Now the relationship between the King of Yunnan and the court was tense, and Jiang Si had been sent to the capital as a concubine. If the two sides were at peace, it would be fine, but once a conflict broke out, Jiang Si would be the first to be sacrificed.

“This lowly official does not dare to speculate on His Majesty’s thoughts.”

Lan Xuezhao helplessly lowered his head, the enchanting and beautiful flower withering in this instant. He asked with a last glimmer of hope, “Then will Her Majesty kill Jiang Si? She is a concubine after all.”

“Maybe.” She gave an ambiguous answer.

Lan Xuezhao closed his eyes in despair, almost fainting.

It’s over, it’s all over. Everything was still fine yesterday, how did everything change in the blink of an eye?

Jiang Si was in imminent danger. He might never be able to return to the Miao territory.

“Why is Consort Rong still here? Hurry and take him away!” Yue Guanyi walked over at some unknown time, glaring at Lan Xuezhao’s hand clutching Qiu Shuzhi’s with a vicious look.

Lan Xuezhao dejectedly lowered his head and allowed the Imperial Guards to take him away. Yesterday he was an infinitely glorious favored consort; today he had become a dog that everyone drove away.

Qiu Shuzhi was a little worried, not for Lan Xuezhao, but for the three people secretly discussing in that tent.

“I feel Qin Shu’s death was a bit sudden.” She had already confided in Yue Guanyi and no longer concealed these things from him. “The King of Yunnan’s position at court is not yet solid. He shouldn’t have eliminated Qin Shu so rashly. By the way, how does Your Highness plan to deal with Lady Jiang?”

Yue Guanyi’s eyes revealed a trace of complexity. “Qin Zheng is furious and ordered to make her life worse than death.”

She sighed. “According to the Imperial Guards’ punishments, the pampered Lady Jiang is in for some suffering.”

Qiu Shuzhi felt some pity. Such a beautiful and charming woman, falling into the hands of the Imperial Guards, her fate might not be better than Concubine Jing’s.

If it was really the King of Yunnan choosing to act at this time, it was clear that Jiang Si had already been treated as a discardable pawn… Perhaps Lan Xuezhao as well.

Qin Shu’s death cast a shadow over the entire court, even more so than when she was assassinated.

Because of this, the hunting trip ended abruptly. The young Emperor ordered to set out for the return to the capital the next day.

That night, the lamp in Jiang Si’s tent burned bright. The charcoal fire crackled red. She was tied to a chair, her long hair loose, her crimson outer robe torn and disheveled. Several whip marks lashed across her delicate, smooth face. The firelight projected her shadow on the tent, winding and extending like a ghostly painted skin.

“Your Highness, she still won’t say anything.” Chang’an put down the chili oil-soaked whip.

Yue Guanyi sat slanting opposite her, his thin, cold eyes lowered. “It’s just a whipping. You underestimate Lady Jiang too much.”

Jiang Si’s face was pale and weak, her seductive red lips devoid of color. She laughed in a low, wretched voice, her eyes full of despair. He had been completely abandoned.

“But to be able to endure a whipping without making a sound, this palace is truly impressed.” Yue Guanyi slowly stood up and took out a branding iron that was burning so hot it was almost melting from the scarlet charcoal fire. His thin lips uttered lightly, “I wonder if you can bear this?”

Jiang Si’s body instantly chilled, but she bit her lower lip tightly, refusing to beg for mercy.

Yue Guanyi chuckled. He had seen many people like this. The branding iron was just a trifling toy for minor torment. What was truly terrifying was the endless torture, each time more unbearable than the last. No matter how tight-lipped, he could pry her open.

“Take off the lady’s clothes. Be careful not to burn the fine Shu silk.” The corners of Yue Guanyi’s mouth slowly curled into a playful smile, as if he was holding a cat toy instead of a terrifying branding iron.

“Yes.” Chang’an was well-versed in these things. Just as he was about to unbutton the collar of her stand-up collar, Jiang Si, who had always been calm, suddenly resisted violently.

“Get lost!” He cursed in a low voice.

“It’s just taking off clothes. Why is the lady so agitated?” Yue Guanyi’s eyes gradually filled with a layer of coldness. He put down the iron and strode forward, tearing open his collar in one pull. The agate buttons instantly scattered.

The neck that had always been concealed was exposed to him for the first time. Chang’an looked at the slight bulge in his throat in astonishment. “You… You’re actually a man?”

Yue Guanyi stared at his Adam’s apple in disbelief, prying open his collar until he saw his completely flat chest before finally believing the fact that he was male.

The most secret place of a man was exposed to them without any defense. Jiang Si’s face was deathly pale as if he had been greatly humiliated, blood oozing from his mouth.

Yue Guanyi grabbed his chin, his eyes deep. “I never thought Lady Jiang turned out to be Young Master Jiang.”

No wonder he always felt that Jiang Si looked masculine despite her enchanting appearance.

No wonder Jiang Si had an inexplicable fondness for Qiu Shuzhi, repeatedly trying to get close to her, please her, and send men to her.

He couldn’t figure out the reason before, but now he understood everything.

Jiang Si snorted coldly. “Now you know.”

“I was still curious how the King of Yunnan could be so ruthless as to send his own daughter to the capital as a concubine. Turns out it’s a male body. No wonder he’s treated as a discardable pawn. Even his death is considered a pity.” Yue Guanyi narrowed his eyes and said ominously.

Jiang Si gripped the armrests of the chair tightly, his mouth covered in blood, his eyes boring into him like sharp blades.

Yue Guanyi looked at him and smiled. “What do you think will happen to you if Qin Zheng finds out you’re a man?”

Jiang Si’s body shook. He had long heard about Qin Zheng’s methods in her youth. A man falling into the hands of a powerful official often suffered the most heart-wrenching and bone-scraping humiliation, unable to even keep his chastity, living worse than the lowest-ranking prostitute.

“Yue Guanyi, you dare-” He gritted his teeth, his voice almost a low growl.

“Why wouldn’t I dare?”

Jiang Si stared at Yue Guanyi. Suddenly, he laughed, his enchanting eyes flashing with a hint of knife-like ruthlessness. “If I die, Qiu Shuzhi will definitely not live either.”

Yue Guanyi’s eyes violently shook. He grabbed Jiang Si’s neck, his voice icy cold and bone-chilling as if he had come from hell. “What did you do to her?”

Jiang Si smiled fearlessly. He had guessed correctly. Yue Guanyi liked Qiu Shuzhi. It was not in vain that he had tampered with the hidden weapon, using the rarest poisonous Gu from the Miao territory.

Enduring the suffocating pain of his neck almost being strangled, he met Yue Guanyi’s terrifying eyes that were like a fierce ghost. His bloody lips curled into a mocking smile. “If I die, no one can cure this poison. The Qiu Shuzhi you think of day and night will suffer the pain of ten thousand insects gnawing at her bones every day, making her life worse than death.”

Yue Guanyi instantly paled. His eyes fixed on Jiang Si were filled with undissolvable viciousness and malice. His fingers, like an eagle’s claw grasping a withered bone, almost embedded into his flesh. His hatred was sky-high, but he was restrained. The force of his fingers almost broke Jiang Si, but he finally withdrew his hand.

“Release him.” He said coldly.

Chang’an obediently untied the ropes binding Jiang Si. Free from restraint, Jiang Si immediately tidied his clothes, covering his chest that Yue Guanyi had torn open. The crimson robe under the charcoal fire exuded an enchanting, ghostly beauty.