Princess Ronghua and Liu Chaniang rode in one carriage to the dungeon of the Ministry of Justice.
Xiao Yunzhou shared a carriage with the King of Chu and the King of Zhou.
Xiao Yunzhou had originally wanted to show off by carrying Xiao Chuchu onto his own carriage, but Liu Chaniang snatched her away.
"Us women will ride in one carriage," said Liu Chaniang, fearing that a group of smelly men would corrupt her daughter.
Fortunately, the Ministry of Justice wasn't far from the palace, so Xiao Yunzhou didn't argue with her.
"Brother Xiao, you seem overly concerned about the little princess," the King of Zhou, grateful to Xiao Yunzhou for his niece's sake, sincerely advised him after seeing the women board the carriage.
"But she's still not even a year old, a child who needs to be carried. Taking her in and out like this is neither good for the child nor for you."
Xiao Yunzhou's eyebrows twitched, and he couldn't help but look at the King of Zhou as if he were an idiot!
If it weren't for him taking the little princess along, by this time next year, grass would be growing on Princess Ronghua's grave!
Besides, his fairy-like little princess just loved going out to play.
She was precocious, and if kept in the palace all day, the little one would be unhappy.
Xiao Yunzhou personally saw his precious daughter onto the carriage, watching her curiously peek her rosy little face out from behind the curtain to look around. His heart melted. "You don't understand," he said.
King of Zhou: "..." What didn't he understand?
It's not like he hadn't watched children grow up before!
"Spoiling her too much isn't a good thing. Well, I've said my piece," the King of Zhou couldn't stand Xiao Yunzhou's stubborn personality.
The King of Chu's eyes flickered slightly as he lowered his voice, "Xiao Yunzhou, be honest, there are no outsiders here."
"We, Chu and Jing, are allies, and I see that Zhou Xing also intends to form ties with your Jing Country."
"Just tell us honestly, did you receive guidance from some metaphysical master? Could this little princess perhaps be the source of good fortune for your Jing Country?"
Xiao Yunzhou's temple throbbed. He had been hit right on the mark!
How did the old fox King of Chu guess that his fairy-like daughter was a source of good fortune?
This wouldn't do. He couldn't let people know, lest the old fox try to snatch her away!
But just as he was about to refute, King Zhou Ling interrupted first.
"Old Chu, you're even more nonsensical than Xiao Yunzhou. I really don't know what to say to you."
"I can believe that Jing Country has great masters, and I acknowledge that Jing Country has capabilities."
"But to say that a half-grown child still carried in arms is the source of an entire nation's fortune is laughable!"
King Zhou Ling shook his head.
"Are Jing Country's rapid-fire guns, dragon bone water wheels, and legendary storybooks all brought about by a one-year-old infant?"
The King of Chu hissed, "You're right." He had been overly swayed by the idea of metaphysical masters.
But while King Zhou was lecturing the King of Chu, Xiao Yunzhou's entire face had turned red.
Indeed!
Damn it all, that was exactly how it was!
Inadvertently, King Zhou had spoken the truth.
Xiao Yunzhou's face remained flushed for the latter half of the journey, only recovering when they entered the Ministry of Justice.
......
Yuan Kaizhi was confined in the deepest cell of the prison, and no one had tortured him.
His complexion had improved somewhat, though his skin was still pale from blood loss. However, there were no signs of infected or festering wounds, and he was still fairly lucid.
Yuan Kaizhi opened his eyes upon hearing the sound, and when he saw that the visitor was Princess Ronghua, he was stunned.
In just one night, their situations had been completely reversed!
She was in full regalia, while he wore prisoner's clothes!
She was the center of attention, while he bore shackles on his neck!
She stood tall, while he knelt on the ground!
"Ronghua, I was confused for a moment, I was wrong... I was only joking with you yesterday, how could I really harm you!"
Yuan Kaizhi, not wanting to die, immediately knelt on the ground begging for mercy, weeping bitterly.
"For the sake of our many years as husband and wife, Ronghua, explain to the King of Zhou and the King of Jing, I wouldn't harm you!"
"You can beat or scold me however you like, Ronghua, as long as it makes you happy! Just save me!"
Yuan Kaizhi's weak appearance as he knelt begging for mercy made Princess Ronghua's face turn from white to green.
In her mind, that gallant and handsome man who had once saved her from a wild horse was completely destroyed by Yuan Kaizhi's weeping image.
"Yuan Kaizhi, how blind I was to have liked such a despicable man as you!"
"Sweet-talking but treacherous, cowardly as a mouse!"
"You truly disgust me!"
She didn't even want to look at him anymore.
"King of Jing, Uncle Emperor, this man is yours to deal with."
"Caning, burning, death by a thousand cuts, whatever you like!"
Yuan Kaizhi's eyes widened.
Princess Ronghua took a deep breath, looking into his frightened eyes, "Yesterday you wanted to poison me mute, disfigure me, then sell me to a mentally impaired village man, to have me killed in Jing Country."
"Now, even if I return it all to you in full, Yuan, you won't be angry, will you? It's just reciprocity, after all."
Yuan Kaizhi opened his mouth, all the spirit seeming to have been drained from him as he slumped to the ground.
But he quickly crawled towards Xiao Yunzhou and King Zhou Ling, begging for help, "Spare my life, I can tell you about the city defenses and troop deployments of Yuan State! I can tell you about the rotation times of the Imperial Guard!"
[Wow, the gossip I see with my Gossip Eye changes every day.]
Xiao Chuchu, held by Liu Chaniang, stood outside the prison cell. She saw the Eight Trigrams text on the side of Yuan Kaizhi's face, which seemed to update in real-time as he shouted.
[Yuan border defenses: General Ma Sheng is a gambling addict, heavily in debt, very easy to bribe...]
[Lu Nan, the commander of the Imperial Guard, owns thirteen private estates and accepts bribes. It turns out, he was the one who sold the secret of the Yuan King's impotence to Yuan Kaizhi, asking for a price of 100,000 taels of gold...]
[Let me see, the third piece of gossip today is that the Yuan King has long wanted to make a move against the Marquis of Zhenguo!]
[The 35-year-old Marquis of Zhenguo, whose merit overshadowed the monarch, avoided death by claiming his old illness had flared up and he couldn't take on the heavy responsibility of the Ministry of War after returning to the capital.]
[But recently, the Yuan King wanted to attack our Jing Country by passing through Zhou Xing Kingdom, and the Marquis of Zhenguo opposed it in court. The Yuan King has murderous intentions again, wanting to eliminate the Marquis of Zhenguo!]
[They're uncle and nephew with only a six-year age difference, yet the Yuan King shows no regard for this uncle at all.]
Xiao Chuchu read three pieces of today's gossip in one breath, suddenly becoming alert.
Xiao Yunzhou and Liu Chaniang were also listening with rapt attention, almost becoming entranced.
"Don't kill me... if you kill me, you won't know about the defenses, you won't know the Yuan King's secrets..." Yuan Kaizhi shouted.
King Zhou Ling gritted his teeth.
The King of Chu clicked his tongue, "Really good at threatening, but don't you know whose territory you're in? Jing Country has metaphysical masters, no matter how loudly you shout, it's useless."
King Zhou was stunned, turning his head to look at Xiao Yunzhou, "Your Jing Country's masters can calculate all these defenses?" Surely that's impossible?
"Ahem." Xiao Yunzhou couldn't help but cough, but he couldn't even shake his head!
What could he do?
His fairy-like little princess really could calculate all this!
She could know everything about a person just by looking at them, and in great detail too!
What to do when she's so excellent?
Xiao Yunzhou took a deep breath, "Come, begin the torture!"
"Everyone, especially the women, should wait in the next room."
"No, don't torture me! Otherwise, I'll die without telling you anything!"
After watching his daughter being carried away by Liu Chaniang and Princess Ronghua leaving, Xiao Yunzhou finally proceeded to deal with Yuan Kaizhi along with the King of Chu and the King of Zhou.
"Not talking?" Xiao Yunzhou sneered, calling for heated iron blocks to be brought.
"Yuan Kaizhi, it's fine if you don't talk. Even before We heard you open your mouth, our Jing Country's masters had already calculated everything!"
"What?! Impossible!"
"You know your Yuan King's secret, for which he has killed many people, isn't that right?"
Xiao Yunzhou's words made Yuan Kaizhi's eyes widen.
"And your border defense commander, Ma Sheng, you've bribed him, haven't you?"
Yuan Kaizhi looked up in terror.
The King of Chu and the King of Zhou were both stunned.
Xiao Yunzhou chuckled and took another step forward, continuing to show off.
"You once gave 100,000 taels of gold to Lu Nan of the Imperial Guard, didn't you?"
Yuan Kaizhi: "!"
King of Zhou, King of Chu: "!"
How did they know?
Jing Country was separated from Yuan State by Zhou Xing Kingdom!
How did Jing Country know all this?
Yuan Kaizhi was so frightened he wet himself! These secrets, he had never even told his bedmate!
