"Speak," Nan Wusi said, sitting in the interrogation chair and looking at the assassin.
"We are the Third Prince's secret guards. He sent us to hunt you down," the assassin said.
"Why did the Third Prince send you to hunt us down?" Nan Wusi asked expressionlessly.
"Because the Vice Minister of Revenue, Nan Wuyu, came to provide disaster relief and also to investigate the whereabouts of the disaster relief funds, and these funds have already been misappropriated by the Third Prince," the assassin continued. "So, in order to conceal the truth, we were sent to kill Nan Wuyu."
“They’re still lying.” Xiao Yi interjected, “Everyone is giving the same story. Such a flawless testimony must be false.”
“Your Highness, this is the real Your Highness, I am not lying,” the man said, struggling to speak.
"Since he's unwilling to tell the truth, then do as I just said. I want to see how long he can hold out." Nan Wusi walked out of the interrogation room without looking back.
After Xiao Yi came out, he asked, "Wu Si, do you want to go check on the others? I separated them to prevent them from giving conflicting testimonies."
"Why do you think they are lying? Could their flawless testimony be the truth, if not false?" Nan Wusi asked, expressing his doubts.
“Everyone speaks differently, but the testimonies of these assassins are almost identical. Even if the truth is as it is, although the content of their descriptions may be similar, their ways of expressing it will definitely not be exactly the same,” Xiao Yi explained.
"So they memorized this in advance, just in case?" Nan Wusi realized something.
"Wu Si is really smart." Xiao Yi smiled and wanted to pat Nan Wu Si's head, but after reaching out, he suddenly remembered the blood on his hands and reluctantly withdrew his hand.
"Let's go, let's scare the others too." Nan Wusi didn't believe that everyone was so principled that they wouldn't tell the truth even knowing they were about to be tortured.
However, things didn't go as planned. After interrogating the three assassins in succession, Nan Wusi got the same answer every time.
Now she finally understood why Xiao Yi was so certain that the assassins were lying.
"They don't have any tokens or anything? Aren't your secret guards supposed to have their own tokens?" Nan Wusi asked Xiao Yi.
“We searched them early this morning, and they had nothing on them.” Xiao Yi shook his head.
"Only this last person is left. Hopefully, he'll know what's good for him." Nan Wusi breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to go in to continue interrogating him.
After repeating the same lines five times, Nan Wusi felt he was getting better and better at acting.
The assassin was trembling as Namo Si spoke, especially when he talked about ants gnawing at him; he trembled violently.
"Looks like there's a chance," Nan Wusi thought to himself, and then began to describe the feeling of ants gnawing at a human body.
The assassin seemed to be having a mental breakdown, crying out loudly, "I'll confess, I'll confess, don't let the ants eat me!"
"Tell us. As long as you tell the truth, we definitely won't treat you like this." Nan Wusi crossed his arms and looked at the assassin with a cold expression.
"It was the Crown Prince who sent us to hunt you down." The assassin finally gave a different version of events.
“We are all the Crown Prince’s secret guards. He embezzled a large amount of disaster relief funds from Lord Tang, and then suggested that Lord Nan come to provide disaster relief. This way, we can get rid of Lord Nan and suppress the disaster relief funds. If anything happens, we can pretend to be the Third Prince’s people and frame him. It’s a win-win-win situation.”
"Why did he want to get rid of my brother?" Nan Wusi pressed, feeling that this was probably the truth.
"I really don't know," the assassin said, continuing to beg for mercy.
After getting the answer he wanted, Nan Wusi didn't linger and left the interrogation room with Xiao Yi.
"Xiao Yi, how much of what this person says do you think can be believed?" Nan Wusi asked Xiao Yi, wanting to hear his judgment.
"It's pretty much what I expected," Xiao Yi replied.
"So you suspected from the beginning that it was someone sent by the Crown Prince?"
"Hmm." Xiao Yi nodded. "Besides, I can sense that some people came specifically for me. The Third Prince doesn't seem to have that much hostility towards me."
"Why can't the Emperor and the Crown Prince tolerate you?" This question has troubled Nan Wusi for a long time. She didn't see anything about Xiao Yi in the original text, so she didn't know his past or his entanglement with the royal family.
"Do you know who my mother is?" Xiao Yi asked in return.
"First Queen?"
“Yes, my elder brother is the former Crown Prince.” Xiao Yi continued, “Then do you know why the current emperor is Xiao Teng and not my brother?”
"I don't know." Nan Wusi shook her head. Last New Year, Xiao Yi seemed to have wanted to ask her, but she avoided the question because she didn't want to get involved.
However, given the current situation, it seems that she has no choice but to get involved or not, so the more information she gathers, the better.
"Xiao Teng launched a rebellion and emerged victorious. My mother and elder brother perished in the turmoil. I, however, survived because of my blindness."
Xiao Yi became somewhat agitated: "What's ridiculous is that after Xiao Teng ascended the throne, the accusation of rebellion was actually pinned on my mother and my elder brother."
"Xiao Teng deliberately made me a prince in order to show his benevolence, but he did not allow me to leave the capital and go to my own fiefdom. He was afraid that I would one day rebel and threaten his throne."
"That's why they find all sorts of excuses to send people into my palace every year; they just want an excuse to monitor me."
Now Nanwusi finally knows what happened before. No wonder she knew nothing and there was no record of it in any historical materials.
"And your eyes?"
"My eyes were blinded by my mother's poison." Xiao Yi's casual words sent a jolt through Nan Wusi's heart.
"Why is this happening?" Namo couldn't understand why a mother would poison her child's eyes.
"Mother is afraid that my sharpness will lead to my early death," Xiao Yi explained to Nan Wusi.
"Then why not leave an antidote?" So many years have passed. If there were an antidote, wouldn't it be better to be able to see the light again once you grow up and have the ability to protect yourself?
"There is no cure for this poison." Xiao Yi said calmly, as if it had nothing to do with him.
"So you really can't see anything at all?" Nan Wusi had a persistent feeling that Xiao Yi could see.
"Actually, you can see a blurry outline, but it's practically invisible," Xiao Yi said.
Nan Wusi suddenly realized that he had taken advantage of Xiao Yi's inability to see and had done some outrageous things, and his face instantly turned red.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
