what to do?

Of course we should take him down!

Who would have thought this person had such a taste?

I wonder how many innocent girls have been implicated!

I can't stand it!

Lili, full of bravado, quickly freed herself from the rope and was about to roll up her sleeves to do something when she realized that maids would be coming in to bathe them, so she obediently wrapped the rope around herself again.

Xia Ning: (′?_?`)

"Ahem." Lili awkwardly covered up her embarrassment. "Let's... let's just wait and see!"

Xia Ning looked on expectantly, hoping she would come up with a perfect solution.

She really didn't want to become that damned prefect's plaything! She'd rather be a slave or a maid.

Lili didn't really have any specific solutions. Her idea was simple: if that beast dared to do anything to them, she would just grab a knife and make him childless.

As Lili pondered this, she silently felt the sharp little knife in her pocket.

Two days ago, when Lili went to the mountains with her brothers to find wood ear mushrooms, Shen Jiahao used them to cut wood ear mushrooms. Later, when Shen Jiahao was busy carrying baskets, Lili took the initiative to temporarily keep them for him.

Fortunately, Yang had sewn small pockets onto all of Lili's inner garments, which are now proving very useful.

Xia Ning was speechless after hearing her plan.

"Huh? That's...that's it?"

Isn't this a bit too hasty? Can they really defeat a grown man?

"Hehe," Lili was not flustered at all, and even had the mood to think about whether Gu Ziyi knew about this, whether he would think that something was wrong after he knew that she was missing, and whether he could realize that this matter was related to Zhou Wukui.

"It's okay, Sister Xia Ning, don't worry, Lili is here!"

Lili couldn't wait to meet the prefect who had been a constant presence in their conversations; she really wanted to see what he would look like as a eunuch.

Xia Ning still felt that this plan was not feasible, and that they might even be killed instead.

But it was no use for Xia Ning to persuade Lili to think it over. There were messy footsteps outside, and then Lili heard a familiar voice.

"Master, the maids haven't bathed them yet. They were just taken from them and are very dirty. Why don't we let the maids take them away to clean them first?"

It was Steward Wang, who had just led the servants to welcome Lili and the other girl in at the door.

Then, a classic, cunning, and sinister voice rang out: "No need! Damn it, those damned bastards from the Marquis Chong's mansion, how dare they stab us in the back? Does that old bastard, Marquis Chong, think that just because he's His Majesty's uncle, he can boss the Crown Prince around?"

Lili's eyes lit up.

It's here!

Is this Zhou Wukui?

Lili really didn't know much about what was happening in the court. In Gu Ziyi's previous letters, he mostly reported on the safety of Shen Laoda and others and his recent situation, rarely mentioning these things.

Although Lili didn't know why His Highness the Crown Prince was so keen to tell her things like that he had gone on patrol with his maternal grandfather that day, she wouldn't ask him anything else.

Zhou Wukui's voice was clearly tired and angry, and his words were full of information, making Lili involuntarily prick up her ears to listen carefully, wanting to see what Gu Ziyi had done to make him so defensive.

Upon hearing the words "Crown Prince," Xia Ning instantly forgot everything else.

Outside, Steward Wang advised, "Master, please calm down. You haven't slept all night and are very tired. Why don't you go and rest for a while, so that the maids can clean up those two wretched girls and you can have some fun?"

"Two?" Zhou Wukui paused slightly.

Steward Wang answered truthfully: "Yes, today, in addition to the one that the First Prince specifically requested, Gao and his companion also presented a three-year-old child. Although young, his appearance is in no way inferior to that of the Minister's daughter."

"Three years old? Interesting, very interesting! I've never tasted one this young before. You don't need to say anything more, I need to vent!"

For several days in a row, Zhou Wukui stayed up all night discussing matters with the Crown Prince's confidants.

A month ago, the Marquis of Chongbo's residence somehow got wind of his plan to collect taxes privately.

Damn it, if it weren't for the fact that the First Prince was currently in Xixiang County providing disaster relief and His Majesty was still giving him some leeway, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold onto his position as prefect long ago.

Originally, the Zhou family was a hidden pawn of the First Prince, but now they have no choice but to expose themselves to the Emperor ahead of time.

Fortunately, Zhou Wukui does have some real skills, otherwise the First Prince wouldn't have taken such a risk to protect him.

Indeed, Zhou Wukui's ability to dominate Nanlin County and even control several county magistrates is a testament to his own skill.

Just then, the eldest prince was keen to bring these counties, which were far from the capital, under his control.

Nanlin Commandery, Xixiang Commandery, and Guangling Commandery were the southernmost commanderies of the Southern Jin Dynasty. The capital city was located to the north of the Southern Jin Dynasty.

His Highness the Crown Prince is still young. If we can secretly seize these counties while he is still young and his power is not yet fully developed, then it is hard to say who will sit on the throne in the future.

Otherwise, the eldest prince would not have accepted his "gift" and taken the daughter of a collateral branch of his clan as a concubine, thus binding him to him.

The eldest prince is indeed the most powerful candidate for the throne besides the crown prince. He has many supporters in the court and a great deal of power. With the eldest prince as his backer, his job as prefect is becoming increasingly successful.

The Crown Prince's plan was progressing quite smoothly. Zhou Wukui had even thought it through: he would help the Crown Prince take over Nanlin County, and once the Crown Prince actually ascended to the throne, Zhou Wukui would be able to be the local tyrant of Nanlin County for the rest of his life!

But who could have imagined that just when Nanlin County was about to be swallowed up by the First Prince and his Zhou family, such a mishap would occur.

First, the heir of the Marquis of Chongbo accompanied his wife on a trip south to visit relatives, and then His Highness the Crown Prince volunteered to go to the border to train with the mighty general.

At first, Zhou Wukui thought he had the county magistrates in his grasp, except for Qin Renjie. Moreover, the crown prince was young, and the Chongbo Marquis's mansion had always been loyal to the emperor and did not take sides.

Who would have thought that the news would still leak out!

They couldn't afford to offend His Highness the Crown Prince, but the Marquis of Chongbo's mansion jumped in again.

The eldest prince was busy with disaster relief in Xixiang County while also keeping an eye on things in the capital, which kept his subordinates extremely busy.

Zhou Wukui stopped his hand, which was eager to push open the door so he could vent his anger, and instructed Steward Wang: "That Qin Renjie is stubborn and won't listen to reason. Last time he was lucky; he arrested the wrong person and couldn't be threatened with his daughter. He also got help from a passing expert. We can't let him get away with this now, or the Crown Prince will blame us."

Butler Wang noticed the fleeting glint in his eyes and replied, "Understood, I will give the order right away."

Hidden on the rooftop, Zhui Feng, who was eavesdropping, looked as if he were a cicada in fear, and quietly memorized everything.

Zhou Wukui watched the departing figure of Steward Wang, chuckled maliciously, and then pushed open the door.

This startled Lili and Xia Ning, who had been eavesdropping behind the door.

Before Lili could even process the overheard information, she was startled by the lewd face in front of her.

He had a fat head and big ears, a round mouth and monkey cheeks, and his eyes gleamed with a cunning light. His lewdness was undisguised, making people feel disgusted involuntarily. His eyes revealed a wicked and greedy look.

Most importantly, it was that lewd expression.

Lili silently gagged, then immediately began her performance.

Seeing Lili fall to the ground in a panic, and Xia Ning standing beside her with a look of fear and resentment, Zhou Wukui felt both amazed and excited.

"As expected of the daughter of a high-ranking official, look at her face, so tender it could drip water." Zhou Wukui stroked Xia Ning's cheek, unable to hide his lust.

Xia Ning trembled all over, her body shaking unsteadily. When she smelled the unpleasant odor emanating from Zhou Wukui, she felt a sore throat and couldn't help but want to vomit.

Zhou Wukui's hand wandered over Xia Ning's cheek, making Xia Ning feel disgusted and desperately try to get away.

Zhou Wukui forcefully turned Xia Ning's face towards him: "Blame your damned father. A Minister of Rites, instead of staying put, he's helping the Marquis of Chongbo's family against our eldest prince, spending all his time going to His Majesty to offer advice?"

Xia Ning was in so much pain that she forced out a few tears, but she still refused to bow her head. She spat at him and said fiercely, "Pah! You have wolfish ambitions. Who knows what you're up to? The mighty General guards the nation's borders, and you've actually done this kind of thing behind his back?"

Her father is right!

Lili is good at history, and she knows that...

The eldest prince's actions were a grave offense against His Majesty. If it weren't for the need to maintain balance in the court, why would His Majesty turn a blind eye?

It is undeniable that princes cultivate their own power base.

However, Your Majesty has always loved the people like your own children. Raising taxes without authorization not only affects the interests of the people, but also the interests of the officials, especially Your Majesty.

For the common people, that grain was a matter of life and death.

You can levy taxes on officials and secretly pocket those profits, but what about us?

To Your Majesty, this is a challenge to Your Majesty's authority by your subordinates, and a disregard for Your Majesty's authority.

But Zhou Wukui didn't care about any of that.

His Majesty will die sooner or later. As long as the eldest prince can build up his power before the crown prince, the world will eventually belong to them!

When the time is right, even if His Majesty doesn't die himself, the eldest prince will find a way to kill him.

Zhou Wukui's eyes were cold as he grabbed Xia Ning's neck tightly, causing Xia Ning's face to turn bright red instantly.

"Ha, you dare to say such things when you're about to die? You must have heard, haven't you? Of all the people sent here, none have ever gotten out of my body alive..."

Xia Ning felt a chill run through her body, and her mind went blank. At this moment, she finally understood what she meant by "she was going to die anyway".

What a beast!

"Ugh~ How disgusting, how unconventional."

A soft, sweet voice, tinged with obvious disdain, broke the tense atmosphere.

Zhou Wukui: "?"

What does "non-mainstream" mean?

No, this little bitch dares to say he's disgusting?

Zhou Wukui narrowed his eyes dangerously, threw Xia Ning to the ground, and then looked at Lili.

"You little bitch, do you even know what you're saying?"

Xia Ning caught her breath for a moment, gasping for air. She didn't have time to be afraid anymore and looked worriedly at Lili, whose face was innocent yet showed some disgust for Zhou Wukui.

Zhou Wukui looked Lili up and down and said, "Tsk, what a foul-mouthed little bitch."

No one knew that Zhou Wukui had a little-known quirk.

Chasing Wind on the roof frowned deeply.

"I originally wanted you to be the second one, but since you're so eager to show off, I'll grant your request."

Zhou Wukui grinned lewdly, his hands moving so fast that Xia Ning was too scared to watch. But as she watched Zhou Wukui walk step by step toward Lili in the corner, Xia Ning gritted her teeth, suddenly broke free from the loose ropes binding her, and rushed over to hug Zhou Wukui's leg: "Lili, run!"

Lili's eyes widened slightly. Why is Sister Xia Ning joining in? She hasn't even launched an attack yet, why is Sister Xia Ning in such a hurry to start a team fight?

Lili had originally planned to wait until Zhou Wukui got closer and they started grappling before she made her move, which would be safer. But Xia Ning had unexpectedly pounced on her, so it seemed she would have to improvise.

Zhou Wukui frowned, somewhat surprised that she had managed to break free of the ropes.

However, Zhou Wukui quickly put his doubts aside. Interesting, she's the daughter of a high-ranking official, so it's okay for her to be a little fierce.

Zhou Wukui glanced back at Xia Ning, who was clinging to his feet, and kicked her away. Xia Ning was slammed onto the table next to her in pain, feeling utterly hopeless.

However, at that very moment, Lili had already nimbly broken free of the ropes, pulled out a pair of scissors from her small cloth bag, and, while Zhou Wukui was still paying attention to Xia Ning, raised the scissors and charged!

Hearing the commotion, Zhou Wukui was about to see what trick the other was up to when a bright light flashed before his eyes. Suddenly, Zhou Wukui felt uneasy and instinctively tried to grab Lili, who was rushing towards him. But the innocent-looking child was now as nimble as an eel.

He didn't know why, but even though the person was right in front of him, he just couldn't catch them.

Zhou Wukui was furious. Lili dodged away without any shyness, and ran straight towards her destination with the scissors in hand.

Then, an excruciating pain shot through my lower body.

What a devastating scene! The earth collapsed, the mountains crumbled, the sky collapsed, the earth caved in, and the ground shook violently.

Like a banana being crushed by a foot, a cucumber being thrown into a juicer, or a balloon being punctured by a needle.

Zhou Wukui's vision went black, and he let out a deafening scream: "Aa ...

The servants outside the door: "???" Master, this is so... strange???

Chasing the Wind on the Rooftop: "!! What happened? What happened? Miss Lili is in trouble!"

Zhui Feng couldn't wait any longer. Fearing something might happen to Li Li, he leaped to the ground, ignoring the maid's exclamations and the servant's shouts. He kicked open the door and frantically searched for Li Li.

Then, Zhui Feng saw a white figure, and on the ground...

Bloody...

Chasing the Wind: !!! !!! !!! !!!

w(?Д?)w！ ！ !

The gaze shifted, and next to Zhou Wukui, who was clutching his groin in pain, stood Lili holding a pair of scissors stained with blood, with an innocent smile on her face, and Xia Ning, who was completely terrified.

Zhui Feng was shocked. As the Crown Prince's most trusted bodyguard, he had carried out countless missions and considered himself fearless.