The heat was intense, an unusual burning sensation that felt as if a source of fire was constantly approaching her skin, yet she felt no pain. Duguman wondered, could it be that such a great fire still couldn't kill her?
Was heaven itself going to torment her this way?
Opening her eyes, she saw an unfamiliar environment. Memories flooded her mind like a tidal wave, threatening to burst her head, causing her to cry out in pain.
Suddenly, a lewd voice sounded beside her ear: "The young lady's appearance, her figure, truly stirs the heart. This time, I've gotten lucky."
Only when she felt a touch at her waist did Duguman react. She should be dead, but she was still alive.
However, the deceased was Empress Dowager Duguman of Yunqi Kingdom, and the living was Xiao Man, the eldest daughter of the Protector General's mansion in Yusheng Dynasty.
And at this very moment, she had been ambushed, afflicted with the 'Fire Charm Poison,' and the man beside her was the one sent by the mastermind to ruin her chastity.
Duguman's eyes betrayed no lust, only a coldness as sharp as ice. The discomfort in her body made her even more lucid. She then reached up and pulled out the silver hairpin from her head, striking with lightning speed, piercing the throat of the man who intended to defile her.
"Getting lucky isn't that easy!" Duguman used her agility to pull out the hairpin. The man's body crashed to the ground.
Standing up, Duguman felt her body go soft, but her heart was filled with excitement. She was alive!
Murong Shengrui, just you wait. One day, I will make you pay a heavy price!
"From today on, I am Xiao Man. Your enemies are my enemies. No matter who framed you, I will avenge you!"
Xiao Man glanced at the corpse on the ground, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes. She pushed the body into a hidden compartment under the bed. Faintly, she heard noisy commotion from outside. Duguman knew that the people coming to catch her in the act had arrived.
If she were caught in the act, even if her father doted on her, he would never tolerate such reckless behavior!
Xiao Man tidied her clothes, pushed open the window, and before the people arriving to catch her could reach, she leaped away.
Did they really think it would be so easy to catch her in the act? However, this Fire Charm Poison was truly malevolent. If she didn't find someone to neutralize it, she would die from blood flowing backward within an hour. Having finally survived, how could she let herself die so easily!
If she remembered correctly, there was a good place in this city where she could not only resolve the Fire Charm Poison in her body but also avoid any trouble.
Xiao Man stealthily infiltrated Lanxiao Pavilion. Lanxiao Pavilion was the largest male brothel in the capital city, where all the officially registered male courtesans were handsome men of various distinct styles. In her panic, Duguman stumbled into a pavilion.
The room was dim. She saw a man lying on the bed, seemingly asleep. If one looked closely, they would realize the man was not asleep but had a cold expression, with large beads of sweat on his forehead, as if enduring unspeakable pain.
Without time to think, Xiao Man flicked a gust of wind from her fingers, extinguishing the candle in the room.
She was the young lady of the Protector General's mansion. Her face was well-known. If people knew she had sneaked into a male brothel in the middle of the night, even before anyone else could deal with her, her grandmother, who always valued reputation, would have her killed.
Xiao Man groped her way to the bedside. The person on the bed sensed an intruder. However, due to the monthly onset of the蛊毒 (Gu poison), his limbs were enduring bone-gnawing pain, making him utterly unable to move. "Who is it..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Man had already pressed his acupoints. "You must be one of the male courtesans in Lanxiao Pavilion. I was forced to come here. Don't worry, I will pay."
As she spoke, she reached out. Nangong Yu's veins bulged on his forehead, and a terrifying killing intent erupted from his eyes!
A faint fragrance wafted into his nostrils. Nangong Yu couldn't tell if it was an illusion or not, but the bone-gnawing pain seemed to have lessened. Before he could be enraged, in the darkness, the woman had already drawn closer.
Pain and gentleness intertwined. Nangong Yu found the light fragrance clinging to his nostrils exceptionally alluring. Smelling it, the bone-gnawing pain seemed to disappear, replaced by the warmth of the embrace and the faint, ethereal scent, a supreme gentleness.
When Nangong Yu suddenly opened his eyes, he was alone in the room, with no trace of anyone else's presence.
The woman who had intruded into his room and entwined with him had escaped while he was asleep.
Nangong Yu got up, put on his clothes, and got out of bed. He lit the candle and scanned the room. On the small table beside the bed, a silver note was pressed under a teacup, conspicuously placed. Nangong Yu strode forward with his long legs, picked up the silver note, and saw it was for a hundred taels!
Nangong Yu's smile was as cold as ice. He, a prince of the realm, was treated as a male courtesan and played with, and only given a mere hundred taels!
"Guards!"
With a stern shout, two men pushed the door open and entered. They were surprised to see Nangong Yu standing by the bed. "Master, are you well?"
Nangong Yu was confused, but what enraged him more was the woman who had dared to intrude into his room and treat him as a male courtesan. "Who was the woman who broke into my room last night?"
The guards exchanged glances. Someone had broken into the prince's room last night? How was that possible!
Last night was the day the prince's poison flared up. On this day, no one was allowed near. Outside, there were layers of elite guards. How could a woman have broken in?
"My lord, no one was detected entering Qingfeng Pavilion last night," the guard replied respectfully.
"No one broke in?" Nangong Yu's face was as tempestuous as a storm upon hearing this. "So, the person who broke into my room last night wasn't a woman, but a female ghost?"
The faces of the two guards turned pale. They had guarded the door all night, and absolutely no one had entered. However, seeing Nangong Yu's dark expression, the crumpled silver note in his hand, and the scattered clothes on the floor, they quickly lowered their heads. Which suicidal woman dared to be so audacious and crawl into their prince's bed?
Si Ye secretly glanced at the gloomy Nangong Yu. It seemed she had succeeded, otherwise, His Lordship wouldn't be so angry.
"Your subordinate will immediately search the room and see if the woman left any clues," Si Ye said before Nangong Yu could unleash his fury. He rose to search the room, but apart from a single mark of blood on the snow-white bedsheet, they found no other clues.
It was evident that the woman not only evaded all of them but also escaped after sleeping with their prince without leaving any traces or alarming anyone!
"My lord, may your subordinate take a look at that silver note?" Si Ye asked cautiously.
Nangong Yu handed the silver note to him. Si Ye examined it carefully. A hundred taels was a considerable sum. However, a hundred taels might be enough to sleep with a male courtesan, but it was far from enough to sleep with a prince of Yusheng Dynasty.
"My lord, this is a silver note from Tianbao Bank. Tianbao Bank is the largest bank in the capital. I fear it will be difficult to find the person behind it with just a single silver note."
"No matter what method you use, dig three feet into the ground to find this woman for me!"