eurekapd Chapter 228 The True Face of King Xiang
Chapter 228 The True Face of King Xiang
"Bang Bang Bang——"
"It's past midnight, all is well—"
Within Shengjing City, the lights gradually went out, as if stained by thick ink. Under the dark night sky, the entire city seemed about to be swallowed whole by a dark beast.
In a cramped, dark room, a few faint rays of moonlight struggled to squeeze through the cracks in the walls, scattering across the damp floor and illuminating a young girl's face, which was covered by grime and disheveled hair.
The girl's eyelashes trembled slightly, and then her eyelids slowly opened a thin slit.
When she finally realized where she was, tears welled up in her red eyes again.
Sheng Rongxi didn't understand why she was locked up in such a place after simply going to Jinglu Teahouse for a cup of tea.
She has been locked up for a day.
She must have been drugged, rendering her unable to move or call for help.
No one showed up that day.
Who kidnapped her? Why did they kidnap her? Were they human traffickers?
Just as Sheng Rongxi was racking her brains, she heard a soft creak, as if the door had been opened.
A glimmer of light flashed in Sheng Rongxi's originally dull eyes, and she looked in the direction of the sound with anticipation.
With a slight creak, the door slowly opened, and a figure seemed to emerge from the depths of darkness.
He was tall and upright, wearing a purple brocade robe embroidered with intricate dark patterns.
The silver threads on the robe still gleamed with a cold, eerie light under the dim moonlight, and judging from this attire alone, one could tell that the person was either rich or noble.
This kind of person is obviously not a human trafficker!
Upon seeing this, Sheng Rongxi was initially delighted.
He frantically crawled towards the door, managing to utter two indistinct, broken words: "Help...help..."
However, as the figure slowly approached, and with the help of a few dim moonlight, Sheng Rongxi finally saw the face of the newcomer, and the joy on her face instantly froze.
The person who came was extremely good-looking.
But at this moment, his fair yet cold face held a chilling, ambiguous smile.
His gaze was like a cold snake's tongue, carrying a hint of contempt and amusement, as if he were admiring a prey that was about to be caught.
Sheng Rongxi's whole body stiffened, and her back felt cold.
King Xiang strolled slowly to her side, knelt down gently, and his expression was incredibly tender.
"I apologize for keeping my beauty waiting."
Prince?
He's actually a prince?!
Sheng Rongxi felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, and fear spreading like a tide in her eyes.
King Xiang was amused by her expression, and smiled as he admired her fear, gently stroking her face.
"Yes, I love it when a beautiful woman has this kind of expression. The more afraid you are, the more excited I become."
Sheng Rongxi tried desperately to avoid his touch, but her body was frozen in place and she couldn't move an inch.
Her lips trembled, and she managed to squeeze out a weak voice through gritted teeth: "You...you are a prince, why do you treat me like this?"
The Prince of Xiang chuckled softly, the sound echoing eerily in the small, dark room: "What I desire, I will naturally obtain. From the moment you entered the Jinglu Tea House, you caught my eye."
Sheng Rongxi deeply regretted entering Jinglu Teahouse.
"What...what exactly do you want to do?"
The King of Xiang stood up, bent down and gently picked her up, his voice like a devil's whisper, "No rush, my beauty will know soon enough."
……
The moonlight deepened, but was quickly enveloped by dark clouds.
In the pitch-black darkness, the sound of clothes tearing and a woman's desperate, helpless moans could be heard.
After an unknown amount of time, a man's angry curse suddenly rang out from the darkness.
The King of Xiang's voice was gloomy and cold, "You wretched woman, what a spoilsport!"
The dark clouds gradually dispersed, and a few rays of cool moonlight once again streamed into the dark room.
King Xiang, his face grim, straightened his clothes and turned to leave without giving the woman lying on the ground even a second glance.
Shortly after, two men dressed as guards entered.
The two of them kept their voices low.
"It seems this one committed suicide. Master didn't have enough fun, so we'll have to have Meiniang find a few more."
Another person had already walked up to Sheng Rongxi and kicked her hard across her naked, snow-white skin without any mercy, cursing as he did so:
"You shameless woman! It's her good fortune that the prince even took a liking to her, yet she still dared to commit suicide!"
He picked up a candle from the wall and examined it closely.
Looking at the girl's snow-white skin, he couldn't help but lick his lips.
Looking up at the other guard, he lowered his voice and said, "It's still warm, why don't we have a taste too..."
"Isn't this not good?"
"What's wrong with that? A woman of this caliber can earn you a hundred taels of silver for a night at Huanxiang Pavilion, and you can't even go too far. But with this one today, we can do whatever we want with her..."
"That makes some sense..."
The girl lay quietly on the cold ground, her eyes empty and lifeless, her tears long since dried on her cheeks.
Her clothes were tattered beyond recognition, and her body was covered in bruises and wounds, making her look like a soulless puppet.
If you look closely, you can see that she has already stopped breathing.
……
The first rays of sunlight in the morning gently fell on the streets and alleys of Shengjing City, and the people began their new day as usual.
Unbeknownst to anyone, last night, a young girl in Shengjing City quietly lost her life.
Outside the Dali Temple government office.
Grandma Sheng, leaning on her cane, stood shakily outside the Dali Temple government office, her eyes filled with anxiety and helplessness.
She had been waiting there for a long time, and finally saw a young constable come out. She rushed forward, grabbed him, and cried, "Sir, my granddaughter is missing! Please, please help me find her!"
“My Rongxi is well-behaved and obedient; she would never disappear without a reason.”
The young yamen runner sized her up a few times.
Seeing that the cotton clothes she was wearing had faded from washing, a hint of contempt flashed in his eyes.
He impatiently shook off Granny Sheng's hand, frowned and said, "You old woman, don't make trouble here. People come and go in Shengjing every day. What's the big deal if one or two people go missing? Maybe they just ran away and will be back in a few days."
Upon hearing this, Granny Sheng's eyes welled up with tears. She took out a handkerchief from her bosom, unfolded it layer by layer to reveal a few copper coins, and handed it to the young yamen runner: "Sir, this is a small token of my sympathy. Please be lenient with me. My Rongxi really can't be harmed."
The young constable looked at the few copper coins with disdain: "You think you can get me to do things with this little bit of money? Get out of here and stop bothering us with our official duties."
Grandma Sheng was both angry and anxious, but she was truly worried about her granddaughter. She still reached out her trembling hand and tried to stuff the copper coin into the clerk's arms, pleading:
"Sir, I beg you, please help me find Rongxi, something must have happened to my Rongxi..."
"Can't you understand human language, you old woman?" The clerk's eyes instantly turned fierce.
Although it is customary to give bribes to government officials, how can one stuff silver into the hands of others in front of the Dali Temple!
This stupid woman!