ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 138

It rained all day today, and only paused for a moment in the evening. The autumn wind was mournful and the chill was biting, making one’s neck feel cold. A horse-drawn carriage came driving down the long street and stopped in front of a large gate of a residence.

The steward in a blue robe, who had been waiting there for a long time, hurried forward and said, “My lady.”

The carriage curtain was lifted, and a woman dressed in red stepped down from the carriage—it was Liu Man. Her expression revealed a hint of fatigue, but her spirit seemed relatively good. As she walked, she asked, “Has anything happened at the shop while I was away?”

Steward He followed closely behind her, replying, “Nothing major happened, but the officials sent people here several times, searching inside and out multiple times.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Man felt a tightening in her heart. “Did they search the study as well?”

“They did,” Steward He hurriedly answered, “But don’t worry, the officials didn’t find anything. It’s just that those servants were taken away for questioning, and they haven’t been released yet.”

Liu Man was not concerned about those servants. Upon hearing that the study had not been searched thoroughly, she felt a significant weight lifted from her heart. She had divided the Wushi San (Five Stone Powder) into two parts; one had been sent to the Ning w.a.n.g (Prince Ning) Mansion, and the remaining Wushi San along with the prescription was still in her possession, which would be her support for the future.

“However, my lady, our wine shop has been sealed.”

Liu Man waved her hand dismissively, saying nonchalantly, “So what if it’s sealed? We can just open another one.”

Since the Xinfeng Wine Shop had been targeted, Liu Man had already made preparations. As the owner of the wine shop, the officials would not easily let her go, but she hadn’t expected that she would be out so soon. Could it be that Xiao Wen was secretly helping her?

Liu Man thought for a moment; Li Zhizhi was just a Princess, after all—without real power and of a different surname. It seemed the authorities didn’t take her seriously and just dealt with her casually.

Thinking this, she couldn’t help but smirk inwardly, but her feelings of resentment remained strong.

With the servants in the residence all taken for questioning at the government office, the large mansion was eerily quiet, as still as death. Liu Man felt thirsty, but there was no one to bring her water, so finally, Steward He had to go himself.

After a short while, he returned with tea. Liu Man reached out to touch it; the tea was warm, lukewarm at best. Steward He felt somewhat awkward, fearing her anger, and cautiously said, “The cook was also taken away. If it weren’t for the fact that I was checking the accounts at the shop that day, I might not have been able to escape either.”

Liu Man felt a bit irritable, but she didn’t want to speak harshly to her loyal subordinate. She took a sip of the water and instructed, “You go to the government office first thing tomorrow and ask when everyone will be released.”

Steward He complied and left. Liu Man then stood up and went to her bedroom. She had endured two long days in prison, and apart from the incident at the Wanshou Festival, she had never experienced such humiliation in her life, leading her to loathe Li Zhizhi even more.

As she entered her room, Liu Man was still considering visiting Xiao Wen at the Ning w.a.n.g Mansion tomorrow to inquire about him…

Suddenly, she heard a noise from somewhere, like something had been knocked over. Liu Man turned her head sharply, alert, and called out, “Who’s there?”

The air was still and silent; the room was dark, and she couldn’t see clearly. Her heart raced with suspicion, and she almost thought she had misheard. She fumbled on the table and found a fire starter and a candlestick.

However, before she could light the lamp, something struck her hard on the back of her head. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and Liu Man felt everything go dark as she collapsed.

Before losing consciousness, she vaguely saw a shadow flash past her, bending down to pick up the fire starter, gently blowing it to life, illuminating half of a blurred face. That was…

When Liu Man awoke again, all the lamps in the room had already been lit. She slowly opened her eyes and was instantly terrified to find herself bound. The back of her head throbbed with pain, and in that moment, Liu Man recalled the shadow of the person who had knocked her out. She couldn’t see clearly, but that figure felt very familiar…

As she anxiously pondered, a faint sound of footsteps came from behind the screen. Liu Man instinctively raised her head, and the person stepped out. What came into view was a red skirt, intricately embroidered with floral and bird patterns, along with delicate shoes adorned with pearls the size of pigeon eggs—exquisite and luxurious.

It was exactly the outfit she usually wore.

When she saw that familiar face, Liu Man’s pupils suddenly constricted, and she was shocked beyond measure, losing her composure. She blurted out, “It’s you!”

She had thought the person who attacked her was Li Zhizhi, but she never expected it to be Li Suwan!

Li Suwan was dressed elaborately, wearing the red dress Liu Man used to love, just like Liu Man, with her hair styled high and adorned with various gold hairpins and ornaments, a floral paste on her brow. She looked beautiful, but to Liu Man, she appeared like a demon, sending chills down her spine.

How could Li Suwan still be alive?

“I’m not dead. You seem surprised, Your Highness?”

Li Suwan held a candle holder and stepped closer, her eyes fixed on Liu Man, reminiscent of a scorpion’s stinger or a poisoned dagger. Liu Man couldn’t help but panic, arching her body in an attempt to scoot back. “What do you want? Someone, come quickly!”

Li Suwan suddenly burst into laughter, laughing so hard she almost fell over, tears streaming down her face. “Did you think I came in here easily? In this grand manor of yours, it’s empty, with only you here, you lowly wretch! You have your comeuppance today!”

Liu Man froze in place, her eyes wide with disbelief, as if she had been plunged into an ice cellar. Her hands and feet felt cold. In that moment, she finally realized she had fallen into a trap and was now the fish on the chopping block.

It turned out the government hadn’t let her go lightly; they had done it on purpose!

Li Zhizhi had deliberately captured all the servants in her manor, leaving only Liu Man behind to stage today’s drama. Liu Man’s heart sank to the depths. She clenched her palm to keep herself from losing control, but even so, her eyes still betrayed her panic.

Seeing her like this, Li Suwan couldn’t help but sneer. “As expected of a county princess; even at this point, you can still maintain your composure.”

Then she suddenly added, “Oh, I almost forgot, you’re no longer a county princess; you’re just a lowly commoner now.”

Those words struck Liu Man where it hurt the most; she hated it when others mentioned this. She couldn’t help but glare at Li Suwan, who, seeing this, slapped her across the face. Not yet satisfied, she rained down another ten slaps, turning Liu Man’s face into a swollen mess.

“What do you think you are?! How dare you glare at me? You look down on me? You venomous wretch! You harmed me… I’ll make you suffer for what you’ve done…”

While berating Liu Man, Li Suwan’s laughter turned to tears and back again, as if she had gone mad, wanting nothing more than to tear Liu Man apart. Liu Man cried out in pain but eventually couldn’t help but start begging for mercy.

Li Suwan, however, seemed possessed, ignoring her cries. Her eyes were bloodshot like a demon’s, and her hair had become disheveled, gold hairpins scattering everywhere. Her movements suddenly halted as she stared intently at Liu Man. “Do you like to eat buns?”

Liu Man was trembling in pain and didn’t respond for a moment. Li Suwan then grasped her throat, widening her eyes and demanding, “Do you eat buns?”

Liu Man seemed a bit delirious, so she could only nod and repeatedly say, “Yes, I eat.”

“That’s good,” Li Suwan smiled and said, “County Master, I’ll make you buns.”

After saying this, she stood up and went behind the screen. Seeing this, Liu Man immediately sat up, struggling with her hands. The cloth that bound her was a decorative shawl, which was soft to begin with. After a struggle, it had loosened quite a bit.

Gritting her teeth, Liu Man resolutely placed her hands on the candlestick. The flames licked at the silk shawl, and before long, it caught fire. The flames burned her flesh, causing unbearable pain. Liu Man nearly cried out, biting her lip tightly and nervously watching the screen, fearing that the madwoman would notice.

Sounds of rummaging came from behind the screen. Li Suwan seemed to be looking for something, softly humming a tune. In the quiet room, it sounded particularly eerie.

Liu Man cursed silently, filled with hatred for Li Zhizhi, who had plotted against her. Once she escaped this calamity, she would make her pay a hundredfold! As for Li Suwan, she would personally send her on her way, snapping her neck.

Finally, the shawl burned through, and Liu Man breathed a sigh of relief, quickly trying to untie her leg bindings. Just then, a ghostly voice came from beside the screen: “County Master, aren’t you going to eat buns?”

Liu Man was terrified, her heart racing. She suddenly looked up to see Li Suwan standing there, her hands hidden in her wide sleeves, staring at her with a gaze full of malice and madness.

Liu Man’s body stiffened, and she swallowed hard, saying, “I eat, I eat buns.” Although she didn’t understand why this wretched woman was acting crazy, like a starving ghost obsessed with buns, it was best to keep her calm for now.

As she expected, Li Suwan quieted down and took a few steps closer, looking down at her with an almost eerie smile: “Okay, I’ll make them for you.”

Before Liu Man could react, she suddenly felt a chill in her abdomen, followed by a wave of intense pain. In disbelief, she slowly looked down to see the sharp scissors glinting coldly; in an instant, blood gushed out, and in the blink of an eye, the ground was soaked in blood.

Li Suwan explained, “We need to let the blood first, or the meat will smell.”

In that moment, Liu Man finally understood what a bun was.

On the screen embroidered with snow silkworm silk and landscape designs, a large bright red flower suddenly bloomed, strikingly beautiful…

—

The night was pitch black, and at some unknown time, it began to rain lightly. The raindrops fell on the banana leaves, making a delicate, chaotic sound, like silkworms eating mulberry leaves or the whispering of lovers in close proximity. Li Zhizhi sat by the window, resting her head on her hand, seemingly lost in thought.

Before long, someone entered from outside. Dressed in a dark brocade robe, his tall and straight figure resembled a green pine—this was Xiao Yan.

His hair was speckled with rain, and in the candlelight, it glistened, reflecting fragmented light. Xiao Yan said, “The person has been captured and sent to the authorities.”

Li Zhizhi turned around and asked, “What about Liu Man?”

Xiao Yan recalled Xu Tingfeng’s hesitant expression and decided to skip over it, simply saying, “She was killed by Li Suwan.”

As he spoke, he moved closer and noticed the window was open, letting in a cold breeze. He couldn’t help but frown and said, “Aren’t you afraid of catching a chill?”

He reached out to close the window, but suddenly heard Li Zhizhi say, “Does Your Highness not have anything to ask me?”

Xiao Yan was holding an umbrella and seemed to snap back to reality at her words, slightly taken aback. “What?”

Li Zhizhi tilted her head and looked at him. “Don’t you think I am very vicious? Stirring up trouble, adding insult to injury, my intentions are sinister.”

When she said this, her eyes remained clear and bright, as if expressing genuine confusion, yet it also felt like a hidden test.

Xiao Yan fell silent for a moment and asked, “Why do you ask that?”

Li Zhizhi insisted, “I just want to ask.”

Xiao Yan stared at her for a while and suddenly said, “Caring so much about my feelings, Zhizhi, are you worried about something?”

Li Zhizhi’s heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively looked away, slowly denying it. “No, don’t be so sentimental.”

“Am I being sentimental?”

Xiao Yan let out a short laugh and suddenly leaned in slightly, closing the distance between them so that Li Zhizhi could smell his scent—a faint sandalwood mixed with the chill of late autumn, inexplicably reminding her of the misty rain in the mountains.

Just as Li Zhizhi was lost in thought, she heard him whisper softly in her ear, “If you have any intentions, why not use them on me instead? It would be a wish come true.”

His warm breath brushed against her ear, bringing a tingle that made her heart tremble.

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