Rustling sounds came from behind. Soon, Yu Shuang and Xiang Cheng appeared in front of the prison cell.
"You're here?"
The two looked at the mess in the cell and glanced at each other. Xiang Cheng was young. After one look, he sensibly turned his head away.
Yu Shuang knew Shen Qingfeng's plan. There was pity in his eyes. He lowered his head and gritted his teeth, saying, "My lord, why do you have to do this..."
"What's so hard about it?" Shen Qingfeng's legs were trembling so much that he couldn't even put on his pants. He had to reach out and use the removed clothes to barely cover his knees as he knelt on the ground. He smiled and said, "I'm quite happy."
Yu Shuang walked in and was about to attend to Shen Qingfeng, but Shen Qingfeng reached out to stop him, saying, "There's no time. Yu Shuang, Xu Ruhui is in the cell deeper inside. Go and rescue him quickly."
Hearing this, Yu Shuang suddenly stopped. The embarrassment of having a secret seen through made him stunned for a moment.
Shen Qingfeng looked at him and gave him a relieved smile, saying, "Don't worry. He's okay."
"My lord, this subordinate..."
Shen Qingfeng shook his head with a smile. He was a bit weak as he said, "Go quickly..."
Xiang Cheng walked in behind. He said anxiously, "Then I'll take my lord out!"
Shen Qingfeng shook his head and said, "Xiang Cheng, you take Lu Yan and go. The two of you hurry to the Eastern Palace. Take Qi Mengmeng and A Man with you, as well as the Shen family... It's far from here. With the pressure from Su Huanyu, you can successfully escape."
Xiang Cheng was stunned. He looked at Yu Shuang and said, "Then what about you, my lord..."
Unexpectedly, before he could finish his sentence, Yu Shuang interrupted him and said in a deep voice, "My lord, do you want to stay here by yourself?"
Shen Qingfeng looked at him and ordered, "I have my own arrangements."
Yu Shuang gritted his teeth and said, "What's your plan, my lord? If we evacuate, you'll be the only one left in Li Ge! Are you seeking death?!"
"Yu Shuang!" Shen Qingfeng shouted sharply, "Do you think you and the seriously - injured Xiang Cheng can take three adult men out of the Discipline Gate?"
Yu Shuang was stunned.
"You must have noticed the guards outside when you came in, right?" Shen Qingfeng said, "Can you guarantee our safety?"
Hearing this, Xiang Cheng's eyes were full of grief.
Yu Shuang gritted his teeth and shouted, "This subordinate will never abandon my lord!"
"If we all go together, we'll only die together!" Shen Qingfeng said sharply, "Yu Shuang, Xiang Cheng, do you want to defy my order?!"
The two were instantly petrified on the spot. Yu Shuang even clenched his hands so tightly that they made a "creaking" sound.
Shen Qingfeng's eyes swept over the two of them. He almost begged, "Go quickly... There's no time left..."
"..." Yu Shuang's teeth were chattering.
"Yu Shuang..." Xiang Cheng looked at the two in front of him. He grabbed Yu Shuang's hand and shook his head firmly.
Yu Shuang looked at him. Finally, he shook off his hand, clasped his fists, and said, "This subordinate... obeys the order!"
The long night was about to end. Shen Qingfeng kissed Lu Yan's cheeks all over. Finally, in tears, he watched the others slowly walk away.
Shen Qingfeng slowly leaned against the cold wall of the prison. Two lines of clear tears flowed from the corners of his eyes. He watched as Yu Shuang and Xiang Cheng carried Xu Ruhui and Lu Yan on their backs respectively, looking back at him every few steps. His gaze slowly fixed on the unconscious Lu Yan. The glimmer in his tear - filled eyes finally went out completely the moment the figure disappeared at the door.
Like a withered leaf falling on the frosty ground, Shen Qingfeng quietly let his hands drop. He was like a body from which the soul had been extracted, silent and still, waiting for something.
Everything was done.
The Shen family... Lu Yan... Qi Mengmeng... A Man...
In this life, he had once sworn to protect the Shen family's safety. But when he reached this point, he found that the path he had walked was full of thorns. A very simple wish had become so difficult to achieve.
In this life, he wanted to protect many people. He wanted to have no regrets and take everything into account. But he didn't expect Xia Chuli to stab him in the lung. And the current situation was the most perfect ending he could think of. For this, he had used himself as a chess piece and included himself in the game, becoming the last, tenacious yet fragile barrier to protect everyone.
The night ruthlessly pierced through the dawn. When Xia Chuli, full of hostility, led his troops into the death cell, only Shen Qingfeng was sitting against the wall in the cell where Lu Yan had been held.
He was so weak that it seemed as if a gentle breeze could knock him down mercilessly. He was leaning against the cold wall obliquely, his clothes in disarray. Some cloth pieces covered his thighs, and the rest of his body was bare. His long, slender legs were limply resting on the ground, pale as snow.
Xia Chuli's eyes were gloomy. He stood in front of the prison door, and his whole body instantly turned as cold as cold iron.
His eyes fixed on the root of Shen Qingfeng's thigh. There were some obvious marks there. The marks were so distinct that they made Xia Chuli's eyes turn red and his whole body tremble.
A roar of extreme anger came from Xia Chuli's throat. He strode forward, grabbed one of Shen Qingfeng's arms, and lifted him up.
Shen Qingfeng was weak all over. He didn't struggle. Xia Chuli paused. He lowered his head and clearly saw something slowly dripping down the side of Shen Qingfeng's leg.
"SHEN! QING! FENG!" Xia Chuli was so angry that he almost wanted to devour Shen Qingfeng alive. He slapped Shen Qingfeng across the face and sent him flying. Shen Qingfeng let out a muffled groan and crashed straight into the wall of the cell. His face instantly swelled up.
"Hehe..." Shen Qingfeng twitched the corner of his mouth and struggled to sit up tremblingly. "Xia Chuli, are you angry? It's really rare."
Xia Chuli stared at him fixedly. "You... and Lu Yan... You..."
"Yes." There was full of mockery in Shen Qingfeng's eyes. He raised his head. "What will you do about it?"
Xia Chuli narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "Shen Qingfeng, you're really capable. You even managed to get Su Huanyu, that tough guy. What benefits did you promise him?"
Shen Qingfeng sneered. "In your eyes, is everything about benefits?"
"If it's not about benefits, then what is it?"
"Since you value benefits so much, why don't you kill me, a reborn person just like you?" Shen Qingfeng smiled. "Get rid of this uncertain factor."
Xia Chuli paused. Suddenly, he laughed sinisterly. "Shen Qingfeng, do you want to die?"
Shen Qingfeng raised his eyebrows and stared at him.
Xia Chuli strode over, grabbed Shen Qingfeng's chin, and forced him to look at himself. "You want to use your life to exchange for theirs? You're gambling that I'll kill you?"
"I don't need to gamble. You're only coming now, which means they've already gone far away." Shen Qingfeng said contemptuously. "I'm just stalling for time. As for whether you'll kill me or not... Didn't you do it quite simply in the previous life?"
Xia Chuli suddenly laughed maniacally. He laughed so hard that he bent forward and backward. The hand pinching Shen Qingfeng's chin tightened more and more. "Shen Qingfeng, Shen Qingfeng. You want to die, but I won't let you have your way! Do you think that just because they've escaped, I have no way to deal with it?"
Shen Qingfeng stared at him fixedly.
"Come here!" Xia Chuli roared. "Make a wedding dress exactly the same as the one on him!"
Shen Qingfeng trembled all over. "What do you want to do?!"
"What do I want to do? Hahaha..." Xia Chuli leaned close to his ear and said sinisterly, "Make preparations for our wedding!"