Chapter 162: Empress Dowager, is your leg still hurting? Let me massage it for you?
The dark forbidden chamber was cold and damp.
There was only a half-foot-sized ventilation hole at the top.
In the corner of the chamber, a shivering figure was curled up.
The body remained tightly curled there for half a day without moving an inch.
If it weren’t for the moans from the throat and the trembling back, it would look as if they were dead.
Lao Ai felt that he might as well be dead!
The intense pain from his lower body made him wish for death!
Thinking of the scene three days ago, fear surged in his heart.
Such a large wheel, filled with blades.
Just like that, it kept rotating around that area of his.
With each rotation, a piece of his treasure was sliced away.
Ever used a pencil sharpener?
It’s somewhat like that!
A rattling sound came from the door of the forbidden chamber.
The chains were taken off by someone.
Then, with a creak, the door was pushed open.
The sounds of light footsteps were particularly clear in the silent chamber.
Lao Ai’s body trembled as he curled up in the corner.
He slowly turned his head to look behind him.
A glimmer of life flickered in his otherwise lifeless eyes!
That was the yearning for life!
Three people came in.
Two women and one man.
One was dressed as a maid.
The other wore an opulent red phoenix robe.
Exquisite patterns were embroidered with gold thread on it.
Her hair, like clouds, was meticulously arranged, with a luxurious and dignified golden hairpin and phoenix crown.
Her beautiful face looked less than thirty years old.
Her hands were folded over her lower abdomen.
She slightly raised her head, her alluring and charming face filled with an arrogance that disregarded everyone else.
“Empress… Empress Dowager”
Lao Ai weakly murmured.
There was no one with such attire other than the current Empress Dowager.
Beside her, apart from a maid, there was only a handsome young blind man!
Lao Ai’s whole body trembled.
“National Advisor”
At this moment, there was no trace of the former jealousy or disdain in his eyes.
Only a deep desire to survive remained!
“National Advisor, National Advisor, please spare me. Empress Dowager, please have mercy.”
Lao Ai rolled over on the straw pile, trying to kneel and beg for mercy.
But as soon as he moved slightly, a sharp pain shot through his lower body.
Cold sweat instantly broke out on his body.
“Since you can move and speak, it seems you are not that easy to kill.”
Li Mo said indifferently.
He had lost so much blood but still wasn’t dead, a pretty tough life indeed.
Zhao Ji frowned, taking a few steps back, covering her nose with an expression of utter disgust.
The blood and stench in here were making her nauseous.
“If you have something to say, say it quickly, and leave soon afterwards.”
She glanced at Li Mo sideways, speaking with displeasure.
This bastard, couldn’t he come by himself?
Last time he dealt with me until my legs just recovered, and now I’m still unsteady walking.
Why drag me along here?
Li Mo could clearly sense Lao Ai’s miserable state, his entire body covered in blood, a sight too tragic to behold.
Fancying himself soaring high.
But the reality was being stuck in hell.
The imagination was beautiful, but reality was cruel!
“Do you want to live?”
Li Mo took a step closer, asking with a blank expression.
A glimmer of hope appeared in Lao Ai’s eyes, he nodded repeatedly: “I do! I do!”
“National Advisor, please spare this humble one, treat me like a dog and let me go.”
His only hope for survival now lay with him.
Offending the Empress Dowager, she surely wouldn’t let him off easily.
But a woman has soft ears.
If the national advisor could whisper some pillow talk into her ear, there might still be a chance!
Although he had lost his manhood, it was still better than losing his entire life!
“Letting you go is not out of the question. Tell me, who sent you?”
Zhao Ji frowned and gave Li Mo a sidelong glance without speaking.
Who else would dare to do such a thing besides Lu Buwei?
Lao Ai trembled all over and stammered, “N-nobody sent me. I came on my own.”
“I bribed a castration officer to sneak in myself.”
Lu Buwei, the prime minister of the current dynasty.
If he found out that I betrayed him, even if I got out of here, it would be a death sentence!
Zhao Ji’s beautiful face turned frosty, and she coldly said, “Say that again.”
Lao Ai shivered.
“It’s really true that I came into the palace on my own.”
Zhao Ji sneered repeatedly, “Just you?”
“Not saying anything, huh?”
She glanced at the female attendant disguised as Li and instructed, “Pull out his teeth.”
“One by one. Stop only when he talks.”
Lao Ai was scared out of his wits!
How could this enchanting and charming empress dowager have such a poisonous heart?
Turns out the more beautiful the woman looks, the more dangerous she is!
Li first glanced at Li Mo.
Seeing that he made no indication, she made no move either.
“National Advisor, National Advisor, have mercy, National Advisor, have mercy.”l
“It’s true I came in myself, please spare me!”
Zhao Ji did not notice the abnormality of the maid beside her.
Looking at Lao Ai kneeling and begging Li Mo for mercy, she was full of doubt.
I’m the one who wants to punish you. Why are you begging him?
Li Mo shook his head and said to Zhao Ji, “Forget about pulling out the teeth.”
Lao Ai’s eyes lit up, and he exhaled in relief.
“Just kill him.”
Li Mo added.
Everyone was taken aback by this turn of events.
Lao Ai’s face turned ashen, stunned in place.
Li Mo explained, “Since he won’t talk, there’s no use keeping him alive. He’s just wasting food.”
“Go get a few dogs. Let’s give them some meat today.”
He casually instructed Li, scaring Lao Ai out of his wits.
Even Zhao Ji felt a chill in her heart.
Was he planning to let the dogs eat him alive?
Oh, you’re even more ruthless than I am!
“No, no, National Advisor, Empress Dowager, please no!”
“I-it’s not that I don’t want to talk, it’s that I don’t dare to!”
Lao Ai was so scared he was blubbering with snot and tears, his head knocking on the ground.
Li Mo sneered, “Don’t dare to? Do you think if you don’t talk, Lu Buwei will spare you?”
“Do you believe that even if I let you go now, you wouldn’t survive half an hour after leaving this palace?”
Lao Ai suddenly froze, then slowly looked up in terror.
“How do you know it’s Prime Minister Lu?”
Li Mo said expressionlessly, “Do I need to guess?”
Lao Ai asked in confusion, “Since you know, why ask me?”
Li Mo said indifferently, “I know, but some people don’t.”
“If you want to live, tell us everything Lu Buwei said and did, in detail.”
Lao Ai let out a desolate laugh.
Shaking his head, “Impossible, it’s impossible to survive.”
“If I talk, Lu Buwei won’t let me go.”
Zhao Ji’s face turned cold, losing patience.
She turned to Li, “Kill him. There’s no use keeping him.”
Lao Ai stared at the ground mechanically, “Kill me, just kill me. I won’t survive anyway.”
“I’m dead whether I talk or not.”
Li Mo frowned and said to Zhao Ji, “Can you stop interrupting?”
Lao Ai was in utter despair, convinced he was going to die.
Only if given a glimmer of hope, he would cling to it desperately.
Zhao Ji raised her eyebrows and glared at Li Mo fiercely.
She showed signs of losing her temper.
But after taking a few deep breaths, she snorted coldly and suppressed her anger.
You’re something else!
Telling me not to interrupt.
Then you better not interrupt me later!
Every time I, the Empress Dowager, speak, you always interrupt. Now that I interrupt you, it’s not okay?
Such treason, I’ll have your head chopped off sooner or later!
Zhao Ji snorted coldly and turned her head away.
It seemed that just seeing Li Mo annoyed her, so she might as well not see him at all.
Lao Ai looked at them in shock.
The national advisor dared to speak to the Empress Dowager like this?
And the Empress Dowager didn’t scold him!
This amount of favoritism is unheard of, right?
It looked like the Empress Dowager was listening to him!
“Tell me everything you know, and I can spare your life.”
“Lu Buwei indeed won’t let you go, but first, he still has to be the Prime Minister.”
Li Mo took a step forward, his face calm as he spoke.
Lao Ai caught the implication in his words and exclaimed, “You intend to deal with the Prime Minister?”
Li Mo sneered, “You’re not that dumb after all.”
“Think it over yourself.”
“If Lu Buwei falls, you’ll still have a chance of survival.”
“If you don’t speak… I won’t kill you either.”
Zhao Ji was taken aback and turned to look at him.
Won’t kill if he doesn’t speak?
Could it be he plans to keep him alive?
As she wondered, Li Mo smirked and said, “If you don’t talk, I’ll bring in some dogs.”
“Male dogs, feed them aphrodisiacs, and lock you up together!”
Zhao Ji instantly felt a wave of revulsion!
She was stunned by his malevolent idea!
Even Li, standing beside him, who used to be an assassin, couldn’t help but shiver.
The master is indeed terrifying!
Luckily, I wisely chose to submit!
Lao Ai’s skin crawled just imagining it.
Drugging dogs, and male dogs at that!
What do you plan to make them do to me?
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk! I’ll say everything!”
Too terrifying!
This person is too terrifying!
Falling into his hands, not meeting his demands is worse than death!
Incense sticks later.
The forbidden chamber’s door was opened again.
Li Mo looked relaxed, seeming quite satisfied with the results.
Zhao Ji’s face was dark.
Her pretty face frosty.
She bit her teeth and coldly said: “That damn Lu Buwei, how dare he use such wicked means against me!”
“You, come to me less often from now on!”
Zhao Ji glared angrily at Li Mo.
Wasn’t it all your fault?
If you didn’t provoke me, would I have torn the quilt in anger?
First time tearing the quilt.
Second time tearing the hip!
Next time, what do you want me to tear?
Li Mo shrugged, “A great misunderstanding, if he didn’t misunderstand, how would we get this opportunity?”
Lu Buwei made a wrong move from the start.
He thought Zhao Ji lacked men, intending to control her this way.
But that torn bed sheet last time was entirely due to my provocation.
Who would’ve thought it was misunderstood by Lu Buwei’s spy planted beside Zhao Ji.
“Now we have the witness. Where’s the material evidence you mentioned?”
Zhao Ji looked proud, still doubting that Lu Buwei would be so foolish.
Li Mo walked forward as he replied, “Why rush? We just sorted this out.”
“Three days should be enough. I’ll handle the rest. Just wait to dance.”
Zhao Ji stepped forward to catch up.
But overstepped her stride, feeling a burst of soreness.
She gasped and glared hard at Li Mo’s back.
Turning me into this, and not even checking once?
Such treason, I’ll have your head chopped off sooner or later!
“What if you lose?”
Zhao Ji slowly walked forward once she recovered.
Her steps cautious, looking more dignified.
She raised her fair neck and asked with her chin up.
Li Mo shook his head, “I won’t lose.”
Zhao Ji paused, then sneered.
“So confident.”
Li Mo suddenly stopped, catching her off guard.
She took another step forward but quickly retracted.
Causing another pull in her hips.
Painfully frowning, she asked, “What if you do lose?”
Li Mo pursed his lips and sensed up and down her thigh several times.
The luxurious and magnificent phoenix robe was quite spacious.
Although it couldn’t hide her upper grandeur, it concealed a pair of round, jade-like legs under the skirt.
“If I lose, whatever you want me to do, I’ll do.”
Zhao Ji’s eyes brightened upon hearing this.
“Really?”
“I’ll do whatever you ask and how you ask it?”
Li Mo nodded: “Naturally.”
Zhao Ji’s eyes flickered, seemingly pondering what she should make him do.
Lie down and let me step on him?
That seemed satisfying, but it didn’t appear very practical.
She kept mulling over what to make Li Mo do.
Completely unaware of whether she would win or not.
“Do your legs still hurt? Do you want me to massage them?”
Just as Zhao Ji was considering what to do, Li Mo suddenly asked.
Zhao Ji, still immersed in her fantasies, responded without thinking, “Do you know how to massage?”
She froze after saying it.
Realizing what she had said, she lifted her chin and glared at Li Mo with her nose, snorting coldly: “Hmph, how could my body be touched by you?”
“Such insolence, I’ll chop your dog’s head off eventually!”
Li Mo sneered.
When I was helping you stretch your legs last time, why didn’t you say that?
“I learned some techniques over the past couple of days, intending to treat you and speed up your recovery.”
“If you don’t want it, fine, I’ll just go massage my wife.”
Li Mo shrugged, looking disinterested.
“Techniques? What techniques?”
Zhao Ji looked at him suspiciously.
Li Mo replied unhurriedly: “Of course, techniques for treating strains, massaging meridians to unblock acupoints, always effective.”
Zhao Ji stared at him intently: “Really?”
“Of course it’s true.”
“You’re not deceiving me?”
Li Mo scoffed, “Deceiving the empress could cost me my life.”
Zhao Ji shot him a sideways glance.
As if you’d be afraid of that?
Deceiving the empress might not have happened, but bullying was less so?
She was actually a bit hopeful.
She had indeed been tormented recently.
Even sleeping at night, she could feel the soreness, hindering a good night’s sleep.
Having palace maids massage her several times yielded no results.
If his words were true…. trying it wouldn’t hurt.
After all, there were clothes in between!
If he dared touch wrongly, she’d chop his head off!
After a lot of internal struggle, Zhao Ji glanced at the maid following them.
She moved a bit closer to Li Mo and whispered: “Then let’s go to my palace?”
“Hmm~”
“Ah~”
“Hiss~”
“Oh~”
In the bedroom, Zhao Ji sat by the bed.
Both hands clenched tightly onto the quilt beneath her hips.
Eyebrows furrowed, gently biting her lips.
Each sound she made was more enticing than the last.
Li Mo gritted his teeth and took his hand off her plump thigh.
Zhao Ji slowly opened her eyes, giving him a dazed look.
Unhappily, she said: “Why did you stop? Continue!”
I must say, this guy indeed had some skills.
The massage was definitely more comfortable than those of the palace maids.
Although it was the leg being massaged, her whole body felt soft.
As if it was melting.
She had never been so comfortable before!
Li Mo said helplessly: “I mean, couldn’t you grit your teeth and not make a sound?”
“If others hear you, wouldn’t it damage your empress’s reputation?”
Rarely did Zhao Ji not scold him, instead blushing.
She turned her head, with a mix of shyness and grievance: “I-I can’t help it.”
It felt good, how could I not react?
Li Mo shook his head, not anticipating Zhao Ji’s strong reactions.
He stood up and said, “That’s enough for today.”
Zhao Ji seemed still unsatisfied: “You’re not continuing?”
“Too much would be counterproductive.”
Anyway, he had felt almost enough.
Zhao Ji looked up at him and asked, “What if it still hurts? Will you come again tomorrow to help me massage?”
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