Ning Yao believed that as long as she remained tight-lipped and harbored the heir to the throne in her womb, no one could harm her. However, she hadn’t expected her own brother, whom she thought would have escaped, to be caught, putting her in a passive position.
Feng Ling lightly tapped Ning Yao’s shoulder, helped her sit down, and then stood by her side. He pressed one finger on her shoulder and leisurely said, "Crown Princess, who is the mastermind behind you? If you refuse to confess, for every count of ten, we will slice off one of your little brother’s fingers. When we run out of fingers, we will move on to his toes, then his ears. We will gradually cut off chunks of meat from his body. After all, you share the same mother. Your brother’s sufferings are all for you."
"How dare you!" Ning Yao exclaimed angrily.
Instantly, Feng Ling swung his sword. Before anyone could see how he drew his sword, a finger flew across the room. Ning Ze’s little finger had been cut off with such precision that it made a light "pop" as it hit the ground.
Feng Ling retracted his hand without a change in his facial expression. He lightly smirked, "Crown Princess, you asked me if I dared. Why don’t you try me?"
Ning Yao screamed, trying to stand up and charge at him, but Feng Ling’s single finger on her shoulder felt like a thousand pounds pressing against her. She was unable to get up.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five..." Feng Ling started to count.
As Ning Yao sat confused and ashen-faced, Xie Lin drew out his dagger when Feng Ling counted to one and sliced off another of Ning Ze’s little fingers.
Two fingers were missing from his hands, blood dripping continuously. The ground was soon soaked with fresh blood.
With his mouth gagged, Ning Ze couldn’t scream. His face was twisted in pain, tears welled up in his eyes as he looked imploringly at Ning Yao, producing muted sobs.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five..." Feng Ling started the countdown again.
To Ning Yao, Feng Ling’s countdown sounded like a deathly shroud cast by the devil. She could no longer bear it, shouting, "Stop!"
At her words, Feng Ling stopped. "Is the Crown Princess now ready to confess?"
Ning Yao clenched her teeth, desperately trying to keep her pale, trembling body under control. Only after a long while, did she manage to squeeze through gritted teeth, "I am carrying the royal heir."
Feng Ling laughed, "That’s right. You are pregnant with the royal heir, so we haven’t touched your unborn child."
The counting started once again. "Four, three, two..."
As soon as Feng Ling finished counting, Xie Lin cleanly sliced off another of Ning Ze’s fingers.
Severely pained, Ning Ze seemed to be at the brink of passing out with his limbs flailing vigorously. But he could not break free from the firm grip of the guards or the precision of Xie Lin’s dagger that cut bone as if it was slicing vegetables.
"I said, stop!" Ning Yao truly cared about her brother, if she didn’t, she wouldn’t have arranged for him to escape when her plot was revealed. The sight of the three severed fingers on the ground, her brother’s contorted expression of pain, and the large pool of blood had shattered her defenses.
Clad in a pale expression, she revealed, "It’s... it’s Lipin."
Xie Lin raised an eyebrow.
Feng Ling didn’t believe her. He gave Ning Yao a skeptical glance and retorted, "Crown Princess, who are you trying to fool?" Then, he turned to Xie Lin and commanded, "Continue."
Without hesitation, Xie Lin cut off another finger from Ning Ze’s hand.
Ning Yao screamed, "I’m telling the truth! There’s someone else behind Lipin!"
"Oh?" Feng Ling inquired, "Who could have convinced you, the Crown Princess, to be manipulated like this? Tell us who’s behind Lipin. Your testimony alone wouldn’t be convincing, given that Lipin’s maternal family isn’t influential, and Lipin herself isn’t prominent either. The Fourth Prince is merely fifteen years old, still seen as an immature child in your eyes."
"I don’t know who exactly is behind Lipin, but the person in question promised to give me a million taels of silver every year," Ning Yao revealed.
Feng Ling narrowed his eyes. A million taels of silver was no small sum, a possible reason to persuade Ning Yao. After all, a prince striving for the throne wouldn’t get far without silver.
He turned his gaze towards Xie Lin.
At this point, Xie Lin found her claim quite plausible. He signaled for a pen and paper and reasoned with Ning Yao, "In that case, it appears that His Majesty is resolutely intending my father to investigate this matter thoroughly. You cannot evade the blame. So, you might as well confess truthfully. Considering that you are carrying the royal heir, there might be a chance to have your sentence reduced."
"I... I’ll confess." Ning Yao’s voice trembled.
Xie Lin personally took the pen as Ning Yao narrated. She recounted how Lipin, through her maternal family, had proposed an alliance. The Crown Prince’s goal was to overthrow the heir apparent, while Lipin’s goal was to kill Su Rong. Thus, they came to an agreement.
Feng Ling asked, "That’s odd. When did Lipin find out about my sister’s identity? When did you two come to an agreement?"
"I don’t know when Lipin found out. But she sent someone to find me the day after you visited my residence," Ning Yao replied.
"That can’t be right. What about the things you did before that? Did you act alone?" Feng Ling questioned.
"Before Lipin’s maternal relative contacted me, everything I did was merely to oppose the Eastern Palace, all of my own accord," Ning Yao explained.
"Don’t tell me it has nothing to do with the Crown Prince," Feng Ling interrogated, looking straight at her.
Ning Yao clenched her teeth, "It indeed had nothing to do with the Crown Prince." With her head held high, she gazed at Feng Ling, "Even if you kill me, my words won’t change. The Crown Prince had no hand in my schemes."
She wasn’t still protecting Yan Li even after reaching such dire straits. She didn’t want him to find out about her significant influence in the capital. Even though he was her husband and the Crown Prince, she had to look out for herself. She didn’t want her people to be exploited by him or her influence to be seized.
Feng Ling turned to look at Xie Lin.
Xie Lin believed her. His father had already investigated; there was no trace of the Crown Prince’s involvement in what Ning Yao had done. He nodded to Feng Ling in agreement. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Once again, Feng Ling asked, "You only contacted Lipin’s maternal relatives? Who are they?"
"Lipin’s father and second uncle," Ning Yao answered, "Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to convince me."
She then detailed how they approached her, what they told her, and what promises they made. She spoke of the day they used a hidden arrow to murder Su Rong, how they schemed to expose Princess Zhenmin’s faked death and Su Rong’s real identity using the opportunity created by an elderly man talking about Princess Zhenmin in a tea house. She recounted their ambush on Zhou Gu, their public assassination of Xie Lin, and their plans to resist the Rui’an King, among others.
As she spoke detailedly, neither Feng Ling nor Xie Lin found any issues with her account. Finally, Xie Lin asked her to sign and stamped the confession.
After signing, Ning Yao instantly lost all her energy. Her face turned as pale as ashes. She knew that once the confession was submitted, even if she had the royal heir in her womb as a life-saving talisman, her end would be inevitable.
But she managed to save Ning Ze, her brother. The only crimes Ning Ze had committed were knowing the plot and desiring to possess Su Rong. He didn’t participate in anything else, and Ning Yao made sure that he was not implicated either.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
