Taking her into his tent, he incurred the wrath of a powerful and mad minister, from which he could

Mingyi refused, saying, "Why should I believe you? I don't want to go back!"

She had finally found a chance to escape that man's control, how could she possibly return to the cage just because of a few words from a monk?

Besides, what if the monk is deceiving her?

She doesn't trust anyone.

She didn't believe in any of these things, including reincarnations of Arhats.

The nameless man remained calm and gently advised, "He has now sealed off the entire capital, setting up a trap for you. You can hide for a while, but you can't hide forever."

"It won't be long before he finds his way here, and when that happens, your fate will be grim. All I have to say is to save your life."

Mingyi bit her lower lip hard, so hard that blood almost seeped from it.

She knew in her heart that what he said was true.

Zong Xian wielded immense power, and the capital was filled with his henchmen. She was all alone; escaping the Zong family mansion was easy, but escaping the capital was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

He'll probably find this dilapidated temple with his men within three days, and she'll be severely punished, her legs broken, and she might even lose her life...

She doesn't want to die.

After much struggle and deliberation, she finally relented, looking up at the monk, "Do you have any way to help me escape?"

Wuming lowered his eyes and clasped his hands together, and a faint Buddhist chant sounded: "As long as you are still alive, even if you escape alive, the Guardian Arhat will chase you to the ends of the earth."

Mingyi paused for a moment, "You mean... you want me to fake my death and escape?"

"Exactly."

The monk, without sorrow or joy, said, "The attachments of the mortal world depend on the life force to survive. Once they believe that you are dead, the emotional roots in their hearts lose their anchor, and only then can their shattered Zen mind have a chance to slowly heal and return to stillness."

Mingyi, impatient with his long-winded explanation, pressed on, "How do I fake my death?"

The words "faking death" sound easy, but are incredibly difficult to execute. Once exposed, it's a recipe for disaster.

Wuming opened his palm, and a completely black, odorless pill lay quietly in his hand.

"This medicine will cause you to lose your pulse, stop breathing, and have cold, stiff skin, as if you were dead. You can be revived and return to normal by feeding you water."

A drug to fake death!

Such a thing really exists in the world!

Mingyi carefully took it and asked, "Can't the imperial physician diagnose it?"

Wuming withdrew his hand, shook his head, and said with certainty, "Even the most skilled doctor would only conclude that the young lady is dead."

He added, "Take this medicine at 3:45 PM two days later."

Mingyi asked in confusion, "Why must it be the third quarter of midnight?"

"The young lady will know then."

Wuming suddenly said seriously, "Miss, please remember, you only have three days after taking this medicine. Someone must wake you up within three days."

"Otherwise, once the time limit is over, they will really die and never wake up again."

...

The fake death pill had been carefully hidden by Mingyi.

Zong Xian was completely unaware of this, and simply thought that after this incident, she had completely given up her desire to escape and was truly willing to stay.

He then noticed that her delicate feet were frostbitten, red and swollen, with many abrasions.

His heart clenched instantly. He bent down, swept her up in his arms, and walked steadily toward the warm bed, gently setting her down.

He then instructed the servants waiting outside to fetch frostbite ointment and personally applied it to her wounds.

He remained cold and scolded her, "If you don't take care of your health, you deserve to get cold."

As he spoke, he looked up at her again and asked softly, "Does it hurt?"

Mingyi slowly shook his head.

If you have no sensation, how can you feel pain?

The servants brought in two more braziers and added plenty of charcoal to the room.

The whole room was warm and cozy, and Mingyi immediately felt sleepy.

Zong Xian held her chin in his palm. "Don't sleep. Take a medicinal bath first to get rid of the cold."

Mingyi struggled to lift her eyelids and protested softly, "Sleepy."

It was a very soft sound, like a kitten's meow, and its gentle, sweet appearance was exceptionally cute.

Zong Xian looked down at her, his tone softening as he said helplessly, "I searched for you all night, and I also didn't sleep a wink. I'm exhausted, but you're already sleepy before I even said I was tired."

Mingyi muttered something under her breath, which the maid couldn't hear, but Zong Xian, who was very close to her, heard it clearly.

She said, "You are a man, strong and healthy, how can I compare to you?"

Finally, Zong Xian carried her to the bathhouse, and they bathed together.

Mingyi was so sleepy that she couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep, resting her head on the man's shoulder.

Zong Xian said to the maids, "You don't need to serve me here. You may leave."

"Yes."

Ning Shuang and Ning Xue lowered their heads and retreated.

Once inside, the two sisters exchanged a glance and couldn't help but smile secretly.

Ning Shuang said, "Have you noticed that the adults are becoming increasingly indulgent towards the young lady?"

Ning Xue nodded repeatedly, "After this incident, I realized that the adults care about the young ladies more than I thought. Everyone outside says that our young ladies are just toys to amuse themselves. We should really let those people come and see for themselves and give them a good slap in the face!"

"Exactly!"

Ning Shuang seemed thoughtful, then nudged Ning Xue's shoulder. "Do you think, with the master showing such concern, will he eventually make the young lady his official wife?"

Ning Xue said, "What are you thinking? Noble families are very particular about matching social status when it comes to marriage. It would be quite good if a girl could become a concubine. Besides, no matter how deep a man's feelings are, he is very clear-headed when it comes to these things."

"That's true... I wonder if they've caught the thugs who kidnapped the girl last night. It was terrifying!"

Murong Shu was captured by Zong Xian and imprisoned in the woodshed of the Zong residence.

Even if they only guarantee he doesn't die and is left with a breath, his fate will definitely be terrible.

After losing contact with him, the general's mansion quickly realized that something was probably wrong.

Murong Zhi, his elder brother, personally came to visit that day, but Zong Xian was as cunning as a fox and spoke without leaving any room for error.

Murong Zhi couldn't get any useful information out of him, so he had no choice but to take his leave.

The next day, a worried Murong Zhi came again, and Mingyi was also there this time.

Zong Xian was teaching her to play the zither, but it was not a proper lesson. What kind of teacher would hold a student in their arms while teaching? He clearly had ulterior motives.

Murong Zhi coughed lightly, feeling embarrassed.

When Mingyi noticed that there were outsiders present, she blushed and hurriedly got up from the man's arms. Zong Xian even pulled her hand and said gently, "Go wait for me over there."

Mingyi paused, recalling what the man had said to her last night when they were being intimate: "I will not let any of those who hurt you get away with it."

She was unaware that Murong Shu was currently imprisoned in the Zong Mansion.

That night, she stabbed Murong Shu, which was enough to vent her anger, so she didn't care whether Zong Xian would help her or not.

Moreover, she subconsciously believed that Zong Xian would never turn against his future in-laws, the General's Mansion, for her sake.

So what does he mean now?

Mingyi glanced at Murong Zhi, but didn't say anything. She obediently walked behind the flower and bird screen and sat down quietly.

Murong Zhi's heart sank.

The woman was unharmed; it seems my second brother is in trouble.

"Please excuse my poor appearance, Brother Murong. Please have a seat."

Zong Xian's expression had returned to normal, and he even had a smile on his face, looking extremely kind.

Murong Zhi did not sit down, but stepped forward, cupped his hands in a respectful bow, and said bluntly, "I beg the Prime Minister to show mercy and release my brother!"

Upon hearing this, Zong Xian calmly plucked a string on his zither, and the clear, resonant sound pierced the heart.

His slender fingers lightly touched the strings, and he said unhurriedly, "Young Master Murong's brother is missing, yet you come to me asking for him. Isn't that a bit odd?"

Seeing his appearance, Murong Zhi began to doubt again. Could it be that A-Shu was really not in the Zongfu?

The thought had barely formed when he saw Zong Xian playing with a jade pendant in his hand.

Murong Zhi instantly recognized the items as belonging to Murong Shu and blurted out, "My Shu is in your residence!"

"Oh?" Zong Xian raised an eyebrow. "Does Young Master Murong mean that I selfishly detained Murong Shu?"

"That's right!"

Zong Xian slowly rose from the armchair, put his hands behind his back, and said, "Seeing how certain you are, I am quite puzzled. Why would I detain my worthy brother for no reason?"

Murong Zhi choked for a moment, "But... the jade pendant in your hand belongs to A-Shu!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zong Xian's expression changed drastically, and he coldly shouted, "But this thing was obtained by me from an assassin who intended to murder a court official—that is, me! Is Young Master Murong now going to admit that the assassin was someone from your General's Mansion?!"

With a "crack," the jade pendant was thrown at Murong Zhi's feet and shattered in two!