Feng Jin watched him glare at her in utter disarray. Though clearly furious to the extreme, with his enemy right before him, he remained helpless. This sense of powerlessness was truly heart-wrenching to witness, yet for some reason, seeing this scene, she didn't feel particularly angry... Especially when a hint of triumph bloomed in her heart.
This is truly not good; how could she build her happiness upon another's suffering...
Feng Jin immediately closed her eyes, silently praying for absolution for her actions, hoping it would somehow lessen her guilt.
Before reopening her eyes, Feng Jin had already turned away, fearing that if she saw Gu Beichen in such a pathetic state again, she might burst out laughing.
To show the last sliver of respect she had for Gu Beichen, it was better not to look at him, so she simply turned her back.
Gu Beichen turned his head, his eyes full of resentment, and glanced at Ling Mohan, then exerted all his strength to move.
Having known each other for years, Ling Mohan immediately understood the meaning in Gu Beichen's eyes. However, he too was helpless at the moment. With Feng Jin still present, what could he do?
He could only reach out and pat his friend's shoulder, conveying his sympathy through his gaze. Finally, unable to bear it, he said, "Just behave yourself. Perhaps she'll release you once her anger subsides!"
"Mmm... mmm..." Gu Beichen uttered a few sounds from his mouth, as if expressing his dissatisfaction with Ling Mohan.
Truly a poor choice of friends; how could he associate with someone so afraid of his wife? Utterly useless, he didn't even dare to say another word after being glared at by Feng Jin.
"You're not satisfied? Then perhaps I should help you stretch your muscles a bit more."
Feng Jin had also discerned the anger and dissatisfaction in Gu Beichen's eyes. She hadn't expected him to be so arrogant even at this point. It seemed she truly had to teach Gu Beichen a lesson this time, one he would never forget.
Then, whenever he saw her in the future, he would remember today's experience and avoid her altogether.
Ling Mohan, unable to bear seeing Gu Beichen in such a miserable state, immediately stepped in front of him just as Feng Jin was about to advance.
"What do you want to do?" Feng Jin's voice was low to the extreme, filled with displeasure.
"I... I naturally don't want to do anything. I just feel that if you do it yourself, you'll get tired. You should go rest, and leave these matters to me. I guarantee I'll handle them beautifully."
Ling Mohan understood Feng Jin's little thoughts perfectly, and his few words struck a chord with her, making her quite happy.
"Then I'll leave it to you. I'm going back now."
How could she not know Ling Mohan's little intentions? She hadn't really intended to make things difficult for Gu Beichen; it was simply that what he had said was too infuriating, and she had acted on impulse, accidentally being a bit rough with him. Once her anger subsided, she no longer wished to torment him.
Since Ling Mohan was giving her a way to back down, she gracefully accepted his gesture and decided not to prolong the tension.
After Feng Jin left, Ling Mohan finally turned his gaze to Gu Beichen, who was bound tightly to a pillar. He took a dagger from his waist and lightly slashed at the ropes. As the ropes fell away, Gu Beichen's legs went soft, and he collapsed directly onto the ground.
Looking at Gu Beichen's dishevelled state, Ling Mohan sighed slightly, feeling that he had brought this upon himself. He wondered if he would dare to shout at Feng Jin like that again in the future.
It was good for him to learn a lesson; he would be more mindful next time and wouldn't make the same mistake.
"What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and help me up. Are you just going to stand there and watch me sit here, doing nothing?"
Ling Mohan extended his hand with a slight hint of disdain and pulled Gu Beichen up from the ground.
"Damn it... my legs are numb!" Gu Beichen held his numb legs, walked with a limp to the chair, and sat down with great difficulty.
Feng Jin had almost tortured him to death. Fortunately, there was no one else here. If others had seen this and spread the word, his reputation would truly be ruined.
Gu Beichen moved his joints, feeling slightly better, and then cast his gaze upon Ling Mohan. He complained with dissatisfaction, "It's not that I want to say this, but you're so afraid of her. You won't have any good days ahead of you. As a man, you should stand tall and not let her know what 'the husband is the head of the household' means. Everything should be according to the husband's will..."
"By indulging Feng Jin like you do, she's already riding all over you and showing off. Don't you see how proud she was just now? If it were me, I'd have slapped her to make her realize her place, and then she wouldn't dare to be so arrogant again!"
Gu Beichen spoke more and more passionately, completely ignoring Ling Mohan's murderous glare.
"I'm telling you, you need to properly restrain Feng Jin from now on, so that she... Ah... Ling Mohan, damn you, why did you kick me? My back!"
That kick from Ling Mohan must have been with full force; his back was almost broken.
Gu Beichen held his back and managed to stand up, glaring at Ling Mohan with fiery eyes: "Damn you, you want to kill me? Using so much force!"
Ling Mohan's expression turned grim as he walked expressionlessly towards Gu Beichen and said, "From now on, if you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll pull out your teeth and sew your mouth shut, so you can never speak again."
He immediately regretted letting Gu Beichen go. Feng Jin was right; he should have taught him a lesson to see if he would dare to spout nonsense in the future.
"You... you... you're just blinded by beauty and forget your friends, having no humanity for others. Your brain has been completely washed by Feng Jin. Now you can only see Feng Jin. Our relationship has been so many years, and yet you treat me like this!"
Gu Beichen pointed at Ling Mohan and began to accuse him, completely not expecting Ling Mohan to do such a thing. It was truly excessive.
After so many years of friendship, it couldn't even compare to his few days with Feng Jin. His heart was deeply wounded, shattered into pieces.
"Shut up!" Ling Mohan roared, "From now on, if you dare to spout nonsense about Feng Jin, don't blame me for disregarding our brotherhood and not being polite to you!"
He was already unhappy that Gu Beichen couldn't see the true nature of that Xiliang princess. Hearing him slander Feng Jin like this made him even more enraged, and he had been barely holding himself back from beating him soundly.
"You..." Under Ling Mohan's oppressive might, Gu Beichen finally chose to surrender.