Helian Nie leaned back lazily in the sandalwood chair, his blood-red dragon robe casually draped over the chair.

Long, slender, pale fingers with distinct knuckles supported his sharply defined chin. His devilishly handsome face was framed by a pair of dangerously narrowed, peach-blossom eyes.

They looked with interest at the man who was tied to the wooden frame and was already half-dead from torture.

"Your subordinate is incompetent."

The black-clad assassin's voice was icy cold, devoid of any human vitality, yet it showed absolute respect and obedience to Helian Nie.

Helian Nie merely raised his hand slightly to indicate that he was unharmed. His narrow, sinister eyes fell upon the man on the wooden frame.

Suddenly, a sneer escaped from her thin, crimson lips. "The Wen family's dogs are indeed loyal."

The man who had been sitting motionless with his head down on the shelf trembled slightly with his fingers, but he still kept his head down and showed no intention of making a sound.

Helian Nie didn't mind, merely lazily stroking the ring on his finger. After a while, he spoke softly.

"Kill him, but leave him with a whole body and send him to the general's mansion. Otherwise, General Wen will blame me in his heart and detain the people in the general's mansion."

"Yes," the assassin replied respectfully.

The man tied to the wooden frame didn't react at all to his fate. He knew he was going to die the moment he fell into Helian Nie's hands.

He's lucky to have survived with a whole corpse at the hands of Helian Nie, ha.

Helian Nie stood up from the sandalwood chair, his gaze sweeping over the man who had remained silent on the wooden shelf the entire time.

Feeling utterly bored, he smoothed his crimson robes, turned, and left with his hands behind his back.

From afar, one could faintly hear Helian Nie's voice, tinged with disappointment and as cold as a venomous snake, emanating from the gloomy corridor.

"Hmph, what a pity he's a tough nut to crack. My little slugs in the Ten Thousand Serpent Cave are going to miss out on a good meal."

Soon, the depths of the dungeon fell into a deathly silence, accompanied by a mournful cry.

The eagle stood guard quietly at the entrance to the dungeon's mechanism, ready to see the crimson figure emerge from within.

He quickly jumped up and came behind Helian Nie, respectfully and quietly following behind him.

"How's that ugly thing doing over there?"

Because he failed to get the information he wanted from the man, Helian Nie's mood was not very good at the moment.

For some reason, I suddenly remembered that shameless little bundle of joy, especially when it was grinning foolishly at me without a care in the world; it was extremely ugly.

But it's ugly in a way that's pleasing to the eye.

Changying was momentarily stunned, but after a moment's thought, he remembered the Emperor's address to the little princess.

Although I had some uncertainty, I really couldn't imagine hearing any ugly thing from the Emperor's mouth.

Thinking this, Changying tentatively spoke up, reporting what had happened at Yongqing Palace that day. Seeing that Helian Nie didn't frown, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The ugly thing the Emperor was talking about really is a little princess, oh dear...

In truth, Changying thought the little princess was so cute and rosy-cheeked, how could she possibly be associated with anything ugly?

"Crying?" Helian Nie raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I think it's just a childish squabble." The Emperor still prefers the little princess to the second prince, so Changying couldn't help but chime in.

They were afraid that if the emperor got angry, he would kill the second prince to vent his anger on the little princess.

As it turned out, Changying's worries were completely unnecessary. A certain villainous tyrant scoffed coldly and spoke with disdain.

"It's no use."

Long Eagle, "..."