"Still not willing to say a word?" Wei Ying clasped his hands behind his back, unconsciously exuding an extremely powerful aura.
The five drowsy men suddenly opened their eyes wide, as if they had heard something extremely terrifying.
Beside him, Chu Qing remained expressionless, yet the air around her was equally freezing.
"Spare us!"
"Your Highness, the Prince of Ning! We really don't know anything!!"
The five bound men noticed that the water level had somehow risen to their waists. Instantly, the fear of suffocation came rushing back.
"You should have known the consequences when you tried to harm this princess," Chu Qing said coldly.
"Princess! Please! Spare us!"
"We all have elderly parents and young children. Our whole families rely on us. We were just blinded by money!" the shorter bandit cried.
Chu Qing looked up at him and suddenly burst into laughter:
"When you were in the mountain temple, you were still thinking about how to humiliate this princess. Even if you didn't intend to kill me, do you know the consequences for me?"
Chu Qing stopped smiling and continued calmly, "Even if I managed to survive and return to the prince's mansion, I would be scorned by everyone. They wouldn't believe that I could come back intact. They would think I was a dirty woman. A dirty woman doesn't deserve the title of the Princess of Ning. Even if the prince is kind - hearted enough to believe me, I would still be tortured by the gossips every day, living in agony. Maybe one day, unable to bear the humiliation, I would choose to end my own life. But no one would think they were wrong. They would only think that I finally realized I had no face to live on."
At this, Chu Qing lowered her eyes and continued, "You think you were just doing a job for money, but for me, it could easily cost me my life!"
Wei Ying, who had been listening silently, felt a pang in his heart. He looked at Chu Qing. At this moment, even though her words were intense, she still seemed like a delicate flower on the verge of withering.
He suddenly remembered the conversation between the two bandits he had overheard when he was lurking near the mountain temple.
They actually intended to coax Chu Qing into giving them silver and then... defile her!!!
At this thought, Wei Ying could hardly contain his killing intent!
If his men hadn't patrolled there and told him the news, or if he hadn't rushed back today...
What would have happened to Chu Qing...?
With her fiery temper, how could she have endured such humiliation!
"This king doesn't have much patience. I'll ask you one last time. Have you ever seen the person who gave you the information?"
Wei Ying had completely run out of patience. His hand was on the switch controlling the water prison.
The somewhat burly bandit finally spoke up, "If I tell you, will you let me go?"
"You're not in a position to bargain. If you don't say it, this king can find out slowly," Wei Ying squinted his eyes and stared at the bandit who still wanted to bargain.
After saying that, he pressed the switch hard. The water level began to rise rapidly.
Seeing that Wei Ying was really determined to kill them, the bandit finally panicked and said, "I'll say! I'll say! I really didn't see that person!"
Wei Ying's eyes grew even colder.
"But!" The water level had reached his neck. The burly bandit lifted his chin desperately, trying to avoid the water and shouting loudly.
"I saw that person had a black mark about the size of an adult man's thumb tip on the tiger's mouth of his right hand."
Chu Qing and Wei Ying exchanged a look. Chu Qing turned towards the burly bandit, curving her lips, but there was a cold glint in her eyes. "Do you think you can fool the Prince of Ning and this princess with just this mark?"
The water level had reached the bandit's mouth. The skinny bandit was struggling, and after swallowing a few mouthfuls of water, the burly bandit said with great difficulty, "...cough... And... his speech... cough cough... was slurred..."
Wei Ying raised his eyebrows and pressed the switch again. The water level finally stopped rising and slowly receded.
"Why didn't you say it before?" Wei Ying asked.
The burly bandit glanced at the skinny bandit who had fainted from choking beside him, took a deep breath, and said carefully, "I... originally thought... I could use this... to make a deal... with the prince..."
Hearing this, Wei Ying turned his head and smiled, "Do you still think you're in a position to make a deal with this king now?"
The burly bandit immediately shook his head and said he didn't dare.
"What about you?" Chu Qing, who had been silently watching everything, suddenly turned to the other three men.
The three men had been hoping to escape, but when they met Chu Qing's gaze, they shivered all over.
That look was as terrifying as a wild beast in the dark, ready to pounce on its prey at any moment!
"We'll say too! We'll say! The person who told us to ruin your reputation when we mingled in the crowd also had slurred speech... But because it was too dark, we didn't see if there was a mark on his hand..."
Chu Qing didn't say a word. She just stared at them quietly.
The men looked at each other and then cried, "We really told you everything we know. There's really nothing else. Princess, please be magnanimous and spare us. Even if you kill us, we really don't know anything more."
Hearing this, Chu Qing saw that their expressions didn't seem fake. It seemed they really knew nothing more.
The other party really had hidden themselves well.
"Let's go outside and talk."
With that, without even looking at the men, Wei Ying led Chu Qing out, leaving the howls of the men behind.