Chapter 35

"Hmm..."

With a soft murmur, Miss Su gradually woke up. Before she even had a chance to open her eyes, she was surprised to find that her whole body felt sore, and she just wanted to lie there lazily, doing nothing.

*Strange, today I seem particularly... weak...*

The moment this thought crossed her mind, Miss Su, who had just opened her eyes, was stunned. She was shocked to see someone buried in her arms, sleeping soundly.

In that instant, she felt as if all the blood in her body had turned cold, and her hands and feet were icy. An indescribable fear and panic overwhelmed her.

But at that moment, she suddenly recognized the person in her arms.

*Him... Huh? Young Master Jiang?*

Strangely, upon seeing this person, Miss Su felt a sense of relief, and the fear and panic that had overwhelmed her gradually subsided, replaced by a baffling confusion.

Blushing, she pulled the blanket to take a quick look and, as expected, found that both she and Young Master Jiang were completely naked.

She moved her body slightly, and the slight pain from her lower body made her feel both ashamed and angry.

*...*

Her head buzzed as if a thousand bees were swarming, making her feel restless and agitated.

*What happened last night? Hmm, something definitely happened yesterday... But why did it happen? Didn't he go back?*

She bit her lip and looked at Young Master Jiang, who was still buried in her arms, sleeping soundly. She watched as he unconsciously drooled onto her snow-white skin, her cheeks burning like a fire.

*His sleeping posture is really bad, like a child...*

Miss Su felt like crying but couldn't, as she tried to pull away from Zhao Hongrun out of shame and anger. However, Zhao Hongrun clung to her like an octopus, making it impossible for her to move.

*He really is a child...*

Seeing that she couldn't move, Miss Su stopped struggling and looked helplessly at Zhao Hongrun's still youthful face.

She felt a bit guilty, as she had lost something very important as a woman, yet she still found the sleeping young man's posture amusing.

"Hmm, hmm..."

Zhao Hongrun, still half-asleep, smacked his lips and unconsciously wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, then slowly opened his still drowsy eyes.

Their gazes met.

"..."

"..."

Their eyes locked.

After about five or six breaths, Miss Su noticed that Young Master Jiang's expression changed from confusion to shock.

"You... Why are you here?" Zhao Hongrun asked, shocked.

At that moment, Miss Su felt a surge of inexplicable resentment. She bit her lip and glared at him, saying nothing.

"..." Zhao Hongrun looked around, his expression becoming increasingly unnatural. He realized he was not in his own bedroom, but in Miss Su's room, Cuixiao Pavilion.

What shocked him even more was that they were both completely naked and entangled.

*Did I wake up wrong? Am I hallucinating?*

Muttering to himself, Zhao Hongrun closed his eyes again.

"..." Miss Su didn't understand what he was saying, but she just looked at him expressionlessly.

After a long while, Zhao Hongrun cautiously opened his eyes again. To his dismay, nothing had changed. He was still in Miss Su's room, and she was still in his arms.

"Why am I here?"

"..." Miss Su was so angry that she wanted to bite the shameless man in front of her to death. Zhao Hongrun's tone made it seem as if she had kidnapped him.

Just as she was about to explode, there was a sudden, urgent knocking at the door.

Miss Su's heart raced. She had no idea how to handle this situation, and Zhao Hongrun's expression was also grim. According to his gradually recovering memory, he should have been in the prison of the Ministry of Justice last night. How did he end up in Miss Su's room?

Neither of them dared to answer the door.

At that moment, the door was kicked open, and a man in fine clothing walked in with a stern face. After a quick glance at the outer room, he headed straight for the inner room and saw Zhao Hongrun sitting on the bed.

Miss Su gasped and instinctively pulled the blanket over her head.

The man glanced at Miss Su, who was hiding under the blanket like an ostrich, then his sharp gaze met Zhao Hongrun's. He took out a token from his pocket and showed it to Zhao Hongrun.

Zhao Hongrun's heart sank as he clearly saw the character 'Zong' (宗) engraved on the golden token.

"Sir, please come with me," the man said in a commanding tone.

*People from the Zong Family?*

Zhao Hongrun's heart sank, and his expression turned grim. He knew he had been framed.

Seeing Zhao Hongrun naked, the man added, "I'll wait for you outside."

With that, he turned and left.

Miss Su cautiously peeked out from under the blanket. She looked at Zhao Hongrun, whose face was now pale with anger, and realized for the first time that the usually gentle Young Master Jiang could be a bit intimidating.

"Who... Who is he?"

Zhao Hongrun didn't answer. He silently got dressed, his mind in turmoil.

After a short while, he was fully dressed. He turned to look at Miss Su, who was clearly worried and anxious, and said, "Wait for me... I'll explain everything when I come back."

Hearing this, Miss Su's anxiety eased a bit. She nodded and watched as he disappeared from her sight.

Opening the door, she saw the man from earlier standing outside, along with a group of men in plain clothes. If Zhao Hongrun's guess was correct, these robust and strong men were likely the Imperial Guards, the elite soldiers trained by the Zong Family.

A special army personally trained by members of the imperial family, composed entirely of sons of soldiers who had sacrificed their lives for the Wei Dynasty, and known for their unwavering loyalty, not part of the regular army. *Note: The Zong Guards who protect the princes are selected from the Imperial Guards. When a prince turns ten, the top ten trainees from that year's Imperial Guard selection are chosen as his Zong Guards, while the rest join the Imperial Guards.*

"Let's go, sir..."

Zhao Hongrun didn't know how to address the man, who was likely one of his older cousins.

The man, guessing Zhao Hongrun's confusion, nodded and said, "We'll discuss everything at the Zong Family residence. ... Please."

"Please," Zhao Hongrun replied with a bitter smile.

Closing the door, Zhao Hongrun was taken away by the man and the Imperial Guards, leaving Miss Su alone in Cuixiao Pavilion, lost in thought.

Even though she didn't know what had happened, from Zhao Hongrun's expression, she could tell that the situation was serious and difficult to handle.

*Where is Lüer?*

"Lu'er? Lu'er?" Miss Su called out.

She heard a muffled sound coming from somewhere in the room.

She quickly put on her clothes, got out of bed, and, despite the discomfort in her lower body, limped over to where the sound was coming from. She found Lu'er, who was tied up and gagged, in a cabinet.

"Lu'er, how did you...?"

Seeing Lu'er bound and gagged, Miss Su didn't know what to say. She quickly knelt down and untied her.

"Wah—"

Lu'er, a sixteen-year-old girl, burst into tears, feeling guilty and ashamed.

"Miss, it's all my fault. I couldn't protect you, and you were violated by that beast... Wah, I knew he wasn't a good person..."

"You... You're talking nonsense!" Miss Su blushed and tried to defend herself.

Lu'er cried even harder, "I heard everything..."

"..." Miss Su felt both ashamed and angry.

She wanted to deny it, but the bloodstains on the bed sheets made her defense seem weak.

"He... Young Master Jiang was framed."

"At this point, you're still defending him? I knew he wasn't a good person," Lu'er said angrily as she and Miss Su cleaned up the bed sheets.

Seeing the bloodstains, Miss Su, feeling embarrassed, whispered, "Don't throw this away..."

"Of course not," Lu'er carefully folded the sheet and said, "We'll settle the score with that guy!"

"That's not what I meant..."

Miss Su sighed.

Meanwhile, Zhao Hongrun had left Cuixiao Pavilion with his cousin and boarded a carriage waiting in the alley, heading straight for the Zong Family residence.

In Zhao Hongrun's mind, the Zong Family was a very strict and traditional place. They didn't care about the reasons for one's mistakes; if a prince violated the rules of the Wei Dynasty or disgraced the royal family, they would be punished accordingly.

This was why even a prince as bold as Zhao Hongrun, who dared to argue with the emperor, felt intimidated by the Zong Family.

The emperor was a wise ruler with a broad mind, but the stubborn and rigid elders of the Zong Family were a different story. If you argued with them, even the emperor couldn't save you!

Sure enough, Zhao Hongrun had no chance to explain once he entered the Zong Family residence. He was immediately punished.

*...Prince Hongrun, for not respecting the rules and disregarding the Zong Family's regulations, as a prince, for not maintaining his purity, is sentenced to seven days of solitary confinement and must copy the Zong Family's regulations a hundred times. ...*

Before he could say anything, Zhao Hongrun was locked in a dark room in the Zong Family residence. Under the supervision of a monitor, he had to sit cross-legged facing a painting of the word 'Calm' on the wall.

For seven days, except for meal times, he had to sit there without moving.

Even the slightest movement would result in a warning from the monitor, who would strike his shoulder with a thick stick.

For any prince, this was an unbearable punishment.

In addition to Zhao Hongrun, Shen Yu and Lu Mu, the two Zong Guards who had been drunk, were also found by the Zong Family and thrown into the same small dark room.

The difference was that the two drunk men could sleep and mumble in their sleep, while Zhao Hongrun had to sit still, or risk a strike on his shoulder.

*The Luo family, and that prison official Pei Kai, you'll pay for this!*

"Smack—"

"Ouch..."

"Smack—"

"Ugh..."

*You'll pay for this!!*

"Smack—"

*PS: This book has been A-signed and is published on Qidian. I hope the readers of this book can take a minute to vote for it on Qidian. Thank you very much.*

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