines. His toes could barely touch the ground.
The fishing lines were thin and sharp, tightly binding his veins.
If he struggled a little during the torture, the fishing lines would sink into his flesh, cutting through the blood vessels. Blood would slowly flow down, and he would gradually lose blood.
Li Muge gently stroked the whip soaked in salt water. His voice was as gloomy as a poisonous snake in a cave:
"Your Royal Highness the Prince of Yan, I once observed the punishment that Lord Lu used on Wen Zilong from the Northern Garrison Command of the Jinyiwei. I found it very interesting and wanted to let Your Highness experience it too. I wonder what Your Highness thinks?"
Song Yinghuai was tied to the rack. Since his feet couldn't touch the ground, the weightlessness made the veins on his neck faintly visible. His back was stiff.
He lowered his eyes and said calmly, as if he were just an on - looker like Sheng Jiangli:
"Thank you for the guidance."
Before his words faded, the long barbed whip soaked in salt water lashed out at him like a poisonous snake!
The candlelight flickered. The shadows of the whips on the wall looked like a group of snakes dancing wildly.
The sound of the whip tearing through the air ripped apart the bloody smell in the air.
In the dungeon, there was only the sound of the whip through the air. There was no other sound.
Sheng Jiangli glanced boredly and then turned his eyes away.
It was a piece of cake.
Could this make Song Yinghuai beg for mercy?
After two cups of tea.
Li Muge supported his waist and gasped for breath. Looking at the man who didn't even let out a groan, he gritted his teeth and said, "... Bring out the ice water!"
"Splash!"
A bucket of ice water was poured over his head!
Although it was still autumn, the man who had just been tortured couldn't help but clench his fist suddenly when the ice water hit him.
The fishing line immediately dug into his flesh. A trickle of blood dripped down his wrist and meandered onto the ground.
Li Muge laughed tiredly. "How about it, Your Royal Highness the Prince of Yan?"
Song Yinghuai slightly raised his eyes and looked at Li Muge, as if mocking him:
"The Buddha said that a person has only two hundred and six bones when the skin is removed, but has one hundred and eight thousand forms when dressed."
"If His Majesty the young emperor saw you looking like this now, I wonder if he would still trust you?"