Chapter 606: Qin Ruan Encounters the Punishment Hall, The First Battle Tricked
Chapter 606: Qin Ruan Encounters the Punishment Hall, The First Battle Tricked
Hou Yunjiao's body remained the same as before.
Compared to when he was not sick, his body had become somewhat weaker.
Qin Ruan walked on the small path paved with green stones in the Xiangxi Estate, recalling the other party's not-so-good health, her expression showing a moment of annoyance.
Every day, she used her own spiritual power to help Hou Yunjiao maintain his body, which consumed her life force.
It was equivalent to consuming her lifespan.
But Hou Yunjiao's condition didn't seem to be improving.
Did they really have to wait for several more months for his body to gradually recover?
Suddenly, Qin Ruan stopped in her tracks, pulling on her windbreaker as she looked at the cool courtyard.
The weather was getting colder.
It was already October in the golden autumn, and the climate this year was colder than previous years.
Qin Ruan wasn't particularly concerned about these matters; she had heard the servants talking about it, saying that this year was an unusually cold winter.
Following behind her, Lin Hao saw Qin Ruan stop and approached her, urging softly, "Madam, it's cold outside, let's go back soon."
"I know," Qin Ruan replied with a hint of resistance in her eyebrows.
These days, Hou Yunjiao's health hadn't been good. He was obviously sensitive to the cold and would occasionally cough.
He always suppressed his cough when he was in front of her.
Whenever he was alone, the suppressed cough would burst out and wouldn't stop.
A few times when she passed by the study, she heard the sound of coughing coming from inside.
Men always cared about their pride. Qin Ruan didn't break down the barrier between them and pretended to know nothing.
Fortunately, Hou Yunjiao didn't have many affairs to attend to this week.
Until last night, when Hou Qiang, who had been missing for several days, reappeared and brought a stack of documents to Hou Yunjiao.
The documents included the backlog of files from HEA Group, reports on other industries under the Hou family's name, and urgent matters that needed to be handled by the Hou family's Punishment Hall.
Seeing so much work piled up in front of Hou Yunjiao, Qin Ruan's face instantly turned gloomy.
She couldn't control herself and complained to Hou Qiang in front of Hou Yunjiao.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she opened her mouth, she fell into a trap.
Hou Yunjiao handed over all the urgent matters from the Punishment Hall to her.
Qin Ruan turned around and saw the list of names of the Punishment Hall's detainees that Lin Hao was holding in his arms. She felt an inexplicable sense of distress on her face.
She wasn't foolish and realized it afterward.
Hou Yunjiao and Hou Qiang deliberately staged this act in front of her, making her take over the Punishment Hall's affairs.
Recently, the Punishment Hall needed to deal with several troublesome people and extract some information from them.
With Hou Yunjiao's condition, these matters were now handed to Qin Ruan.
The people had already been brought to the Xiangxi Estate, in a small building opposite their residence.
Punishment always involved bloodshed, and it couldn't be done in their living quarters, lest the place be filled with a strong bloody smell.
Qin Ruan, along with Lin Hao and the silent Hou Chuan, went to the nearby small building.
To be honest, she was somewhat nervous.
Before coming here, she had a brief understanding of the information about the torture.
The people brought by the Punishment Hall had all committed unforgivable acts against the Hou family.
Among the three individuals, some had attempted to assassinate members of the Hou family, while others were professional cleaners and agents who eliminated several elite guards of the Hou family. Their crimes were unforgivable.
These people were sent by different forces, and no useful information had been extracted from them even after detaining them for a long time.
Qin Ruan was uncertain if she could do it.
Soon, the three of them arrived at the small building.
Outside the door, there were several black-clad Hou family guards exuding an aura of murderousness.
They were different from Hou Chuan and Hou Zhi, who had a restrained demeanor.
These guards emitted a strong killing intent, just like the bloody atmosphere they had been immersed in for a long time.
Qin Ruan knew that these guards were members of the Punishment Hall.
"Madam!"
Qin Ruan pursed her lips, her exquisite face showing no expression.
Her hands hidden in her windbreaker were slightly clenched.
She gazed at the guards with deep black eyes.
After a while, she spoke in a gentle and pleasant voice, "Who do we start with first?"
One of the guards stepped forward.
Just as he was about to speak, Hou Chuan walked up to Qin Ruan and whispered, "Madam, let me verify their identities first."
Qin Ruan didn't know the procedures, but she knew that Hou Chuan managed the Punishment Hall, so she nodded in agreement.
Hou Chuan walked up and started talking to the guard who had stepped forward.
"Are these three the ones on the list?" he asked.
The guard looked dignified and revealed a touch of warmth.
It was obvious they were familiar with each other.
He handed the list in his hand to Hou Chuan, "brother Chuan, we are only responsible for bringing the people from the list. You will know once you take a look."
They were only responsible for bringing the people, not personally interrogating them.
Hou Chuan took the list and looked at it, intending to go through the motions.
However, when he took a glance, his expression drastically changed.
...
In the residential area.
From the study upstairs came an uncontrollable cough.
"Cough..."
"Cough, cough..."
The coughs sounded continuously, quite frequent.
Hou Qiang walked up the stairs and arrived at the study door.
Hearing the short and hoarse cough inside, he knocked on the door.
Before waiting for a response from inside, Huo Qiang pushed the door open.
He walked in quickly and stood in front of the desk, "Master, there's trouble!"
Hou Yunjiao clutched the blood-stained handkerchief tightly, raising his eyes to glance at Huo Qiang.
"Forgot the rules already?" his tone wasn't harsh but carried a hint of laziness and weariness.
Huo Qiang's eyes showed anxiety, "
I apologize, Master. Something went wrong with Madam."
Hou Yunjiao sat slanted at the desk, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, his pale face showing a faint sense of solemnity, and he raised his chin slightly.
His thin lips pressed into a line, cold and ruthless, "Speak!"
Hou Qiang quickly and succinctly reported, "Someone tampered with the three people selected by the Punishment Hall to practice on Madam. A dangerous individual sneaked in. He's the villain who attempted to assassinate Second Master a few months ago, and he managed to kill five Hou family guards who were sent in. Madam hasn't made any arrangements yet for backup personnel. The person behind it should be one of the elders of the family. We've sent people to investigate and will receive detailed information soon."
Hou Yunjiao supported himself against the desk as he stood up.
The blood-stained handkerchief was thrown aside, "Why haven't you sent anyone to support Madam?"
"Yes, I'll make arrangements immediately!" Hou Qiang turned around and left.
In just a few minutes, he returned to the study.
"Master!" Hou Qiang said urgently, "You can't go out now. Madam will be fine! Hou Chuan, Lin Hao, and Hou Zhi are all with her, and there are nearly twenty Hou family guards from the Punishment Hall. The danger she faces is less than one percent. Your current condition can't withstand any exposure to the cold. If Madam finds out, she'll be worried. A few days ago, Hou Chuan told me that she was seen shedding tears alone, and she's very worried about you."
Now he could only use Qin Ruan to stop Hou Yunjiao from leaving.
Besides Qin Ruan, he didn't know how to prevent Hou Yunjiao from going out.
Master should not go out now, even if something happened to Madam!
Hou Yunjiao stood still, and the killing intent surrounding him dissipated. His face showed a contemplative expression.
A touch of warmth appeared in Huo Yunzuo's deep and dangerous eyes, and his voice softened a bit. "First, arrange for people to support Madam."
Hou Qiang saw that the Master wasn't planning to leave the room and respectfully agreed, turning around and quickly leaving.
Just a few minutes later, he entered the study again.
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