"How did you know about this?!" The emperor of Nanlin strode up to the woman and demanded sharply. Then, as if recalling something, he turned around.
When Ye met his gaze, he immediately knelt down and said with a self - assured tone, head bowed, "Your son just thought Mother Queen should know about this..."
"Good job, Ye. You're truly my good son!" The emperor of Nanlin frowned and said loudly with displeasure.
He never expected that the young man before him had such a meticulous mind. He had informed the queen just as the emperor was coming. Ye had already given him a tempting suggestion, and he even made sure to have someone back him up.
He had to admit that Ye's scheming made him feel inferior.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. Then he returned to his seat and sat down. He continued, "I'll send someone to Dongsheng. If Yaoji can be brought back, this matter will be dropped. If not, then... we'll do as Ye suggested!"
This was the only suggestion he could come up with for now. It was still too difficult for him to initiate a war. But if the emperor of Dongsheng continued to challenge his limits, then he wouldn't show any mercy.
After hearing his words, Ye hesitated for a moment but quickly lowered his head and replied, "Yes, sir." Then he left the council hall.
Inside the hall, the queen stumbled towards the emperor. There were still traces of tears on her face. She asked, "Your Majesty, what did you promise him?"
The emperor of Nanlin stared intently until Ye's figure completely disappeared from his sight. Then he said slowly, "War is coming!"
Although the queen was a bit surprised, she nestled into the man beside her and said, "Your servant has already lost so much. I can't afford to lose Your Majesty."
Then she looked up at him and said, "Your Majesty, don't you think Ye has changed since Shun left..."
The emperor of Nanlin remained silent for a long time. Then he let out a long sigh, as if expressing his helplessness.
...
On the other side, in Dongsheng.
In the dungeon, the stench of decay and the cold environment were the main themes here. Although the Spring Festival had passed, the weather was still as cold as winter. It was even colder in the dungeon, a coldness that ordinary people couldn't bear.
It was even more difficult for Yaoji, who had been pampered all her life. She had only been in the dungeon for three days, but there were already some chilblains on her hands. The wounds made her feel a sharp cold. Occasionally, Xiaosi would bring her some hot water, but it didn't solve much.
One night, she was woken up by the cold. When she woke up, she found that the water beside the straw mat had spilled and frozen on it.
She gritted her teeth and sat up. Looking around, she saw something that made her hair stand on end.
Behind the stone wall not far away, she saw a pair of eyes. After they locked eyes, the eyes showed a moment of panic and then disappeared.
Yaoji felt a chill run down her spine. All her drowsiness vanished. She stammered, "Who's there?!"
But the only response was dead silence. It seemed as if what she had seen was just an illusion. But Yaoji was 100% sure it wasn't, because she had even seen the momentary panic in those eyes.
So that night, she sat in the corner hugging her quilt, staring intently at that direction, afraid of what else she might encounter.
But it was midnight after all. As she stared, her consciousness became hazy, and then she fell into a vague sleep.
In the darkness at that moment, another eye secretly peeked out from behind the wall. Then came a man's muttering voice, "Hahaha... beautiful lady..."
When Yaoji woke up again, it was still pitch - black in front of her. But she guessed it should be daytime outside. In the dungeon, there was no sense of day or night. She had no idea what was going on outside, whether it was day or night. She only knew to sleep when she was tired and daze when she was awake.
Just as she was in a daze, Xiaosi walked in from outside, carrying a bowl of rice with a drumstick on it.
"Eat, eat. This drumstick is for you!" He said stupidly.
During her days here, she had known that Xiaosi had some mental problems. Looking at him now, she had no appetite for the drumstick. Instead, she remembered the strange eyes from last night, as if they were deliberately staring at her.
Just thinking about it made her feel cold. She asked the man in front of her, "Did anyone come here last night?"
Xiaosi scratched his head with a stupid look on his face and said, "I don't know."
Then he stared intently at the woman in front of him eating.
Yaoji was annoyed by his stare. She couldn't accept being stared at by a fool. So she swept the food to one side and said, "Stop staring! You're so disgusting that I can't even eat!"
Xiaosi seemed not to understand her words. He still scratched his head and grinned stupidly at her.
Yaoji couldn't stand it anymore. She stood up and kicked him, saying, "I told you to get out!"
Xiaosi felt the pain and ran out with a hurt look on his face.
After he left, the second brother walked out. He looked like a hooligan and said to the woman in front of him, "Why is Lady Yaoji so angry? Xiaosi is just a fool!"
But Yaoji ignored him and sat down on one side disdainfully.
Looking at her proud look, the man couldn't help but curl his lips into a cold smile. He sneered in his heart, Acting so high - and - mighty. I'll get you sooner or later!
On the other side, in the queen's palace.
Dongfang Yi thought it over and decided to go to the dungeon to see Yaoji, to see how she was doing, and to ask if she had any more tricks up her sleeve, trying to get some information from her.
After all, Helian Qi's national letter had been sent out for some days, but there was still no news from Nanlin. So she couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy. All the people from Nanlin she had met were not simple characters.
Whether it was the second prince Ye or Yaoji now, they had both caused her pain. So she didn't know what other schemes they might have. She had to be on guard to prevent any possible future events.