After hearing Jing Mo say that he wanted to exchange Yu Ziming as a hostage, an aide asked hurriedly, "What about Yu Ziyi?"

Jing Mo pointed his finger outside the window.

The two aides turned their heads to look at the half-open window. From this window, they could see the wooden building where Jing Mo had just hosted Yu Xiaoxiao and Gu Xinglang.

"Princess Linglong is right," Jing Mo said, "What use do I have for a little prince who is not favored by his father and whose mother's family is only limited to one place?"

"What about the Gu family?" the aide asked Jing Mo. If Prince Jing could get the Gu family to surrender this time, it would be a real great achievement.

Jing Mo asked outside the house: "Where's Chu Qiu?"

"I'll go find her right away," responded a guard standing outside the house.

Jing Mo thought of Qingyu at this moment, and felt that something was wrong. This slave girl should have come to see him after finishing her work. How come Princess Linglong and her husband had left, but this slave girl was still nowhere to be seen? Could she have been killed by Yu Linglong who was angry and embarrassed?

Just when Jing Mo suspected that Qingyu had been killed by Yu Xiaoxiao, a loud noise came from the southwest of the winery, and the wooden building where Jing Mo was located began to shake violently.

Although the two aides were scholars, when the building shook violently, they both ran to Jing Mo and wanted to protect him.

"What's going on?" Jing Mo sat on the armchair without moving and asked outside the house.

After a while outside the house, a guard ran into the house, knelt down in front of Jing Mo, and said with a pale face: "Master, master, the west building collapsed."

When the building was shaking and about to collapse, Jing Mo, who had been sitting there without moving, stood up suddenly and asked in a stern voice, "What did you say?"

The guard said, "The West Tower, it's the West Tower that collapsed."

"Why did the building collapse?" Jing Mo asked, staring at the guard.

The guard shook his head. How could he know that a good wooden building would collapse?

Jing Mo also realized that it was useless to ask the guard, so he walked out of the house.

The five-story wooden building did not collapse completely. Only half of it collapsed, and the other half was tilted to the north, as if someone had struck the building in half with a sword from mid-air.

Jing Mo stood in front of the ruins that occupied the entire courtyard, his hands and feet were cold, and he was speechless for a long time.

The steward stumbled to Jing Mo and said, "Master, no one was hurt. It's just this building that collapsed."

"I saw the building collapsed," Jing Mo asked the manager, standing on a half-roof beam, "What happened?"

The steward said helplessly: "I didn't know, the building collapsed suddenly."

The chief guard also came over at this time and said, "Master, Princess Linglong should have been here just now."

Yu Linglong and two guards were able to demolish her own building? Even if Jing Mo was beaten to death, the Great Prince Jing would never believe it. "Investigate," Jing Mo ordered, "Find the craftsmen and see how the building collapsed!"

The manager took the order and ran away.

"Master," the steward had just run away when the guard at the gate came running over and told Jing Mo, "The Zhao family father and son are here and want to see the master."

The staff member took a look at Jing Mo's expression and said, "Let them go."

Jing Mo kicked away the half beam he was standing on and said, "Forget it, let them in."

The guards took orders and brought the Zhao father and son over in a short while.

A wooden building collapsed. With such a loud noise, it was impossible for the people living in the Zhao Mansion next door to Deyi Winery not to hear it. Zhao Qiu Ming, who was sitting in the study, felt the vibration. After learning that something happened at Deyi Winery, Prime Minister Zhao did not dare to delay and ran over with his eldest son.

Zhao Beicheng had no patience. After following his father to pay his respects to Jing Mo, he asked, "Your Highness, why did the building collapse?"

Jing Mo still wants to find someone to ask.

When Zhao Qiu Ming saw that it was the west building that collapsed, he stood there frozen, with an expression as if a disaster was imminent.

Just when Jing Mo was wondering why Zhao Qiu Ming was acting so grief-stricken, he heard a guard beside him whispering, "Fortunately Princess Linglong is gone. If this building had collapsed a moment earlier, wouldn't Princess Linglong have died here?"

Jing Mo thought about what the guard said, and thought about what would happen if Yu Linglong died here. Jing Mo's eyes changed when he looked at Zhao Qiu Ming. If Yu Linglong died, who would be the biggest beneficiary? It was Concubine Zhao and the Sixth Prince Yu Ziming in the Imperial Palace. Yu Ziyi was taken back to the execution day by himself, and Yu Linglong died again. What would be left of Queen Jiang's faction in the Fengtian Dynasty? Without Yu Linglong, the Gu family also lost their support. If Xianzong took his anger out on the Gu family and executed the entire family, the beneficiary would still be the Zhao family.

Just when Jing Mo became suspicious of Zhao Qiu Ming, a guard who was checking the ruins suddenly felt the pile of wood under his feet sinking. Just as he was about to shout, both he and the wood sank into the ground.

The sound of the ground collapsing made everyone present nervous again.

Zhao Qiu Ming looked at the collapsed area, closed his eyes, and thought to himself, "It's over."

Jing Mo's body swayed, and after he stood firm without anyone helping him, he loudly ordered, "Go and have a look."

Five or six guards rushed to the collapsed area and saw a dark hole in front of them. The hole was neither too big nor too small, just enough for an adult man to enter and exit.

"There is a secret passage underneath," the guard who was trapped in the cave shouted from underground.

Jing Mo glanced at Zhao Qiu Ming and ordered his attendants, "Send two people down to see where the secret passage leads to."

"Your Highness," Zhao Qiu Ming tried to speak.

Jing Mo waved his hand at Zhao Qiu Ming and said, "I don't want to hear anything now."

Zhao Qiu Ming was choked on the spot by Jing Mo.

Two guards jumped into the cave, first escorted the guard with a broken leg out of the cave, and then the two ran eastward along the tunnel.

Jing Mo paced back and forth in front of the ruins with his hands behind his back. The bright moon in the sky was obscured by a few thick clouds. Even though there were many lights on in the courtyard, it still seemed dim.

The guards were martial artists and walked quickly. Soon, two guards jumped out of the secret passage and ran to Jing Mo.

"Where does the secret passage lead to?" Jing Mo asked.

A guard replied, "Master, this secret passage leads to the rockery in the back garden of the Prime Minister's Mansion."

Jing Mo laughed, looked at Zhao Qiu Ming, and said, "It's difficult for Prime Minister Zhao."

When Zhao Beicheng heard that the secret passage led to his home, he was dumbfounded and said, "How, how is this possible?"

Zhao Qiuming looked at the ruins in front of him. How could this building collapse? Who else could come to Deyi Winery to demolish a building except Jing Mo himself? This must be because Jing Mo knew that I was secretly communicating with Jing Qian. This must be the reason why the Grand Prince Jing wanted to teach him a lesson.

After Jing Mo heard Zhao Beicheng mumbling to himself, he still laughed and said, "Yeah, how is this possible?"

No, Zhao Qiu Ming thought again at this time, he was secretly monitoring Deyi Winery, and this matter would be reported to Zhuri. The fact that the Third Prince Jing Qian was on good terms with him would be immediately said by Jing Mo that Jing Qian did not know people well and was deceived by the ministers of the vassal state. Jing Qian would definitely lose all face. In the final analysis, this was Jing Mo's way of dealing with his own brother.

A note to readers:

The second update is here. Thank you for your tips, collections, and votes. The plot is getting more and more ridiculous and hopeless...