The Emperor's Domineering Favor, the Evil Consort's Unparalleled Reign

Li Xiyue felt a sharp pain in her arm and struggled to open her eyes. The scenery before her was somewhat unfamiliar. She looked down at herself and saw that her hands and feet were tightly bound by dirty, thick hemp ropes. Even the chair she was sitting on was tightly bound to her body.

"Qingqing..." Li Xiyue called softly. She looked around the room and finally saw Qingqing tied to a pillar with her hands behind her back in another corner.

She had her head down, her light blue dress was wet, and water was dripping from her cuffs.

Li Xiyue glanced at the cloth bag in a panic, thankfully it was still on her. "Qingqing..." Li Xiyue called out again, but found that Qingqing was too unconscious to wake up at all.

It was nighttime, and all was quiet. Li Xiyue observed the room. Behind Qingqing was a large pile of dry straw, and even at her own feet were straw mats. It was a woodshed.

A thin stream of muddy, yellowish-brown water flowed down the pillar behind Qingqing and onto her body. Looking up, she saw a large, full-moon-shaped hole in the roof letting in cold wind and rain.

Li Xiyue tried to move her legs, but because her calves were strapped to the chair, she couldn't move an inch. Watching helplessly as the yellowish-brown muddy water dripped onto Qingqing's body, she grew anxious. It was so cold; could Qingqing bear it?!

Struggling to her feet, Li Xiyue felt a sharp pain in her back. The ropes on her arms were very tight, and the moment she stood up, the ropes cut into her flesh, causing Li Xiyue to gasp.

"Bang! Bang!!" With each jolt of Li Xiyue's body, the sound of the chair hitting the ground grew louder and louder. Covered in sweat, she finally jumped in front of Qingqing.

Li Xiyue looked up, a few steps away from Qingqing, when suddenly she staggered, the chair tipped to the side, and she fell down with it.

In a dizzying moment, "Thud!" Li Xiyue crashed heavily to the ground. Ironically, the cheap chair behind her broke apart after the fall. Struggling to free herself from the ropes binding her, Li Xiyue glanced at her arms; the struggle had left them raw and chafed.

Without thinking twice, she patted her arms, ran to Qingqing, and untied the ropes binding her. Qingqing slid down the pillar quickly, and Li Xiyue pulled her up, causing Qingqing to fall into her arms.

"Qingqing, how are you?" Li Xiyue asked anxiously, patting Qingqing's face.

Unexpectedly, Qingqing remained motionless, her mouth tightly shut, and her face devoid of color. Oh no!!! Qingqing's spiritual energy vanished instantly!!! Li Xiyue quickly leaned Qingqing against a pillar and squatted down.

"No, no..." Li Xiyue shook her head violently, looking at Qingqing, and murmured, "No, Qingqing will be alright..."

No matter how much she called, Qingqing remained motionless. There were footsteps outside the door, getting closer and closer. Li Xiyue glanced at the window, gritted her teeth, and finally put Qingqing's arm on her shoulder, helping her quickly retreat into the darkness.

"Gah..."

The long-neglected door was pushed open by someone. Hiding in the darkness, Li Xiyue heard a heavy breathing sound and saw thick black smoke getting closer and closer in her left eye. After helping Qingqing to the side, Li Xiyue trembled and felt for a wooden stick behind her.

Almost instinctively, Li Xiyue grabbed the wooden stick and rushed out!

The smell was so familiar. Li Xiyue paused for a moment, but the wooden stick in her hand still struck the square-faced waiter without missing a beat. His body trembled. She watched as the waiter turned his neck, a sinister smile appearing on his face. He raised the wooden stick high and swung it at the waiter. The waiter took a step back, the wooden stick tightly gripped in his right hand.

Li Xiyue gripped the wooden stick with both hands, gazing at the waiter in the distance. Suddenly, a middle-aged woman dressed in gold and silver stepped out from behind him. Her face was covered in rouge, making her look as white as a ghost, frighteningly white.

“Girl, you’d better not waste your energy. This is ‘Lotte’ City. Once you come here, no one can leave cleanly. Be good and suffer less. Your mother will treat you well.”

Li Xiyue watched as the middle-aged woman's mouth opened and closed, her face ashen white. "What have you done to Qingqing?!"

The waiter chuckled and exerted force with his right hand, causing Li Xiyue to stagger forward and almost fall onto the middle-aged woman. At the crucial moment, she let go and managed to regain her footing.

"Young lady, isn't that obvious?" the middle-aged woman said with a forced smile.

Li Xiyue retreated to Qingqing's side, tightly holding Qingqing's hands, "Qingqing, wake up, wake up..."

"Quickly, take her away from me. As for that little girl, take her with you too. My old men can't wait any longer!" The middle-aged woman frowned and said in a deep voice.

The waiter exclaimed "Hey!" and grabbed Li Xiyue's arm, dragging her out. A few servants arrived shortly after, carrying Qingqing and following behind the waiter.

It was noisy in the front building, and Li Xiyue was dragged by the waiter to the stairs of the restaurant where they had eaten that afternoon. It was a restaurant in the morning, but by evening, it was crowded with men, and Li Xiyue and Qingqing were pushed into the center of the crowd.

The middle-aged woman looked at the eager men with a pleased expression, and pointed to Li Xiyue, who was hugging Qingqing, and said, "This girl just arrived today. Gentlemen, she seems alright, definitely a virgin. And this little girl behind her is sleeping soundly. Which gentleman likes her? Make an offer, and we'll take both of them away!"

Li Xiyue froze. She turned to look at the woman and said, "You're going to sell me and Qingqing to those people?!"

The middle-aged woman flicked her handkerchief and said with a smile, "Girls, everyone who comes here is a gentleman. You two sisters won't suffer. That's how I came here. You'll get used to it after a while. Anyway, you can't leave this Happy City."

"I won't allow it! You beastly madam, we are all respectable young ladies, how dare you bully us here!" Li Xiyue shouted.

Unexpectedly, her shouts had no effect whatsoever; the desire in the eyes of those below the stage seemed to intensify.

“This young lady has quite a temper, I like it,” said a short man with a round belly in the crowd. The middle-aged woman, seeing the man speak, was already beaming with joy. She shuffled down, flicked the man with her handkerchief, and said coquettishly, “Uncle He, since you like her, then name your price. Buy one, get one free, this deal is sure to be profitable.”

"You ugly monster, don't even think about touching us!" Li Xiyue shouted, and the people below laughed even louder. At the same time, a handsome young man quietly walked into the small shop and met Xiyue's face.

"Hey! This young lady is quite the spirited one, a thousand taels!" Fatty He shouted, a lewd grin on his face.

As soon as this sound came out, the people below began to make a commotion.

"Five thousand five hundred taels!" Another person walked through the crowd to Li Xiyue and shouted.

Li Xiyue took a step back, glancing down at Qingqing in a panic. The girl was still fast asleep, showing no reaction whatsoever. Suddenly, she thought of Bingyin, that person. The thought flashed through her mind, but Li Xiyue looked up again. Bingyin wasn't here now; only she and Qingqing were there, or rather, only she herself.

"One thousand six hundred taels!"

"One thousand eight hundred taels!"

"Two thousand five hundred taels!"

"..."

When the bid reached three thousand taels, the middle-aged woman could no longer hide her smugness as she looked at Li Xiyue and said, "Young lady, I didn't expect you to be so valuable."

Li Xiyue glared at her, then heard the middle-aged woman say again, "Three thousand taels once! Three thousand taels a second time! Anyone else bidding? If not, these two young girls are the old man He who just bid!"

Li Xiyue shuddered. She glanced around the audience; some were covetous, some disappointed, some indifferent—not a single person offered to help her. At this moment, she truly understood what despair meant.

With one hand supporting Qingqing, the other hand groped haphazardly around her waist. After a while, as if she had thought of something, she pulled hard from her hair with her left hand, and the hairpin that Bingyin had given her was now tightly clutched in her hand.

With a sharp look in her eyes, Li Xiyue pressed the hairpin against her neck and said in a trembling voice, "Anyone who dares to touch me will die here today. All you'll take away is my corpse!"

The middle-aged woman's face changed drastically; her already pale face turned even whiter. Fatty He, standing below, darkened his expression and demanded, "Madam, what's going on? You dared to pull her out to sell without properly handling her?!"

The middle-aged woman panicked, looked at Li Xiyue, and said angrily, "Young lady, what time is it? I don't believe you can do anything stupid with this hairpin!"

Li Xiyue snorted, and with a slight exertion of her left hand, her brows furrowed. A thin stream of red blood flowed down her pale red collar from her snow-white neck. The hairpin had pierced her skin, and a faint smell of blood filled the air.

The crowd below the stage immediately panicked. Looking at Li Xiyue's firm and stubborn expression, a handsome man standing at the edge of the crowd was stunned for a moment.

"Young lady, why are you doing this? If you follow Uncle He, you'll live a life of luxury. Why suffer like this?" The middle-aged woman dared not approach and could only offer advice from the side.

Li Xiyue didn't even glance at her, staring straight at Fatty He, and said, word by word, "Would you still want someone like me? If you do, I'll give you a corpse."

Fatty He's face turned blue and purple, and he trembled as he looked at Li Xiyue, roaring, "I'm going to take you with me no matter what, even if it means death! I've never seen such a tough girl like you in all my life!"

“You…” Li Xiyue bit her lip tightly, a hint of anger on her pale face.

"Ten thousand taels, I'll buy it..."

Just when the atmosphere was extremely awkward, Li Xiyue heard a clear and indifferent voice. She slowly put down the hairpin, her eyes momentarily vacant.

Looking in the direction of the sound, Li Xiyue saw a cold gaze. The owner of the gaze was a handsome man who stood in the crowd, inconspicuous at all.

The man was dressed in dark clothes, his expression indifferent. He stared intently at Li Xiyue's face, finally fixing his gaze on her neck.

The small shop was crowded, yet unusually quiet.

The middle-aged woman and Fatty He stood there, not saying a word.

The man pushed through the crowd blocking his way and walked up to Li Xiyue. They stared at each other for a while, one above the other. Then he turned to the madam and said, "Ten thousand taels, will you sell it or not?"

The madam stared, mouth agape, at the man's words. After a moment of stunned silence, she finally reacted. "Ten thousand taels! This young master said ten thousand taels! Anyone else want to raise the price?! Anyone else want to raise the price?!"

Silence...

The man gazed at Li Xiyue as if he wanted to see her into his very being.

"My name is Qiuhe, don't be afraid..."

Li Xiyue stared blankly at the man named Qiuhe in front of her. She seemed to be unable to hear any of the sounds around her. Qingqing moved slightly and then opened her eyes.

"Ice Concealment!!!" Ying Li suddenly woke up from the dream. Xuan Huo stared at Ying Li with amusement and said coldly, "I told you, once Senior Brother's illusion captures a person's soul, no matter how much you struggle, you can't escape. Give up!!!"

"Is that so?!" Ying Li hardened, his spiritual power surging from the ground as he slowly stepped into the Xuanhuo, uttering each word with deliberate emphasis: "Since that's the case, then don't blame me for being impolite!!!"