Chapter 1950: A Couple Are Birds in the Same Forest
In the first place, the subordinate had been chosen to serve King Dai because he was a close aide. He said through gritted teeth, "Pardon me, my king, but the regent is too formidable. No one dares to risk offending him by lending us a helping hand. We have to think of a way out, or else we'll be doomed."
King Dai was enraged. He replied, "What regent? That Zu something is merely an upstart with slightly higher cultivation..." However, his voice slowly softened, and he even carefully glanced outside for fear that someone would overhear him and report to Zu An. However, his burst of anger tugged on his injuries, causing him to groan in pain, "Aiyo... Aiyo... Do it softer..."
Alarmed, the subordinate hurriedly massaged him softly.
"Why the hell are you massaging me? My kneecap is completely shattered! The more you massage it, the more pain I'm in. Apply some medicine instead, and make sure to squeeze out more juice!" King Dai berated the servant while issuing orders. The medicine stung when it was first applied, but the subsequent cooling sensation would soothe the pain.
"Yes, yes, yes!" the subordinate replied as he hurriedly picked up the pestle and pounded the herbs inside the mortar. As the herbs had to be properly crushed in order to bring out their medicinal properties, the Imperial Prison had provided a copper pestle much thicker than a normal medical pestle. The subordinate stuffed more herbs into the mortar and continued pounding it, but it didn't take long before he started sweating.
His subordinate's flustered appearance frustrated King Dai, and he grumbled, "Why did you bring such a small mortar? You can hardly stuff the copper pestle into it."
The subordinate was frustrated too. He said, "It can't be helped, my king. It's already tough to find a mortar in the Imperial Prison at all."
Watching his subordinate slowly pound the mortar further fanned King Dai's annoyance. He snapped, "Hurry up!"
"Yes, my king," the subordinate said as he sped up his pounding. Shortly after, he exclaimed in delight, "My king, the juice is out!"
"Pound it fifty more times. That should fully draw out its medicinal properties," King Dai said, craning his neck over to observe the pounding as if to ensure that his subordinate wasn't slacking off.
"Yes, my king!" the subordinate replied, although his mind was filled with retorts.
You're still putting on airs even though you've been reduced to this pathetic state?
That being said, he dared not offend King Dai, since they had to rely on Madam Dai to survive this ordeal.
Moments later, the herbs had been reduced to a puddle of medicinal paste. The subordinate carefully picked it up and applied it to King Dai's injured knee.
"Sssss!" King Dai sharply inhaled from the rush of pain and delight he felt from the cooling sensation.
"My king, what do you think of my earlier proposal?" the subordinate anxiously asked out of desperation to turn the tables around.
"You!" King Dai wanted to lash out, but he eventually decided to tone it down, saying, "It doesn't matter whether I agree or not. Chan'er has her own will, and that Zu guy killed her father..."
"Our madam is a smart person. She'd know well enough to prioritize the living. This humble subordinate will also find an opportunity to talk to her about this," the subordinate said. Inwardly, he felt a surge of disdain for King Dai for the latter's willingness to sacrifice his own wife to save his life.
He always shouts at me, but I guess he isn't any better. It feels good to sacrifice someone else's wife to save my own life.
Just thinking about the dignified and beautiful Madam Dai was enough to quicken the subordinate's breathing.
That Zu guy got lucky!
The vexed King Dai said, "It won't matter even if she's willing to do it. We're all imprisoned right now. We can't meet that fellow even if we want to."
"Don't worry, my king. Leave it to me. I'll find a way to send a message to our madam," the subordinate replied with a smile, relieved that he had finally found a way to survive.
King Dai was unable to put down his pride, so he responded with a vague "Mm". Then, he quickly added, "Continue crushing the herbs and apply more medicine on my knee."
"Of course, of course!"
...
The following day, King Dai was fast asleep when the warden suddenly knocked, saying, "Wake up. Someone's here to meet you."
King Dai opened his eyes in confusion, thinking, Who'd visit me at this time?
A person cloaked from head to toe was standing outside. They passed a silver ingot to the warden, who happily stuffed it inside his pocket and said, "Don't take too long." The warden then walked away, granting the two of them some privacy.
"You are..." King Dai said, looking at the cloaked figure in confusion. Were they sent by someone to silence me? That thought filled him with fear.
Just then, the cloaked person took off their hood, revealing a beautiful face.
"It's you, Chan'er!" King Dai cried, overjoyed. He hadn't expected to meet her here.
"Shh!" Meng Chan placed her finger on her lips as she looked at the man before her with a complicated expression. While he was a wastrel, he was still her husband.
"How did you get in here?" King Dai asked.
"The Meng clan has accumulated some influence over its thousand years of lineage," Meng Chan said, choosing not to elaborate too much on the matter.
"Save me!" King Dai exclaimed. For some reason, he felt that Chan'er looked more seductive than usual.
Meng Chan looked a little distracted as she replied, "Not now. You'll still be labeled a criminal even if you're released now. You should wait for the court to go through the procedures first."
"I'll be dead meat if they go through the procedures!" King Dai exclaimed anxiously.
"I rushed here today to reassure you that you'd be fine," Meng Chan said hesitantly.
How should I relay it to him?
"How can I possibly be reassured?" King Dai replied, feeling vexed. All of a sudden, he thought of something and asked, "Have you met Qiu San?"
"Qiu San? Your subordinate? I haven't met him yet," Meng Chan said, shaking her head. She had long known that Qiu San was a dishonest person, but he was good at winning King Dai's favor, often bringing in all kinds of interesting things to entertain the king. Due to that, King Dai viewed Qiu San as his aide. It wouldn't do for her to interfere too much in King Dai's personal affairs, so she had decided to leave Qiu San alone.
King Dai figured as much, thinking, Qiu San was so busy yesterday that he only left at daybreak. There's no way he could have reached her so quickly. Worried that Qiu San couldn't get to her after she left the imperial prison, he hesitantly gritted his teeth and said, "Chan'er, you have to save me."
"I'm saving you now," Meng Chan replied with a tragic smile.
King Dai didn't think that she had caught his drift yet, so he put aside his sense of shame and carried on, "Qiu San proposed an idea, saying that it would safely tide us through this ordeal."
"Oh? What kind of idea was it?" Meng Chan asked in surprise. Did I miss out on a possibility? Did I give out too much last night...
King Dai was in a dilemma, but his desire to live eventually triumphed over his sense of shame. He said, "Chan'er, our intelligence indicates that Zu guy has a lot of beautiful ladies beside him. Clearly, he's a lustful man. You're a beautiful woman yourself, so... Why don't you beg him? He'll definitely spare us if it's you."
Meng Chan's expression turned livid. She had still been feeling guilty over yesterday's affairs, but who could have thought her husband would raise such a proposal of his own accord? She asked icily, "How should I beg him?"
"You should..." King Dai couldn't bring himself to say those words out loud. Instead, he said, "Chan'er, you're a smart woman. Why do you insist on having me voice it aloud?"
"Are you even a man?!" Meng Chan cried out, trembling in anger. What kind of man is he, to make me do that kind of thing just so he can survive? I really regret pleading on his behalf yesterday!
King Dai had always been afraid of Meng Chan. Upon noticing her anger, he quickly added, "Don't be angry, Chan'er. It was all Qiu San's idea. it has nothing to do with me!"
Meng Chan flashed a tragic smile at King Dai, saying, "You're still trying to push the responsibility onto someone else at this point. I might have at least respected you for your honesty if you admitted to it, but it looks like you're a coward through and through!"
Her reprimand infuriated King Dai. He protested, "What else can I do? This is our only option! I was perfectly fine as a king, but you and your father told me there was a chance I could become the emperor. You always seemed to have it all under control, so I followed your words. But what happened?!"
"I'd already given up at that point, but someone grumbled to me about his idiotic older brother becoming the crown prince, and that he'd fare ten thousand times better in his place! If not for that, I wouldn't have dragged the Meng clan in to support you!" Meng Chan retorted, her face flushing red. She added, "Besides, you claim that you always listen to me. Did I tell you to take advantage of Madam Jin then?" It infuriated her just thinking about how the honest-looking King Dai had dared to do that.
"H-How do you know about that?" King Dai asked, his tone weakening. He felt stifled. It would have been one thing if he had managed to take advantage of Madam Jin, but he'd failed to do so and only gotten himself into trouble.
"If you hadn't gotten ahead of yourself and gone to mess with the Qin clan and Murong clan after claiming the upper hand, we wouldn't have become mortal enemies with Zu An!" Meng Chan added. The more she thought about it, the more infuriated she became.
King Dai felt indignant. He said, "You were the one who suggested provoking the Zu guy, and your father was the one orchestrating the matter."
Meng Chan remained silent.
Seeing Meng Chan's huge emotional fluctuations, King Dai was worried that she would cast him away in a fit of anger, so he quickly said, "It's all in the past. There's no point arguing about it now. Let's focus on saving the others for now. Tell that man I won't compete to become the emperor anymore. I just want to be a free king. No, I don't even have to be a king at all. I'm certain you'll be able to get to him with your looks and your means."
King Dai's expectant gaze only disgusted Meng Chan more. She thought, He has already done whatever you dreamt of doing to Madam Jin many times with me, and I was the one who approached him for that. However, she decided against saying that in the end. She turned around and walked away, leaving behind a few icy words. "Don't worry. You'll live."
While those afflicted by the Worries Be Gone Rosemary would lose their memories of that night, they could still easily recall what happened if they saw where it had taken place after regaining consciousness. It was usually used by vile people who wanted to take advantage of a woman without her knowing; however, it was a different matter if one was prepared.
Meng Chan had first written her plan into a small booklet, and the first thing she'd done after waking up was to read it. She had swiftly linked the information to her condition, and that had evoked her memories about everything that happened the previous night.
"How are you so confident?" King Dai wanted to ask, only to notice how unnatural her gait looked as she walked up the stairs. Not only did she have to place both feet on the same step before climbing the next, but she also had to grab onto the railings for support. It was as if she could barely close her legs.
Even though King Dai had been under strict control over the years, he was still a king. Qiu San had previously found a few ladies to give him a taste of physical pleasure. He immediately connected the dots and roared in anger, "You slut! I was still wondering how virtuous you could be to reprimand me, but it turns out you already sold yourself out. It's no wonder you've regained your freedom!"
He couldn't help but think about what had to have happened for her to be reduced to such a state. The thought that the beloved beauty whom he doted on so much, to the point where he hesitated to even touch her, had been thoroughly ravaged by a knave infuriated him.
Meng Chan turned around and glared at him coldly, retorting, "Do you want to live or not?"
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