After the death of the host: the tyrant cried red eyes

Shen Bingning signaled the maid to stand up and asked anxiously, "Have Sun Dawu and his gang been captured by the government?"

Huamei replied, "My master asked me to tell you that when the people we sent arrived at Sunjia Village, they found that Sun Dawu and his companions had met with misfortune and did not survive."

"Killed?"

A hint of surprise flashed across Shen Bingning's brows, but this surprise was quickly covered up by her deep eyes, as if such a result was no longer surprising in this turbulent world.

After all, for those pawns who failed to achieve their goals, such as Sun Dawu and others, their existence has undoubtedly become a headache for the masterminds behind the scenes. Cleaning up the house and preventing problems before they happen are the usual methods of those manipulators in the shadows.

Thinking of this, Shen Bingning couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart, as if the cold autumn wind had penetrated into her bones.

In these troubled times, human life is as fragile as grass and may be crushed by the ruthless wheels at any time, leaving no trace and no one caring.

And wasn't her own destiny also on the verge of collapse in this storm?

She asked Madam Yu to secretly send people to arrest Sun Dawu, not out of personal hatred, nor to take their lives, but in the hope that they could accept a fair trial under the law and have all their crimes exposed to the sun.

Just as she was lost in thought, Qing'er walked into the room with a bowl of steaming noodles. She noticed the strangeness in Shen Bingning's expression at a glance, and couldn't help but cast a reproachful look at Haomei beside her, "What unpleasant words did you say to my young lady?" There was a hint of severity in her tone.

Shen Bingning took a deep breath, trying to calm the waves in her heart, and regained her usual gentleness and composure, "It's okay, I understand, you go down first."

Her words were gentle, yet carried unquestionable power.

After Huamei left the room, Qing'er frowned, her worry evident in her words, "Miss, has something happened?" she asked softly, her eyes full of concern.

Shen Bingning's eyes lightly swept over the noodles in front of her, and she forced a faint smile on her lips, trying to respond in a relaxed tone, "Nothing, I just suddenly felt a little hungry, and you happened to bring the noodles."

However, the worry hidden behind that smile is difficult to conceal.

That night, Shen Bingning's dreams were shrouded in a gloom. The tragic ending of Sun Dawu and others, Madam Zheng's fierce eyes, and Xiao Yi's handsome yet cold face appeared in her mind like a revolving lantern, leaving her with no peace.

As dawn broke, Shen Bingning suddenly woke up from her nightmare, only to find Xiao Yi sitting beside the bed, his deep eyes fixed on her. She turned over unconsciously and complained:

"Why is he the one in my dreams and in reality? In my dreams, he is the tyrannical Xiao Yi. When I wake up, he is still in front of me. When will this dream end?"

There was a hint of helplessness and fatigue in his words.

Her voice echoed in the silent room. After a moment, Xiao Yi's voice sounded as cold as ice in winter, "What are you mumbling about, my beloved concubine?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Bingning's body trembled involuntarily and she woke up completely from her hazy sleep.

"His Majesty?"

She tried cautiously, but she knew in her heart that he might have heard everything she muttered.

The corners of Xiao Yi's lips curled up into a sinister smile, his eyes flickering with amusement, "My beloved concubine, are you awake? I don't think I heard what you said just now clearly, could you please say it again, my beloved concubine?"

Shen Bingning caught Qing'er's trembling figure from the corner of her eyes and sighed inwardly. Xiao Yi obviously knew everything, but what could she do? She could only follow his words and say, "I...what your concubine meant was that I met Your Majesty in my dream, and when I woke up, I saw Your Majesty again. For a moment, I was a little dazed and couldn't tell whether it was a dream or reality."

Xiao Yi's fingers gently rubbed her cheeks with such force that Shen Bingning couldn't help but exclaim, "I understand! I understand!"

She answered quickly, secretly criticizing in her heart, this tyrant was so harsh, was he trying to tear off her face?

Xiao Yi withdrew his hand, his eyes lingering on her slightly thin face, "I haven't seen you for two days, my beloved concubine seems to have lost a lot of weight."

There were constant disturbances inside and outside the palace. How could she not be exhausted?

"I haven't had a good rest recently."

She decided to keep the matter of the kidnappers secret, so she made up an excuse.

"Is it because I was in your dream that you couldn't rest well?" Xiao Yi's words were full of self-mockery, but Shen Bingning didn't dare to respond easily, "What you think about during the day, you dream about at night. I dreamed about Your Majesty because I missed Your Majesty, so I couldn't sleep well."

Such flattery made her feel uncomfortable, but she had to bow her head under the eaves.

Xiao Yi's eyebrows slightly raised, as if he was quite interested in her answer, "Since my beloved concubine can't rest well, then lie down for a while longer."

Faced with this sudden thoughtfulness, Shen Bingning quickly shook her head and refused, "No need, seeing Your Majesty, I feel much better now."

With insincere words and artificial expression, Xiao Yi pinched her cheek again, as if to remind her who was the master. "In that case, prepare to return to the palace."

"Go back to the palace?" Shen Bingning ignored the pain in her cheek and sat up suddenly, looking stunned.

Xiao Yi looked at her with a sidelong glance, and said with a hint of teasing, "Why, my beloved concubine, don't you want to go back?"

"How?"

Shen Bingning quickly adjusted her mood and forced herself to remain calm, "Didn't His Majesty say that he would return to the palace in the afternoon? Now is not the right time yet."

She has not yet retrieved the Buddhist scriptures that she had commissioned to be copied. If she returns now, not only will her money be wasted, but the Buddhist scriptures will also be lost. Wouldn't that mean she loses both ends?

Xiao Yi looked at the sun outside the window, a meaningful smile appeared on his lips, "My beloved, do you have anything else to deal with?"

Shen Bingning nodded gently, "I would like to walk around the market more."

Xiao Yi smiled and said, "Then I will go with my beloved concubine."

Shen Bingning declined hastily, fearing that Xiao Yi's company would bring unnecessary trouble. "The market is noisy and might disturb Your Majesty's peace and quiet. It would be better to let Sister Yu accompany Your Majesty to wait in the house for a while. When I come back, I will definitely bring gifts to Your Majesty. I guarantee that Your Majesty will be satisfied."

As soon as she said it, she regretted it. She was short of money and had no money to buy a gift.

"Oh?" Xiao Yi seemed quite interested in this. "Then I look forward to your gift."

Shen Bingning felt annoyed and regretted saying too much, but since things had come to this point, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree, "Yes."

Shen Bingning hurriedly pulled Qing'er away from the Yu Mansion and headed straight for Gu Wenyan's ghostwriting booth. She prayed secretly in her heart that she didn't come too early, and that the 80,000-word Buddhist scripture should have been copied.

The ghostwriting stall was as bustling as ever. The elegant man was listening attentively to an auntie's dictation of a letter home. His pen tip was flying across the paper, recording every warm word.