"Young Master Jiang, could you please give me some time to consider? This is all so sudden..." Su Qinghan said, planning to stall for time while she figured out a way to escape.
"I'm not a very patient person."
"Miss Su, you'd best make your decision while I still have some patience. If it runs out, I can't guarantee I won't do something you'll regret for the rest of your life," Jiang Lan said. As he spoke, his gaze, full of insinuation, swept over her well-defined curves.
Su Qinghan's breath hitched. Her delicate body trembled slightly, and she subconsciously shrank back.
Jiang Lan looked down at her condescendingly and said unhurriedly, "Let's do this, then. I'll have someone take Miss Su for a bath first. The night is so cold; I'd worry about such a beauty catching a chill."
Su Qinghan's breath hitched again. She looked at the empty wooden bucket to the side, grinding her teeth in silent anger. 'Wasn't I the one he just doused with water? And now he's pretending to be the good guy?'
Outwardly, however, she didn't say anything more. Her silence served as tacit agreement.
Jiang Lan clapped his hands lightly, and several women emerged from behind him. With practiced ease, they walked to Su Qinghan's side, helped her up, and began to lead her out of the dungeon.
However, the chains on her hands and feet prevented her from walking quickly, and their CLANGING was exceptionally clear in the silent night.
Jiang Lan narrowed his eyes.
'Even now, I still can't figure out the original plot.'
'Why were there no guards around me when Su Qinghan came to rescue her sister, allowing her to succeed?'
'A plot hole?'
'Or was there another reason? But there's no way to investigate that now. After all, since I transmigrated, the plot has already deviated from its original course.'
...
「Not long after.」
After bathing and changing into a fresh set of clothes, Su Qinghan was escorted by several maids to a pavilion.
The shackles on her wrists, however, had already been removed on Jiang Lan's orders.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Jiang Lan turned to look at her and gestured for her to sit.
The jade table before them was laden with exquisite delicacies, their fragrant aroma filling the air in a display of immense luxury.
"Young Master Jiang, the iron laws of Great Xia are strict, and during Emperor Xia's reign, he has issued repeated decrees..."
After sitting down, Su Qinghan tried to bring up the laws of Great Xia, hoping to make Jiang Lan back down.
But as she spoke, a flash of light emanated from her sleeve. A smooth, crystalline Memory Stone materialized in her hand, and she clutched it tightly.
This was the escape plan she had just come up with.
In his rule, Emperor Xia is assisted by four bureaus that jointly oversee the realm.
The four bureaus are the Observatory, the Immortal Suppression Bureau, the Night Patrol Bureau, and the Law Enforcement Bureau.
Among them, the Law Enforcement Bureau is responsible for overseeing the law.
If Jiang Lan dared to violate the laws of Great Xia and abduct a woman by force...
Even if his father was the Prime Minister of Great Xia, he would have a hard time explaining himself to the Law Enforcement Bureau.
And if he were to scorn the law and trample upon imperial authority, the crime would be even more severe...
This was the only escape plan she could think of.
As if he hadn't noticed Su Qinghan's subtle movements, Jiang Lan simply waved a hand, cutting her off.
He smiled nonchalantly. "Miss Qinghan, since you know who I am, you should understand how ridiculous it is to bring up the laws of Great Xia in front of me, shouldn't you?"
"But that's no obstacle. If Miss Qinghan feels this matter is troublesome, that the rules are getting in the way, then I can send someone to... quietly dispose of that live-in son-in-law husband of yours. What do you think?"
"Or, I could help you cancel your engagement to him. Then you'd be a free woman from now on."
Su Qinghan's pupils trembled at his last words.
'All this time, I've cultivated diligently, never daring to slack off. And for what?'
'Wasn't it to control my own freedom, to prevent my family from dictating my marriage?'
'But if the engagement with Lin Fan were canceled under these circumstances, wouldn't the situation be even worse?'
'Lin Fan might be a good-for-nothing, but at least he couldn't interfere in my affairs, and he couldn't even dream of touching me.'
'But a rich brat like Jiang Lan would treat me as nothing more than a plaything.'
'Once the novelty wears off and he gets tired of me, what will become of me?'
"Young Master Jiang, such arrogant words. You have no regard for the laws of Great Xia at all..."
Su Qinghan's expression remained impassive, but she tightened her grip on the Memory Stone in her hand.
Jiang Lan watched her with great interest and chuckled. "Miss Qinghan, could it be you think the Law Enforcement Bureau doesn't have enough evidence of my crimes already?"
"You're welcome to try and see if you can get me locked up."
At his casual words, the hand Su Qinghan had hidden in her sleeve trembled, and her breath caught in her throat.
She stared at Jiang Lan's utterly casual expression.
She felt a chill run down her spine.
Even in the height of summer, she could feel that terrifying chill.
He was clearly scorning and trampling on the iron laws of Great Xia, yet he spoke of it as if it were a trivial, ordinary matter.
This attitude was a clear and direct message: some people are born destined to be above the law.
This terrifying power left her feeling suffocated.
Su Qinghan fell silent, then quietly put away the Memory Stone she had hidden in her hand.
Jiang Lan smiled faintly, sat back down, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.
'This female lead is smarter and more rational than I imagined, not putting up a pointless struggle.'
'However, there's still a long way to go to truly subdue her and make her serve me.'
'Su Qinghan's personality dictates that she'll never truly bow to power. Winning her true allegiance is even more impossible right now.'
'It's a shame this body has no cultivation whatsoever. If I had some coercive technique, like planting a demonic seed in her Dao Heart, this wouldn't be so troublesome.'
'Cultivation...'
'As expected, in this world, cultivation is still the most important thing.'
'As long as my constitution recovers, with the resources of the Prime Minister's Mansion and the help of my mother's faction, it will be easy to catch up and surpass everyone else.'
However, as Jiang Lan scanned through the memories in his mind and combined them with the plot he was familiar with, he suddenly realized that his parents were also scheming and plotting something for the sake of his cultivation and body.
The future annihilation of the Prime Minister's Mansion—where everyone would be executed—and the subsequent destruction of his mother's power base were deeply connected to this.
'A parent's love truly knows no bounds.'
'Although they were a family of villains, they absolutely doted on me, their son. They loved me so much that, worried I would overthink things, my parents never had another child.'
'In the entire, vast Prime Minister's Mansion, I am the only heir.'
'However, for the current Great Xia Dynasty, a good-for-nothing Prime Minister's Son who indulged in debauchery and pleasure was actually more beneficial for stabilizing the situation.'
'The top priority now is to get my hands on the Immortal Embryo Creation Dew, which can reshape my bone structure and forge an unblemished immortal body...'
'Once I have power, nothing will be out of reach.'
'The Immortal Embryo Creation Dew is an extremely precious heavenly treasure from the early stages of the plot, as one can tell from its name.'
'It is said that a single drop can transform a fool with no cultivation aptitude into a genius seen only once a century.'
This was currently what Jiang Lan needed most.