Drugging

The inn's main hall.

The aroma of food mingled with the stench of sweat and wine.

Shi Yun took two swigs of cloudy liquor.

His gaze swept over A Xiu's plump figure beneath her prisoner's garb.

"A Xiu, sometimes, you don't necessarily have to use money to grease the wheels..."

Suddenly, Shi Yun grabbed A Xiu's hand holding the chopsticks.

"M... My lord..."

A Xiu's hand had been seized by Shi Yun.

Her face turned deathly pale, and tears nearly fell from her eyes.

Slap!

Just as she was at a loss.

With a crisp smack, Shen Qingzhu slapped Shi Yun's hand away.

The force behind it was greater than that of an ordinary grown man.

"Your filthy hand is really ruining my appetite."

Shen Qingzhu stared at Shi Yun without the slightest fear.

"Shen Qingzhu, are you insane..."

Shi Yun cursed.

They escorting yamen runners had always lorded above everyone else.

When had female prisoners ever stepped on their heads?

Yet Shen Qingzhu's identity made him deeply wary.

"According to the Great Harvest Statutes, if a female prisoner loses her chastity during escort, the escorting yamen runners shall be convicted of violating a prisoner, punished by exile three thousand li, or, in severe cases, execution by strangulation."

"Lord Shi, are you trying to become the same as us?"

Shen Qingzhu invoked the dynasty's laws.

"What are you talking about? Don't spout nonsense."

Bao Tianbao and Bao Dibao glared viciously at Shen Qingzhu.

Yet Shen Qingzhu only kept her eyes on Shi Yun.

She paid no attention to those two clowns.

The moment Shen Qingzhu said this.

Shi Yun's expression changed.

The Great Harvest Code did indeed contain such a provision. If escorting yamen runners violated female prisoners, once proven, the punishment would be extremely severe.

But generally speaking, lowborn women had neither power nor influence. After suffering such harm, it was difficult for them to gather evidence or bring a case. Most could only swallow their broken teeth along with their blood.

Even if he bullied A Xiu, she would find it hard to pose any real threat to him.

But Shen Qingzhu was different.

This woman was no ordinary person.

If the matter came to light.

He would be inviting no small amount of trouble.

"Hehe, Miss Shen has misunderstood."

"I merely felt sorry for Miss A Xiu and wanted to take better care of her. I meant nothing else."

Shi Yun's expression shifted with astonishing speed.

With a dry laugh, he withdrew his hand.

He could only hold his nose and swallow this silent loss.

As he spoke, Shi Yun pushed the plate of sliced braised beef before him toward A Xiu. "Here, eat more meat and build up your strength."

Shen Qingzhu ignored his hypocrisy and turned to A Xiu. "Sit down and eat. These people won't dare touch you."

With Shen Qingzhu's words, A Xiu finally dared to sit up straight again and take small bites of food.

Just then, Bao Tianbao, the civilian runner seated beside Shi Yun, rolled his eyes.

He quickly leaned forward, poured a cup of wine, and offered it to A Xiu with a grin. "Miss A Xiu, Brother Shi has taken such good care of you and hasn't made you do anything else. You should at least offer Brother Shi a toast, shouldn't you?"

"The public funds for this escort aren't enough. It was Brother Shi who paid out of his own pocket so we could eat, drink, and have a place to stay!"

A Xiu looked at the wine cup held before her and did not dare refuse it.

Shen Qingzhu cast Shi Yun a glance, her eyes carrying undisguised warning.

Shi Yun merely smiled indifferently. "Drink this cup, and we'll all keep the peace along the way. That'll also make it easier for me to answer to those above, won't it?"

Since Shi Yun had put it that way.

A Xiu raised the wine cup to her lips with trembling hands.

But Shen Qingzhu snatched the cup from A Xiu's hand.

"I rather enjoy drinking."

With that, Shen Qingzhu drained it in one gulp.

"Good! Miss Shen is forthright!" Shi Yun laughed at the sight. "That's more like it! We're all watching out for one another. If we don't deliver you safely to the place of escort, we'll have to bear responsibility too."

Lu Yuan, seated at the neighboring table.

Had taken all of this in.

He had just seen Bao Tianbao furtively make a few small movements.

Though he was not sure what it was, it could not have been anything good.

This Shen Qingzhu was still too young.

"Forget it. My own affairs are already enough to leave me scorched and frazzled. Why think so much?"

Lu Yuan shook his head.

And continued eating his beef.

Not a drop of wine from his cup passed his lips.

When the meal ended, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.

The two female prisoners were locked in the inn's woodshed in the corner, while the two rooms adjacent to the woodshed had naturally been rented by the yamen runners.

Lu Yuan was assigned a room to himself, while Shi Yun squeezed into one room with the two civilian runners, Bao Tianbao and Bao Dibao.

Late at night, the inn gradually fell silent.

Just as Lu Yuan slept soundly in his room, a faint patter of footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.

With a creak, the door was quietly pushed open.

Lu Yuan slept lightly. Almost the instant the hinges moved, his eyes opened, and his hand had already reached for the rusted blade beside his pillow.

Yet by the faint moonlight, what Lu Yuan saw was not an assassin.

But A Xiu, supporting Shen Qingzhu, whose entire body had gone limp.

Her face was somewhat flushed.

"A Xiu... you, why did you bring me here..."

Shen Qingzhu spoke weakly, her voice carrying a trace of pained panting.

"Sister Shen, you're sick. Lord Lu will save you."

A Xiu moved swiftly.

After pushing Shen Qingzhu into Lu Yuan's room.

She quickly backed out herself.

Click!!!

A crisp sound of a lock snapping shut rang out.

A Xiu had moved with incredible speed, her actions flowing like drifting clouds and running water. Clearly, she had planned this long ago.

Lu Yuan had only just thrown off the blanket and gotten out of bed when he saw Shen Qingzhu, weak and breathless, slide down the doorframe to sit on the floor.

"What kind of trick is this?"

Even Lu Yuan could not make sense of it.

Frowning, he quickly went to the door.

He tugged at it.

It did not budge.

He went to the window, only to find it firmly nailed shut with wooden planks.

Both the door and window had been sealed shut?

"Bastard... you beast!"

Leaning against the door, Shen Qingzhu forced herself to cling to her last shred of awareness and bit her lip hard.

She stared at Lu Yuan and began cursing him.

"Miss, can you get the situation straight?"

"This is my room. In the dead of night, you barged in here. How does that make me a beast?"

Lu Yuan was utterly speechless.

"It was you. This must all have been arranged by you. You yamen runners are all in league with one another. This is a trap you set."

"You... if you dare touch me, I swear I'll carve you into a thousand pieces!"

Shen Qingzhu threatened Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan truly wanted to strangle this idiot.

Just as Lu Yuan had no idea how to explain himself.

"Mmm... ah..."

At that moment, a string of seductive, intimate sounds came from next door.

That voice belonged to A Xiu.

Those sudden sounds.

Made Shen Qingzhu's already restless heart jolt violently.

Her entire body froze in place.

"What? At a time like this, have you still not realized that A Xiu is in league with them?"

Lu Yuan reminded her.

"In league with them?"

Shen Qingzhu's pupils contracted. Then she looked at Lu Yuan. "They're after you?"

Lu Yuan nodded.

This foolish woman had finally figured it out.

This was clearly a trap set for him!

"Hot... so hot..."

At that moment, the drug's effects fully erupted.

Shen Qingzhu panted.

Her jade-like fingers uncontrollably tugged open the collar of her prisoner's garb.

The look she gave Lu Yuan also turned hazy.