Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 181

It was dark, so they had to bring torches. Yun Ke stood in the night wind, looking at the traces of battle left in the courtyard, a deep chill settling in his heart.

He clenched his hands tightly beneath his sleeves, then released them. No matter who had taken Gu Yu Qi, once he caught them, he would tear them into ten thousand pieces!

That ruthless vow barely concealed the frantic pounding of his heart, as if it might leap from his chest.

If Gu Yu Qi was harmed, these words suddenly appeared in his mind, and he did not dare think any further.

“Your Highness, there are fresh carriage wheel tracks here,” Du Xia said as he vaulted back over the wall, torch in hand.

Du Xia’s words jolted Yun Ke back to his senses. Regaining his focus, he followed Du Xia over the wall.

Du Xia’s search was indeed meticulous. In the gaps between the blue stone slabs, a few tufts of dried moss had been crushed and lifted by the wheel ruts.

“Check which direction they’re headed,” Yun Ke said in a low, steady voice, forcing himself to rein in his emotions.

“Yes.” Du Xia called the other secret guards over to search the area. “This way, Your Highness,” he confirmed, cupping his fists to Yun Ke.

Yun Ke brought Li Sheng, Wu Cheng, and Qian Yu to follow closely behind Du Xia.

Along the way, Du Xia traced the wheel marks step by step. It was dark, so his pace was slow. Even though Yun Ke was burning with anxiety, there was nothing he could do.

They tracked the trail all the way to the vicinity of the Dong Hua Gate. Yun Ke went directly towards the city gate. Although it was dark, it was not yet closing time.

From the gate came a guard in a black robe embroidered with a python in gold thread. Recognising the four-clawed golden dragon embroidered on Yun Ke’s chest, he quickly saluted, “Greetings to Your Highness, Imperial Prince An.” In the entire capital, the only man who could wear such a robe was Imperial Prince An Yun Ke.

“Did you see a carriage leave the city?” Yun Ke grabbed him and demanded.

“This…” The guard looked troubled. “Your Highness, many carriages pass through the gate every day. I’m not sure which one Your Highness is referring to.”

“It wouldn’t have been eye-catching,” Yun Ke said after thinking for a moment. “It passed just recently.”

“There was one. After nightfall, only one carriage went out,” the guard thought for a moment before nodding.

Yun Ke’s expression brightened. “Do you know which way they went?”

“They took the main road south,” the guard said, pointing toward the road beyond the gate. “Where they went after that, this servant does not know.”

“Lend me a few horses,” Yun Ke said.

“Of course, Your Highness,” the guard replied with a smile.

Mounting up, Yun Ke and Du Xia, and the others, galloped south along the main road.

The trail grew harder to follow as there were too many tracks along the road, but they continued scanning as they went.

The road eventually led to a dock.

When they arrived, they found a carriage standing by the roadside, empty inside. The horse was lazily munching dry grass.

Yun Ke snatched the torch from Du Xia’s hand and leapt into the carriage. Suddenly, his eyes caught a glimmer between the floorboards. Reaching in, he pulled out a ruby earring, one that Gu Yu Qi had worn earlier that day.

He closed his fingers around it, not caring that the stud pierced his palm.

Gu Yu Qi, it really is you… Yun Ke’s chest tightened until he could barely breathe.

He leapt down from the carriage and stood by the dock, holding the torch high as he stared at the dark, rushing river. He could not help but throw back his head and roar, “Gu Yu Qi! Where are you?!”

Emptiness surrounded him and there was no answer. His voice was quickly swallowed by the silence and darkness.

“Take my jade token to the Eldest Princess’ residence and borrow her men,” Yun Ke said hoarsely, unfastening the token from his belt and handing it to Du Xia. “Summon all the secret guards to search for the Princess Consort. Tell the Eldest Princess to keep this matter quiet for now.”

No matter what had happened after Gu Yu Qi was taken, her reputation would be harmed if word spread.

Gu Yu Qi was jolted awake by a basin of cold water poured over her from head to toe.

Dazed, she slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a torch burning brightly on the opposite wall.

She moved slightly, and the rattling of chains rang out. Her vision swam as she forced herself to see her surroundings clearly.

She was tied to a wooden stake, with iron chains as thick as a finger wrapped around her wrists and ankles.

Her arms and ankles were injured, weak and limp, with waves of numbing pain surging through them.

“She’s awake!” A strange voice came from her side. Gu Yu Qi turned towards it and saw a masked man in black standing there with a wooden bucket in hand. He was the one who had just doused her with water.

Behind him was a chair covered with an animal hide. Upon it lounged a luxuriously dressed man, reclining lazily on the fur. His face was also veiled, and the pair of eyes visible above the mask roamed up and down Gu Yu Qi. The malice and sordidness in those eyes made her feel she had seen them somewhere before.

“Hmm?” The man tilted his chin at Gu Yu Qi. The masked man beside her gave a nod, tossed the bucket aside, and drew a dark leather whip from his waist.

With a sharp crack, it lashed across Gu Yu Qi’s body.

Her clothes tore instantly, bl00d seeping from the skin beneath and staining her garments.

The man sitting on the fur raised the corner of his eye ever so slightly with a trace of a contemptuous smile.

Gu Yu Qi endured the pain without so much as a groan. She simply stared fiercely at the richly dressed man.

Those eyes were really familiar!

Under the scorching intensity of Gu Yu Qi’s stare, the man gradually let the smile fade from his eyes and could not help barking, “Hit her! Hit her hard for me!”

“Xia Shuang Cheng!” The moment he spoke, Gu Yu Qi called out his name in a cold voice. “How bold of you!”

Seeing that Gu Yu Qi recognised him so quickly, the richly dressed man was startled. In his lewd eyes a trace of fear flashed, and he hurriedly touched his own cheek. Surely he had not given himself away! The veil was perfectly in place!

“No need to deny it,” Gu Yu Qi sneered. “What is it? You dare to act but not admit it?”

“You… How did you recognise me?!” Xia Shuang Cheng stammered slightly. With a sudden movement, he tore the veil from his face and flung it to the ground, stomping on it twice with his boot.

Then he strode forward, seized the whip from the masked man’s hand, and lashed it viciously across Gu Yu Qi’s body and face.

“That’s for your arrogance! For hitting me in the street! Go on, be arrogant again! Wretched slut!” Xia Shuang Cheng cursed as he whipped Gu Yu Qi.

Gu Yu Qi bit her lip, enduring the searing pain that swept over her body. Xia Shuang Cheng struck her more than a dozen times, panting from the effort. He flung the whip back to the masked man. “Keep hitting her!” he snarled. “Don’t stop until this wretch begs for mercy!” Then he stormed back to his chair and dropped into it heavily, curling his lip as he stared at Gu Yu Qi.

“Yes.” The man took the whip and lashed it down on Gu Yu Qi’s body again and again, leaving her skin torn open, bl00d seeping from the wounds and dripping onto the ground at her feet.

“What are you looking at?!” Seeing that Gu Yu Qi did not utter a single sound, merely fixing her gaze firmly on him, Xia Shuang Cheng felt increasingly insecure under her stare.

This arrogant woman had already fallen into his hands, yet she still carried herself with such overbearing pride!

He refused to believe that today, he could not even deal with a mere cheap wretch!

Back then, she had beaten him until he rolled on the street, begging for mercy. Today, he would make her beg for mercy in the exact same way.

“I’m looking at a dead man!” Gu Yu Qi said slowly. Every word and every breath she took caused pain all over her body. Fortunately, Xia Shuang Cheng’s body had already been hollowed out by wine and women, so although she had taken more than ten strikes from him, they had only left her swollen. The real injuries came from those lashes delivered by the masked man, each one landed with bl00d and tore away flesh.

Xia Shuang Cheng froze for a moment, then glared back. “Pah! You think that now you’ve fallen into my hands, you can still live?”

He had long wanted to capture Gu Yu Qi to vent his anger on her. However, when he later learnt that she had been betrothed to Imperial Prince An, Xia Shuang Cheng could only swallow his fury. His father had warned him that his revenge would naturally be taken by his elder sister Xia Ying, and all he needed to do was wait until his sister married into the Prince’s residence, then she could slowly torment Gu Yu Qi for him.

So he restrained the urge to seize Gu Yu Qi and give her a vicious beating, and waited patiently for his sister’s wedding day.

Who would have thought that on the very day of the wedding, he would be inexplicably stabbed by someone, and the next day, his sister would also inexplicably die?!

He had secretly overheard his father and mother saying that his sister had been murdered! But the rest of their words had been too unclear, and he had not heard them clearly. Who else could have killed his sister apart from Imperial Prince An and this wretch?!

So from that day on, he had already gathered a group of desperate criminals from the martial arts world, plotting to bring Gu Yu Qi out.

These criminals were all wanted by the authorities, and he had taken them from death row and kept them hidden, having them do all manner of vile and malicious deeds for him over the years.

When he heard today that someone had reported him, and that the case had been assigned to Imperial Prince An to handle, he could no longer restrain himself.

By chance, he had seen Gu Yu Qi hurrying past while walking down the street today. At once, he sent people to gather those criminals and had others lie in wait at the entrance of the pharmacy.

That was how the later events had come to pass.

In any case, Xia Shuang Cheng was ready to risk everything.

Once Gu Yu Qi was in his grasp, he had no intention of letting her return alive.

If that so-called prince Yun Ke had any sense, then fine. If he had no sense, then just kidnap him too. If he could use Gu Yu Qi to get a hold over Imperial Prince An, that would be even better. If he could not get a hold over him, well, the crimes Xia Shuang Cheng had committed were enough to have him executed ten times over anyway. If it meant dragging Gu Yu Qi down with him, so be it!