Chapter 221 Back Again
On the next day, Qin Yunuan woke up early, and let Ting Xue and Xi’er dress her up. Her carriage was going slow along the alley. It was strange that Qin Yunuan woke up to find herself exceptionally tired. Ting Xue was serving Qin Yunuan in the carriage, rubbing her temple slowly. Xi’er was watching the outside on the side of the carriage.
Qin Yunuan suddenly thought of something, and asked, “Xi’er, is it the last exam of the Imperial College today? Is Baochuan coming back in the evening?”
There was no response outside. Qin Yunuan became suspicious, and she signaled to Ting Xue to lift up the carriage curtain for a tiny bit. However, the people outside seemed to have noticed immediately, and the carriage stopped immediately. She knew that something’s wrong.
But at the same time, Qin Yunuan knew that Leng Shuang had been leading some guards to protect her in the dark. She raised her voice, “Who is it? If you dare to attack my carriage, why don’t you dare to show yourself?”
Suddenly, blunt sound came from outside, together with some painful moaning, which sounded familiar. Qin Yunuan lifted the carriage curtain to see Leng Shuang lying on the ground, with a short arrow in her shoulder. Someone who could knock Leng Shuang off so easily was rarely seen in Qi. Apparently, Qin Yunuan was ambushed, and the attacker knew well about her route and security arrangements.
“Leng Shuang.” Qin Yunuan called her. Leng Shuang tried her best to open her eyes, but then closed them immediately. It seemed that the arrow was drugged.
The attacker came in no good intentions and was well prepared. Qin Yunuan thought about it for a while. Since they used drugs instead of poison on Leng Shuang, it meant that they didn’t plan to take her life directly. She boldly walked out of the carriage and stood up straight. The view around was unfamiliar, and there was no one around. However, Qin Yunuan knew that the attacker was just nearby.
“You took me here but didn’t kill me immediately. It means that you want to bargain with me. What now? Now that I’m here, you’re hiding in the dark. Couldn’t you possibly be afraid, could you?”
Swish! A short arrow struck the carriage, missing Qin Yunuan barely. However, Qin Yunuan was as stable as a rock. She was fearless, as she knew that the attacker didn’t want to hurt her, not even the slightest bit.
“You’re so tiny, yet you like to use these ruthless tactics. Is it that Leng Changxi spoiled you too much?” A bright male’s voice sounded. The familiar tone and voice made Qin Yunuan tremble.
In between the woods, a man in dark green flipped his paper fan and approached Qin Yunuan’s carriage slowly. A silk tree was painted on the paper fan. A woman was sitting on a rock under the tree, holding the red flower in her hands. She was looking familiar, and it seemed that it was Qin Yunuan.
Qin Yunuan raised her head, looking at the person whom she was most familiar with. It had been a while since she last saw him. He had grown a beard on his chin and became slimmer, but the smile on his face had also become grimmer.
“Prince Ray, it’s been a long while.” Qin Yunuan looked down at the confident Sima Ray. His expressions only made Qin Yunuan more disgusted.
Sima Ray smiled, “Normal people panic when they see me. They all thought that I’m dead. You’re the only one who’s always so calm.” Sima Ray tilted his head and said, “You know what? I like your cold attitude. The prouder you are, the more my desire to keep you as mine will be.”
“But you know what? Prince Ray, you look really disgusting and sick.” Qin Yunuan smiled.
Sima Ray was not angry at all, but he yelled towards Du Sheng beside him. “Why are you still standing here? Can’t you see that Infanta Ping was still standing on the carriage? Go over and kneel down, let Infanta Ping dismount the carriage on your back.”
Du Sheng hurried to the carriage and knelt down familiarly. Some of the nobles didn’t like to use wooden ladders to dismount the carriage but preferred their servants as human ladders. They said that it was softer and more comfortable.
Qin Yunuan looked at Du Sheng in disdain and leaped off the carriage on the other side with Ting Xue’s help. She pointed at her shoes and said towards Sima Ray, “Excuse me, Prince Ray. I have no habit of stepping on animals.”
“Interesting.” Sima Ray smiled wickedly. As he waved his hands, a dozen soldiers showed up behind him. Fang Ziying had mentioned the clothes of the Jinling army in the letter she wrote to Qin Yunuan. Qin Yunuan could recognize on first glance that these soldiers, and the countless soldiers hiding in the woods, were all from Jinling. Apparently, the Commander’s Seal of Sun Family had fallen into Sima Ray’s hands.
Sima Ray strode towards Qin Yunuan. He was like a devil, making people daunting. He only stopped when he was only a foot away from Qin Yunuan. He tilted his head and whispered to Qin Yunuan’s ear, “What do you think Leng Changxi will do if you disappeared for three days? What about Prince Ning’s Mansion? What about your dearest Brother?”
Qin Yunuan turned her head sideways, “They’ll be better than you are.”
Sima Ray suddenly laughed, “Is it? Watch Infanta Ping closely. I’ll show her how I am going to torture the people whom she treasures the most.”
After that, two soldiers came forward to hold Qin Yunuan’s arms. Ting Xue struggled at her best, trying to protect Qin Yunuan, but was kicked away by a strong man. Qin Yunuan had no intention of struggling. She knew that Sima Ray was more despicable and vicious than ever. The more discontent and pain she showed, the more pleasure Sima Ray would find in her.
Qin Yunuan was blindfolded and pushed back to the carriage. The carriage shook. It seemed that a driver mounted the carriage as well. Sounds of men and horses gathered around her. Qin Yunuan couldn’t use her eyes for now, so she could only use her ears and her nose to catch every hint of information she could obtain. However, Sima Ray seemed to be well prepared either. He put some knockout incense in the carriage. Even though Qin Yunuan tried her best to keep awake, she passed out very soon.
When she woke up again, Qin Yunuan saw the round curtain on top of her. It was a round bed she was lying on. There were no windows around, so the room was only lit by candles. Qin Yunuan was feeling bad about it. Apparently, it meant that she had no possibility to contact with the outside world. She couldn’t even know the time according to the angle of the sun. It seemed that Sima Ray’s purpose was to cut off hope for Qin Yunuan.
There was a blunt sound of a heavy door pushed open. Looking along the light, Qin Yunuan saw Sima Ray appearing on the stairs. There was a cold smile on Sima Ray’s face.
Sima Ray put the food box in his hands on the wooden table, approached Qin Yunuan’s ear and said, “Glutinous Rice Balls, your favorite. It’s from the First Boite of the Royal City.”
The First Boite of the Royal City was Leng Changxi’s property. What Sima Ray meant was…
“It seems that Leng Changxi had no action yet since you disappeared on the way to the palace.” Sima Ray told her about the outside world with a smile.
Qin Yunuan looked at Sima Ray and remained silent. To Sima Ray, the less Qin Yunuan reacted, the more he would talk. While what Qin Yunuan wanted was to know as much information as possible.
“Your servant girls are all loyal indeed.” Sima Ray said sarcastically, “They wouldn’t say a thing about you even after I tortured them.”
Seeing Qin Yunuan’s pupils shook, Sima Ray was more confident. “However, I have my own way. They are all virgins, right? Huh, if they remain silent, I’ll do everything I can. The soldiers from Jinling haven’t seen women for quite a while. I’m afraid that they…”
“Shameless!” Qin Yunuan couldn’t help but swang her arm towards him. However, Sima Ray held her arm in his hands immediately. It was now that Qin Yunuan noticed the changes of her body. She was powerless.
“Don’t try to go hard on me.” Sima Ray smiled. “Even if I don’t drug you, there’s no chance that you can overpower me. The most capable servant girl of yours, Leng Shuang, right? I was thinking that I should start with her. I guess my soldiers will also enjoy wild women like her.”
“Sima Ray, I’ll tell you what. If you dare to hurt them at all, I’ll return their pain on you for thousands of times one day.”
Sima Ray suddenly gripped Qin Yunuan’s neck powerfully. Her fine neck was like a stray in Sima Ray’s big palm. Sima Ray raised Qin Yunuan’s chin with his thumb and said viciously, “My little prisoner, do you know why I’m better than you are? You’re too emotional. You can’t be constrained by your emotions if you want to succeed. You should learn from me. I could hide behind the Empress for dozens of years; kill my brothers and sisters, even my father, the Emperor, in order to get what I want.”
Hearing this, Qin Yunuan felt her heart trembled. Just then, a general came in from the outside, arched his hands to Sima Ray and said, “Prince Ray, everything’s ready. The army could leave at any time.”
Sima Ray waved him off, yet Qin Yunuan rushed to ask, “You’re going to revolt?”
Sima Ray just smiled and didn’t say anything. Qin Yunuan stopped him, “Are you going to kill the Emperor?”
Sima Ray stopped his pace, “There are only two choices for what’s in my way. Either follow me or to be destroyed.”
Qin Yunuan shook her head, “You’re mad, you’re really mad. Do you really think that you can get everything that’s yours after you kill the Emperor? Do you think the officials would all support you? Do you think all the people would support you?”
Sima Ray smiled coldly, “This is not my concern. Besides, Nuan, I like it when you’re anxious. You’ll never know how pretty you are when you’re angry and frowning.”