Conflict is a fundantal elent of drama, the engine that drives a plot forward. And just like that, our supporting character, having just escaped death by a hair’s breadth, ran into the most unexpected person.
In a remote farmhouse, Song Lianhe was tied to a wooden pillar.
’So that’s it,’ she thought. ’That’s why Zhang Yu got away so fast. He must have escaped through the secret passage in the rockery and followed the underground river to freedom.’
Both of Zhang Yu’s hands had been crippled. His wrists were severely red and swollen, his face was deathly pale, and he was on the verge of a complete ntal breakdown.
Several n dressed in black stood guard. Judging by their attire, they appeared to be from the sa group that had raided the Southern Official.
"Heh heh..." He let out a wild, terrifying laugh, his voice hoarse and punctuated by faint coughs. "Never thought you’d see this day, did you? How the tables have turned. You’ve fallen into my hands once again!"
"Hands?" Song Lianhe scoffed. "Which hands? The ones that were crippled? Oh, that’s right, both of them are useless now. Don’t tell you have a third hand? Heh, I suppose you must. Otherwise, how could you have stolen Song Xingfeng’s wife?"
Every one of her words hit a nerve, especially the ntion of Zhou Cangyan crippling his hands!
"I think you’d like a taste of what it feels like to have your hands crippled, wouldn’t you?"
He smiled viciously and was about to order his n forward when Song Lianhe spoke, her voice unhurried. "You’re running a high fever that won’t break. You must be in a lot of pain."
Zhang Yu narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning savage.
"Did you not bother to find out what I do before you captured ?"
"You’re... a physician?"
"Indeed."
Just as she’d expected, Zhang Yu was tempted.
The area was remote; there were no physicians to be found. To fetch one, he would have to go into the city, but that was tantamount to walking into a trap. All Zhang Yu could do was take dicine to temporarily dull the pain.
"Can you heal ?"
Song Lianhe, feeling she had the upper hand, was unafraid. She gestured to her bonds. "I’m not accustod to having conversations while tied up like this."
Zhang Yu motioned for his n to untie her.
Song Lianhe stretched her stiff limbs. "I’m hungry."
SMASH!
The man slamd his teacup onto the floor. "Don’t push your luck!"
"Oh? Then kill . Go on, do it!" Song Lianhe adopted the air of soone with nothing left to lose. "You know it yourself. For the sake of your mistress’s daughter, my own husband was willing to let you go! He doesn’t even care that you once tried to put your hands on ! Since he’s so heartless, what’s the point in going on? Why don’t you do a favor and kill ? Put out of my misery! Maybe then his conscience will finally stir, and he’ll avenge . At least then I could die with no regrets."
Then, as if a thought just struck her, she added, "Oh, and you’d better torture in the most horrific way possible! The more tragic my death, the better! That way, he’ll feel even more guilty. He’ll never be able to forget ."
Seeing the beaming smile on her face as she spoke, Zhang Yu could only conclude that she was insane.
Still, he had spent a long ti in the demimonde and had seen plenty of spurned won. To win back a husband or get revenge, many did things far more extre than what she was suggesting.
Zhang Yu had no choice but to swallow his anger. He ground his teeth and ordered, "Bring her so food!"
Song Lianhe grinned at his words. "Much obliged."
Zhang Yu waited with gritted teeth until she finally let out a small burp. Only then did he ask impatiently, "Now, will you finally treat my hands?"
Song Lianhe finally, and reluctantly, began to examine his injuries. She took one look and her heart sank. ’The damage is severe,’ she thought. ’Even if I reconnected the tendons, he’d suffer from permanent aftereffects. He’ll never be able to wield a blade again.’ Besides, she had no real intention of fixing them anyway.
Song Lianhe was one to hold a grudge. A physician should have a benevolent heart, but that benevolence was reserved for those who deserved it.
His relationship with the n in black was still unclear, but the raid on the Southern Official was undoubtedly connected to him.
"They can be treated."
Hearing her words, Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up. "Really?"
"If you don’t believe , you can go ask around about Song Xilan. Find out how I brought her back from the dead."
Zhang Yu had already received intelligence reports about Song Xilan’s poisoning, so he believed her without a doubt.
Song Lianhe imdiately asked for paper and a writing brush.
"Go to an apothecary and fetch these herbs."
One of the n in black looked at the prescription, then turned and left.
Song Lianhe found so wooden strips to use as splints for his wrists. Her movents were far from gentle, causing Zhang Yu to hiss in pain intermittently.
By the ti she finished bandaging his wrists, Zhang Yu was drenched in sweat. He glared at her. "You did that on purpose!"
"I did," Song Lianhe replied with a demure smile. "And what can you do about it?"
Zhang Yu was seething, but he couldn’t lay a finger on her until his hands were healed.
Seeing that he had fallen silent, rely staring at her with a sinister, hateful gaze, Song Lianhe decided not to let him off the hook. She pulled her chair closer to him and leaned in. "I have a question, though I don’t know if I should ask."
Zhang Yu’s hands were still throbbing with pain; he was in no mood to entertain her questions.
"If you shouldn’t ask, then don’t!"
"Okay, I’ll ask anyway. Judging from your... condition the other day, you should be impotent. So what’s the story with the baby in Liu Wanqing’s womb? Is it yours? Or... are you passing off soone else’s child as your own?"
At her words, Zhang Yu’s deathly pale face flushed crimson with rage.
’How dare she ntion my physical shortcomings to my face? She must really have a death wish!’
Then again, Zhang Yu had never planned on letting her live anyway.
So, Zhang Yu composed himself, suppressed his boiling rage, closed his eyes, and simply refused to speak.
"An attitude like that isn’t very conducive to our discussion, you know."
Song Lianhe dragged her chair even closer. "If—and this is purely hypothetical—if that child really is yours, would you mind sharing how you managed that?"
Zhang Yu gritted his teeth, his forehead slick with sweat. It was hard to tell if it was from rage or distress.
"If you just leave, what will happen to Liu Wanqing? Her life in the General Mansion will be impossible. She and the child might not survive!"
"Enough!"
Zhang Yu roared, "She’s nothing but a second wife I helped into power! Whether she lives or dies is none of my concern!"
"Tsk, tsk. How cruel of you," Song Lianhe said, seemingly determined to provoke him. "But from what I saw, she’s quite devoted to you. She didn’t just go begging her daughter, the Princess Consort, for help—she also sent assassins to the Southern Official to rescue you! Too bad for her, you were already long gone."
Zhang Yu suddenly let out a cold snort.
"Her n? As if she has that kind of power!"
"Don’t tell it was... you?" Song Lianhe imdiately scoffed in disbelief, shaking her head. "If you really had that kind of power, how did you end up getting caught by us? Shouldn’t those n have rescued you long ago? Why would you need to jump into an underground river and get a bellyful of water?"
Perhaps the mockery in her tone finally got to him. Zhang Yu’s face darkened, and a smile that didn’t reach his eyes spread across his lips. "These n were left to by my master for my use in Da Cheng! After Zhou Cangyan crippled my hands, how could I possibly spare him? It’s just a sha they failed to capture him!" He spoke through gritted teeth.
"And what’s so strange about that? He’s my husband, the Heavenly Kill Slash! I’d be more surprised if you *had* caught him!" Song Lianhe was not at all stingy with her praise.
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