Liu Laosi stroked his chin, his face filled with lewdness, a wicked smile betraying his ill intentions.
The three men behind him chuckled in agreement, chiming in, "Master, this woman is quite a catch. Why not give her a try?"
Zhao Jiaqi's brows furrowed fiercely. She got up and slowly retreated, her gaze fixed on the man who had spoken.
"Was it you who threw the madam down from the second floor?"
Liu Laosi shrugged, spreading his hands and advancing towards her with a sneer, "Does that matter?"
"A life for a life. Doesn't that matter!" Zhao Jiaqi retorted, staring at him.
She was also trying to recall who he was, but no matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn't remember who this man was.
To her surprise, Liu Laosi burst into hearty laughter upon hearing her words, as if he had heard a great joke.
"A life for a life? The life of a mere lowly wretch, is that even called a life? And you want me to pay? Do you think the government is run by your family, that the laws are written by you? Hah, ridiculous!"
What an arrogant tone!
This only ignited Zhao Jiaqi's determination.
"The government isn't mine, and the laws aren't mine, but you've broken the law. Within the inner city, you must be dealt with according to the law. No matter who you are, no one can escape!"
Liu Laosi chuckled, "The inner city? So what if it's the inner city? If I wanted to, I could even storm the royal mansion in the inner city. I could kill the God of War, Fan Zehao, and his wife would still be at my mercy, to be toyed with as I pleased!"
It wasn't just Zhao Jiaqi who thought he was insane; even Bai Lu felt he was not of sound mind.
Killing the God of War, sleeping with the princess?
Was this fellow seeking death?
The surrounding people began to whisper among themselves, guessing the meaning behind his words.
Everyone knew that the Supreme Emperor was selecting an heir. At such a juncture, for someone to utter such words, either they had a powerful backer, or...
As everyone speculated, Liu Laosi dropped another bombshell, pointing behind him with a proud flourish, "I, your master, am from the capital. If you're sensible, join us for some fun. Otherwise..."
"Otherwise what!"
Accompanied by a steady voice, two long legs were the first to stride into the crowd from the rear.
With a face full of fury, he swept a glance at Zhao Jiaqi, then confronted the utterly arrogant man in front.
Fan Zehao's innate ferocity filled the space. Standing there, his face as dark as charcoal, his muscular build made him look like Zhong Kui, the demon queller.
He was even more menacing than them.
Liu Laosi narrowed his eyes. Based on his years of experience, this man was likely an official. In the inner city, the highest official was the prefect.
For a local prefect to sentence him... impossible!
"Otherwise, I'll kill you too!" Liu Laosi gritted his teeth and said fiercely.
He intended this to intimidate Fan Zehao, but to his surprise, Fan Zehao grinned, a murderous intent flashing in his eyes. Even Zhao Jiaqi, who was five paces away, felt a chill creep up her neck.
Seeing her husband's killing intent, Zhao Jiaqi felt it was the best time to escape.
She nudged Bai Lu, who was already quite flustered, and winked at her, signaling for her to run with her.
Standing on her tiptoes, lifting her skirt, she knew that if she could just run a few meters, she'd be the prettiest girl in the room.
Catching a glimpse of his wife's furtive movements from the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but feel amused and annoyed.
"If you take another step, I'll break both your legs!"
His words startled Bai Lu so much that she almost fell to her knees. Fortunately, Zhao Jiaqi quickly steadied her.
She shot him a reproachful look, thinking, 'Look at how fierce you are, you've scared the poor girl silly!'
After he announced his identity, Liu Laosi and his companions' expressions immediately changed.
In this place, only the Zhenguo King could refer to himself as 'this king'.
He had just boasted about killing him and sleeping with his woman. This meant... Liu Laosi mechanically twisted his neck to look at the woman not far away.
She was the Supreme Empress, the Zhenguo King's consort? The infamous shrew of Yun Country?
Three consecutive question marks appeared in his mind. Now, Liu Laosi began to wonder what the Zhenguo King's consort was doing in a brothel.
However, his current focus seemed to be misguided.
Although Liu Laosi had backing, he was still afraid of the God of War, who had killed people and waded through a river of corpses.
"Commoner Liu Gan greets the Supreme Emperor, long live the Supreme Emperor!" Liu Gan knelt and kowtowed earnestly.
But Fan Zehao completely ignored him.
Instead, he walked directly to Zhao Jiaqi and said coldly, "Go home with me."
"But... the madam, she..." Zhao Jiaqi pointed at the person lying in a pool of blood not far away and whispered, "She died unjustly. These people spoke too arrogantly. You must investigate thoroughly!"
As she spoke, Zhao Jiaqi's voice involuntarily rose with anger at their arrogance.
"I know. Let's go home!" Fan Zehao stood in front of her, intending to shield her from seeing the tragic state of the deceased.
However, his action was too late.
Zhao Jiaqi had seen how the madam fell, and she had seen it very clearly. Even if he blocked her now, the vivid memory would still appear in her mind.
Zhao Jiaqi left the brothel and got into the carriage. Through the window, she saw her husband giving instructions to the prefect, though she could guess what they were about.
Upon returning to the manor, Su Ya learned that the princess had been frightened and had seen unsightly things. She immediately began burning paper offerings to ward off spirits, gave her a bath, and even called for the manor physician to prescribe a calming medicine.
After all this fuss, she hadn't been tired initially, but now she was exhausted. She lay on the chaise longue for a short rest and soon fell asleep.
In her dream, there was a lot of bright red blood, and a pair of eyes were constantly staring at her from the darkness, in a very terrifying manner.
When Fan Zehao returned, he saw his wife on the chaise longue, suffering from a nightmare, her small hands flailing as if trying to grasp something.
He sat beside Zhao Jiaqi, took her wildly swinging hand, and gently tried to wake her: "Wife, wife... wake up, it's time for lunch."
In her nightmare, Zhao Jiaqi only felt someone calling her, but her eyes felt as heavy as Mount Tai, and she couldn't open them.
Seeing this, Fan Zehao called for the manor physician. Doctor Li said, "The princess is quite shaken. She has a fever now. I'll prescribe a few doses of medicine, and if the princess takes them on time and rests for a few days, she'll recover."
Fan Zehao nodded, "Thank you, Doctor Li. Please go and prepare the medicine."
She had been energetic when she left this morning, and he hadn't seen her scared then. How had she become like this after returning home?
He walked over stealthily and pinched the flesh on her cheek, "You scaredy-cat, where's that spirited look you had earlier? Show me that cocky attitude again! Now you're timid and scared sick. Let's see if you dare to go near dead people in the future!"
He felt a sense of disappointment in his own wife, wanting her to be as formidable as she was. However, seeing her now, sick, he felt it would be better to keep her away from such gruesome sights in the future, so she wouldn't suffer.