frightfiction Chapter 1443 Recovering
Chapter 1443 Recovering
He solemnly said, "Miaomiao, from now on, I will never let anyone bully you again, and I will never let you suffer the slightest grievance. I will retrieve the Tiger Tally as soon as possible. Once everything has settled down, I will personally go to the Zhan family to propose marriage. With an eight-bearer sedan chair and a ten-mile-long red bridal procession, I will marry you and make you my rightful Mrs. Lu."
After seeing Zhan Miao and the Grand Princess off, Lu Jingheng went to the side courtyard where Su Ningshuang was being held.
The side courtyard was deserted, with few servants around. Only Lu Jingheng's personal guards stood guard outside the door. Inside, the candlelight flickered, casting a frosty glow on Lu Jingheng's body. He sat at the head of the table, his fingertips lightly tapping the table. The sound was muffled, yet each tap struck Su Ningshuang's heart.
Su Ningshuang was pinned to the ground by the guards, her hair disheveled and her clothes wrinkled. Gone was her usual gentle and delicate demeanor; only resentment and fear remained in her eyes. Yet, she still stubbornly refused to bow her head, glaring at Lu Jingheng with her neck stiff.
"Where is the Tiger Tally?" Lu Jingheng asked, his voice devoid of any warmth, more piercing than the cold wind outside the palace, cutting straight to the heart of the matter without a single wasted word.
Su Ningshuang spat, a twisted smile spreading across her lips: "Lu Jingheng, don't even think about it! The Tiger Tally is in my hands. If you dare to touch me in the slightest, I will make the Tiger Tally disappear forever, and you will be punished by His Majesty for losing the Tiger Tally, and your head will be separated from your body!"
She thought her words would put Lu Jingheng in his place, but instead, she saw a mocking smile curl at the corner of his lips as he slowly stood up, walked to her, and looked down at her.
His gaze was like a sharp blade tempered with ice, as if he wanted to tear her apart: "Do you think I would believe that? You schemed so much when you stole the Tiger Tally, how could you let yourself end up dying together with someone else? The place where you hid the Tiger Tally must be the safest place that you felt you could control at any time."
He leaned down and grabbed Su Ningshuang's chin with one hand, the force so great it felt like he wanted to crush her bones. Su Ningshuang winced in pain, but stubbornly held back her tears: "I've hidden myself in a desperate place, go find it yourself if you dare! Anyway, without the Tiger Tally, you won't be a general for long, and that high-born girl Zhan Miao will abandon you sooner or later!"
"Stubborn." Lu Jingheng's eyes grew even colder. He released her hand, leaving a red mark on Su Ningshuang's chin. He raised his hand to signal the guard: "Slap her until she talks."
The guards stepped forward in response, raising their hands to strike, but Su Ningshuang panicked instantly and roared, "Lu Jingheng, how dare you! I am a daughter of the Su family. If you touch me, the Su family will never let this go!"
Lu Jingheng sneered, "You stole the Tiger Tally and used it to blackmail an official of the court, which is already a crime that would implicate nine generations of your family. The Su family is probably too busy to care about you right now. Even if we skin you alive today, no one will dare to say a word."
The slap landed, the crisp sound echoing in the hall. Su Ningshuang's face instantly swelled up, and a metallic taste filled her mouth. She was both shocked and angry, but when she saw Lu Jingheng's cold eyes, devoid of any pity, the fear in her heart finally spread.
But she still held onto a sliver of hope, gritting her teeth and saying, "I won't tell you, even if you kill me!"
Looking at her defiant appearance, Lu Jingheng's eyes flashed with a ruthless glint: "You think I wouldn't dare? I only want to spare your life and retrieve the Tiger Tally. But if you insist on courting death, I won't hesitate to grant your wish and send people to dig three feet into the ground to find the Tiger Tally. However, after you die, the entire Su family will be implicated because of you, with the old, weak, women, and children all imprisoned. When you arrive in the underworld, will you have the face to meet the ancestors of the Su family?"
These words struck a nerve with Su Ningshuang. Her body trembled violently, her stubbornness crumbled instantly, her lips quivered, and the resentment in her eyes was gradually replaced by fear. She knew that Lu Jingheng meant what he said, and if she truly implicated the Su family, she would be the Su family's eternal sinner.
Lu Jingheng noticed her wavering and pressed his advantage: "I'll ask you one last time, where is the Tiger Tally? If you tell me, I will spare the Su family and only punish you; if you don't, the entire Su family will die with you. I will find the Tiger Tally sooner or later, and you will only be throwing your life away in vain."
The flickering candlelight cast a dim light on Lu Jingheng's face, and the oppressive aura emanating from him made Su Ningshuang breathless. Her defenses, which she had maintained for so long, finally crumbled completely.
She collapsed to the ground, tears finally streaming down her face. With despair and resentment, she said in a hoarse voice, "In my villa on the outskirts of the city, hidden in the west wing of the courtyard, there's a peony flowerpot. The flowerpot is made of white marble and carved with lotus patterns!"
Lu Jingheng's eyes darkened, and he immediately looked up at the guards and said, "Take men to Su Ningshuang's villa in the suburbs immediately and retrieve the Tiger Tally. There must be no mistakes!"
The guard acknowledged the order and quickly withdrew.
Silence returned to the hall. Su Ningshuang lay sprawled on the ground, her face ashen. Lu Jingheng looked at her, his eyes devoid of any emotion, only chilling coldness. He said coldly, "Drag her away and keep her under strict guard. Once the tiger tally is retrieved, immediately send her to the authorities for punishment according to the law."
After receiving the order, the guards spurred their horses and galloped away, arriving at Su Ningshuang's villa on the outskirts of the city in less than a quarter of an hour.
The courtyard gate was ajar, but could be easily pushed open. A thin layer of dust had settled on the steps inside, and several autumn chrysanthemums were drooping, looking as if they hadn't been tended to for many days.
The commander of the guards suppressed his deep unease and headed straight for the west wing of the house.
The west wing was simply furnished. Sure enough, on the flower stand by the window stood a white marble flowerpot with delicate carvings of lotus scrolls on its body. The lines were graceful and elegant. It was the very flowerpot that Su Ningshuang had mentioned.
The guards quickly stepped forward and carefully moved the flowerpot. The bottom of the pot had a hollow compartment, but it was empty. There was no trace of the tiger tally.
"Oh no! We've fallen into a trap!" the lead guard shouted in a low voice. Just as he was about to wave his hand to order a search, a sharp sound of weapons clashing suddenly came from outside the courtyard, mixed with the guard's short cry of pain.
The men guarding outside the courtyard were caught off guard and were taken down by several masked men in black. These men were swift and ruthless, clearly well-trained assassins, not ordinary bandits.
The lead guard hurriedly led his men out of the west wing. The cold glint of swords clashing reflected in the sunlight. Although the guards in the mansion were all elites personally trained by Lu Jingheng, they were no match for the enemy's superior numbers. Moreover, the men in black seemed to have figured out their tactics and were specifically targeting their weaknesses.
Moments later, a man in black took advantage of the chaos to bypass the fighting, leaped into the west wing, glanced at the empty hidden compartment, and then let out a clear whistle.
The whistling sound was the signal. The group of men in black immediately turned away, mounted their horses, and rode away, their hooves crushing the bluestone road outside the courtyard and raising dust. Only a few guards' corpses lying in pools of blood and weapons and footprints littered the ground.
The lead guard was stabbed in the shoulder, and blood soaked through his clothes. He gritted his teeth, gathered up the wounds, and searched the courtyard several times, looking in the corners, on the beams, and under the cabinets, but ultimately found nothing.
He knew that this matter was of great importance. The Tiger Tally was Lu Jingheng's troop deployment token for guarding the border. If it was lost, the border defense line would become a mere formality.
Not daring to delay, he immediately sent someone back to the manor by fast horse to report, while he himself guarded the other courtyard, sealing off the scene, waiting only for Lu Jingheng's instructions.
Inside the main hall of the general's mansion, the air was frozen solid.