"Lord Shen, I am terrified. Just thinking about the Department of Penalties and Lord Shen's notorious reputation makes me grind my teeth in fear and keeps me awake all night long."
The hand she used to grip his robe exerted a lot of force. Had they not been sitting in a carriage, she probably would have hugged his legs and dragged him down.
It couldn't help but remind him of the day they fell off the cliff, when she had clung to him so tightly that she ended up pulling his pants down.
His face immediately grew hot. "Cui Yunchu, let go of me."
"Lord Shen, I am so scared. You are the only person I am familiar with, my only lifeline."
Not only did she not let go, but her grip grew even tighter.
Shen Xiabai bent down to pry her hands off, but she immediately climbed up his arm and hugged it tightly.
"Lord Shen, I am truly afraid." She cried like a delicate blossom in the rain, looking like a frightened little rabbit with red-rimmed eyes.
Had he not known exactly what kind of person she was, he would have definitely been fooled by her.
Shen Xiabai averted his gaze, refusing to look at her face. "Let go of me."
By this time, the carriage had slowly come to a halt.
Shen Xiabai twisted his arm, trying to shake Cui Yunchu off. However, with every struggle and twist he made, Cui Yunchu climbed further up like a monkey, absolutely refusing to let go.
Shen Xiabai was so entangled by her that he was forced to bend over in an awkward posture. The distance between the two was extremely close. Cui Yunchu buried her head against his arm, whimpering and crying.
A beam of light flashed as the carriage curtain was lifted and then swiftly dropped, accompanied by Yu Feng's exclamation of "Holy shit."
...
Cui Yunchu merely tilted her head for a glance before continuing to cling to him. "My Lord, I'm scared."
The veins on Shen Xiabai's forehead throbbed.
Why did he even ask her if she was afraid?
In all his life, Shen Xiabai had never met a girl so stubborn, thick-skinned, sharp-tongued, deceitful, and clingy.
Cui Yunchu repeatedly refreshed his understanding of sheltered young ladies.
He stood up, and Cui Yunchu hung onto him like a monkey.
Shen Xiabai's face darkened. "There are soldiers all outside. Do you no longer care about your reputation as a daughter of the Cui family?"
"Then I'll just marry you."
Cui Yunchu's words made the man's body stiffen slightly. The atmosphere fell silent, as if even their breathing had become much shallower.
He coughed lightly and looked away. "You are a young lady. Opening and closing your mouth to talk about marriage, have you no shame?"
"Don't you always say I'm thick-skinned?" Cui Yunchu pursed her lips.
As if remembering something, she suddenly raised her eyes to look at him. "Lord Shen, can you have Prime Minister Cui beaten with boards and make him kneel in the ancestral hall?"
Shen Xiabai looked at her for a few breaths before rapidly looking away, the tips of his ears beginning to burn.
That night, sitting under the bridge, she had told Shen Xiabai about this matter. Therefore, words that might seem baffling to others were instantly understood by him.
After a long while, a soft "Mhm" escaped from his throat.
Just as Cui Yunchu's eyes brightened, he added, "I am in charge of the Department of Penalties. I can punish anyone who violates the law."
Cui Yunchu nodded, then pouted again. "That doesn't seem to work either."
"Why wouldn't it work?" Shen Xiabai asked her.
Cui Yunchu said, "I only want to have him beaten with boards, but what you want is his life."
"..."
"Cui Yunchu, let go of me this instant, or else I will have you thrown inside," he said with a cold face.
Cui Yunchu shook her head. "I'm scared."
This was true. What kind of place was the Department of Penalties? Even a burly man would be flayed alive and forced to surrender upon entering.
Not to mention...
Shen Xiabai already harbored suspicions; the use of torture was not impossible.
"Unless you interrogate me personally, you cannot tie me up, you cannot use torture, and you cannot frighten me."
Shen Xiabai said, "Who gave you the leverage to negotiate terms with me?"
"Then don't even think about me letting go, unless you break my hands."
Shen Xiabai sneered. "Men, beat her for me..."
Before he could even finish his sentence, Cui Yunchu had rapidly stood up straight. "It's a deal then! Whoever breaks the promise will never be able to get a wife in this lifetime."
Shen Xiabai shot her a sideways glance, too lazy to bother with her. "Get out of the carriage."
Cui Yunchu obediently got out of the carriage.
At this moment, in such a massive place, there wasn't even a guard at the gate, apart from Yu Feng.
Cui Yunchu glared at Yu Feng. "What are you looking at? Just like your master, you're no good."
Cui Yunchu had been to the Department of Penalties before. That hair-raising feeling returned; it was terrifyingly gloomy, as if you might see a ghost if you turned your head too quickly.
This time, she was absolutely not pretending. "Shen Xiabai," she turned her head and looked at him, "I am truly afraid."
"If you have any questions, let's just talk in the carriage." As she spoke, she turned around to get back into the carriage, but Shen Xiabai grabbed her arm and forcefully dragged her inside.
She gripped his sleeve tightly, her eyes only open a tiny slit.
The man beside her occasionally cast a sidelong glance at her and scoffed softly, "So there are times when even you get scared."
This time, Cui Yunchu didn't talk back; she was exceptionally well-behaved.
A quarter of an hour later, she was brought to a courtyard.
There were no wailing prisoners, no blood-dripping wounds, and no cold, terrifying torture devices.
Only then did Cui Yunchu slowly release Shen Xiabai's sleeve.
Shen Xiabai lowered his eyes to look at it and said indifferently, "I have some official business to attend to. I will have Yu Feng watch over you. You had better confess honestly and not refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."
Cui Yunchu nodded obediently.
Shen Xiabai went to the study.
Yu Feng said, "Eldest Miss Cui, please follow me this way."
"First, throw away the sword at your waist." Cui Yunchu truly detested that sword.
Yu Feng looked down at it and frowned. "Rest assured, Eldest Miss Cui, I will not frighten you."
"Throw it away."
Yu Feng actually listened to her. He unbuckled it and tossed it aside. Only then did Cui Yunchu dare to continue following him.
It was a small room with a hard, cold bed, a table, and a few chairs. There was nothing else.
There was some bedding on the bed, clearly indicating someone lived there. Cui Yunchu gave it a brief scan and then withdrew her gaze.
"Where are Lady Zhao, Liu Wanting, and the others?"
Yu Feng replied, "In the prison. This place is my master's living quarters. If Eldest Miss Cui wishes to confess in the prison, I can take you there."
Was that something a human would say?
Cui Yunchu leaned on the desk. "Go ahead and ask."
"The plate of grapes that Side Consort Liu poisoned was also brought back by my master."
Cui Yunchu's eyelids twitched. Yu Feng immediately followed up, "Since that is the case, how was the Crown Princess poisoned?"
"You just brought the things back to examine them one by one. How would I know?"
Yu Feng said, "Inside my master's bedroom, there is a secret chamber that leads directly to the prison and the execution grounds. Would Eldest Miss Cui like to take a look?"
"..."
Cui Yunchu raised her eyes, a faint, cold light seeming to glimmer in their depths.
"Are you threatening me?"
"Shen—Xia—bai."
Her voice was piercing, using all her strength, as if even the room trembled and dust drifted down from the ceiling.
Meanwhile, next door, Shen Xiabai, who was listening to his subordinate's report, frowned slightly. He flicked the dust off the scroll in his hand and said, "Continue."
Yu Feng's eardrums were nearly shattered by her scream.
"Eldest Miss Cui, my master has important matters to attend to. Your tricks will not work on me."
