Ye Luan ignored her and looked at Lan Murou, asking, "Why are you here?"
"I'm here to eat."
Lan Murou smiled gently and walked towards her.
"Let's eat together."
"Okay."
Seeing the two of them leave, chatting and laughing, completely disregarding her, Li Yan gritted her teeth in anger.
This Ye Luan, just a minister's daughter, was so arrogant.
How detestable!
Ye Luan didn't care what she thought and pulled Lan Murou into a private room next to them.
"Where is Tantai Ye?"
"He's in the Heavenly Chamber. It's full of court officials. I didn't want to eat in there, so I came out for some air."
Xie Beihan sat to the side, watching the two of them, and chuckled.
"Such sisterly affection."
Ye Luan ignored him, ordered food, and then started chatting.
"Little girl, did you keep the brocade box I gave you earlier?"
Hearing him mention it, Ye Luan also remembered and frowned.
"Why did you give me a stack of bank notes?"
"That wasn't from me. That brocade box was given to you by someone who entrusted me."
Ye Luan pondered for a moment and realized!
Lu Feibai!
He had given it to her.
Why did he give her bank notes? Where was he?
"Has the young master's illness recovered?"
Hearing her question, Xie Beihan leaned back lazily and said with a sinister smile, "Perhaps—it has."
What did he mean by that?!
Ye Luan frowned. "Then where is he now?"
"Hmm, that—" Xie Beihan raised his eyebrows slightly, looking at her with a meaningful gaze. "I don't know either."
"—"
Then what was the point of him saying anything?
Ye Luan withdrew her gaze and didn't ask anymore.
After the three of them finished eating, Lan Murou left. As she and Xie Beihan walked out of the restaurant and headed back, suddenly, her vision went black, and without any warning, she was knocked unconscious.
Damn it.
Xie Beihan lowered his eyes, looking at the person who had collapsed into his arms, and smiled.
"Your Highness."
Huo Dao drove a carriage out from the alley.
Xie Beihan bent down, picked up the person, and got into the carriage.
"Was the message delivered to him?"
"As Your Highness commanded, everything has been arranged."
Xie Beihan smiled eerily, "I really want to see how he will go mad."
"Let's go."
"Yes."
-----
Ye Luan woke up to the bumping of the carriage. As soon as she opened her eyes, she found herself lying on the carriage, weak and unable to lift her limbs.
"You're awake?!"
Xie Beihan sat on a small couch and smiled, handing her a cup of tea when he saw her wake up.
"You drugged me?!"
Ye Luan propped herself up with difficulty, her beautiful fox-like eyes glaring at him in anger.
She really hadn't expected Xie Beihan to knock her out and drug her.
Xie Beihan smiled faintly. "Don't be angry, it won't harm your body."
"Where are you taking me?"
The sky outside had already darkened. Lifting the curtain, she saw a dense forest overgrown with weeds.
"Come back to Northern Qi with me and be my Empress, how about it?"
Ye Luan looked at the playful smile on his lips with cold eyes and remained silent.
She didn't know what kind of drug he had given her, but she could clearly feel that it was similar to a muscle-paralyzing powder; she wouldn't be able to recover anytime soon.
"You want to use me against Xiao Chizhan."
"Tsk, don't say it like that. I'm not using you, I just want to see him suffer."
Damn it, what deep-seated hatred do these two have?
Ye Luan held her forehead and leaned back against the carriage tiredly, her body too weak.
"Don't you want to see how far he'll go for you?"
"Are you done yet? Haven't you had enough?"
She roared in anger, her gaze towards him carrying a hint of disgust.
Xie Beihan's snake-like, cold eyes paused slightly, and he looked at her without speaking.
"I don't care what grudges you have, what hatred, can you please not involve me? Can you two resolve it yourselves?"
"Then I want to ask you, why did you choose him and not me?"
Ye Luan looked at him and said coldly, "Ask yourself, which of your words is true, which is false? Do you really like me?"
"Xie Beihan, you've never liked anyone. You're just unwilling to always lose to Xiao Chizhan."
A faint, cool breeze blew, and the moonlight cast a soft glow around them, casting a faint radiance into the carriage.
Xie Beihan remained silent, watching her quietly.
Ye Luan turned her head away, ignoring him.
After a long while.
"How do you know I'm not sincere this time?"
Ye Luan sneered, "You probably don't even know if you're sincere yourself. After wearing the mask for so long, do you even know who you are?"
Xie Beihan suddenly let out a laugh, his laughter cool and bone-chilling.
"He destroyed my Jiuchuan and massacred tens of thousands of my Northern Qi soldiers. If I don't make him bleed, how can I face my border generals!"
"Then what about you, Your Highness? Didn't you also send troops to massacre the border of Daliang, causing widespread suffering? What's the difference between you and him."
"Besides, last time we left Northern Qi, he must have given you enough, otherwise, how could we have left Northern Qi so smoothly."
Sharp-tongued!
Xie Beihan spun a knife in his hand, his face indifferent as he looked at her.
"He tricked me. I didn't want him to take you away."
Saying that, he suddenly reached out, caressing her cheek, his tone chilling and making her skin crawl.
"This time, I will take you away and he won't find you again!"
Ye Luan frowned and slapped his hand away.
This action angered Xie Beihan. His expression suddenly darkened, and with a forceful grip, he grabbed Ye Luan's arm and pulled her into his embrace.
He held her tightly.
Ye Luan felt that he was holding her even tighter than Xiao Chizhan, her waist almost breaking.
"Why, why must you all leave me? I have nothing, nothing—"
Hearing his words, Ye Luan frowned slightly. What was he saying?!
"The Eastern Palace was really too cold. Will you stay with me?"
"What madness are you talking about? Let go!"
Ye Luan struggled, but her limbs were pinned down by him, and she couldn't move at all.
At this moment, fighting sounds suddenly came from outside. Her heart leaped with joy. They found her!
Xie Beihan also heard the commotion. His eyes darkened as he raised his head and suddenly fed her something unknown.
Ye Luan was startled but her body was weak and limp, completely unable to resist, and she swallowed it directly.
"You—"
Uh, oh no!
She clutched her throat forcefully, her face and neck turning red from the effort, but she couldn't speak.
Xie Beihan looked at her with satisfaction and gently kneaded her head. "So cute."
Cute, your ass.
Damn it, what did he feed her?
"Don't worry, it will only make you unable to speak temporarily, and it will be fine in a quarter of an hour. We're going to put on a show for him, to see how much pain he'll be in. Making him suffer makes me truly happy."
This perverted bastard couldn't live a day without causing trouble.
But Ye Luan's body was weak and she couldn't speak, so she could only let him manhandle her.