The small, delicate porcelain spoon was bitten into effortlessly.
The teeth made a crunching noise on it.
It sounded like a mouse gnawing on its teeth.
No candles were lit in this dungeon, only night pearls were placed to add illumination.
The glow of the night pearls was soft and gentle, accentuating the delicate face of the woman before him, whose wide eyes did not look as fierce as he imagined, but rather more lively.
Lu Yunqi held the spoon, intently watching her.
"When you went to eat fried tofu balls, I didn't recognize you at all," he said, "That was my mistake."
Back then, she didn't want him to recognize her, so he naturally didn't.
Miss Jun bit onto the spoon, glaring at him fiercely.
Stop pretending with your apologetic act.
Lu Yunqi used his other hand to pinch her chin.
"It has nothing to do with looks; you are you, and that's why you are you," he said, giving a gentle squeeze.
Miss Jun opened her mouth, and the spoon was taken out.
"You'll damage your teeth," Lu Yunqi said.
Miss Jun still didn't speak, staring coldly at him.
Lu Yunqi looked at her too, and although there wasn't any emotion, his expression appeared much softer than it did outside.
"Jiuli, one should never go against food and drink," he said.
This was something she had said.
Once, when Lu Yunqi returned expressing he was in a bad mood and didn't want to eat, she persuaded him this way.
Miss Jun looked at him and smiled coldly.
"I was just talking nonsense," she said, "Like how you pretend everything is fake."
"You remember then," Lu Yunqi said, the corners of his mouth curling.
"I have a good memory," Miss Jun watched him, "I remember the past clearly, so that every moment I can see what kind of fool I am."
Lu Yunqi bowed his head and stirred the Eight Treasures Soup.
"Jiuli, let's eat first," he said, scooping up another spoonful.
"Then let me go," Miss Jun said, "I'll eat by myself."
Lu Yunqi smiled.
"I know you weren't raised in a temple but followed Divine Doctor Zhang instead," he said, "I know you're quite capable."
She had never told him about her past, nor had he ever asked her anything about it.
The past memories weren't pleasant; she didn't want to mention them.
And considering his position, he likely knew all about her past already, so there was no need to ask.
He knew she could make poisons and hid many hidden weapons, which was unsurprising.
Miss Jun looked at herself; her clothes had been completely changed from the inside out, her hair had been redone, and she believed that while she was unconscious, he had checked her mouth, ears, and even the crevices of her nails.
Such things for the Jinyiwei are not difficult.
"Does Lord Lu no longer believe in his own power?" she said indifferently.
Lu Yunqi looked at her.
"If I were really that powerful, how did you end up like this?" he said.
He was powerful, yet she had deceived him and went to the palace to die with her hidden weapons alone.
He didn't stop her before, but now he intended to.
Lu Yunqi reached out and pinched her cheek.
"Lu Yunqi!" Miss Jun shouted in anger, but as she opened her mouth, the spoon was already pushed in.
The warm, perfectly soft soup slipped into her mouth, blocking her voice.
Lu Yunqi's hand gently slid off her cheek.
The soup didn't spill from her tongue, smoothly sliding down her throat.
This bite of food went down; Miss Jun wasn't choked or uncomfortable, just as if she ate it herself.
However, it certainly wasn't the same.
Miss Jun didn't curse again; she only glared at Lu Yunqi, eyes filled with anger and humiliation.
Lu Yunqi was a Jinyiwei; the life and death of the criminals in his hands were entirely up to him, so he had earned the nickname The King of Hell.
If he let them die, they died; if he let them live, they couldn't die.
Those tactics like hunger strikes and self-harm had no effect on Lu Yunqi.
Therefore, she was treated like a criminal.
Lu Yunqi's expression was wooden, seemingly unable to see her anger and humiliation,
spoonful by spoonful, the soup was fed in, with both the soup and meat and vegetables, alternately mixed and fed into her mouth unhurriedly, making her swallow.
"You eat more than before," he said, looking at the food and then at Miss Jun, "Must be because Jun Zhenzhen is still growing."
This implied he had investigated how much she ate daily.
Miss Jun looked at him.
"I just want to live robustly," she said with a cold smile.
Lu Yunqi gave a soft acknowledgment.
"That's very good," he nodded, carefully wiping her mouth, then picked up another set of utensils, "I'm having my meal."
The food on the table was already cold, but Lu Yunqi seemed not to notice. He ate with great focus, occasionally raising his head to glance at Miss Jun's cold eyes, then lowered his head seriously to eat again.
"Your taste has changed a lot; being raised in Funing has influenced you," he said, carefully savoring the dishes made according to Miss Jun's usual preferences.
Miss Jun didn't speak; since showing any emotion was futile, there was no need to do useless things.
Lu Yunqi set down the bowl and utensils, called a servant who had been here during the day. The servant, evidently also from the Jinyiwei, stayed here during the day as if she was nonexistent, at this moment woodenly cleaned up the dishes and retreated.
"Who knows about you?" Lu Yunqi asked.
Miss Jun expressed not a word.
Lu Yunqi didn't ask further.
"You don't like it here, then I'll send you to see Princess Jiuli," he said.
Even here in this secret chamber, he had her tied with ropes, yet he dared to let her go out, evidently relying on something.
Miss Jun looked at him, her expression calm.
"Are you asking for my choice?" she said, "Do I have a choice? Do we have a choice?"
Lu Yunqi looked at her, his thin lips pursed, as if wanting to say something but saying nothing.
"Let me, this way, meet Jiuli, let her see, that even if I die once, I can't escape this fate," Miss Jun said to him seriously, "Let us be clear, this is the treatment a loser deserves, this humiliation is very powerful, truly worthy of Lord Lu, truly admirable."
Lu Yunqi stood up, bringing a turbulent dark wind.
"Jiuli, do you think I married you to humiliate?" he said.
Miss Jun looked at him.
"What else?" she said, her demeanor serious, "Thank you for the grace of not killing me?"
Under the pearl's glow, looking up, Lu Yunqi's face appeared whiter, but that was all.
"You've been sitting all day; I'll have someone send water to soak your feet," he said calmly before sitting down again.
Miss Jun snorted a laugh but said nothing.
Lu Yunqi gave an order outside and then lowered his head to remove her shoes and socks.
"The Duke of Chengguo ran away; the one sent to deliver the imperial decree didn't catch him," he said casually, as if a husband returning from a day's work, talking to his wife about daily matters.
Same as before, another play.
Back then, she was brooding at home, and to prevent her from overthinking, he talked to her about external affairs.
Those people and things made her feel that everything around her was still vibrant, attracting her.
More infuriatingly, he always managed to speak about things that attracted her.
"If he didn't run, would he come back to die?" she said with a cold smile.
But inside, there was some surprise, more so relief.
The Duke of Chengguo, after choosing a path, executed plans thoroughly.
Although, as the emperor wished, solid proofs cemented guilt and dethroned him from the altar, this was but a matter of time. Better a decisive rise than perpetual fear.
"But this difference means nothing," Lu Yunqi said, receiving a wooden basin from the servant, testing the water temperature first, and then placing Miss Jun's foot inside, "Either way, he's dead, just a matter of speed."
"Dead?" Miss Jun said, "Because he wants him dead, he will die? Does he think he's really the Emperor? Even if he is, he isn't heaven."
She laughed coldly.
"I'm still alive."
Lu Yunqi looked up at her, thin lips pressed, and smiled.
"Indeed," he said.
Miss Jun looked at him.
"I want to kick this basin," she said.
She said she wanted to, yet didn't move an inch; as soon as her foot tried to move slightly, Lu Yunqi's hand grasped it tightly.
But she still spoke the words, as if she had accomplished it.
Lu Yunqi looked at her.
"Alright," he nodded, as if she had already kicked over the basin, "I'll go fetch another."