Bai Ningbing was splashed awake and brought to the Purple Star Palace, where Dongfang Mo himself would preside over the interrogation.
Held down by Red Hawk, he knelt on the floor, his appearance disheveled and ruined yet his eyes remained blazing with malice, fixed unwaveringly on Yi Yi. The refined, graceful bearing of a noble scholar had vanished completely.
His eyes were bloodshot as he roared at her, “What have you done with Ayan?!”
Ayan was his lifebound Gu serpent, who had gained a rare opportunity to take human form. In the end, she had sacrificed herself to save his life.
He knew the Princess would surely have discovered her true nature and swallowed her whole.
“I didn’t eat her,” Yi Yi replied. How could I, when she still has such a pretty lady’s face attached?
If only someone could turn her entirely into a snake…
She licked her lips, swallowing a mouthful of saliva.
Such a big snake… which would taste better, that or a whole roasted lamb?
After thinking it over for quite some time, she could not decide.
Well then, I’ll just eat both!
“Bai Ningbing, confess all your crimes of spreading the Gu plague throughout the capital!” Lu Zhao commanded.
Lu Zhao and Wei Yang had also come to the hall. Or rather it was now Yang Wei, as Lu Zhao had won their bet.
“Yang Wei” stood to one side, his face as dark as soot, filled with bitter resentment. How could he have lost to a two-year-old child? He simply could not understand it.
Eventually, he settled on a conclusion: Even at two and a half years old, the Emperor’s daughter is a prodigy chosen by heaven!
Great Xia truly has no shortage of talent, he told himself. And my future is still bright.
Thinking this way helped soothe his wounded pride.
Bai Ningbing merely laughed, his gaze fixed coldly on Dongfang Mo. “Is this how Your Majesty treats the man who saved your life?”
Lu Zhao and Yang Wei exchanged confused glances. What did he mean the Emperor’s savior?
“Everyone in the capital claims a healer from the Divine Medicine Valley cured you but no one knows it was me, Bai Ningbing!”
What?! Bai Ningbing was a member of the Divine Medicine Valley? Neither Lu Zhao nor Yang Wei could believe it.
“How dare you speak such nonsense!” Lu Zhao roared. “If you continue lying, I will have your tongue cut out! Would a man from the Divine Medicine Valley use such foul, evil vermin?”
Bai Ningbing returned his scorn with a look of utter disdain. “You old fool ask your Emperor if what I say is true.”
He straightened his back and stared steadily at Dongfang Mo, waiting for his reply.
“Savior?”
“You are not worthy of the title.”
Dongfang Mo spoke the words slowly and coldly.
There was only one person who had ever truly saved his life and that was Yi Yi.
As for Bai Ningbing, he had entered the Purple Star Palace with hidden motives, feigning treatment while planning to claim credit and use the Emperor’s gratitude to carry out his schemes. He had gravely miscalculated.
“You are nothing but a prisoner. What right do you have to make demands here?”
Dongfang Mo waved his hand, and Red Hawk brought forward the serpentine body of Ayan.
“Confess everything about the Southern Border’s puppet army and their plans.”
“Or else,” Dongfang Mo gripped the delicate neck of the serpent, “she will be torn apart and fed to the dogs.”
“To become food for my daughter that is more honor than you deserve.”
When Bai Ningbing remained silent, Dongfang Mo nodded to Red Hawk, who struck down with his blade and severed a section of the snake’s body.
Striking the vital point of a serpent was a torture of the worst kind.
After another slash, Bai Ningbing finally screamed in agony, “I will speak!”
“The Southern Border’s puppet army could not be revived on its own but they received help from the Great Yu Kingdom, and every single Puppet Gu was restored overnight.”
The faces of all those present hardened instantly.
Great Yu was without question the most powerful nation in the known world.
That the Southern Border had secured their aid meant Great Yu’s ambition to conquer the entire realm was growing clearer by the day.
Though Great Xia was strong, it still lagged far behind Great Yu having only been ruled by two generations of emperors.
“Your cause is hopeless,” Bai Ningbing continued, a cruel smile forming. “The Southern Border’s puppets have been empowered by the Guardian Beast of Great Yu the Chaos. Even Liu Wushuang stands no chance against them.”
“Not even the return of General Duan Guihong could save Great Xia from destruction.”
Seeing the grim expressions all around him, Bai Ningbing felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
“So, Your Majesty why not hand over the Princess to ensure the safety of your kingdom?”
Dongfang Mo stepped forward and looked down at him with utter contempt. “Who do you think you are? A discarded outcast from the Divine Medicine Valley who plays with filthy bugs.”
At the words “discarded outcast,” Bai Ningbing’s face twisted into a mask of rage. “How did you know that?!”
“Those fools were never worthy of me! Once I refine the Sacred Gu, I shall be invincible! Then the Divine Medicine Valley, Great Xia, Great Yu all of you, emperors and kings alike shall become nothing but my puppets!”
He ranted on and on, seemingly driven half-mad by his own obsession.
“Take him away,” Dongfang Mo ordered, growing tired of his noise.
Red Hawk stepped forward and stuffed a gag into Bai Ningbing’s mouth.
“Bring in Noble Consort Liu,” Dongfang Mo commanded next.
Lu Zhao and Yang Wei exchanged puzzled glances. Why was the Consort from the inner palace being summoned now?
Noble Consort Liu was dragged into the hall, her face arranged in a look of helpless sorrow. “Your Majesty, what wrong have I done to deserve such treatment?”
“Naughty lady you’ve been hiding bugs,” Yi Yi piped up.
Her big, grape-like eyes swept over the Consort and instantly detected the Gu insects hidden inside her body, which smelled just like a delicious snack.
Noble Consort Liu paled. She cursed the meddlesome little brat inwardly, but quickly put on a tearful expression. “Your Majesty, I have always feared insects and snakes above all things. How could I possibly keep such creatures?”
“Several days before the state banquet, someone entered your chambers. His name was Bai Ningbing.”
Dongfang Mo spoke with absolute certainty, not as a question but as a statement of fact. Clearly, everything had already been investigated.
From the moment she had entered the hall and seen Bai Ningbing, Noble Consort Liu’s heart had been pounding. Now she knew the truth was fully exposed.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” She fell to her knees, weeping. “This Master Bai threatened me! I was forced into it I had no choice!”
“Drag her away. Confine her to the Cold Palace until her death.”
As she was being pulled toward the door, she cried out again, “Your Majesty, you cannot punish me! My father is still at the border fighting the Southern Border’s puppets in your name!”
“You have held the rank of Consort for many years only out of respect for your father,” Dongfang Mo replied, his gaze as cold as ice. “As for you I have never looked upon you with anything but indifference.”
“Never looked upon me…” she whispered, her heart turning to ash. She slumped to the floor, lifeless, and was dragged away.
Bai Ningbing and Ayan’s serpent body were taken to the dungeons, where they would be kept barely alive for further interrogation.
Once they were gone, the hall fell quiet once more but the heavy, oppressive atmosphere remained. Lu Zhao and Yang Wei let out long, heavy sighs.
“Your Majesty, with Great Yu supporting the Southern Border, how can we possibly hope to win this war?”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a figure appeared in the doorway, backlit by the sunlight.
He stood nearly two meters tall, broad and powerful as a great brown bear. In his hand he held a long battle spear, and his presence radiated the fierce dignity of a seasoned warrior. Though he stood on level ground, he carried himself as if already upon the battlefield.
“General Duan Guihong, Commander of Valiant Might, requests an audience with His Majesty!” His voice boomed like a tolling bell, filling every corner of the hall.