Han Yunxi held her needle tightly as she watched Zhangsun Che approach. She was so anxious that she forgot to breathe since this was a matter of life and death!
"Hehe, little woman, this young lord would like to see where you can run now…" Zhangsun Che grinned lewdly as he brushed Han Yunxi's ankle. She gave a start but endured it! Unexpectedly, Zhangsun Che not only stopped moving, but dragged her beneath him so he could lie on top of her! But right at the crucial moment, Han Yunxi found his acupoints and stuck in two needles, stunning him into stillness. At the same time, Han Yunxi scrambled out from beneath him to a corner and watched as he fell paralyzed to the ground!
The difference in time was just by a few seconds, what a close call!
Still, as Han Yunxi looked between the two needles in her hands and the motionless Zhangsun Che on the floor, she wanted to knock her head against the wall. She'd been too nervous and used too little strength to insert the needles! The drunken Zhangsun Che was dead to the world. It was the aphrodisiac inside his body that had suddenly given him all that strength, but since it hadn't been completely dispelled, he'd recover from his listlessness soon enough. Han Yunxi gasped for breath as she took out a syringe full of stimulants from her detox system, the most effective one from her emergency supplies. Although it was rather harmful to use this drug right after drinking, she couldn't be bothered to worry about so much at the moment.
After injecting herself, she immediately regained her strength. She was about to go re-treat Zhangsun Che's two acupoints again when she felt it wasn't the right time. Princess Changping wanted to shove this fellow onto her, which meant she had to have preparations for the aftermath. If anyone came in and saw this scene, she wouldn't be able to wash herself clean of guilt even if she jumped into the Yellow River!
Thinking up to here, Han Yunxi was alarmed. Yes, the most important thing for her to do now was flee this place!
Except, she quickly discovered that someone had locked the door from the outside. These people must have planned things very thoroughly! Han Yunxi immediately went to look for a window and found one that wasn't sealed tight. She brought over a chair and climbed on top to escape through the opening.
After shutting the window behind her, she leaned against the wall of the building to catch her breath. Though she'd managed to escape safely, her heart was still pounding with the aftermath of her fear. At the same time, she heard two familiar voices from one side, none other than Murong Wanru and Eunuch Li.
"How long has he been inside?"
"About some time now. Miss Wanru, it should be time to call people over, right?"
"Wait a while longer. Hehe, it's more interesting after the rice is cooked[1]," Murong Wanru laughed.
"Hehe, Miss Wanru, your servant has definitely given him enough of the drug. It must be cooking right this moment!" Eunuch Li was laughing as well.
"Fine, then you go call the others. I'll wait here."
"All right. Miss Wanru can wait to get the reward. You've come up with such a good idea that Princess Changping will definitely reward you heavily once it's over!"
After this, Han Yunxi heard Eunuch Li's footsteps as he left. She slowly narrowed her eyes, her hands long clenched into fists as her rage rose to the skies. What a Murong Wanru. You might plot schemes constantly, but I never thought it was your idea this time, too. And using such filthy tactics!
This was too much!
If others steal my millet, I'll take their three grains. White lotus, ah, white lotus, this time the wangfei won't record the grudge for later. I'm going to take my revenge right now!
Han Yunxi followed along the wall as she quietly approached, only to see Murong Wanru hiding by a small tree on the side. She took a few deep breaths before approaching her. When she was nearby, Han Yunxi suddenly spoke up.
"Wanru, why are you here?"
"Ah!" Murong Wanru shrieked, turning around in disbelief. Han Yunxi! Without a doubt, it was Han Yunxi. Why is she here?
Isn't she drunk and sleeping inside that room?
"What? Didn't want to see me, did you?" Han Yunxi asked coldly.
"No… I…you…" Murong Wanru was nervous, but Han Yunxi just threw a fistful of poisonous powder at her face, causing Murong Wanru to duck and rub her eyes. "You…"
Before she finished speaking, her body turned stiff and she fell unconscious. Han Yunxi looked icily at Murong Wanru's quiet, docile face. It was impossible to tell at a glance that she was capable of such a deed.
Very well. Since today's plot was all Murong Wanru's making, she'd return a plot with a plot and make this white lotus understand the pain of living under the weight of your own sins!
Han Yunxi supported Murong Wanru by the arm as she walked to her room, opened the door, and threw her inside. One person was out cold, while the other should be recovering his strength by now. A pretty play would unfold very soon.
Not long afterwards, Han Yunxi heard the sound of rapid footsteps coming her way. Eunuch Li must have brought his audience here to see the results! She quickly retreated to a corner and hid herself, taking the chance to rearrange her clothing and hair. Since one of her sleeves had been torn, she tore the other one to match and tied up the ends as a butterfly knot.
As expected, a big crowd soon gathered by the door, with Princess Changping as the head.
"Where is he? Where did he go?" Princess Changping huffed, her face red from running the entire way. She was too excited for everyone else to see Han Yunxi being humiliated.
Han Yunxi, see how you'll recover this time!
"Princess, the North Lord went into a drunken fit and began making moves on everyone he saw. No one dared to get near him. This…nobody knows where he ran off to," Eunuch Li replied loudly. Han Yunxi could tell immediately that these were pre-rehearsed lines.
"Bastard, don't you know that Qin Wangfei's resting around here too? If he goes where she is, what then?!" Princess Changping intentionally raised her voice, but it was hard to hide her glee.
"Princess, Qin Wangfei is right in this room. Nothing…nothing should have happened, right?" Eunuch Li looked worried. He cast a few glances towards the surrounding trees, his heart puzzled. Why hadn't Murong Wanru shown up yet? It was her turn to act! She was supposed to knock on esteemed wangfei's door!
Even so, it didn't matter. As long as there was a good show waiting for them in the room!
"That shouldn't be! Quick, let's have a look!" Princess Changping was too impatient to wait for Murong Wanru to appear. She took big strides toward the door, stirring up the anxiety of the crowd behind her as they followed.
Knock knock knock! Princess Changping pounded on the door. "Imperial Qin Aunt, are you awake?"
"Imperial Qin Aunt, I'm Changping. Are you awake?"
"Imperial Qin Aunt, why don't you open the door?"
Princess Changping called out like a hypocrite a few times, her crafty eyes shining as she gave a push to the door. It immediately opened a crack.
"Aiya, why isn't the door locked?!" Princess Changping asked in a loud voice. Silence greeted her remark. No one in the crowd was an idiot, so all of them had realized something was wrong.
"Imperial Qin Aunt…" Princess Changping called out carefully, her back to the crowd as her lips curved up into a smile. She soon lost her patience and walked inside, but gave a shriek immediately afterwards.
"Ah….ahhhhh!"
Eunuch Li was thrilled when he heard the scream. The plan had worked!
"What happened?"
"Qin Wangfei, Your Highness, what's wrong?"
Eunuch Li hastily pushed open the door, revealing the scene inside for the crowd. At the same time, he gave a shout as well. "Ah…!"
How could this be?
Heavens, this wasn't supposed to happen!
The folding screen inside the room had been completely knocked over while Princess Changping stood gaping next to it, face alternating between various unpleasant hues. Near the screen was Zhangsun Che dressed indecently in his trousers, pressed atop an unconscious girl as he moved to undo her robes. But the girl was none other than Murong Wanru!
With the door to the room wide open, everyone saw the sight and were filled with disbelief. They'd never expect to witness such a scene here. Heavens, exactly what had happened? Why was Murong Wanru here? Isn't this where Qin Wangfei was resting?
Zhangsun Che was completely under the throes of the aphrodisiac as his hands anxiously moved about. Still stunned by the sight, no one moved to stop him. It was then that Han Yunxi walked out from the side, pushing aside the crowd as she moved forward. "What is it? What's going on?"
As soon as she reached the door and saw inside, she turned angry. "Impudent! Zhangsun Che, why aren't you stopping?!"
Her words finally brought the crowd back to their senses. All of the woman backed away, each of them sporting red faces. But Zhangsun Che was unmoved.
"You licentious scoundrel!"
Han Yunxi saw a basin of water nearby and carried it over before dumping the contents over Zhangsun Che and Murong Wanru. Only then did Zhangsun Che stop moving and Murong Wanru wake up. When she saw the man above her body, then her torn clothes, she immediately let out a scream. "AhhHHHHHhh!"
Her shriek was sharp enough to pierce through the skies, grating to the ears. Flustered, Murong Wanru's face paled as she was seized with fear! How could this be?! Heavens, what had happened?
"Get off! Get off! Ah…save me! Someone, help me!" she viciously shoved at Zhangsun Che, almost crazy with hysteria as she cried and screamed.
Han Yunxi's eyes turned cold before she demanded, "Someone, hurry and drag him away!"
Only then did Murong Wanru realize that she was surrounded by people, including Han Yunxi herself. Her expression turned speechless. How could this…
Two men emerged from the crowd and grabbed at Zhangsun Che, who still hadn't come to his senses yet. He began to struggle and spew obscenities!
"Let me go, my little woman's waiting for me!"
"You all get off, this young lord's going to have a good time!"
… …
Hearing such foul words, Murong Wanru's humiliated face distorted until she was on the verge of turning insane. She was too overwhelmed to wonder why Han Yunxi was perfectly safe, or how she'd gotten in this situation in the first place. She didn't want to listen to any more, but covered her ears and started crying hysterically. "Ah…ahhh….ahhHHHHHHHhhhhhhH!"
One spewed lewd words while the other kept screaming. Things were close to getting out of hand, but Princess Changping still stood frozen in place, while everyone else was too afraid to make any more noise. This was no small matter.
Murong Wanru might only be a foster daughter, but she was the jewel in the palm of Grand Concubine Yi's hand. Things had gotten serious!
Han Yunxi shot a cold look at Murong Wanru without a shred of sympathy. If not for the detox system alarms, she would be the one falling apart right now.
"Eunuch Li, gag that swine's mouth and take him away to get rid of his alcohol!" Han Yunxi finally spoke. Eunuch Li kept trying to shoot Princess Changping looks, but the latter had been too thoroughly frightened to react. He could only brace himself to take the man away.
"Murong Wanru, that's enough! Exactly what happened? You've lost face entirely for the Duke of Qin's estate!"
Murong Wanru's shrieks stopped abruptly at Han Yunxi's voice. At the same time, Princess Changping recovered her wits and looked over…
-o-
[1] after the rice is cooked – sheng mi zhucheng shu mi, an idiom that means 'what's done can't be undone.'