Hearing this, Crown Prince of Western Zhou was indeed intrigued. The murderous intent in his eyes faded, gradually replaced by a touch of amusement.
"You're smart."
He let go of Bai Xiyue, turned around, and went behind the screen to wash his hands. "If what you say is true, I can spare your life. But if you dare to deceive me, I will wipe out the entire Marquis of Yongan's Estate."
Bai Xiyue confidently took a white porcelain bottle from her bosom, placed it on the table, and said frankly, "I, Bai Xiyue, never lie, and there is no need to deceive you. Once this potion is consumed, it will make a person speak the truth within an hour."
Crown Prince of Western Zhou's gaze lingered on the bottle for a moment, then shifted back to Bai Xiyue as he slowly narrowed his eyes...
He Ran, the female official by Li Fuyin's side, had an extremely stubborn mouth. Ever since she fell into his hands yesterday, she had not only remained completely silent and motionless, but she wouldn't even drink a single sip of water, looking very much like someone bent on dying. He hadn't even dared to torture her for fear that she would bite her tongue and commit suicide.
If this bottle of stuff could really make people tell the truth, then he would be able to pry open He Ran's mouth and make her reveal Li Fuyin's whereabouts.
"Take her away."
At Crown Prince of Western Zhou's command, two dark figures appeared behind Bai Xiyue. They skillfully bound her hands, covered her eyes with a black cloth, and then led her out of the pawnshop and into a carriage.
Guessing that Crown Prince of Western Zhou wouldn't kill her casually and that she was merely needed to prove the medicine's efficacy, Bai Xiyue was very cooperative and put up no struggle or resistance.
Meanwhile.
Hiding in the shadows and witnessing all of this, Li Fuyin immediately clenched Lin Feng's sleeve and said anxiously, "Brother Lin Feng, look! My sister has been taken away! What should I do? I told you she'd be in danger if she came alone to see Crown Prince of Western Zhou... We have to go save her!"
Lin Feng was somewhat baffled. "Second Young Miss Song, aren't we out looking for a doctor? How..."
With reddened eyes, Li Fuyin said urgently, "It's not like I found a doctor, is it? Right now, my sister's life is what matters most! If something happens to my sister, the Prince won't live either—didn't you hear her say yesterday that only she can treat the Prince's injuries? Anyway, hurry up and take me to save her!"
Not knowing what came over him, Lin Feng lost his composure the moment he saw the young woman's tear-filled eyes. With no other choice, he followed her instructions, carried her on his back, and gave chase.
The carriage carrying Bai Xiyue detoured to a secluded residence and entered through the back gate.
Though it looked secluded, many guards were hidden in the shadows; ordinary people couldn't even get close, let alone sneak in.
Yet Lin Feng's martial arts were truly formidable. Following the carriage all the way with Li Fuyin on his back, he wasn't discovered at all and instead managed to scale a wall and hide inside a pavilion with her.
Through the gap in the pavilion window, Li Fuyin saw Bai Xiyue being led into a room.
About a quarter of an hour later, Crown Prince of Western Zhou walked out alone.
A secret guard came to his side and spoke a few words, whereupon he mounted a fast horse and galloped away.
Watching with her own eyes as that red figure completely vanished from view, Li Fuyin immediately ordered, "Now is the time! Take me to save her!"
This was the moment she had been waiting for.
As long as Crown Prince of Western Zhou left this place, she could rescue He Ran.
Because she was far too familiar with this place!
So familiar that even without Lin Feng, she could have found her way here from memory and sneaked in through deeper hidden tunnels. But since she had Lin Feng as her muscle, there was naturally no reason not to use him.
At Li Fuyin's command, Lin Feng leaped forward, easily taking down the two guards at the door, and broke in with her.
The room inside was empty, with no extra guards stationed about, and Bai Xiyue was nowhere to be seen.
However, Lin Feng wasn't surprised. A place like this was bound to have secret passages and hidden chambers; it just usually took some effort to find the mechanisms for the entrances.
Yet Li Fuyin had no time to play dumb now. She immediately located the mechanism, opened the entrance to the secret passage, and plunged in without hesitation.
"Careful..."
Clearly, Lin Feng hadn't expected that the young woman who had just been as timid as a quail would now dare to barge into a secret room alone, totally unafraid of the dangers inside. Though nervous, his overriding concern was her safety, so he followed her without hesitation.
The secret passage was narrow, deep, and pitch black—you couldn't see a thing. There were countless steps beneath their feet, yet Li Fuyin walked on them as if strolling on flat ground.
Because in the past, she was always the one who locked people up here, and Crown Prince of Western Zhou was a frequent visitor.
Not only were there hidden chambers here, but also countless intricate secret tunnels leading to all parts of the capital.
One of them... even led directly to the imperial palace.
However, the secret tunnels were like a gigantic maze; ordinary people who rushed in blindly would only trap themselves to death. Furthermore, there were only two keys to enter and exit the palace—one was in her hands, and the other was in the hands of Emperor Qingyuan, Li Yuanzhao.
This residence had always been managed by Li Fuyin's people. Now that she was dead and her subordinates scattered, this brat Crown Prince of Western Zhou had managed to exploit the loophole.
Or rather, this brat had deliberately locked He Ran away in a place only she knew, simply waiting for her to come looking for trouble to save someone.
Crown Prince of Western Zhou was deep in thought and extremely cunning. Though Li Fuyin worried there might be an ambush here, she couldn't care less now. He Ran was a very important person by her side and had to be rescued. Therefore, even knowing full well there might be traps waiting for her, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and charge in.
After walking in the secret passage for a while, three fork roads appeared ahead, corresponding to three secret chambers.
Guided by intuition, Li Fuyin picked a direction, walked in without hesitation, and shoved open the heavy door of the secret chamber.
Such a reckless move made Lin Feng, trailing closely behind, leap with fright, terrified that she might accidentally trigger some mechanism and let loose hidden weapons to injure her.
Fortunately, there were no hidden weapons at all.
As the door of the secret chamber was pushed open, a faint beam of light filtered out from within.
Compared to the completely dark corridor, several night-pearls were embedded in the chamber, casting a dim, yellowish glow.
Inside the chamber, Li Fuyin caught sight of He Ran's figure, bound by iron chains to a torture rack. A surge of joy welled up in her heart, and she immediately rushed forward.
"He..."
Just as she reached them, her voice abruptly cut off as if someone had choked her neck, and even her breathing stopped.
With a loud clatter, all the chains on the torture rack suddenly slid to the ground. Li Fuyin watched as the person before her slowly raised her face, a pair of pitch-black, deep ink-colored pupils staring straight at her... and then, a terribly malicious smile appeared on that face.
"Well, look who's here."