Chongning tugged at the reins, his eyes darkening, and he roughly guessed the Southern King's intentions.

She curled her lips into a disdainful smile and said indifferently, "Very well, since His Highness the Prince of Nan has extended such a warm invitation, how could this general possibly refuse?"

How could Chongning not know the Southern Prince's ambition, and how could he not guess that Li Chengyan's disappearance was related to the Southern Prince?

After agreeing to the Prince of Nan's request, Chongning turned and gave Duan Li a look. Duan Li understood immediately and, taking advantage of the brief exchange between the Prince of Nan and Chongning, quietly disappeared into the crowd.

At the same time, Shen Yun also took steps to make a quick escape, but after taking only two steps, Chu Mo grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"What, still trying to escape? You traitor to the Great Qi, shouldn't you obediently await your fate?"

Chu Mo was very strong. Shen Yun struggled a few times, but he couldn't budge him at all. The man's eyes were bloodshot with hatred.

He even cursed inwardly, wondering why Chu Mo wasn't the one who carried out the execution first. Perhaps her thin arms and legs would have been torn to pieces long ago, and she wouldn't have had the chance to yell at him here.

"Guards, take this traitor back to Daqi for trial."

At this moment, Chongning, who was on horseback, also noticed Shen Yun. With a wave of his hand, several soldiers captured him instantly.

Knowing that escape was impossible, Shen Yun had no choice but to surrender and try to slip away on his way back.

Zuixianlou

Chongning and the Prince of the South sat facing each other, and the table was already filled with various Chu dishes, which looked delicious.

The Prince of the South picked up the wine pot with one hand and held the cuff of his sleeve with the other, filling Chongning's cup with fine wine, his face beaming with a gentle smile.

The reason for inviting Chongning this time was simply to obtain peace for the State of Chu at the lowest possible cost.

Now, Li Chengyan is in his hands; this is his last trump card, and he won't reveal it until the crucial moment.

He originally intended to use Li Chengyan to threaten Chongning, but now he couldn't bear to part with him; he wanted to keep him by his side forever.

Thinking it over, the Prince of the South picked up his wine cup and addressed Chongning.

"I have long admired the Princess's name, which is renowned throughout the world. She is a rare heroine with a heroic spirit. My Chu Kingdom is humbled and admits its inferiority. However, the people of Chu still need a stable homeland. If Princess Chongning can give me a chance, I will offer my utmost sincerity to establish friendly relations between our two countries."

Upon hearing this, Chong Ning's eyes flickered slightly, and she chuckled softly in response.

"King Nan has gone to great lengths; please speak plainly. I dislike such empty formalities,"

"Hehe, very well. Since Princess Chongning is so straightforward, then I will not hide anything. My purpose is very simple: to exchange fifteen cities for peace in the Chu Kingdom. I wonder if your country is satisfied?"

Chongning lowered her eyes slightly. In fact, she had investigated the background of the Prince of the South quite thoroughly. Over the years, he had secretly cultivated his own army and won over some powerful ministers. The Crown Prince was nothing more than a puppet.

The reason why the Southern King was confident enough to negotiate with me was simply because he had calculated that I preferred quick battles. If the two sides really went to war, I was afraid that neither side would benefit.

Although the Great Qi will definitely win this war, it will ultimately be a waste of manpower and resources, and the losses will outweigh the gains.

Most importantly, he held his most vulnerable point in his hands, so Chongning had to carefully consider the Southern King's suggestion.

For her, taking over fifteen cities without losing a single soldier also served as a deterrent to the State of Chu. For a century, the State of Chu would not dare to invade the borders of our Great Qi at will.

However, she disliked the Southern King's ambition, but what harm was there in agreeing to his demands on the surface? In any case, she was determined to rescue Li Chengyan.

At this moment, in the inner courtyard of the Prince's mansion in the Southern Prince's fiefdom, Li Chengyan was enjoying a bowl of beef noodles. He was quite hungry, as he needed to eat his fill to have the strength to run.

The medicine the Southern King gave him gradually lost its effectiveness. Now, the most annoying thing is the black iron chain on his ankle, which is impossible to break by hand.

The Southern King was very cunning. He tied the iron chain to a copper pillar as thick as a thigh, and he tried several times but could not pull the chain off.

After finishing a bowl of noodles, Li Chengyan patted his slightly bulging belly and shouted loudly towards the outside.

"Help! Help! I need to use the restroom, untie me right now!"

He naturally knew that the Prince of Nan was not in the mansion at the moment, and that the key was in the hands of a maid or eunuch.

As long as we can find a way to get our hands on that key, dealing with a few mere servants will be a piece of cake.

Presumably, Chongning has already stormed into the capital of Chu. The Southern King is currently preoccupied with dealing with Chongning and has no time to care about himself. If he doesn't leave now, when will he? He absolutely cannot allow Chongning to be threatened by the Southern King.

Soon, the door was pushed open from the outside, and a young eunuch and a maid entered.

"Young Master Li, do you need to use the restroom?"

The young eunuch bowed to him, then looked up and asked with some difficulty.

"Otherwise what? Everyone has to go to the bathroom sometimes. Do you want me to suffocate?"

Li Chengyan flew into a rage, frowning and clutching his stomach, groaning in pain.

The two men exchanged a glance, rubbed their hands together awkwardly again, and continued, "How about we bring the chamber pot to your room? His Highness the Prince of Nan has ordered that you are not allowed to leave the room, and we dare not disobey."

After the eunuch finished speaking, he made a move to get the chamber pot. Li Chengyan knew that these people were stubborn and wouldn't listen to reason, so he nodded.

When the chamber pot was brought over, Li Chengyan spoke like a lord, ordering, "Come and help me up, I'm so weak, don't make me fall!"

The young eunuch nodded in agreement and quickly stepped forward to help Li Chengyan, but the next second, the man tightly gripped his throat.

The intense feeling of suffocation instantly turned the young eunuch's face pale. "Young Master Li, please, please have mercy..."

"Hmph, show mercy! Hand over the key and I'll spare your life. Otherwise, I won't hesitate to crush you on the spot!"

He gripped the keys tightly, and the little eunuch felt he was about to suffocate, but he still had no intention of handing over the keys.

Li Chengyan increased the pressure, tightening his grip, as if he were about to kill.

"I'll count to three. If you don't hand over the key by then, you're dead!"

"Three...two...one..."

The little eunuch's neck was being squeezed so hard it was cracking, and just as he was about to die, the little maid quickly took out the key from her sleeve and handed it to him.

"Young Master Li, please have mercy. I'll give you the key..."

"Hmph, if he had given it to him earlier, he wouldn't have had to suffer like this!"

Li Chengyan snatched the key from the maid's hand, kicked the eunuch away, and then quickly squatted down and inserted the key into the lock.

The two men were terrified and ran out to call for help. Li Chengyan quickly unlocked the door.

He dashed out of the room and leaped onto the roof. Soon after, the guards in the palace followed suit and jumped onto the roof as well.

Li Chengyan adjusted his somewhat undignified long robe, and smiled disdainfully, "What, you've had enough of living, want to die?"