Chapter 28

Mockery

“We’ve only captured the accomplice; the female assassin has not been found,” Li Shimin said. Before he could finish speaking, Li Xuanba urged, “Second Brother, hurry up and go in! The whole mansion has been searched, and this ice cellar is the only place left. I’m certain she’s hiding here.”

Li Shimin nodded, signaling Yunyi to leave. He and Li Xuanba, along with the others, entered the ice cellar. As soon as they stepped inside, they felt a sharp drop in temperature. The cold seeped through their autumn clothes, and the entire cellar was pitch black. Duan Zhihong, having anticipated this, took out a firestarter. With the faint light, they could see large blocks of ice piled up along the walls, with the chill emanating from them.

After walking a few steps, one of the guards exclaimed, “Look, there’s clothing here!”

Li Xuanba reacted quickly, rushing forward to pick up the scattered clothes from the ground. He sniffed them and said, “There’s a strong smell of blood. This must be from the assassin. They really were hiding here.” With a grim smile, he ordered, “Search thoroughly! We must find her!”

The guards followed his command, searching everywhere, even between the blocks of ice. However, besides the clothes and a pestle for grinding medicine, there was no other sign of the assassin.

Li Xuanba cursed angrily, “Damn it, she escaped again!”

Li Shimin had a nagging feeling that something was off about the whole situation, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He ordered the items to be collected and left the ice cellar.

Li Xuanba, unwilling to accept defeat, said, “She’s injured and couldn’t have gone far. She’s definitely hiding nearby. Come on, let’s search again!”

Ignoring Li Shimin’s objections, Li Xuanba and his men searched the area thoroughly, but they still couldn’t find the assassin. Frustrated and furious, Li Xuanba shouted, “She keeps escaping right under our noses! It’s maddening!” Then, resolutely, he added, “No matter what, I’ll dig her out if I have to!”

After Li Xuanba and the others left, Li Shimin turned to Duan Zhihong and said, “Let’s go check the dungeon.”

When they arrived at the dungeon, they found Li Jiancheng there as well, but he looked rather upset. Li Shimin walked over and asked, “Why is Big Brother here?”

Li Jiancheng replied in a low voice, “I heard this little thief refuses to talk, so I came to take a look. I didn’t expect him to be so stubborn. After all those tortures, he still refuses to speak.”

Shen Moping was hanging in the air, covered in wounds, barely alive. Li Jiancheng paused for a moment before asking, “How’s it going on your side?”

Li Shimin answered honestly, “We’ve found their hiding place, it’s in the ice cellar, but… the female assassin escaped first. Third Brother is still searching.”

Chapter 28: Mockery

Li Jiancheng slammed the armrest in frustration, gritting his teeth and saying, “The ice cellar—no wonder we couldn’t find her. I can’t believe they thought of that!” He then looked at Shen Moping, who was hanging limply in midair, his expression changing between anger and calculation. With a cold smile, Li Jiancheng gestured to a servant, who leaned in to receive his orders.

The servant nodded and left. After a while, he returned with a jar, saying, “Young Master, this is the braised mountain chicken with bird’s nest soup that was just prepared in the kitchen. Please check if it is to your liking.”

Li Jiancheng glanced at the jar and said, “Take him down.”

The servant quickly obeyed, and as soon as Shen Moping’s feet touched the ground, he collapsed, barely able to stand.

Li Jiancheng took the jar of soup and coldly instructed, “Leave us. It’s just me and Second Brother here.”

Once the servants exited, Li Jiancheng squatted down in front of Shen Moping. As the lid of the jar was opened, a fragrant aroma filled the cold, damp dungeon, causing Shen Moping to struggle to raise his head. His eyes were filled with intense longing as he gazed at the jar of bird’s nest soup, licking his cracked lips.

“Do you want to eat?” Li Jiancheng asked softly. “If you tell me where the female assassin is hiding and who sent you, this jar is yours. And you can have as much as you want.”

Shen Moping looked at the soup with desperate longing and rasped, “Really?”

Seeing that he was wavering, Li Jiancheng felt a surge of hope. “Of course. Not only can you eat your fill, but I can also pardon you and let you leave the Taishou Residence.” This, of course, was a lie. There was no way Shen Moping, who had attempted to assassinate Li Yuan, would leave alive.

Shen Moping stared at the soup for a long while, and then, seemingly making up his mind, he trembled and said, “Alright, I’ll tell you, but I’m so weak from hunger... you... you have to let me drink the soup first.”

“Fine!” Li Jiancheng agreed immediately, and Shen Moping quickly grabbed the jar, drinking greedily, uncaring for its heat. He had been hungry for too long, and only after finishing the last drop did he reluctantly put the jar down. His cheeks were still puffed out, clearly with some of the soup still in his mouth.

“You’ve eaten your fill, now can we...” Li Jiancheng began to speak, but suddenly, he was hit with a mouthful of vomit, some of which even sprayed into his own mouth.

From across the room, Shen Moping sneered, “Li Jiancheng, do you think I would believe your lies? Let me go? Hah, I’ve already told you—if you’ve got the guts, just kill me! Trying to get information from me? Dream on!”

Before he finished speaking, a heavy punch landed on him, and Li Jiancheng’s furious voice rang out, “You filthy wretch, you dare play me for a fool? It seems I’ve been too lenient with you!”

As Li Jiancheng cursed and struck Shen Moping repeatedly, he felt an intense disgust at the thought of the soup that had just entered his mouth. This was the first time in his life that someone had mocked him so openly, and it drove him into a blind rage.

Each punch that landed on Shen Moping caused the soup he had just consumed to spill out. Amidst muffled groans, Shen Moping’s mouth and nose began to bleed dark red, but he continued to wear a mocking smile, which only enraged Li Jiancheng further. He hit him harder, wishing he could kill this man with his bare hands.

Li Shimin saw the situation getting out of control and quickly stepped forward, grabbing Li Jiancheng and pulling him away. “Big Brother, stop! He can’t die before we catch the female assassin!”

Li Jiancheng glared at Li Shimin, his chest heaving with anger. After a long pause, he finally released his grip and, panting, said, “Then what do you suggest we do?”

Shen Moping spat out a bloody mouthful of saliva and weakly mocked, “You cripple... is that all the strength you have after beating me so much? I’m still doing just fine!”

“You!” Li Jiancheng’s anger flared even more. Ever since his leg had been injured, even the slightest glance from someone had been enough to set him off, and now, to be openly called a “cripple” in front of others made him livid. Had Li Shimin not stopped him, he would have surely killed Shen Moping right there. He ground his teeth and said, “I’ll make you regret ever being born!”

Li Shimin crouched down and said slowly, “Shen Moping, I know that you and Shen Yunyi entered the residence pretending to be siblings. Now, you’re risking your life to protect her. It seems like you two have a close relationship. But now that you’re trapped here in the Taishou Residence, even if you don’t speak, she will eventually be captured. Why bother making things harder for yourself?”