"I'm not a vagrant; I was just robbed, lost my money, and then accidentally ate some poisoned porridge..." Zhu Minglang hastened to explain.
"What's the difference? She has already achieved her goal," the Empress said coldly.
"What goal?"
Zhu Minglang had barely finished speaking when he realized how stupid his question was.
What other goal could there be?
If the Empress were overthrown, there would be plenty of ways to humiliate her, one of which was like now, having her supreme position defiled by copulation with a social outcast such as a vagrant. Such a relationship would instantly transform her erected pride and sanctity, her untouchable aura, into "vile" and "filthy."
Even the most humble rats in the streets could intimately entwine with the most sacred Valkyrie; what difference would there be between her and a prostitute, oh, no, at least a prostitute still chooses her clients.
Having realized all this, Zhu Minglang couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
So he had been used as a tool to insult a woman, indeed, there was no such thing as free porridge in this world.
"By the way, there were many refugees who were knocked unconscious by the poison along with me... could they also..." Zhu Minglang suddenly remembered this detail.
"You want to die; I can grant you that right now." The Valkyrie's teeth were nearly ground to dust, her eyes gleaming with murderous intent.
If she weren't so weak right now, she would have torn Zhu Minglang to shreds.
"Cough cough." Zhu Minglang's face was full of embarrassment, why did he always say the wrong thing at the wrong time?
The Valkyrie appeared distraught, but before long, her gaze sharpened as she fixed her eyes on the small window, clearly contemplating an escape.
As much as she wanted to kill the man beside her, the Valkyrie had picked up a crucial piece of information from Zhu Minglang's words: that there were more vagrants imprisoned outside besides him.
If a different man were sent in every day, she would prefer to bite her own tongue and die rather than endure such disgrace.
She had to find a way out; she did not want a repeat of last night's ordeal, and this was only the beginning.
"We need to find a way to get out of here," Zhu Minglang said seriously.
The Empress didn't listen to Zhu Minglang's words. She wasn't driven mad by this incident; she wasn't hysterical, enraged, or weeping bitterly. Perhaps deep down she felt this way, but she would only show her despair and pain after calmly resolving the predicament at hand and achieving her revenge.
In any case, they needed to find a way out.
"Great, little guy, you're awake," Zhu Minglang suddenly said excitedly.
Zhu Minglang opened his right palm and, as if performing magic, produced a milky-white Ice Bug.
The round body of the Ice Bug occasionally rippled with circles of translucent and tender white flesh, which looked somewhat naive and adorable as it wriggled. Its two large eyes even more so, sparkling with a hint of the extraordinary.
The Empress glanced at Zhu Minglang and noted he was holding a small white bug in his hand, prompting her to snort dismissively.
Blissfully ignorant optimism—he even had the mood to play with bugs.
"Go, go unlock the door; I know you can do it," Zhu Minglang said to the Ice Bug.
The Ice Bug crawled up the stone wall and quickly found the iron bars.
"Clang~~~~~~"
Before long, the sound of a chain falling followed.
Seeing this, the Empress's eyes suddenly brightened, her face unable to hide her joy.
"Heh heh, my little Ice Bug can do anything," Zhu Minglang smiled at the Empress.
"Help me up," said the Empress, her body feeling somewhat weak, apparently under the effect of a persistent love poison.
Barefoot, she stepped onto Zhu Minglang's shoulders.
With an effort, she climbed out of the dungeon and hesitated, looking back at Zhu Minglang.
Zhu Minglang stood in the dungeon, his gaze fixated on her.
Indeed, the Empress turned around, left the dungeon alone, and left Zhu Minglang behind.
The dungeon's stone walls were smooth, and without someone to lend a hand, it was impossible to climb out.
"Women, the prettier they are, the less trustworthy." Zhu Minglang shook his head in resignation, about to have the Ice Bug spin some silk for him to climb, when suddenly, footsteps as light as a cat's rang out above him.
"Put this on, and I'll pull you up." The Empress, having found two large sacks somewhere in the dungeon, tore them open and made a makeshift clothing.
A smile immediately appeared on Zhu Minglang's face as he quickly donned the sack cloth and grabbed the delicate hand that the Empress extended to him.
...
After pulling Zhu Minglang up, the Empress was panting, the poison still lingering in her body, and despite her great strength, she now seemed no different from a weak girl.
"Follow me, don't make any sound," the Empress whispered.
"You're very familiar with this dungeon?" Zhu Minglang also whispered.
"I used to keep myself here," she replied.
Zhu Minglang was puzzled.
Keep yourself here??
Are you sick?
...
The Valkyrie was indeed very familiar with the dungeon; even without guards, Zhu Minglang wouldn't have been able to find his way out—it was as vast as a labyrinth.
Eventually, they managed to leave the city through a secret passage.
Outside the city, Zhu Minglang smeared himself with the dirty mud on the ground, and also smeared two streaks across the Valkyrie's fair cheeks.
"Let's take shelter at my place for a while," Zhu Minglang said.
The Valkyrie didn't respond, which Zhu Minglang took as consent.
On foot, they headed towards the outskirts of the city, and soon saw squad after squad of guards rushing along the road—clearly, news of the Valkyrie's escape had spread.
...
After three days and nights of travel, Zhu Minglang and the Valkyrie finally made it back to Xiaosang Town.
Xiaosang Town was a gathering place for sericulture farmers, with many traders from outside the city coming here to purchase raw silk and silk materials. The population was becoming increasingly transient, gradually making it a place teeming with all sorts of people.
The more outsiders, the better for hiding. Zhu Minglang and the Valkyrie had been traveling by night and dared not rest much during the day, completely exhausted.
Upon entering his small courtyard and house, Zhu Minglang collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep.
The Valkyrie made do with two chairs pushed together and lay down across them without a word.
She, too, was very tired, and with the events that had occurred, her heart was under extreme strain. But she didn't fall asleep immediately; recalling the recent events, her eyes unwittingly began to moisten.
Zhu Minglang, who had been sleeping soundly, soon ceased his snoring and opened his eyes. He watched the Valkyrie lying on her side, slightly curled up, and noticed the slight shimmer on her eyelashes… and he couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.
Although the two of them had a relationship of mutual need rather than affection, Zhu Minglang still felt some regret.
To himself, it was just having consumed poisoned porridge, spending a night in the dungeon, and a few days of travel.
But what about her?
She was the Eternal City Lord, her power and chastity stripped away, reduced to hiding in a small house reeking of silkworm dung. Her calm composure these past few days, along with occasional bouts of despondency, no doubt were not easy forgetfulness of the humiliation but rather the transformation of all the inner fury and indignity into the resilience of revenge.