After she said that, Song Huai also felt a little hot. He pulled his collar and handed her a folding fan: "Maybe it's because of the chicken soup. Fan yourself!"
Xie Nanjia took the fan and fanned herself a few times, but the heat on her face did not subside, but became even hotter. The heat seemed to come from the cracks between the bones under her skin, making her feel itchy and hot all over.
"Why do I feel something is wrong?" Xie Nanjia fanned herself faster, trying to lower the temperature.
Song Huai unconsciously pulled his collar again, and two blushes appeared on his fair face.
"It's a bit wrong." He said, his voice soft, his eyes confused, his hands unconsciously moved to his belt, "It's too hot, I want to take off my coat..."
"I want to too..." Xie Nanjia said. Somehow, she vaguely remembered the passionate kiss between her and Zhao Jingyu in the room of the inn. The feeling now was very similar to that time, with an uncontrollable impulse.
In a trance, she saw Song Huai unbuttoning his belt and walking towards her with a flushed face.
And she couldn't help but stand up, as if attracted by a huge magnet, and walked towards Song Huai step by step.
Song Huai was really good-looking, with sharp eyebrows, bright eyes, red lips and white teeth, broad shoulders and narrow waist, long neck, and two long, well-proportioned and strong legs... She couldn't help swallowing.
"No!" She suddenly shouted, "Song Huai, stop, don't come over!"
Song Huai was startled and stopped.
"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice low and hoarse, full of temptation.
"We were probably drugged." Xie Nanjia said breathlessly, forcing herself to step back. Unfortunately, her legs were not obedient and tried desperately to take her closer to the source of temptation.
Song Huai's heart skipped a beat and he became sober for a moment.
"Hurry, get out quickly... call someone..." he said, pointing at the door.
Xie Nanjia stared at his white fingers, not wanting to leave, just wanting to take a bite.
"Hurry up, it will be too late if we don't leave now!" Song Huai bit his lips hard, using the pain to keep himself awake.
Xie Nanjia knew it in her heart, but she just couldn't move her legs. Seeing him biting his lips, she couldn't help but want to go up and take a bite.
Song Huai grabbed the cold tea on the table and splashed it on her face.
Xie Nanjia was startled and without saying a word, turned around and ran to the door, but the door was locked from the outside and could not be opened no matter what she did.
It's over! I've fallen into a trap! Desire surged like a tide, and Xie Nanjia felt helpless and panicked.
"Call for help, call for help loudly..." Song Huai shouted at her, but his voice was soft and weak.
Xie Nanjia shouted a few times through the crack in the door, her weak voice sounding like the moan of deep love.
She seemed to have given up and walked towards Song Huai step by step.
Song Huai was both resistant and expectant, his eyes were filled with excitement and confusion, and his breathing was rapid.
This is the girl he loves. His desire for her is like a bundle of dry firewood that has been exposed to the scorching sun for thousands of years. It only needs a little spark to set it burning wildly.
But no! His remaining rationality told him that this was not okay. He could do anything to anyone except to desecrate her beauty.
He grabbed the teacup and smashed it on the table. The delicate bone china shattered. He picked up a piece and held it tightly in his palm.
The porcelain shards cut his palm and blood flowed out.
"What are you doing..." Xie Nanjia's mind was temporarily cleared by his actions, and she stood one step away from him.
"Tie me up, quickly!" Song Huai shouted in pain.
Xie Nanjia was slightly stunned, then immediately understood what he meant. She stepped forward and picked up the belt that had fallen on the ground. She quickly tied his hands behind his back, made him sit at the head of the bed, and tied the other end of the belt to the bedpost.
Song Huai felt extremely uncomfortable, but he let out a long sigh of relief.
Xie Nanjia looked at his heaving chest, and the heat came back. She licked her lips and bent down to get closer to him.
She restrained Song Huai, but couldn't control herself.
Song Huai was desperate and eager. As she approached, even the pain in his palms became numb.
Xie Nanjia came over, took the porcelain piece from his palm, and stabbed her own shoulder with her backhand.
"..." Song Huai was shocked. He had never seen a woman so cruel to him.
The pain woke Xie Nanjia up. She knew that she and Song Huai must have been plotted against. No one would come to save them even if she screamed at the top of her lungs, so she could only find a way out on her own.
She looked around, quickly thinking of ways to attract other people's attention, and finally made up her mind, carried all the bedding on Song Huai's bed to the window, poured a pot of tea and half a can of chicken soup on them, and lit them with a fire starter.
The damp quilt was not easy to burn, and thick smoke rose up. Xie Nanjia used a fan to blow the smoke out of the window desperately, while being careful not to burn other objects, and fighting against the desires in her body.
Song Huai was in extreme pain. He tried desperately to break free from his restraints, shaking the bed loudly, like a trapped beast that had lost its mind, with his eyes burning red.
Xie Nanjia was attracted by his movements and couldn't help but want to go to his side. In order to stay awake, she pricked the wound again with the porcelain piece, which was so painful that it was heart-wrenching.
She didn't know how long she had persisted. Under the triple torture of thick smoke, pain and desire, her consciousness began to blur.
"Song Huai, if no one comes, I really can't hold on any longer..." she said weakly, and suddenly felt hot liquid flowing out of her nose. She wiped it with her hand and it was covered in blood.
Her eyelids felt heavy as if they were weighed down by a huge rock, and her body went limp and she collapsed beside the fire.
"Someone come quickly, there's a fire in the Third Prince's room..." The moment she closed her eyes, she heard panicked voices outside.
Her heart relaxed and her consciousness fell into endless darkness.
The meeting hall of the Nanzhao Palace was filled with people kneeling. The Nanzhao King and the Queen sat side by side in the main seats, their faces so gloomy that water could be squeezed out of them.
The two princes and two princesses sat below their father and mother respectively. As a guest, Lu Yingying was not allowed to participate in the palace's affairs, so she stayed in her own residence and did not come over.
Song Meiwei was very nervous, afraid that others would notice her abnormality, so she kept her head down the whole time and dared not say a word.
Madam Ning and Madam Wu stood with their hands hanging down; with the princess present, they had no right to take a seat.
The King of Nanzhao slammed the table loudly, pointed at the kneeling servants and shouted angrily: "The good palace has been made into a mess by you dogs. Is it because I am too kind or you are so bold that you dare to use any dirty tricks on the master? You are rebellious!"
The servants all bowed their heads to the ground, silent as a mouse.
King Nanzhao said again: "Don't think that I can't do anything to you if you don't say anything. If I can't find the person who poisoned you before dark, I will beat you all to death without sparing a single one!"
The servants trembled like sieves and dared not even breathe.
"Well, you won't say anything, right?" King Nanzhao said sternly, "Since you are so quiet, your tongues are useless. Come, cut off all their tongues!"
The guards stepped forward and drew their gleaming swords from their waists. They worked in pairs, one to pull the tongue out and one to cut it off.
"Start with the maid who delivers the soup!" ordered King Nanzhao.
With a loud cry, the maid who brought the soup rolled her eyes and fainted.
"Wake her up by pouring water on her. No one will be able to get away with it!" said King Nanzhao.
The guard brought a basin of cold water and poured it over his head.
The maid screamed again, waking up, kneeling on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty, please spare me, Your Majesty, please spare me, I know nothing, I was ordered by Madam Ning to deliver the soup, and Madam Ning added nourishing herbs to the soup, which I didn't recognize at all, so I just delivered the soup and left, Your Majesty, please understand!"
"According to what you said, it was Madam Ning who wanted to harm the Third Prince?" Princess Nanzhao said faintly.
Madam Ning was startled and hurriedly knelt down with her skirt lifted up: "Prince, Princess, Huai'er is my son, how could I possibly harm him."
Princess Nanzhao covered her mouth and laughed, "Look how scared you are. I just said it casually."
"Nonsense, is this the time to joke?" King Nanzhao glared at her unhappily. Being interrupted by her, he lost his patience in the interrogation and waved his hand, "I don't want to interrogate them anymore. Cut off their tongues first, then drag them out and beat them to death!"
"Yes!" The guards stepped forward again and drew their swords.
When everyone saw that the prince was going to kill them all, they panicked and cried out in pain.
"Your Majesty, I am innocent. I have done nothing wrong. Please spare me..."
"Your Majesty, I am innocent. I know nothing. Please spare my life..."
Shouts came one after another, and suddenly a sharp voice sounded, drowning out everyone else's voices: "I know, I know, don't cut my tongue..."
King Nanzhao waved his hand and the surroundings suddenly became quiet.
A maid in green stepped forward and kowtowed, saying, "Your Highness, my name is Alan, and I am the maid of the eldest princess. This morning I heard that the eldest princess and my cousin were plotting to drug Miss Xiu'er..."
There was a loud bang in the meeting hall.
Everyone looked at Song Meiwei in disbelief.
"impossible!"
"not me!"
Princess Nanzhao and Song Meiwei shouted at the same time.
The color drained from Song Meiwei's face and her chest heaved violently.
"Mother, it's not me..." She cried to Princess Nanzhao for help.
"Good child, don't be afraid. Mother knows it's not you." Princess Nanzhao comforted her, turned around and pointed at Alan and cursed: "You are a traitorous slave. In order to save your own life, you actually threw dirty water on your master's head. You think you can escape death like this? I tell you, you will be the first to die!"
Then he shouted to the guards: "Come on, drag this bitch out and chop her up!"
"Yes!" The guard took the order and carried Alan out.
"Wait!" A cold voice came from outside the door.
Everyone turned around and saw Zhao Jingyu walking in from outside.
He was dressed in black today, with a stern look in his eyes and tightly pursed thin lips. In this warm spring in the south, people felt a bit of a chill for no reason, and wherever he went, people retreated.
"The second young master is here, please take a seat!" Prince Nanzhao stood up to greet him with a smile, "Has Miss Xiu'er woken up? Is she okay?"
"What do you mean by a big problem?" Zhao Jingyu opened his mouth with a voice like a knife tempered with ice. "The Nanzhao Palace is really an eye-opener!"
King Nanzhao's forehead was covered with cold sweat. He nodded and said, "It is my fault for not being strict in discipline and managing the government. Please forgive me, Second Young Master. I will definitely find out the truth and give Miss Xiu'er an explanation."
Zhao Jingyu sneered: "If that's the case, you should investigate in detail if you have a clue. Why did you kill him without saying anything?"
“Ah, this…” King Nanzhao was speechless for a moment, looking embarrassed.
Before, Princess Nanzhao would definitely have humiliated Zhao Jingyu, but now that she knew Zhao Jingyu's background, she dared not to anger him easily.
Song Meiwei didn't know this, and shouted at Zhao Jingyu: "Why do you talk to my father like that? Who do you think you are?"
The Nanzhao King and his wife were terrified. It was too late to stop them. Zhao Jingyu frowned slightly, walked up to Song Meiwei, squinted his eyes and looked at her. After a while, he suddenly made a lightning move, strangled Song Meiwei's throat, and said word by word: "I am someone you can't afford to offend!"
Song Meiwei was caught off guard and her eyes widened in horror. Compared to the suffocating feeling in her throat, the fierce aura emanating from this man made her feel even more unable to breathe.
The Princess of Nanzhao let out a short cry of surprise but did not dare to step forward. She tried desperately to signal the King of Nanzhao with her eyes to save her daughter.
The King of Nanzhao's heart was beating fast, and he said to Zhao Jingyu with a smile: "My dear nephew, my dear nephew, girls are ignorant and superficial, you should not argue with her..."
Zhao Jingyu snorted coldly, withdrew his hand, strode up the stairs, lifted his skirt and sat down in the main seat, and said solemnly: "If you dare to touch my people, you must dare to bear the consequences. If you can't give me a satisfactory explanation for what happened today, no one can think of it!"
(End of this chapter)