Shocking! The actress was dragged to the regent's bedchamber every night.

Chapter 197 Going to the Regent's Palace

Su Wuli subconsciously looked up.

"They're here to meet us," Xiao Junyi said.

"Oh." She nodded.

"Let's go," he said, straightening up from the wall.

Su Wuli followed behind him.

The footsteps on the other side grew closer until several people emerged from the alleyway.

The one leading the group was a man in his thirties.

The other person noticed that Xiao Junyi quickened his pace, and as he approached, his gaze first fell on Xiao Junyi's face, then moved down to see his dangling hand.

His brow twitched slightly.

"General, you are wounded."

"It's alright," Xiao Junyi replied.

The man didn't speak, but took a step closer to Xiao Junyi.

Su Wuli looked over and met the other person's gaze.

The man's gaze swept across her face, his expression first showing amazement, then turning to confusion the next moment.

He turned his gaze away and looked at Xiao Junyi.

A silent inquiry.

"This is Miss Su," Xiao Junyi introduced simply.

The man nodded without asking any further questions, took a step back, and made way for him.

The other people who came to meet them dispersed; two went towards the alley entrance, and one went towards the other end of the alley, protecting them in the middle.

"Leave first," Xiao Junyi said to her.

"Um."

Su Wuli followed him out of the alley.

A horse-drawn carriage was parked by the roadside.

A driver was sitting on the carriage shaft. Upon seeing them, he jumped down and placed the footboard.

Xiao Junyi let her in.

"And you?" Su Wuli asked instinctively.

"I'll just ride a horse," Xiao Junyi replied.

Upon hearing this, Su Wuli paused for a moment, then suddenly realized what she meant.

Looking at Xiao Junyi, he thought to himself, "No wonder he's the male lead."

The carriage started moving, and the wheels rolled over the stone slabs, causing the carriage to sway.

Xiao Junyi's voice came from outside, "Su Wuli, let me take you back first."

"No need, your injury is more important," Su Wuli said to the outside. "Let's go see your injury first."

"It's alright."

However, Su Wuli insisted that he was injured because he was protecting her.

Finally, the carriage stopped.

There were people talking outside, but I couldn't hear what they were saying.

Su Wuli lifted the curtain and saw a door in front of her with the words "Xiao Residence" clearly written on it.

Xiao Junyi dismounted and turned to look at her.

"Miss Su, the carriage will take you back."

"Okay, thank you." Su Wuli paused, then added, "Thank you for saving me."

Xiao Junyi shook his head.

"It was Xiao who dragged you into this; those people came after me."

His words were full of self-reproach, and his gaze shifted from her face to her torn cuffs.

"You shouldn't have gotten involved."

"Miss Su," Xiao Junyi said softly, "be careful on the road."

The curtains fell, blocking the view.

The wheels rolled over the stone slabs, and the carriage began to shake.

Su Wuli looked down at her hands, where dried blood still clung to her fingers.

The carriage traveled through several streets when the driver called out from outside, "Young lady, where is your home?"

Upon hearing this, Su Wuli sat in the carriage, her mind racing.

She has no home here.

Every time she came, she would appear directly next to Yu Chen.

The only place she could go was his mansion.

But the antagonistic relationship between Xiao Junyi and Yu Chen... she hesitated for a moment.

Thinking that the people outside were Xiao Junyi's men...

"Girl?" the driver called out again.

Su Wuli gritted her teeth, "The Regent's Palace."

It had nowhere else to go.

There was a moment of silence outside.

The sound of the reins being pulled tight came from inside, the horse snorted, and its hooves scraped against the stone pavement.

The coachman didn't say anything, and the carriage started moving.

The carriage was stuffy, and Su Wuli didn't say anything more.

Upon arriving at the Regent's residence, the coachman called out.

"Miss, we've arrived."

There was no response from inside for a long while.

"Young lady?" The coachman lifted the curtain.

But they found the carriage empty.

There was nothing on the cloth mat except for a few creases.

The driver paused for a moment, then reached in and touched it.

The mat was cold.

He lifted the curtain higher and peered inside, confirming there was nothing there.

The driver quickly stepped back and stood by the carriage, looking around.

There was nothing there.

The driver stood there for a while, then realized what was happening and immediately turned the horse around.

……

Xiao Junyi sat in the main room, his left hand on the table, his wound having been re-bandaged and treated.

The coachman who had just driven the carriage was standing in front of him. He finished speaking with his head down.

He took a step back and stood still.

Xiao Junyi looked at him and pressed for an answer, "The Regent's Palace?"

"Yes."

"Did you stop along the way?"

"no."

"Is anyone following us?"

The driver thought for a moment, then said, "No."

Xiao Junyi's fingers twitched on the table, and he looked down at his hands for a moment.

"When Miss Su mentioned going to the Regent's Palace..." he asked, "What was her tone?"

The driver paused for a moment, looked up at him, then looked down again.

"I didn't detect anything unusual."

Xiao Junyi remained silent.

A piece of incense ash fell from the table and into the bronze incense burner.

"When you arrive," Xiao Junyi then asked, "will the door be open or closed?"

"It's locked."

"Has anyone come out?"

"no."

Xiao Junyi leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on the doorway.

Sunlight streamed in through the crack in the door, stopping just in front of his toes.

"Did she say anything in the carriage?"

The driver thought for a moment, then shook his head in response, "He didn't say anything."

Xiao Junyi nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

The driver stood still.

After a while, Xiao Junyi stood up.

"Prepare the horses."

The coachman, puzzled, quickly said, "General, your injury—"

"Prepare the horses," Xiao Junyi insisted.

The driver had no choice but to turn around and leave.

Xiao Junyi stood at the door, looking down at his hands wrapped in bandages.

He subconsciously remembered something.

Not long ago...

Shen Qiange sat in a chair, peeling an orange in her hand.

"Junyi, do you know there's a girl locked up in the Regent's Palace?"

Xiao Junyi was reading the military newspaper and didn't look up.

"She's exceptionally beautiful." Shen Qiange stuffed an orange into her mouth and mumbled, "I saw it with my own eyes. Her skin is so white it glows, and she looks like she stepped out of a painting."

Xiao Junyi still didn't look up; he was only concerned about the situation at the moment.

Shen Qiange continued speaking to herself, "I asked her if she was forced, and she didn't say anything, but judging from her expression, she definitely was forced."

Xiao Junyi turned another page of the military report.

Seeing this, Shen Qiange said, "Are you even listening to me?"

He looked up. "I'm listening."

Shen Qiange glared at him and threw the orange peel on the table.

"Fine, don't believe me then. Anyway, let me tell you, that girl is very pitiful. She's locked up in that mansion by that King of Hell and can't go anywhere. I'll definitely have to find a way to get her out someday."

Xiao Junyi didn't reply; he simply couldn't believe that Yu Chen would imprison a girl.

They had never even seen that ruthless regent show any interest in women.

Shen Qiange peeled another orange and muttered, "Wooden head."

……

As Xiao Junyi stood there reflecting on everything, he now believed it.

That Miss Su must have run away from the Regent's Palace.

So she was probably eavesdropping at the alley entrance, or looking for an opportunity to escape.

Later, she gave the address of the Regent's Palace.

It wasn't that she wanted to go back; she knew she couldn't escape the Regent's grasp, so she resigned herself to her fate.