Su An watched anxiously from the side, trying to break free from Xia Yuandao's control, but his hands gripped her tightly like iron clamps.
Meanwhile, Zhan Beiluan's guards were watching her intently, ready to use her as leverage should the situation turn against them.
Whether Fu Zhun wins or loses, it seems like a dead end for her!
"Or... just leave me alone?"
Just as Su An was about to say those words with a face full of despair, a dark shadow suddenly flashed in from the third-floor window like a ghost.
He moved with lightning speed, silently approaching Xia Yuandao from behind in the blink of an eye.
Xia Yuandao sensed the killing intent behind him, but it was too late. Just as he turned to defend himself, An Yi's dagger pierced his arm.
"ah--!"
He roared furiously, "Despicable! How dare you launch a sneak attack!" He loosened his grip on Su An slightly.
Su An's eyes lit up with surprise. Was this a stroke of good luck after all?!
Without pausing, An Yi grabbed her arm and rushed out of the brothel with her.
"Damn it!" Upon seeing this, Bei Hu's men rushed forward to try and stop them.
But the moment Su An was rescued, the other guards appeared from all corners like ghosts.
Dressed in identical black outfits, they moved in perfect unison, their coordinated movements creating a path for the two with overwhelming force.
Having successfully broken through the encirclement, Su An gasped for breath, looking at An Yi with a tearful expression of gratitude: "I didn't expect it to be you, Brother An, who came to save me. You don't hate me anymore?"
An Yi used to avoid her like the plague!
An Yi raised his head slightly and snorted softly, "I was only acting on my master's orders to save people, you don't need to thank me."
After saying that, he stood guard nearby, keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings.
Meanwhile, Zhan Beiluan was startled to see Su An being rescued, and his movements slowed down slightly as he became distracted.
Fu Zhun's lips curled into a cold smile; this was exactly the moment he had been waiting for.
No longer pretending, he suddenly unleashed a powerful burst of energy from his longsword, slashing it with a sharp whistling sound as it clashed violently with Zhan Beiluan's scimitar, producing a deafening roar.
This time, Zhan Beiluan was so shocked that he was forced to take several steps back.
While he was still in a daze, Fu Zhun's sword was suddenly pressed against his forehead, his phoenix eyes flashing with sarcasm: "Do you think you can do whatever you want in the Great Chu? You actually came here to die."
"This farce should end now. Take them all away for questioning."
After speaking, he waved his hand, and the soldiers around him quickly stepped forward and tied Zhan Beiluan up.
Zhan Beiluan gritted his teeth. Even though he was restrained, his face was still full of arrogance and disdain as he stared at Fu Zhun.
"I admit defeat this time, but don't get cocky. If you dare to hurt me, then Great Chu should prepare to face the wrath of the Northern Hu."
Fu Zhun narrowed his eyes, ignored him, and pushed his wheelchair toward Su An.
When he got close, his dark eyes softened. "I'm sorry you suffered. How did you end up running into the Northern Hu prince?"
Mentioning this matter reminded Su An of the hardships she had endured these past few days, and her lips trembled as two lines of bitter tears welled up in her eyes.
"It's Xia Yuandao! He's also a subject of the Northern Hu, a treacherous spy who's been killed a thousand times!"
She revealed everything she knew, making him furious. Upon hearing this, Fu Zhun's aura turned icy cold.
"Go to the inn and rest first. Let Xie Qingfeng check it out. I want to interrogate those two rats myself."
Su An nodded worriedly. If it weren't for the lingering effects of being starved for several days, she would have at least interrogated Xia Yuandao a few times.
The two were temporarily detained in the Jinzhou dungeon.
When Fu Zhun arrived, his soldiers had already interrogated Zhan Beiluan thoroughly.
As expected, Zhan Beiluan made no move and even swaggered around without any fear.
Upon hearing the general's report, Fu Zhun pursed his thin lips and said in a deep voice, "Keep him locked up for now. Without my order, no one is allowed to torture him."
The safety of the second prince is a matter of concern between the two countries, and it cannot be touched now.
But the others were different.
In the interrogation room, Xia Yuandao was dragged out like a dead dog and slammed to the ground.
But after stumbling, he stood up straight with great pride and self-confidence.
Fu Zhun sat in the presiding judge's seat, a cold glint flashing in his eyes under the dim candlelight: "Oh? Not afraid of death?"
"Your Highness has quite the nerve. You want to sentence me to death before you've even investigated the matter. You must have been misled by that woman Su An's slander, right?" Xia Yuandao looked directly at Fu Zhun with a smile, seemingly utterly fearless.
"To be honest, Your Highness, according to my investigation, the real spy is Su An. She was sent by the Northern Hu to deliberately get close to you in order to obtain the secrets of the Great Chu."
"After discovering Su An's conspiracy, I kept tracking her. I saw her having a secret meeting with the Second Prince of Bei Hu in a brothel, so I took action to capture her. But I never expected that the Prince would suddenly appear and ruin my plan, and even let the sinner Su An go."
Xia Yuandao smiled insincerely, his calm and self-assured reversal of right and wrong revealing his considerable confidence.
This sight made Fu Zhun laugh in anger, his voice radiating a chilling coldness as he said, "Lord Xia's ability to fabricate things out of thin air is indeed impressive, but why not produce some evidence?"
"For example, you abducted a woman named Su An and secretly met with the second prince of the Northern Hu. In full view of the public and with hundreds of witnesses, you are guilty of treason and should be executed by being torn apart by chariots."
"Confess your purpose honestly, and I may grant you a whole corpse!"
Facing the cold, sharp gaze that Fu Zhun cast, Xia Yuandao became even more smug.
"Everything I said is the truth, but the Prince is bewitched by Su An and insists on distorting the facts. However, I have already informed His Majesty of this matter, and the palace envoy will arrive soon. At that time, it will no longer be up to the Prince to decide!"
Upon hearing this, Fu Zhun paused, the coldness in his eyes seeming to freeze the surrounding air.
"I see. That's why you're so fearless."
The court officials all knew that the emperor regarded him as a thorn in his side and wished he could get rid of him as soon as possible. Xia Yuandao's move was undoubtedly giving the emperor a sharp blade to stab him.
The emperor, however, doesn't care about the truth; all he needs is a pretext to take action against him.
Thinking about it, Fu Zhun's lips curled into a thin, cool smile. His dark eyes swept over Xia Yuandao, but he did not respond to her words.
He simply pushed the wheelchair forward slowly.
"Kneel down before the prince!" A soldier kicked Xia Yuandao to his knees.
Xia Yuandao's face twisted slightly, and a sense of panic inexplicably rose in his heart: "The palace has taken over this case. Does Your Highness intend to defy the Emperor's will and resort to private punishment?"
“Penalty? Not at all.” Fu Zhun chuckled softly: “After the spy Xia Yuandao was captured, he refused to confess. Enraged, he suddenly attacked me in prison, intending to rebel.”
"I will now take your life, in accordance with the laws of nature."
"Wh-what?!" Xia Yuandao couldn't believe what he was hearing, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"You dare to fabricate charges to slander me!"
"Without evidence, even if you are a prince, you cannot cover up the truth! People from the palace will be arriving in Jinzhou soon. Do you think you can escape if you make a move!"
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