Chapter 75: Attacking the Heart

Both of them were very tired, and no one called them, so they slept until noon the next day.

"Stupid girl, give me your coat." Zhao Siyuan was sleepy and instructed Xihe with his eyes closed.

The tent was eerily quiet.

Zhao Siyuan was furious when he opened his eyes. The silly girl was nowhere to be found.

Where are you going to play so early in the morning?

Someone who went out into the wild is now in the tent of a big bad wolf.

"Little brother, were you hurt anywhere yesterday?"

Xiao Mingxuan stood up, poured a cup of tea and handed it over, and whispered a few words from his thin lips, "It's okay."

"That's great! Then I'll go check on my big brother and uncle to see if they were injured while interrogating the criminals yesterday."

The little girl stood up and was about to leave, but was grabbed by the hand by the person behind her.

When I turned around, I was met with the other person's complicated expression.

"Little brother?"

Xiao Mingxuan licked his dry lower lip and uttered with great difficulty, "Actually... I was injured too."

Xihe was stunned, and hurried back to pull at his clothes, her tone full of anxiety, "Where are you hurt? Let me see!"

Xiao Mingxuan held down the little girl's hand that was groping around and pointed to one side of his cheek, "Here!"

Xihe looked up and saw the scabbed cut on Xiao Mingxuan's face and fell silent.

The little girl's expression changed and she didn't move for a long time.

Xiao Mingxuan's face suddenly darkened, and he asked through gritted teeth, "Why? Doesn't this count?"

Xihe, facing the sinister gaze of a certain big bad wolf, threw aside her dignity and said, "Forget it! Come quickly! I'll apply medicine to you!"

Only then did Xiao Mingxuan sit down contentedly and enjoy the girl's attentive service.

The entire tent was filled with invisible pink bubbles.

"Little brother, what was the secret you wanted to tell me yesterday?"

Yesterday something happened suddenly and I was interrupted in the middle of my conversation. I feel so sorry.

Xiao Mingxuan's face turned stern, and he looked away unnaturally, "...Nothing."

Such a poetic and picturesque scene was interrupted by someone who suddenly arrived.

*

The two rushed to Zhao Chengning's tent, only to see Zhao Chengning sitting in the center, with Zhao Jinyuan and two generals beside him.

There were two people kneeling in the center. One was the woman who brought Xihe out yesterday, and the other was a man who was about thirty years old. He should be the father the woman mentioned.

"Big brother, what's going on?"

The tent was unusually quiet. Zhao Chengning had been busy all night and was extremely tired, but he still smiled at Xihe.

"Xihe is here." Zhao Chengning habitually hugged the person in his arms, and his expression softened a little, not as gloomy and terrifying as before.

He threw a weapon from the table in front of the father and daughter. His eyes were indifferent, with the innate arrogance of a superior, and he said coldly: "Do you want to tell me yourself or do you want me to send you back to the bottom of the cliff?"

Zhao Chengning and Xu Qingcheng interrogated the people and even took advantage of the darkness to explore the manor, and unexpectedly discovered such a big thing.

Both the father and the daughter refused to speak, looking as resolute as a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water, but the woman's body was already a little shaky.

"Sister, did you capture me to save your father?" Xihe suddenly said.

Perhaps tired, the woman's expression was unusually calm. However, after not eating or drinking all night and being interrogated repeatedly, her spirit was already weak. As she spoke, she felt a sharp pain in her throat. "Yes, I want to use you in exchange for my father. That way, he won't be considered a failure, and he won't be killed."

"Then you should cooperate with my brother now," the little girl reasoned. "First you assassinated me, and now you've left. If you don't say anything, who will protect you? What will you do if the bad guys at the bottom of the cliff come looking for you again after we leave?"

The silent man on the side suddenly looked up at Xihe, his eyes as sharp as a poisonous snake, shooting straight at her.

They had offended the royal family and were blatantly rescued by this group of people. The underground group would certainly not trust them anymore. They were really in a dilemma.

"You can just keep insisting on it. I can throw you out right now. Let's see if those people will let you go." Zhao Chengning said coldly.

The woman bit her lower lip tightly, and her expression was already a little relaxed.

Xihe took the opportunity to add fuel to the fire, "Little sister, you must really want this uncle to survive, otherwise you wouldn't lie to me. Just like Daddy and Xihe, Daddy loves Xihe so much that he would leave all the delicious food for Xihe."

The woman bit her lower lip and looked at her father beside her with tears in her eyes, recalling many past events.

Xiao Mingxuan remained silent, but there was a hint of smile in the corner of his eyes.

Attacking the heart is the best approach.

Zhao Chengning received his sister's meaningful look, and desperately suppressed a smile. He deliberately kept a straight face and said gently, "You have forged weapons privately without official orders, on such a large scale and in such large quantities that I cannot help but doubt your intentions. But... if you can redeem yourself from your crimes and make meritorious contributions, perhaps... I can consider your punishment."

Zhao Chengning did not make a final statement. After all, the final decision-making power lies in the hands of Emperor Jingyuan.

"Weapons?" Xihe muttered these two words in a daze. After a long moment, he said, "Is a war about to begin?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the man's expression suddenly changed. He raised his head and looked at Xihe. That look was full of inquiry, which was frightening.

Xihe showed no sign of fear and met his gaze. The two exchanged glances, "Uncle, why are you making weapons? And why are you trying to capture me?"

The man refused to speak, but the woman beside him had already loosened up.

In her heart, nothing is more important than her father's life.

The old man seemed to realize what the woman was about to do and hurriedly spoke to stop her, "Ling'er! Don't say it! At worst, I'll die. My life is not worth it!"

Xihe suddenly said, "Uncle, you're not afraid, right?"

The man's expression was calm, his previous anxiety had long since vanished, and he had returned to his original calm demeanor. "Of course I'm not afraid!"

"Have you ever thought about my sister?" the little girl said in a baby voice, "If you died, my sister would be left alone. Would you be willing to let her go?"

The man met his daughter's pleading gaze, and his expression relaxed for a moment.

Xihe struck while the iron was hot and added, "It's so hard to be alone. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and cry. Xihe has only been away from daddy for two days and I miss him so much. If uncle dies, I will be sad for a long time. Can uncle bear to see me sad?"

Zhao Chengning recalled the words Zhao Jinyuan had said to him. He lowered his eyes and smiled at the little fox in his arms. He said coldly to the father and daughter, "You'd be fine if you died, but have you ever thought about how your daughter will live? Don't expect me to have a conscience. I'm putting it this way: if you die today, I'll immediately send you back to the bottom of the cliff. Do you think those people will suspect your daughter of leaking secrets and then eliminate her completely?"