Chapter 31: Poisonous Heart, Spicy Hand (Part 2)

  Time flies like an arrow, and the years pass like a knife. However, in the blink of an eye, it's already February 1st. There are only two days left until the birthday banquet of Yang Xiu, the crown prince of Shu Kingdom. And it has been more than twelve hours since Yang Shao and Li Shentong were locked up in the Chengdu Prefecture Government Office.

  To be honest, the big prison of Chengdu Prefecture is much cleaner and more tidy than imagined. Moreover, being arranged to live alone in a single room, there are no unscrupulous prison bullies or cell heads coming to harass, which makes Yang Zhao, who used to admire Xiao Ma Ge before crossing over, feel quite disappointed that he can't perform a scene of "Prison Break" in the Sui Dynasty version.

  However, a prison is still a prison. No matter how clean and tidy it is, the atmosphere that lingers in the air is still oppressive and gloomy. Any normal person would not feel comfortable staying inside for long. So, after the initial freshness wore off, Yang Zhao first felt bored, then felt stifled, and before long, became restless.

  Li Shentong and he were not in the same cell, nor even in the same yard. In fact, the area of Chengdu Prefecture Government was much larger than many people imagined. The two had not seen each other since they came in last night. So that Yang Zhao wanted to find someone to discuss with, but it was impossible.

  Although it was a prison cell, Yang Zhao's abilities were not restricted, so if he wanted to escape, it would be easy. However, he still wanted to restore his identity as the Duke of Henan in front of Emperor Xuan of Northern Zhou on the public stage. The play had not yet begun, and the protagonist couldn't just exit early. So, despite feeling bored and oppressed, Yang Zhao patiently waited. When he could no longer bear it, he simply sat cross-legged to practice his skills, and time passed easily.

  When he opened his eyes again, the iron window outside was a piece of moonlight and sparse stars, and it was already the time when the lights were first lit. Yang Zhao felt that his body was full of energy, and the true energy inside him was lively and vibrant, and he had made some progress again.

  It turns out that the more Yang Zhao practices the Yi Jing Xuan Jian, the more he discovers its simplicity. Firstly, it is easy to get started with, secondly, as long as one persists in practicing, they will definitely make progress, and there seems to be no bottleneck or barrier. Thirdly, the method is smooth and even, not prone to deviation or madness. Lastly, the content is vast and profound. The previous Xian Tian Ba Gua Bu and Ba Gua Zhang, which belong to the beginner-level martial arts of Yi Jing Xuan Jian, are not inferior in power to the renowned Wu Xue such as Hu Tian San Shou, Bing Xuan Jin, Zhan Zhen Qi Shi, Shen Xing Ba Fa.

  The Eight Trigrams' reverse deduction is the mysterious skill of Wind, Rain, Thunder and Lightning. Although I can only use one style, "Infinite Rain", for now, if I have more time to perfect the other three styles, I should be able to rival Ci Hang Jing Zhai's "Sword Classic". And above the Four Symbols, there are the Two Principles and Taiji. If in the future, I can push my martial arts to that realm...

  Suddenly speechless and lost smile. Because Yang Zhao realized that he had already begun to fall into a mental state commonly referred to as "delusions". Stop, stop. Those empty and unrealistic things, what's the point of thinking about them now? It's more important to be down-to-earth and do well in things within one's capabilities first. Anyway, having nothing to do, might as well study Dark Ice and Fire Second Heaven...

  The faint sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the prison door. Immediately afterwards, the sound of the jailer opening the door with a key rang out. "Squeak" A harsh scraping noise, and the dimly lit prison cell was suddenly illuminated by soft light. A slender figure wearing coarse linen clothes, carrying a food box, stepped forward, calling out softly: "Young Master Yang, are you there?"

  "Is... everyone from Mingyue House?" Yang Zhao was stunned, got up from the kang and walked down, holding onto the prison bars to look outside. Indeed, it was everyone from Mingyue House. Seeing that Yang Zhao didn't seem to have been tortured at all, this extraordinary woman with unparalleled zither skills couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. She said with delight: "You can rest assured now. Young Master Yang, you haven't eaten yet, right? Mingyue brought some food over for you."

  As they spoke, the prison guard had already opened the door lock of Yang Zhao's cell. Xiang Mingyue reminded everyone: "At most, you can only stay for an hour, if the time is too long, I will be punished, so be careful, miss."

  Mingyue slightly bowed and thanked, then pushed open the wooden door and walked into the prison cell. Yang Zhao's heart felt a warm feeling, and he quickly took over the food box, saying: "In a place like this, how can everyone come? Alas, it's really an imposition on you."

  The food box is not light, and next month will be weak. After holding it for so long, a layer of fine sweat beads had already seeped out on my forehead. Under the lamplight, it made my face look even more like it was smeared with rouge, a lovely red glow. Compared to my usual pale complexion, it added a few more touches of captivating charm.

  Mingyue smiled and said, "I'm not some noble lady from a good family, what's with all the fuss about being wronged or not? Besides, Young Master Yang only encountered this disaster because of me. Whether it's out of affection or reason, I really have no excuse to stand by and do nothing." As she spoke, she opened the food box and took out the dishes one by one, arranging them neatly. She said softly, "These were all made by Mingyue herself. Young Master Yang, would you like to try some?"

  In the cell, there was also a meal service, but it was just plain water with black bread buns. Yang Zhao had eaten two meals and was already very impatient. At this time, seeing the steaming hot food, he couldn't help but salivate on the spot. He hastily sat down at the table, picked up his chopsticks, took a deep breath, and praised: "So fragrant! I didn't expect that Mingyue's culinary skills would be so exceptional too. Truly refined and elegant. Who knows who will have the good fortune in the future... Ah, no, no, let's eat, let's eat!" He hastily picked up a large serving of beef with his chopsticks and loudly chewed it.

  What was the unspoken words, everyone's heart is naturally clear. Her pretty face turned red again, she lowered her head and poured a bowl of winter mushroom longan stewed chicken feet soup for Yang Zhao, saying: "This soup Mingyue stewed for a whole day. Mr. Yang, try it to see if the flavor is suitable?"

  Yang Zhao took a sip from the bowl and sighed, "It's really fresh... Ah, right, Ming Yue, how did you get in here? What about the others?"

  Mingyue sat down next to Yang Zhao, her smile gone and replaced with a gloomy expression. She shook her head and said: "After you were taken away by those bailiffs, Mingyue wanted to ask for an audience with the King of Shu to request justice. But unexpectedly, the guards at the palace wouldn't let Mingyue in, even when she showed them the imperial edict signed by the King himself. With no other choice, Mingyue had to return to Tang Liuyuan to think of a plan with Fang sister, but... it turned out that Fang sister was also missing."

  Yang Zhao curled his lip and thought to himself: "That woman can't wait for me to die quickly. Since I seem to be in a difficult situation, she will naturally disappear on her own." He snorted, "But Yang Xiu and I are family, so when the time comes, we'll put on a show of 'The King's Secret Visit' for you all to see." Then he asked: "So, what's next?"

  The bright moon said with a sigh: "At that time... the bright moon was also confused. Fortunately, Qin Zongbiao, the head of the Wu'an Guard Bureau, volunteered to go out and gather information for the bright moon. Later, it seemed that Qin Zongbiao had some connections with Bu Zongbiao, the head of the Chengdu Prefecture Yamen, which is how they got accurate information. Unfortunately... Yang Gongzi, the bright moon owes you an apology."

  "Why are you being so aloof? This matter doesn't concern you." Yang Zhao finished drinking the chicken soup in two gulps, and smiled: "Li Shentong is Li Yuan's man, and neither the King of Shu nor the Chengdu authorities will make things difficult for him. As for me, I can be even more at ease. If the King of Shu saw me, he would probably welcome me with open arms."

  "What's the time now, Master Yang? You're still telling jokes?" Mingyue's face was filled with worry and gloom. "Those two officials are not to be trifled with. If they deliberately try to harm us, we ordinary people without power or influence... Alas! But don't you worry, Master Yang. No matter what, I, Mingyue, will do my best, even if... even if..."

  In an instant, Mingyue's lips were tightly pursed, her face set in determination, as if she had made some grand decision. Although he didn't know what she was going to do, Yang Zhao was deeply moved. A surge of heat rose to his head, and he almost wanted to tell her that he was the eldest son of the Great Sui Emperor, enfeoffed as the King of Henan. But the words stuck in his throat, unable to be spoken.

  Mingyue, however, forced a smile and personally poured Yang Zhao another bowl of chicken soup, saying: "There's still quite a bit of this soup left, hurry up and drink it while it's hot. After tonight, Mingyue doesn't know when she'll have the chance to visit again."

  Yang Zhao let out a heavy sigh, raised the bowl and took another sip. The still warm chicken soup had not yet entered his throat when Young Master Wang's five fingers suddenly trembled violently, causing the soup and the bowl to slip from his grasp, shattering on the ground with a loud "crash". His face changed drastically, he stood up abruptly, pointing at Ming Yue Da Jia, sternly questioning: "You......" Just as he spat out one word, suddenly outside the iron window came the sharp, piercing sound of a whistle: "Hiss-hiss-hiss~".

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  To be honest, I want to ask friends for help because I'm not good at it and also too lazy to learn... It's such a bother. So, please help me out voluntarily. Thank you thank you!