Drunk on Madness - Chapter 48

In the capital, Zhou Mingxuan, who had been starving himself for days, finally received Prince Yan’s approval to lead ten thousand troops to suppress the former emperor, Zhou Zhiyi. Without waiting to recover his strength, Zhou Mingxuan set off for the border.

This was Yizhou City. Li Xiang had been drugged and unconscious for days, covertly following the black-clad men to this place. She was locked in a thatched cottage, unwashed for days, her body emitting a faint sour stench. Her hair was disheveled, and even the sturdy hairpins had been taken from her.

The black-clad men gave her only one meal a day and a small cup of water. Even without the drugs they administered, she was utterly weak.

The outer gate creaked open as a carriage entered the small courtyard. The black-clad men seemed to revere the newcomer, kneeling on the ground in deference.

Zhou Zhiyi’s wolf-like eyes were sharp as arrows, filled with ruthless coldness. He glared at the black-clad men and scolded, “Useless fools. You can’t even capture a few women. What good are you to me?”

Starving and desperate, Li Xiang heard the commotion and immediately opened her eyes, alert. The wooden door of the thatched cottage was pushed open, and two men entered: one in front, the other behind. The middle-aged man in dark brocade robes at the forefront glanced at her, his eyes flashing with a sharp, disdainful arrogance. “What is Prince Yan to you?” Zhou Zhiyi was unaware that Zhou Mingxuan had married and thus knew nothing of Li Xiang.

Her lips pale, Li Xiang looked at him warily. “Who are you?”

A nearly sinister coldness lingered between Zhou Zhiyi’s brows. “I fear telling you would scare you to death.” Li Xiang dug her fingers into the wall to steady herself. “You’re Prince Chen, Emperor Yanwen.”

Zhou Zhiyi cast a sidelong glance at Li Xiang in the corner. “Since you know, speak quickly. I have no patience for games.” Though his throne had been usurped, Zhou Zhiyi still spoke with the tone of an emperor.

Li Xiang lowered her head, her heart in turmoil. Their goal was to capture the princess consort to use as leverage against Prince Yan. Those deemed useless would die. She didn’t want to die. Though Zhou Mingxuan had treated her well, she couldn’t bear the thought of him sacrificing his throne or the lives of his loved ones for her.

Seeing her silence, Zhou Zhiyi sneered, “If you won’t speak now, you won’t get another chance.” He turned to leave.

Li Xiang quickly spoke up, her voice hoarse from disuse. “I-I am Su Mo’s wife.”

Zhou Zhiyi frowned in confusion and glanced at his subordinate, Ming Ying. Ming Ying replied, “Your Majesty, Su Mo is Prince Yan’s adopted son. I’ve crossed blades with him before, he’s a talented martial artist. Unfortunately, he values loyalty above all. Threats and bribes couldn’t sway him to our side.”

Zhou Zhiyi scoffed. “That old thief Prince Yan spouts nothing but chivalry and righteousness, yet in the end, he only cares for his own wife and children.”

Ming Ying suggested, “Your Majesty, Su Mo is a rare talent. Why not use his wife to lure him here and make him my disciple? If he refuses to see reason, we can send him and his wife to the underworld together. It would sever one of Prince Yan’s strongest arms.”

Zhou Zhiyi pondered for a moment. “This place isn’t safe. I’ve slaughtered so many in the prince’s household, Prince Yan won’t let this go easily. Since we haven’t captured anyone useful, we shouldn’t linger. Withdraw from Zhongjin at once.”

He cast a final glance at the disheveled Li Xiang. “If you men have no objections, she’s yours to do with as you please.” With that, he strode out of the cottage.

Zhou Zhiyi had fallen from the throne. He came to the borderlands to avoid being captured by the Prince of Yan and imprisoned for life. Although he didn’t catch the person he intended to, he still vented his frustration over being usurped by the Prince of Yan. Fearing the prince might come after him for revenge, Zhou Zhiyi prepared to flee beyond the frontier.

After Zhou Zhiyi left, Ming Ying looked at the disheveled Li Xiang before him, his gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny. “What’s your name?” he asked. Li Xiang’s pupils shrank slightly as she replied, “Li… Li Xiang.”

Ming Ying seemed thoughtful. “Xiangxiang… is that your nickname?” Li Xiang’s face showed surprise. She froze, did Su Mo and Ming Ying know each other? Ming Ying watched as the girl’s wide eyes stared at him, filled with shock, but she remained silent. Seeing her wretched state, he turned and ordered his subordinates to prepare some food and clothes for her.

Li Xiang had been terrified by Zhou Zhiyi’s words earlier and didn’t dare touch the clean food or clothes. She’d rather stay dirty than risk washing up and being served to them on a platter.

Fortunately, it was a false alarm. By nightfall, no one had come to disturb her again. The next day, Zhou Zhiyi and his group packed up and left Yizhou.

Crammed into a narrow hidden compartment beneath the carriage, Li Xiang was curled up, her hands and feet bound, her mouth gagged with cloth. The journey was stop-and-go, the carriage swaying endlessly. In her dazed state, time lost meaning, it felt as though she had been forgotten.

Hunger wasn’t the worst of it, but the unbearable need to relieve herself after so long was torture. She banged her head against the wooden planks, trying to get their attention, but the sound was drowned out by the rumbling of the carriage. In the end, she couldn’t hold it any longer, her undergarments were soaked, the liquid seeping through the cracks in the wood and dripping onto the ground below.

When the carriage finally stopped again, someone at last remembered the person hidden in the compartment. Upon opening it, a sour stench hit them, and the black-clad men covered their noses. Li Xiang was barely conscious, weakened from two days without food.

Two of the men poked at her with the hilts of their swords, but she didn’t react. Alarmed, they checked her pulse, relieved to find she wasn’t dead.

Though their master didn’t care about her, if she died, they might be blamed. While they had been told she was theirs to do with as they pleased, without explicit orders from their leader, they didn’t dare act. Besides, they had no interest in such a filthy woman.

They hauled her out of the compartment and unceremoniously tossed her into a nearby pond. The icy shock jolted Li Xiang awake. After swallowing several mouthfuls of water, she managed to steady herself.

On the shore, the two men watched her flounder in the water as they roasted meat over a fire. “Wash yourself properly, you stink,” one of them called. “You’ve practically seasoned the whole carriage with your stench.”

Only then did Li Xiang remember she had wet herself in the carriage. She stayed silent, scanning her surroundings.

One of the men, holding a freshly roasted fish, walked toward her. “Hungry? Here.”

Li Xiang was starving, she needed the energy. She reached out from the water to take the fish, but the man suddenly yanked her onto the shore. Though she wore multiple layers, the wet fabric clung to her body, revealing her curves.

The other man, still roasting meat, laughed. “Zhao Rui, I knew you were up to no good. So, you’re in the mood for a woman? Even one this filthy, you’ve got no standards.”

The man in black named Zhao Rui effortlessly subdued Li Xiang by the shore with one hand. He parted her wet hair with his free hand and called out to the other black-clad figure roasting meat, “Not bad-looking. Want to come take a look?”

The barbecuing man grew interested, setting the meat aside as he approached. A mist of despair clouded Li Xiang’s eyes as the two men examined her like merchandise. They roughly grabbed her face, wiping it with a cloth. When they began peeling away her soaked garments, she desperately pressed them back down. Seeing she still had strength to resist, they simply pinned her to the ground beneath their feet.

Trapped beyond escape, Li Xiang’s palms turned icy with hopelessness, trembling uncontrollably as if engulfed by terror. She didn’t cry, only fixed them with a venomous stare, though they remained oblivious to her hatred, absorbed in their crude inspection.

Her outer garments were discarded carelessly, the drenched clothing clinging revealingly to her form.

The two men’s eyes gleamed as they exchanged glances. Suddenly, a voice cut through the scene.

“What are you doing?” Ming Ying emerged from the forest.