Volume One, Chapter 10: You Deserve to Be Drowned in a Pig Cage!

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Xu Huai'an turned around and glared viciously at Lady Lin, who had spoken without restraint.

“Shut up! If this matter gets out, it won’t be her reputation alone that suffers!”

Only then did Lady Lin belatedly close her mouth.

With the Crown Prince present, no one dared approach rashly.

The air fell into deathly silence.

Qi Xizhou glanced at Xu Zhiyi, who was bundled up beside him like a dumpling, and asked coldly in a low voice,

“You don’t intend to say anything?”

Xu Zhiyi shook her head and vigorously rubbed both cheeks with her hands.

Qi Xizhou had no idea what she was doing, but they could not remain on the bed forever.

“Imperial Brother, I am fine.”

He rolled over and sat up, pulling at the wounds on his back. A searing pain shot through him.

The gauze canopy was gently lifted.

Qi Xizhou’s face was icy, his eyes seemingly coated with frost. The murderous aura radiating from him made Xu Huai’an retreat two involuntary steps.

His black hair was disheveled, his clothing in disarray, and flecks of blood stained the snow-white bedding.

Xu Zhiyi, who had appeared perfectly composed moments ago, seemed to have been terribly frightened. She huddled behind Qi Xizhou, trembling like a leaf.

Her lotus-colored bodice had slipped slightly, revealing half a fragrant shoulder.

The Crown Prince lowered his eyes.

What is seen cannot be unseen!

“Put your clothes on and get to the reception hall!”

Xu Huai’an was burning with rage, but with the Crown Prince present, he ultimately did not dare voice the more offensive words on his tongue.

Everyone left, and the door was slammed shut.

Xu Zhiyi noticed the wounds on Qi Xizhou’s back.

Old and new scars crisscrossed one another, a horrifying sight.

A dark-brown scar, slightly raised at his waist, crawled toward his lower abdomen like a centipede.

“Was this caused by a spear thrust?”

Xu Zhiyi reached out and touched it.

“Don’t touch me!”

Qi Xizhou turned around, only to find the woman behind him with flushed cheeks and reddened eyes. She truly looked as though he had ravaged her terribly...

Furious, Qi Xizhou raised his hand, about to wrap it around her slender neck.

The quilt slipped down, and Qi Xizhou noticed the overlapping old and new lash marks across her body. His expression froze.

“Are you a servant of the Xu household?”

Xu Zhiyi gave a soft laugh. She lowered her head and glanced at the bruises and lash marks covering her body, suddenly seized by a wicked impulse.

“Like looking? There are even more wounds on my back. Would you like to see them?”

She jumped barefoot from the bed. Her figure was slender and petite.

Seeing that Qi Xizhou continued staring at her, she pretended to reach for the bodice she was wearing.

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“Shameless!”

Qi Xizhou turned his head away and squeezed his eyes shut, his fists clenched so tightly that they creaked.

Xu Zhiyi shrugged and walked toward the wardrobe as though she did not care in the least.

Don’t suffocate Little Yu’er in there.

She had originally been stationed in the side chamber to prevent anyone else from barging in and ruining the scheme. Who could have imagined that this wretched man would awaken so quickly?

When the wardrobe opened, Little Yu’er nearly dropped her eyes from their sockets upon seeing Xu Zhiyi, who was barely clothed.

Yet Xu Zhiyi calmly took out a pale-green dress and gave her a meaningful glance.

Qi Xizhou’s eyes remained closed.

“My father has summoned me to the reception hall. Do you intend to stay here and make me face them alone?”

Seeing that Qi Xizhou remained unmoved, Xu Zhiyi let out a forlorn sigh.

“Alas, I was quietly embroidering my bridal gown in my own room when, for no reason at all, someone knocked me unconscious and brought me here.”

“Heh. You are quite skilled at twisting right and wrong. Do you have any proof?”

Xu Zhiyi pressed a hand to her chest and cast Qi Xizhou a sorrowful look.

“From the sound of that, are you planning to enjoy yourself and then deny knowing me once you’ve pulled up your trousers? In that case... I’m afraid I have to disappoint you. Not only do I have evidence, I also have a witness.”

Little Yu’er tumbled out of the wardrobe, her face flushed crimson and her head bowed low.

“Miss... I was cleaning this room when someone knocked me unconscious and stuffed me into the wardrobe. Sob... Eldest Miss, please save me! I don’t want to die!”

She dropped to her knees, clutching Xu Zhiyi’s skirt and sobbing so hard she could scarcely catch her breath.

“I truly wasn’t peeking on purpose. Sob... Will this gentleman silence me to keep me from talking?”

Seeing the two of them singing the same tune, Qi Xizhou found himself utterly unable to defend himself.

He pointed at Xu Zhiyi. “You are something else! I’ll remember you!”

Xu Zhiyi inclined her body slightly. “Then Third Prince, you must remember my face clearly. Don’t marry the wrong woman when the time comes!”

What shamelessness!

Utterly disgraceful!

“Go ahead. I’ll follow shortly.”

At his words, Xu Zhiyi turned and left. When she reached the doorway, she suddenly looked back.

“As long as Third Prince is willing to marry me, I swear I won’t reveal a single word of your secret, even if you beat me to death!”

Her meaningful gaze fell upon Qi Xizhou’s lower abdomen, and the corners of her lips curled upward.

Qi Xizhou ground his back teeth together in fury.

So you’re impotent after all!

Xu Zhiyi’s words echoed in his ears for a long while.

The figures of mistress and maid vanished around the corner. Then a black shadow slipped into the side chamber.

“This subordinate failed to protect His Highness. I beg Third Prince to punish me!”

“Where the hell were you just now?”

The matter had already gone too far to be undone. Even if he killed them all now, it would change nothing.

The hidden guard stammered, furtively studying Qi Xizhou’s gloomy expression.

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“This subordinate was also caught...”

He had realized at once that something was wrong. He had already rushed to the door when he suddenly caught the scent of a strange fragrance.

Then he lost consciousness.

When he awoke, he was hanging upside down from a tree...

The injury itself was minor, but the humiliation was immense!

Qi Xizhou fell into deep thought.

The several hidden guards around him had been trained from childhood. Their martial skills were exceptional, and they were highly vigilant. Most importantly, ordinary sedatives had no effect on them.

Yet they had been incapacitated without making the slightest sound.

“Where are the others?”

Hai Qing lowered his head awkwardly.

“All in the side chamber next door...”

The implication was clear: the others had been caught as well.

“Go and investigate who Xu Zhiyi learned from, and how she knew this prince would come...”

His words abruptly stopped.

The person she had schemed against at the beginning did not seem to be him at all!

Heh. So she had simply slept with the wrong man.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince and the others seem to be in the reception hall. Will you go over?”

Qi Xizhou pondered for a moment.

“Go. If this prince avoids showing his face, it will look as though he has a guilty conscience.”

Hai Qing silently crouched down.

“Are your wounds all right? Should we find someone to treat them first?”

“No need. We’ll deal with everything after we return to the residence.”

The atmosphere in the reception hall was oppressive.

Xu Zhiyi knelt on the floor, her thin shoulders trembling slightly. Tears brimmed in her eyes, poised to fall but refusing to do so.

“To do such a thing is utterly shameless! How are your sisters in this household supposed to hold their heads high in the future? And how am I to account for this to the Marquis’s residence?”

Xu Zhiyi sobbed softly, showing no intention of defending herself.

There was no point. They would not believe her anyway. Better not waste her breath.

“Are you mute? Didn’t you hear your father asking you a question? Your marriage is so near, yet you shamelessly consort with an unrelated man. Someone like you deserves to be drowned in a pig cage!”

Xu Zhiyi lowered her head, her eyes filled with scorn.

“I never imagined that a concubine now ruled the Xu household. Since that is the case, whether you beat me or kill me, your daughter will have no complaints.”

Her words landed on Lady Lin’s face like a hard slap.

Xu Huai'an snapped, “Get out of here! The Crown Prince is present. Who gave you permission to speak?”

The Crown Prince’s gaze fell upon Xu Zhiyi, and he smiled meaningfully.

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