Chapter 2: The Small Building Under the Night

"Hongnong Wang, it is time to set out." The reluctance of the young couple before their final parting had long since made Li Ru, who stood by, feel quite impatient. A cold smile lingered at the corner of his mouth as he spoke to Liu Bian with a hint of amusement: "Everyone must face death eventually; today marks Your Highness's fateful day. Such entanglements only add to the troubles. Your Highness need not worry, for after you depart, I shall take care of the princess."

With both hands tightly gripping the rope, Liu Bian gradually lowered Tang Ji down the stairs. As her feet finally touched the ground, Liu Bian released his hold on the rope and gestured to Tang Ji, who stood below the loft with a face full of fear and uncertainty about what to do next, signaling her to quickly hide in the bushes across the way

Having been married to the palace for some time, Tang Ji had never imagined that Liu Bian would possess such a swift method of killing. From her slumped position, she observed the eunuch whose neck had been twisted by Liu Bian, as if he were eager to die. With just a gentle push from Liu Bian, he cooperatively turned his neck to the side, breaking his cervical vertebra.

He suddenly thrust the hand hidden in the wide sleeve of his robe, striking heavily against Li Ru's chest, producing a muffled sound of "peng".

After being pulled up, she still wore a look of terror, her whole body trembling slightly. Instinctively, she wanted to withdraw the hand that Liu Bian was tightly gripping, but when she tried to pull it away, she was unable to do so.

Two eunuchs, upon witnessing Liu Bian kill Li Ru, were so shocked that their mouths gaped open and their eyes widened in disbelief, momentarily rendered speechless by the fright

"Hongnong Wang, it is time to set out!" After delaying so much time with Liu Bian, Li Ru's patience was nearly worn thin. Seeing that Liu Bian had not yet taken the wine cup, he slightly furrowed his brow, straightened his posture, and the expression on his face suddenly turned ferocious. He abruptly reached out one hand to grip Liu Bian's nape, while holding the wine cup in the other hand, raising it to pour the poisoned wine into Liu Bian's mouth.

Everything before her left Tang Ji in a state of shock, her mouth forming an 'O' shape as she stared in astonishment at Liu Bian, whose face still bore the chilling aura of impending violence.

After the two had changed their clothes, Liu Bian walked to the window, leaned out to take a look, then turned around and returned indoors. He tore the bedding apart, twisted the bedding fabric into thick strips, connected them together, and formed a long, thick rope.

Moments later, one of them regained his senses first. Just as he was about to scream, Liu Bian had already leaped forward, forcefully swinging the hand that held the hairpin, which was still stained with Li Ru's blood, deeply embedding it into his throat

As she changed her clothes, her skin glowed with a lustrous sheen under the candlelight, exuding a rich aura of youth, an irresistible temptation to any man.

With a crisp sound of "crack," the eunuch's neck was forcefully twisted by Liu Bian, and after Liu Bian released his grip, the body slumped weakly to the ground

"I do not wish to die; therefore, I must ask you to die first!" Liu Bian retracted his smile, let out a soft, cold snort, and with a hint of chilling tone raised his voice to say this to Li Ru, then gently pushed Li Ru's chest with his other hand

Li Ru, with the wine cup already brought to Liu Bian's lips, widened his eyes in disbelief. He first let out a muffled groan, then looked at Liu Bian standing before him with an expression of utter astonishment and confusion.

The room was permeated with a stench of blood mixed with urine. Liu Bian furrowed his brow, raised his blood-stained hand, and pointed at the corner of the wall, saying to the eunuch: "Face the wall, stand in the corner!"

Liu Bian glanced at the poisoned wine held by Li Ru, but did not reach out to take it

"Quickly change!" He threw the relatively clean set of clothes to Tang Ji, who was still slightly trembling. Liu Bian lowered his voice and said to her: "This set of clothes is clean; it has no blood on it"

Since being placed under house arrest in this attic, she has completely lost hope for the future. She had never dared to imagine that Liu Bian, who grew up in the palace and had never witnessed bloodshed, would decisively eliminate those who sought to kill him in a critical moment, and moreover, he took it upon himself to bring her out of the palace as well

Under the panicked gaze of Tang Ji, Liu Bian tightly gripped the rope, quickly wrapping one end around his arm, and then said to Tang Ji: "I will lower you down little by little"

Life gradually ebbed from Li Ru's shell. When Liu Bian's palm pressed against his chest, he fell backward, his not particularly large eyes wide open, staring blankly at Liu Bian standing before him. On his chest, there was a small hole still oozing fresh blood.

It was clear to him that Tang Ji had never descended directly from such a height. Liu Bian smiled gently at her and said softly, "Don't be afraid, I am holding the rope, and the other end is tied to the pillar. You won't fall. Close your eyes and don't look down."

Having secured the rope, and feeling that the length was sufficient, Liu Bian tugged at it forcefully to ensure it could bear the weight of a person. Only then did he tie one end of the rope around Tang Ji's waist, while the other end was fastened to a cylindrical pillar in the room.

To prevent Liu Bian from harming others or committing suicide, all sharp objects in his residence had been confiscated. However, Li Ru did not expect that an already deposed emperor would still resort to using a small object like a hairpin to commit murder

Leading Tang Ji to the window, he first signaled for her to stand aside, then hid by the window and looked outside. There were no patrolling guards outside, and across from the loft, there was a thicket that could conceal three to five people. After confirming that the surroundings were safe and selecting a hiding place for after they descended, he re-evaluated the length of the rope and deemed it sufficient to reach the ground. Only then did he point to the window, indicating for Tang Ji to climb up.

As he looked at the strange smile on Liu Bian's face, Li Ru's expression became complicated. Unfortunately, a hairpin used by women to style their hair was deeply embedded in his chest, and life was slowly draining from his body. He wanted to call out, but no sound could escape his lips.

When twisting the eunuch's neck, he originally only needed one hand to support the eunuch's face while pushing from the side with the other hand. However, his body was too weak, and his arm lacked sufficient strength. He could only use his arm to encircle the eunuch's cheek, relying on the strength of his entire arm to achieve a lethal effect.

At this moment, although Tang Ji was very afraid of Liu Bian, she also understood that if she did not escape early, once Dong Zhuo discovered that Li Ru was dead, they would eventually meet the same fate. Trembling, she took the clothes Liu Bian handed her, walked aside, removed her palace attire, and put on the eunuch's garments.

Although there were some doubts in her heart, Liu Bian was ultimately an emperor of his time, and as his empress, Tang Ji would naturally not go against his wishes

Li Ru, who was standing nearby, seemed to be growing somewhat impatient and urged, "Your Highness, the King of Hongnong, please do not delay any further. The hour is already late. While it may be a minor issue for me to be delayed in resting, if the Princess's sleep is disturbed, how can I bear the responsibility?"

This body is too frail. Although he has secretly engaged in some training during the past few days since his arrival, he is ultimately too weak, and it is difficult to see significant improvement in a short time

Li Ru did not notice that when he reached out to grasp Liu Bian's neck, a strange smile unexpectedly appeared at the corner of Liu Bian's mouth

The attic was high, and in the night, the lower floor was pitch black, making it impossible to see the ground. Gripping the rope with both hands, Tang Ji trembled slightly, her lips even turning a bit pale from the tension, as she cast a pitiful glance at Liu Bian once more

Before he could even reach the corner, Liu Bian had already stepped forward, wrapping one arm around his cheek from behind and pushing against the back of his head with the other hand, twisting forcefully.

Slowly releasing her hands that were wrapped around Liu Bian's waist, Tang Ji staggered back two steps in despair. Her legs weakened, and she collapsed onto the ground, pressing her hands against the earth, her body slightly leaning to the side, gazing mournfully at Liu Bian, who appeared calm.

At this moment, Liu Bian had no inclination to spare her even a glance; danger was imminent. There were guards stationed at the entrance to watch over them. For him, the priority was to escape from this place as quickly as possible; no beauty or springtime allure was more important than his life.

Liu Bian glanced at the pale face of Princess Tang, released her hand, gently patted her arm twice, then turned and crouched beside the corpse of a eunuch to begin unfastening the eunuch's clothing

Liu Bian did not speak, but simply nodded at Tang Ji, giving her an encouraging look

Timidly climbing up to the window, Tang Ji turned her head to glance at Liu Bian, who was standing behind her, her eyes filled with unease and fear

A fist was tightly pressed against Li Ru's chest, and between the fist and Li Ru's chest, a patch of deep red blood was slowly seeping out. Liu Bian wore a strange smile on his face as he slightly narrowed his eyes at Li Ru

Liu Bian turned his head, casting a resentful glance at Li Ru, and said coldly: "The hour is indeed late, and Lady Tang should retire early. It is truly a burden for General Li to be so concerned!"

After breaking the neck of the last eunuch, Liu Bian walked up to Tang Ji, who was slumped on the ground. He extended a bloodied hand to help her up and said in a lowered voice: "We should quickly change into the eunuch's garments and, while it is still dark, leave Luoyang."

His legs trembled incessantly, and with all his might, the eunuch finally managed to turn around, trembling all over as he crawled toward the corner of the wall

Watching Liu Bian's skilled movements, Tang Ji's heart was filled with a tumult of emotions. Although she still felt quite afraid, there was an added sense of anticipation and excitement within her.

A hairpin was lodged in the throat, the eunuch's eyes widened in shock, the brilliance in his gaze gradually dimmed, and his body slumped weakly to the ground

The clean and decisive method of killing left another eunuch nearly soul-less with fear. His eyes widened in terror, and a surge of warmth gushed forth from between his legs, instantly soaking his trousers.

Tang Ji pressed her lips together and lowered her head to glance downstairs

Li Ru slightly bent his body, adopting a humble demeanor, and stole a glance at Tang Ji, who was slumped on the ground. He then extended the poisoned wine in his hands forward once more.

Liu Bian slightly gasped after breaking the neck of the last eunuch