Chapter 31: What I Want, Only You Can Give Me…

Chapter 31: What I Want, Only You Can Give Me, Miss...

Cui Liuer's expression flickered, and she quickly interjected, "Then what do you want, sir? If I can do it, I will. If I can't, my father can. And if that still won't do..."

She paused.

Sang Yu's eyes darkened. "And then what?"

Cui Liuer gritted her teeth, her face turning red. "My fiancé is the Prime Minister's son. The Prime Minister's household can give you what you want, as long as you release me."

"The Prime Minister's son..."

Sang Yu savored the words, smiling pleasantly. "Which young master is that? I know the Prime Minister's eldest son quite well."

Hearing this, Cui Liuer clung to it like a lifeline, quickly saying, "It's the eldest son! Since you know him, you can't touch me. If he finds out, he'll make you pay."

"Is that so? I'd love to see how he'd make me pay."

Cui Liuer seemed to realize something, a look of fear dawning on her face. "Who... who are you, exactly? What do you really want?"

"What I want, only you can give me, miss..."

Sang Yu slowly crouched down to meet her eyes at her level. His deep, intense gaze fixed on her, making Cui Liuer feel both shy and annoyed.

There was a moment of silence.

Cui Liuer couldn't take it anymore. She widened her eyes. "If you dare touch me, my father will skin you alive and feed you to the dogs... ah..."

"You dare!"

Before she could finish, one of the black-clad men cut her off, kicking her to the ground. She tumbled twice across the filthy straw pile.

Cui Liuer frantically brushed the straw from her face. "Who are you, really?"

He didn't even flinch at the mention of the Prime Minister. Either he was a madman unafraid of death, or... someone of immense power, maybe even royalty...

She couldn't even guess what he wanted.

Sang Yu ignored her, instead smiling gently as he chided his attendant. "How dare you be so rude to Miss Cui?"

The black-clad man immediately lowered his head. "Understood."

But Cui Liuer didn't dare lower her guard. She watched Sang Yu warily, staring at his devastatingly handsome face. The more she looked, the more alarmed and frightened she became.

Sang Yu smiled lightly, his gentle gaze drifting away. Suddenly, a small, delicate object caught his eye.

A small jade pendant, shimmering and beautiful.

It even had a tassel—blue.

Sang Yu's smile faded sharply, his eyes turning cold as he stared at the pretty little thing. He reached out to grab it.

Cui Liuer immediately clutched the pendant tightly, her gaze resolute. "You can have money, but you can't have this. I don't care who you are, you'd better know what's good for you. This belongs to the Prime Minister's household. Let me go—"

"Who gave you this?"

"??"

"I asked you, who gave you this?"

Sang Yu lifted his head, his eyes now filled with nothing but icy fury, as if he might snap at any second.

Cui Liuer felt a flicker of fear, but recalling her status, she found her courage again and said irritably, "I told you, it's the Prime Minister's—"

"Shut your mouth!"

Sang Yu roared, his face suddenly turning cold and sinister, his eyes blazing with murderous intent. His gentle tone was completely gone.

Cui Liuer was stunned by the shout, caught off guard.

Sang Yu seemed hit where it hurt, no longer patient enough to toy with her. He stood up abruptly, towering over her, and spoke slowly, word by word. "What I want is nothing but your worthless life."

"???"

Cui Liuer thought she'd misheard. She snapped her head up, meeting Sang Yu's dark, empty gaze. A chill ran through her, fear gripping her heart.

He smiled again, his tone shifting to something unbelievably gentle. "Don't be afraid. You'll die a slow, agonizing death."

It sounded like sweet nothings, but the words he spoke sent ice through her veins.

Cui Liuer's eyes widened in terror, but before she could even ask a question, someone gagged her and shoved her back down.

Like a slab of meat thrown onto a cutting board.

"Cui Liuer, you shouldn't have wanted my man. You shouldn't have latched onto him. You shouldn't have fantasized about marrying him. You shouldn't have schemed against him, used him as a stepping stone, and above all... you shouldn't have desired him!"

His towering figure and every word he spoke were like the Grim Reaper himself.

From the haystack, muffled, heart-wrenching screams escaped from behind the gag. Cui Liuer stared at Sang Yu in terror, fear consuming her.

Watching her writhe in agony, Sang Yu's tense expression relaxed. He stroked the candied fruit in his pocket and smiled contentedly.

"Young Master, I bought you candied fruit too, and I sent a little farewell gift as well. You should be quite happy, don't you think? Surely you will be..."

Shortly after he slipped back to the estate, he heard someone rushing to find Li Zhiming, saying Cui Liuer had gone missing.

Of course—Li Zhiming, who had visited the Cui estate today, was the obvious suspect.

Hearing the commotion from the neighboring courtyard, Sang Yu rubbed his sleepy eyes, looking like he'd just woken up, and stepped out of his yard.

"Young Master."

Li Zhiming stopped mid-stride and turned back to look at him.

Seeing Sang Yu, Li Zhiming felt an inexplicable calm wash over him. He hurried over to Sang Yu, clinging to this lifeline.

"Sang Yu, something's wrong, something's wrong! Miss Cui is missing—she's in danger. But it wasn't me, I swear. Do you believe me? Please tell me you do."

His hands were trembling, his expression panicked and terrified, clearly rattled by the Cui family.

When Sang Yu set things up, he'd deliberately left a clue in the Cui garden, suggesting Cui Liuer had been abducted and was in grave danger.

Giving them that kind of heads-up was truly satisfying.

Glancing past Li Zhiming's shoulders at the Cui household, Sang Yu patted Li Zhiming's trembling hand reassuringly. "I trust you. It wasn't you."

"Good, that's a relief."

Li Zhiming suddenly remembered something and turned to rush off in a panic. "I'm going to find her. I'll go look for her. Maybe she's perfectly fine, and it's just a prank."

Seeing how frantic he was, Sang Yu nearly dug his nails into his own palm, the anger he was holding back threatening to swallow him whole.

All for that damned woman.

She should be dead by now.

Masking his hostility, Sang Yu put on a look of worry and concern: "Don't worry, I'll go out with you to search. Maybe she's fine."

"Alright."

Li Zhiming sent out a bunch of people from the Prime Minister's estate to look for Cui Liuer, and Feng Yin also led his men out.

It wasn't until late at night, when all the lanterns had gone out.

Only two lone figures were left by the lake, the one in blue looking especially lost and dazed.

Sang Yu, in his dark attire, stood behind him, his gaze dark and brooding.

"Master, Master..."

Hurried footsteps approached, and Li Zhiming's eyes lit up as he rushed forward: "Any sign of her? Where is she? Where is she?"

The servant lowered his head, trembling: "Miss Cui... she... Master, she's at the thatched cottage west of the city. We've got men posted there. You'd better go see for yourself."

Hearing this, Li Zhiming's face turned pale, and he could barely stand steady.

He had watched plenty of TV shows and movies; in such a situation, it didn't look good.