The cursed Su Yu remained expressionless, only gently rubbing his own shoulder with one hand.
Although he had nimbly dodged most of Yu Jia's attacks earlier, the frenzied woman moved extremely fast and still managed to smash the wooden stick onto his shoulder. The force was so great that his shoulder instantly went numb with pain.
On the surface he looked calm, but inwardly he couldn't help sighing, 'Holy shit, the women here really are strong!'
Seeing his indifferent expression, as if he didn't take her seriously at all, Yu Jia trembled with even greater rage. Ignoring the bleeding wound on her head, she gripped the wooden stick tightly and advanced toward Su Yu, determined to beat him to death.
However, realizing that she—a woman—had been beaten black and blue by a weak man and left in such a sorry state was utterly humiliating.
The complete loss of face made the anger in her heart burn even fiercer. Veins bulged on her forehead as she couldn't hold back her insults and mockery:
"Your damn father is nothing but a piece of rotten goods this old lady picked up! A lowly toy! You act all high and mighty, refusing to let this old lady touch you, yet yesterday you had the nerve to go seduce another woman?"
"So in the end, you're just a fickle, loose-footed slut. Shameless, with no sense of decency whatsoever—a wanton whore!"
After saying this, she paused for a moment. Her gaze swept up and down Su Yu like she was appraising goods, filled with lewd lust as she sneered:
"Why don't you tell me how you pleased that woman? Did you strip off your clothes and kneel on the ground begging her to favor you? Or did you bury your head between her legs like a crawling insect—"
Such filthy, vulgar words were truly ear-polluting.
Su Yu's face stayed cold. His tone was neither hurried nor slow: "Your dog mouth really does love eating shit—filthy and stinky."
"You—!"
Before she could say anything more, the chill in Su Yu's eyes deepened. He suddenly grabbed a movable object nearby and smashed it viciously toward Yu Jia. While she dodged, he quickly stepped forward and, using the blood-stained stone, slammed it hard—"Bang!"—onto the exact same spot on her head.
"Ah!" A heart-wrenching scream tore from Yu Jia's mouth. Injury piled upon injury. Finally, her eyes rolled back and she fainted again.
Mm… Fast and accurate. As expected of a good technique for killing and robbing.
Too bad this goods had no goods.
After confirming she was merely unconscious, Su Yu—who had previously been too hungry and weak to bother—didn't want to be chased and beaten again this time.
He slowly searched inside and outside the house until he found a bundle of hemp rope in a hidden corner. He deftly tied Yu Jia to the uneven wooden pillar, then casually stuffed a piece of black, stinking rag into her mouth. Only then did he smile in satisfaction.
After busying himself for so long, it was time to look for food again!
Speaking of which, this broken house was so poor that not even a mouse would visit. The original body was still wearing the same set of clothes he had on when he was captured. As for food, while locked up and tied, Yu Jia had occasionally brought some thin porridge from who-knows-where.
That "porridge" was truly worthy of the name—one bowl of water with a few grains of rice floating in it.
The original body had been so starving that he eventually compromised and obediently behaved. After being let out, he learned from others to dig wild vegetables in the mountains, catch fish in the river, and tried every possible way to find something to eat.
Even so, Su Yu had no idea how Yu Jia had the face to claim she "provided him with food and clothing." She still beat and scolded him at every turn.
Perhaps she had a straight gut—everything just came straight out of her mouth.
Su Yu shook his head, unable to understand how she had evolved this way. He looked up at the dirty and messy room, his face full of melancholy. "Sigh… Looks like I really need to find a way to leave quickly!"
Otherwise, if he stayed any longer, he was genuinely afraid he might end up with blood on his hands. After all, Yu Jia kept courting death. What if he couldn't control himself one day?
He might beat people, but he had never killed anyone, okay?
If he really did kill someone… he definitely couldn't let the villagers suspect it was him.
So, for now, he would keep her around and see if she still had any use.
—
Whether it was because of the combined poison and injury, after being fed the antidote and having her wounds treated, Mo Xihan only woke up after a full seven days.
Du Xi drove the horse carriage along the official road. The person who usually loved to joke and laugh didn't dare utter a single word the entire journey under her master's silence. She even breathed much more lightly.
Um… She had no idea what had happened to her master before she fainted, but her aura had become terrifyingly oppressive.
Recalling how her master had slowly woken up this morning, her eyes blank for a moment, then lifted her hand in disbelief. The instant she saw the object in her hand, she suddenly let out a cold laugh.
One moment "Hahaha," the next "Hehehe," then "Jie jie jie…"
She switched between several different types of laughter at will, making Du Xi's scalp tingle. It felt extremely eerie.
Du Xi was completely clueless and utterly confused.
Her master staying silent like this was far more frightening than her usual sharp-tongued, firecracker-like way of speaking that could choke people to death!
Especially after learning they were already quite far from the place where she had fainted and were now heading back to the capital upon receiving the Emperor's message, her master's face had turned as black as a lump of coal.
Still, as a subordinate, Du Xi felt it was necessary to show some concern for her master.
Swallowing nervously, she skillfully held the reins with one hand. She opened her mouth, but realized she didn't know what had happened to her master and had no idea how to begin.
She scratched her head with the other hand. After a moment, Du Xi's eyes suddenly brightened.
"Master's residence is filled with countless gold, silver, and treasures. You have treasures, you have looks, and you have power. So why are you so reluctant to let go of that single copper coin?"
It was strange indeed. When she had found her master unconscious, her right hand had been clenched tightly around something. At the time, when she tried to take it away, the still-unconscious master had angrily pushed her away.
She had thought it was some priceless treasure that no one was allowed to touch. Only today did she learn that it was merely one copper coin—the smallest and most ordinary copper coin imaginable.
Perhaps Master had rather unique hobbies and had suddenly taken a liking to this kind of "heavenly object" that she usually "wouldn't even see"?
Thus, Du Xi—who could both show her meticulous thoughtfulness, express concern for her master, and flatter and praise her—asked in a bright, lively tone:
"Still, it's just one copper coin. It can't even buy a crumb of steamed bun. Yet Master cherishes it so much and doesn't mind at all. This is enough to show Master's deep concern and for the hardships of the common people's lives."
"..."
Suddenly praised like this, Mo Xihan quietly looked at her.
Du Xi remained completely unaware. Still scratching her head and racking her brains, she continued:
"At the same time, it carries the sweat and toil of the common people, which means it represents how hard-earned the imperial treasury is. This shows Master's and concern for His Majesty's in governing the country!"
Du Xi spoke with a serious face, as if she truly meant every word.
In reality, she was secretly thrilled inside. With these words, she had not only praised her master but had also praised the Emperor along with her.
'Hehehe…' She really was a big smart one!
"...."
"Hehe—"
A whole string of rainbow farts successfully made the corner of Mo Xihan's lips curl into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. With a soft "hehe," her gaze landed on Du Xi outside the carriage door.
She knew about the hardships and difficulties of the common people; she also knew about her imperial sister's difficulties.
But… was this really the time to talk about that?