In winter, Kyoto is covered in ice and snow and has lost its usual vitality.

Soon after nightfall, the once bustling street became deserted, with no one to be seen, not even cats or dogs.

Three masked men dressed in black sneaked out of the Ninth Prince's mansion through a secret passage unknown to outsiders and headed straight for the Kyoto post station.

The people of Dazhao come to pay homage from all directions, and many come every year.

The post stations in Kyoto were built to be exceptionally large and grand, with one courtyard after another.

These courtyards were all decorated in a magnificent and opulent style, like miniature palaces.

Three masked men dressed in black arrived at the small courtyard where Matsushita Kudai lived. They went to the windy spot, sprinkled some medicinal powder, and easily eliminated the sentries guarding the courtyard. Then they all squatted on the roof of Matsushita Kudai's bedroom.

Matsushita Kudai, inside the bedchamber, was nearly driven mad with worry. In just two days, his triple chin had turned into a double chin, and after ten years of fruitless dieting, he had lost a significant amount of weight in the last two days.

Even if he pawned all the tributes he brought, he still wouldn't be able to raise ten million taels of silver.

What's even worse is that the old tortoise Emperor Dazhao instigated him to get into trouble and then shut himself in and never come out.

It's like going to a brothel without any money; they're ruthless and heartless!

"Your Highness, why don't you set off back to your country? Just say that your injuries are too severe," Shi Congjia cautiously and kindly suggested.

Matsushita Kudai glared at him, his pigtails trembling with anger.

He stretched out his fat, chubby hand, pointed at Shi Congjia, and uttered a sentence in Gao Qiu's language: "Come here and lie down."

Shi Congjia's face immediately turned pale, and he looked apprehensive, but he dared not disobey and went over to prostrate himself on the ground as instructed.

Matsushita Kudai then pointed to the attendant beside him: "You, go and hit him."

Attendant B: "???"

"You can either inflict too much damage on him, or he can inflict too much damage on you. I'll give you one choice," Matsushita Kudai roared, slamming his fist on the couch. Unexpectedly, this aggravated his broken ribs, causing his large, fat face to turn bright red with pain. Despite the pain, he continued to grit his teeth and count, "One, two..."

Attendant B jumped up, grabbed a low stool next to him, said "Sorry, brother," and started smashing it at Attendant A.

With each blow, Matsushita Kudai gritted his teeth and growled, "Go to hell, your injuries are too severe."

Shi Congjia screamed in agony as he was smashed, but he dared not run away in despair.

A man on the rooftop looked on with a cold glint in his eyes: those two attendants were not brought by Matsushita Kudai from Gao Qiu, but were people from the Great Zhao!

He stumbled, his foot slipped, and he fell through the roof tiles into the house, tearing off his face mask as he landed.

Shang Xiye kicked away the assailant, Cong Yi, his voice as terrifying and ruthless as a demon king from the deepest hell: "Who gave you the audacity to bully the people of my Great Zhao on my own land!"

Matsushita Kudai: "!!!"

Is he hallucinating?

Who the hell told him that the dignified Ninth Prince would dress like this in the middle of the night, coming up from the roof like a thief?

Wuhen and Wuzhong were also: "..."

What happened to the plan to quietly beat Matsushita's belt until he was impotent and paralyzed, and then leave?

What is the master trying to do now?

"Nine, nine, nine...nine..." Matsushita Kudai was so shocked that his tongue got tied in knots.

"You were perfectly content staying in Gaoqiu Kingdom, but you had to come to Dazhao to seek death. Today, even a god can't save you." Shang Xiye reached out and lifted Matsushita Kudai off the couch, slammed him heavily to the ground, and stepped on his vital spot.

Matsushita Kudai let out a miserable scream, his face contorted in pain, his body arched like a shrimp, and his howling and begging for mercy was no longer human.