"I'll let you feel the pain of being a prince. Those who offend me never end well." Wu Caiwei crossed her arms, looking at him calmly.
The county magistrate wanted to say something else, but the next wave of pain hit him. He could only open his mouth and gasp for air, unable to speak.
Wu Caiwei did not look at his contorted, agonized form as he collapsed on the ground. Instead, she turned him over and examined him meticulously.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps and frowned involuntarily. The next moment, a knock sounded on the door, "My Lord, I've made some soup for you."
Hope immediately lit up in the county magistrate's eyes. As he had expected, after knocking for a long time with no response, the person cautiously opened the door and saw his Lord lying on the ground, trembling with pain. Rushing to his side, they asked in a panic, "My Lord, what's wrong?"
The county magistrate mustered all his strength and raised his hand. Madam Li looked at where he was pointing with some confusion, her mouth opening wide as if to scream. Before a sound could escape, she collapsed on the ground.
"Trying to call for help? Take a look if she's a match for me." Wu Caiwei said dismissively, rubbing the hand that had been a bit strained.
"Please, spare me." The county magistrate deflated like a punctured ball. Knowing no one could help him at this moment, and that his nephew had not been detoxified for so long, he was already in unbearable pain and wanted to get through the current ordeal first.
"I'll ask you again, where is my brother?" Seeing him beg for mercy, Wu Caiwei quickly took out silver needles and pricked him a few times. The county magistrate immediately felt his pain lessen considerably. He dared not underestimate her, and suppressing his dizziness, he staggered to his feet and went to the bookshelf. Lifting the bottommost book, a small door appeared in the wall.
"Wouldn't it have been easier if you had just said so earlier? I warn you, don't play any dirty tricks behind my back, or I promise you'll die a slow, painful death within two months. Feel free to test me if you don't believe me." After saying this, Wu Caiwei slowly walked into the secret chamber.
"Will you talk? Our iron is already red-hot. If you don't, we'll let you smell the aroma of roasted meat."
When Wu Caiwei entered, she saw a man holding a red-hot iron bar menacingly in front of another, looking eager to strike.
And Liu Xiangjun was bound to a cross, covered in blood, his head bowed, making his expression unreadable.
"What do you want him to say? Ask me." Wu Caiwei said with a laugh of anger.
"How did you get here? This is no place for you. Leave quickly." As soon as Liu Xiangjun saw his sister, his neck and face turned red with anxiety. These people were not to be trifled with. His own suffering was enough; he didn't want his sister to be endangered.
"How did you get in?" The two men guarding the secret chamber exchanged glances, their faces filled with alarm.
Wu Caiwei ignored them, stepped forward, and took Liu Xiangjun's pulse. Finding only superficial wounds, she breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Did you inflict the injuries on him?"
For some reason, despite facing an ordinary woman, they felt an oppressive sense of dread spread through them. Feeling cowardly, they forced themselves to appear arrogant. "Yes, we did."
As soon as they finished speaking, they let out pig-like screams, "Ah!" Wu Caiwei's whip seemed to have eyes, striking precisely their vulnerable spots.
The two men were beaten defenseless and hastily cried out, "Mercy, noble lady! Mercy, noble lady!" Su Dan Xiao Shuo Wang.
Wu Caiwei stopped when she felt their injuries were comparable to Liu Xiangjun's. Panting, she rested for a while before stepping forward to untie Liu Xiangjun.
Without support, Liu Xiangjun leaned towards her uncontrollably. Wu Caiwei helped him as they slowly walked out. They involuntarily stopped near where the two men were.
The two men huddled together, trembling and instinctively retreating. Wu Caiwei snorted. The mastermind was not them, so she would spare them for now. Fortunately, they hadn't used the branding iron on him, or their fate would have been far worse.
Seeing Wu Caiwei supporting Liu Xiangjun and walking away without looking back, the county magistrate quickly mustered all his strength to block their path and said fawningly, "I've let him go. Can my poison be cured now?"
"If you had treated my brother well and provided him with food and drink, we could have discussed it further. I'm a very vengeful person. Seeing him covered in blood pains me. The culprit must pay tenfold, a hundredfold." Wu Caiwei decided to give him a taste of his own medicine.
"I know I was wrong. I'll immediately find the best doctor in the county to treat him and compensate you with twenty thousand taels of silver. How about that?" Having experienced the pain, and the thought of it made him tremble, the county magistrate desperately wanted the poison removed.
"It's too late." No matter how he pleaded or played the victim, Wu Caiwei paid him no mind. He could only watch helplessly as they left.
Once they were out of the county magistrate's sight, Liu Xiangjun looked at his sister with a pleading expression, "Miss Li was with me at the time. I was captured by villains. I don't know how she is. Can you help me find out?"
Wu Caiwei was quite satisfied with his attitude. He hadn't lost his reason because of his fiancée and was asking her to gather information, not to rescue her. With the original owner's memories, she was determined to break them up this time, and she would not hide anything from him.
"You're still worried about her here? Do you know she sold you for a good price?" Wu Caiwei looked at him with pity.
"Wh-what do you mean?" Liu Xiangjun's mind was a bit slow, and he didn't understand immediately.
"Literally. Guess how I found you?"
"You mean you found out my whereabouts from the Li family?"
"What else? They were still hiding it. I threatened your so-called Miss Li with a knife, telling her I'd kill her if she didn't speak. She got scared and told me where you were."
"How is that possible?" While he said it was impossible, Liu Xiangjun's eyes were already red. He murmured, "Why would she do that?"
"Naturally, it was to get closer to the county magistrate and expand the Li family's business into the county town. You were nothing more than a pawn in their eyes. Stay away from her in the future." Wu Caiwei knew he would have trouble accepting it for a while, but a sharp pain was better than prolonged agony.
Liu Xiangjun remained silent, shedding tears. Wu Caiwei pretended not to notice.
As soon as they returned to their mansion, Father Liu and Mother Liu rushed forward to greet them. They couldn't sleep without their two children back, so they simply sat in the courtyard waiting.
Although she already knew her son was in trouble, seeing him covered in wounds, Mother Liu couldn't help but shed tears. Father Liu stepped forward to check his pulse. Seeing that he only had superficial injuries, he breathed a sigh of relief. Without asking how he got injured, he immediately went to the pharmacy to prepare medicine and treat his son.
Two days later, the Li family arrived with the betrothal contract. Father Liu then learned that everything his son had suffered was related to the Li family.