My brother entrusted his child to me, and I livestreamed raising the baby, making the Empress cry wi

The night wind, carrying the sweet, rotten smell, poured down from the treetops, making the torchlight flicker.

Shu Jingwei knelt on the ground and shuffled forward two steps.

Two deep grooves were left below the knees, and black silt rose up from the bottom, emitting an even stronger smell of rotting.

He then bent down, his forehead hitting the muddy ground covered with decaying leaves with a "thud".

Bump after bump, scattering rotten leaves and mud everywhere.

Her forehead was quickly scraped by a stone hidden among the rotten leaves, and blood seeped out, mixing with the mud and water to form a color that made people feel nauseous.

The flickering torchlight shone on her face, and that face, which had always been high and mighty and arrogant, was now filled with a humble expression.

"Spare me... spare me..."

"Please don't kill me...please..."

"What can you do to let me go... I'll give you anything..." She continued to crawl forward on her knees, her hands tied behind her back struggling in vain.

"Money, power, anything... please..."

The sound was intermittent and broken beyond recognition, and by the last few words it had turned into a sobbing, breathy sound.

Lin Ye didn't look at her again.

The communication talisman has a limited duration; without using it in conjunction with the Heavenly Mirror, it only lasts for ten minutes. He was already too lazy to argue with this woman any longer.

He notified Wang Meng through the communication talisman on the celestial mirror that was still active:

"Let's get started."

He paused, then raised his voice slightly, a sinister smile playing on his lips:

"But don't kill her, if she dies—that would be too easy for her."

He thought for a moment, then a chilling pleasure crept into his voice:

"We can cripple her arms and legs first, make her wish she were dead!"

Wang Meng nodded to indicate that he understood.

He looked down at Shu Jingwei, who was kneeling limply in the mud, and something burned in his eyes—

That was a pent-up hatred that had been building up for a long time, and now it finally had an outlet.

Lord Ye's grudge...

He gripped the reins tightly, his knuckles cracking.

I can finally apply!

Then he spoke, his voice hoarse yet carrying immense force, each word striking the ground with deafening force:

"Tie them all up first."

The soldiers sprang into action at the sound. Wang Meng then beckoned to his deputy, Liu Shan.

"Take a team and pick up all these valuables on the ground." He pointed to the gold, silver, and jade artifacts scattered on the ground, which gleamed with a faint glow of wealth under the torchlight.

"Be careful, these were all handpicked by that woman Shu Jingwei, they must be worth a lot of money. We'll save some for everyone to share later."

Liu Shan's eyes suddenly lit up, like two big light bulbs, and his breathing became a little heavier.

He responded excitedly, then turned and beckoned to his men: "Brothers, come with me! Be careful, don't hurt them!"

Shu Jingwei was still lying on the ground, her forehead was bleeding profusely, her face covered in mud, tears and snot, making her almost unrecognizable.

Her hands were tied behind her back, and she was still muttering incoherent pleas for mercy, but her voice was getting softer and softer, as if she was about to collapse.

Wang Meng frowned and ordered, "Gag her too, so she doesn't bite her tongue and die on the way."

He then shook his head, realizing he'd overthought things. He gave a mocking laugh: "She probably doesn't have the guts to die. Oh well, just in case."

A soldier stepped forward, tore off a piece of clothing from under his armor, and stuffed it into Shu Jingwei's mouth, which was being stretched open by another soldier.

Shu Jingwei was choked by the smell of dust and lingering sweat, which made her gag repeatedly, but she couldn't vomit and could only make muffled sobbing sounds.

Needless to say, the old soldiers had long since been disarmed and tied up one by one, and now they all hung their heads and remained motionless.

Wang Meng tugged at the reins, and the horse snorted and pawed at the decaying leaves with its hooves.

"Go back to Beijing!"

As the sound faded, the procession began to move slowly.

The torchlight stretched through the forest like a long, winding dragon, heading towards the capital.

……

Lin Ye leaned against the headboard, his fingertips lightly tapping his knees, preparing to see how Wang Meng was going to torment Shu Jingwei.

He had heard that the army had many methods of torture, methods that made people wish they were dead...

However, at that moment—

Thump, thump, thump.

A knock came at the door.

The voice was very soft and cautious, as if the person knocking had hesitated for a long time before mustering the courage.

Lin Ye was taken aback. At this hour, the only person knocking on the door in this way would be—Little Douzi!

He immediately became anxious, quickly cut off the communication with Wang Meng, and at the same time put the Heavenly Mirror into the system space.

Then he reached out and turned on the bedside lamp, got out of bed, took a few steps to the door, and opened it.

Sure enough, standing outside the door was Xiao Douzi.

The little girl was still wearing her pink fluffy pajamas, her hair was loose and messy over her shoulders, and she was tightly hugging a rabbit in her arms.

She tilted her head back, her eyes red-rimmed.

As soon as she saw Lin Ye open the door, she couldn't help but purse her lips and tears streamed down her face.

"Godfather..."

Her voice was soft and delicate, filled with sobs and lingering fear, like a gentle needle pricking Lin Ye's heart.

His heart clenched instantly, and Lin Ye quickly knelt down and pulled her into his arms. "What's wrong? What's wrong?" He patted her back as he carried her into the house and closed the door behind him.

"Tell your godfather, did you have a nightmare?"

The little girl buried her face in his neck, wrapped her little arms tightly around his neck, and nodded.

Tears smeared all over his neck, warm to the touch.

Lin Ye sat down on the edge of the bed, holding her in his arms. He reached out and smoothed the messy strands of hair on her forehead, and said softly, "What did you dream about, little one? Your godfather is here, don't be afraid."

Little Douzi sobbed for a while before lifting her tear-streaked face, her voice broken and fragmented: "I...I dreamt of my godfather...godfather..."

She didn't want to say that word.

That word is too heavy, too dark; saying it always feels like cursing someone.

So she changed her approach.

"I dreamt that my godfather suddenly became... became just like my father..." Xiao Douzi's voice trembled violently, and his lips quivered.

"No matter how I call...no matter how I call, I can't wake him up..."

Before she could finish speaking, she burst into tears again.

Lin Ye felt as if his heart had been squeezed tightly.

He pulled the little girl closer to his chest, rested his chin on the top of her head, and spoke even softer and gentler:

"Silly girl, dreams are always the opposite of reality! You dreamt that your godfather couldn't wake up, which means he'll definitely live to be a hundred and stay with you for life!"

Xiao Douzi gave a soft "hmm" and hugged him even tighter.

Lin Ye could sense that the person in his arms was still very uneasy.

I don't know if it's because of lingering emotions from what happened this afternoon, or...

Did Xiao Douzi sense that her biological mother was being tortured?

It sounds rather mysterious, but Xiao Douzi always sleeps soundly until dawn. It's quite a coincidence that he woke up at this time today.

As the old saying goes, a mother and daughter are of one heart...