The wicked imperial concubine is courting death again; the comments section teaches her how to win w

She's such a delicate person; even in winter, if she's exposed to the wind for a little while, she'll snuggle into his arms and complain of being cold.

How scared would you be if you were now stranded in some unknown, dark place? Would you cry? Would you get hurt?

Xie Ling dared not think any further; with each thought, the tension in her chest tightened even more.

If it's just about blackmailing for money, then it's still possible to negotiate.

If it was for revenge, then...

Xie Ling tried to suppress the surging blood in her chest, but as soon as she took a breath, a metallic taste rose in her throat.

"cough--"

A line of dark red seeped between his fingers, slowly trickling down the gaps and onto the ground, where it bloomed into a startling dark flower.

Li Degui was terrified and rushed forward to support his arm, "Your Majesty—"

Li Fengyao's expression also changed drastically. "Your Majesty, the Empress is a lucky person and will surely be alright. You mustn't collapse first! If you fall, who will save the Empress?"

"I'm fine..."

Xie Ling's lips were bright red as she looked at the blood-stained cloak in her palm, and a name suddenly flashed through her mind.

Where is Zhao Yan?

……

It’s over.

From the moment Yunzhu was drugged and the live chat was flooded with messages of "Danger" and "Run!", Qi Yitang knew—

Everything is over.

Not only did she fail to return to the palace by the appointed time, she was also kidnapped by thieves...

Even if she were to be rescued by sheer luck, she would never be able to step out of the palace again for the rest of her life. Xie Ling would definitely nail all the doors and windows of Yaotang Palace shut and then tie her to his waistband.

The effects of the drug hadn't completely worn off; my head felt heavy and foggy, like it was filled with paste.

When Qi Yitang barely regained consciousness, she realized that a thick black cloth covered her eyes and her wrists were tightly bound with hemp rope.

All I could hear was the rumbling of wheels and the muffled thud of horses' hooves on the snow. My whole body swayed back and forth with the jolting of the carriage, like a New Year's good stuff being tossed around in a sack.

Who kidnapped her? Where are they taking her?

With her eyes covered by a black cloth, she couldn't even see the comments on the screen; she could only vaguely make out a few blurry golden characters flickering at the edge of her vision.

But the words were fragmented and couldn't be pieced together into a complete sentence.

Qi Yitang huddled in the corner of the carriage, overwhelmed with sorrow.

She was wrong, she was really wrong...

Xie Ling must have his reasons for not letting her leave the palace. A man as intelligent as him would have long anticipated that the outside world was full of traps, and that only the palace was the safest place.

Qi Yitang only regretted that he was not clever enough and had easily fallen into the villain's trap.

If only I could do it all over again...

Forget it, she wouldn't be any better even if she did it all over again.

When news of her disappearance reached Xie Ling's ears, he was incredibly worried...

No, we can't just sit here and wait to die!

Xie Ling had no loving mother, no truly close family members; he only had himself left.

If she dies, no one in this world will truly care about him anymore.

Qi Yitang gritted her teeth, turned over, and struggled to lay on the ground like a pupa.

The rough hemp rope stung her wrists, but she didn't care. She arched her back and rubbed her bound wrists against the carriage wall, trying to find something sharp to break the rope.

If they could break the rope, they could find a chance to jump off the carriage and escape.

She fumbled around, and her fingertips seemed to touch something, but the carriage jolted, and the thing rolled over, grazing her elbow as it fell off.

"boom--"

Whether it was the cup or something else that broke, a shard of porcelain grazed the back of her hand, leaving a bloody mark.

Qi Yitang ignored the pain because the carriage suddenly stopped.

Her breath hitched, her heart pounded in her chest like a drum, and she quickly fell backward, curled up into a ball, and closed her eyes, pretending to be dead.

The next second, the carriage curtain was suddenly ripped open from the front, and a cold wind carrying snowflakes rushed in, splashing her face.

"woke up?"

The man's voice came down from above, "I know you're awake. Stop pretending to be dead."

His voice was rough and hoarse, sounding like that of a desperate criminal who had lived a life of danger.

Qi Yitang froze, a thousand thoughts racing through her mind, but she couldn't recall where she had offended these martial arts figures.

Could it be that I dressed too conspicuously or spent too lavishly, thus attracting the attention of this group of vicious thugs?

"B-Big Brother..." Qi Yitang tried to keep her voice as scared and timid as possible, and stammered, "Don't worry, I'm very honest, and I didn't see your faces."

"Let's talk this out. If it's about money, no problem at all... My husband is very generous; he'll agree to whatever amount of money you want. Just don't kill the hostage... Otherwise, you'll end up with nothing, and all your efforts will be for nothing."

"Just spare my life, and I'll do anything you ask, really..."

The man was clearly surprised that Qi Yitang was such a spineless coward who feared death, and remained silent for a moment.

Then, a rough voice slammed down, "Behave yourself, or I'll kill you right now!"

Qi Yitang nodded repeatedly, "I wouldn't dare, I'm the most timid person, really."

"My husband is also very timid; he would never dare to report this to the authorities... We can discuss things like fine horses and luxury cars, gold, silver, and houses."

Normally, one shouldn't flaunt their wealth, but at this moment, Qi Yitang can only use it as leverage to negotiate with the kidnappers and buy time for Xie Ling to rescue her.

But the next second, a wad of rough cloth was stuffed into Qi Yitang's mouth, and she made two "mmm" sounds.

The worst part was that the thing emitted a strange, indescribable odor, which made Qi Yitang feel nauseous and almost brought tears to her eyes.

She had never suffered such injustice before.

The carriage continued on its way, and after an unknown amount of time, it finally came to a stop.

"Get down," the man said again.

Qi Yitang was roughly dragged out of the carriage, and as soon as she landed, she stepped into a pile of pebbles and small ice shards.

The mountain path was uneven, full of gravel and snow. The snow water soaked through my shoes, making my toes numb and tingling with cold. Every step I took hurt my soles.

"Hurry up, what are you dawdling for!" Someone pushed me from behind.

Qi Yitang endured the pain and tried to convince herself that crying wouldn't solve anything; when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.

—She endured it!

Once she's rescued, I'll definitely tear this kidnapper to pieces, dismember him, and throw him into the moat to feed the fish.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the pushing and shoving behind me finally stopped.

"arrive."

Qi Yitang felt a sense of relief at surviving a disaster. Thank goodness, she really couldn't walk anymore.

This place is quieter than before, but you can still hear several breathing sounds, so there is clearly more than one person.

The next second, with a "whoosh," the face covering was ripped off.

Qi Yitang's first reaction: It's over.

The fact that none of them were afraid of her seeing their faces shows that they weren't after money from the start, but rather wanted to take lives.

She probably won't make it back alive...

The sudden bright light made Qi Yitang squint involuntarily. After she recovered, she could see where she was. Spider webs hung down from the beams, and the altar was covered with a thick layer of dust. It was obviously an abandoned mountain god temple.

Four or five burly men stood around him, each with a short knife at his waist and a fierce expression.

The person facing her was a familiar face.

Qi Yitang's pupils contracted. "It's you?"