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"Don't worry, I'll do my best as long as it doesn't harm anyone's interests." Zi Yuan glanced at Song Zhimin. "You go back first. I'll come find you if anything comes up."
“We’ve captured someone from Gaoyun Pavilion, but unfortunately, he’s very tight-lipped and we can’t get anything out of him. Ah Jin told me that you’re very good at this, so we’d like to trouble you, Ziyuan Niangzi, for a favor.”
Ziyuan nodded upon hearing this, "Don't worry, I've suffered a lot at Gaoyun Pavilion, and there are some things I need to settle."
"Zhou Cong, take Lady Ziyuan to the prison to see that person. Remember to protect Lady Ziyuan's safety. If anything happens, I will hold you responsible."
Wei Shu nodded to Zhou Cong. Because she was looking down and fiddling with her skirt, Zi Yuan didn't see the exchange of glances between them.
"When can I meet that stubborn person?" Zi Yuan pinched the silver needle in her sleeve, her eyes brimming with impatience.
“Anytime is fine.” Wei Shu spread his hands, and Zhou Cong walked to Zi Yuan's side and gestured for her to proceed.
"General Wei, rest assured, I will make him vomit it all out." Zi Yuan glanced arrogantly at Wei Shu standing beside him.
"Why do I get the feeling that you're quite hostile towards my general?" Zhou Cong asked, observing Zi Yuan's earlier actions.
“That means you’re mistaken.” Zi Yuan pulled out a small knife from the window and looked at Zhou Cong. “Do you know what this is?”
"A knife?" But Zhou Cong looked closely at the knife in Zi Yuan's hand and it seemed different from the ones he usually saw; it was thinner than a regular knife.
"It's a knife, but it's not a knife. This thing is very thin, so it can easily peel off your skin but won't make you bleed to death." Zi Yuan patted Zhou Cong's cheek with the knife. "Don't move around. If I accidentally hurt you, I won't be able to explain it to General Wei."
"Ziyuan, you really know how to joke!" Zhou Cong carefully took a few steps back. "Your method may not work. That person's mouth is like a clam shell. We tried a lot but couldn't pry it open."
"That only proves your incompetence." Zi Yuan rolled her eyes at Zhou Cong as she put away her precious little knife. "I have more than one method. You'd better lead the way, or I'll take my anger out on you!"
When Zi Yuan thought about how she had carelessly fallen into Gao Yunge's trap, how she had caused Jiang Jin to have to bow down to Song Zhimin, and how she owed Wei Shu a huge favor, she felt like she could skin the people from Gao Yunge alive.
"No, I'll take you there right now!" Zhou Cong rushed forward, hoping Zi Yuan would give in and stop him, but to his surprise, she still followed him closely. In no time, they arrived at the prison.
"Open the door!" Zhou Cong frowned as he glanced at the man who was tightly bound. "Are you trying to starve to death by not eating or drinking?"
"Get out of the way." Zi Yuan shoved Zhou Cong aside and looked at the man in front of her who was neither human nor ghost. She sneered, "Don't worry, I won't let you die so easily."
Zi Yuan took out a silver needle covered in barbs from her sleeve and stabbed it hard into the man's left fingertip. "I'm not a vicious person, but when I'm vicious, I'm not human."
Zi Yuan slowly and deliberately removed the silver needles. The man glared at her, his eyes bloodshot, and spat at her. "You don't think I'd kill you in a fit of anger, do you?"
Zi Yuan abruptly pulled out the silver needle. "You'd better obediently spill everything you know, or I have a lot more interesting things waiting for you." Zi Yuan slowly traced the silver needle along the man's forehead, eyes, and down to his nose.
"Don't you think it would be funny if I sewed your nose back up?" Zi Yuan smiled brightly. Standing behind her, Zhou Cong silently took a step back, touched his perfectly intact nose, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"You insane bastard!" The sound of chains scraping echoed through the prison. The man, his jaw dislocated, could only utter indistinct words. Zi Yuan, however, returned the man's greeting as if listening to celestial music—a blood-red hairpin appeared in her hand. Zi Yuan gently pressed the hairpin, and it jingled. Then, a silver needle as thin as a hair appeared in everyone's sight.
"Don't worry, I won't let you die." Zi Yuan pinched the silver needle and sharply stabbed it into the man's temple. In less than a second, the man's entire body changed color.
"Are you feeling unwell? This is just the beginning." Zi Yuan turned around and looked at Zhou Cong's wide eyes, saying, "Bring me a chair. I'm tired of standing."
The Imperial Guards looked around, and finally Zhou Cong nodded. Immediately, they transformed into birds and beasts and scattered. Soon, chairs, tea tables, and snacks were brought over.
"Please enjoy your meal, madam." Zhou Cong closed his eyes helplessly at the obsequious manner of the Imperial Guards.
"Young Master Zhou, your subordinates are far more perceptive than you are," Zi Yuan said with a smile, taking a bite of her pastry and looking at Zhou Cong, who had sat down beside her.
"What's wrong with him?" Zhou Cong looked at the man in front of her whose lips were turning purple, then glanced at Zi Yuan beside her, who was nonchalantly eating snacks. A sense of helplessness welled up in his heart.
“It’s obvious, I poisoned him!” Zi Yuan rolled her eyes at Zhou Cong. “This kind of poison goes deep into the bone marrow. He will feel very cold, then very hot, and finally suffer excruciating pain all over his body as if a hundred insects are gnawing at him.”
"You'll kill him if you do that!" Zhou Cong stood up and tried to touch the man, but Zi Yuan pulled him back, preventing him from going forward. "He's covered in poison right now. If you touch him, you'll get poisoned too. I won't give you an antidote."
"The general sent you here to interrogate, not to kill!" Zhou Cong was getting angry as he watched Zi Yuan's actions become increasingly erratic.
"Murder?" Zi Yuan narrowed her eyes and released Zhou Cong's hand. "Please, you are not worthy to see me kill someone."
Ziyuan sat back down in her chair, watching the man grit his teeth and refuse to say a word. "Why are you still unwilling to confess? It's okay, I have plenty of time to play with you."
"You!" The man glared at Zi Yuan with bloodshot eyes. He could feel his body slowly warming up, and the biting chill was fading.
“If you confess the truth, I can give you an antidote.” Zi Yuan pinched the pastry and slowly crushed it into powder. “But if you are stubborn, I don’t mind sending you to hell.”
"Dream on!" The man's wailing reached everyone's ears, but only Zi Yuan tapped her fingers on the table, creating a melody that accompanied the wailing.
"Don't you have lunch?" Zi Yuan glanced at the Imperial Guards behind her, then kicked Zhou Cong, who had his back to her.
"You can have lunch when you get him to confess!" Zhou Cong's voice was tinged with anger.
"Gentlemen, I have something to say to your Lord Zhou. Could you please excuse me for a moment?" Zi Yuan's smile held a hint of terror, and the crowd quickly turned and walked away, afraid to look back lest they hear or see something horrifying.
"What are you doing?" Just as Zhou Cong was about to turn around, the familiar small knife was pressed against the back of his neck.
“Young Master Zhou, Wei Shu sent you to protect me, not to command me. What I do is none of your business. Giving you face doesn't mean I condone your actions.” Zi Yuan tapped Zhou Cong’s nape with the tip of her knife.
"Alright, I've said what I needed to say. Please make yourself at home, Mr. Zhou." Zi Yuan released Zhou Cong, who had just put away his knife. A gust of wind swept in, and Zi Yuan instinctively reached out, but Zhou Cong pressed her against the wall, rendering her unable to move.
"What are you going to do?" Zi Yuan asked, looking at Zhou Cong's hand pressing on her shoulder.
"You threatened me, so I'll threaten you back. That's a clean break, and we're even."
Zhou Cong restrained Zi Yuan's hands, rendering her immobile. "While I may not possess a delicate, paper-thin dagger, I do have a deadly blade. My lady Zi Yuan, please do not threaten me lightly." Zhou Cong and Zi Yuan faced off silently in the prison cell.
"Ahem!" A cough interrupted the tense standoff between the two. "Ziyuan, did you get any information?" Jiang Jin stood outside carrying a food box, while Wei Shu stood behind her like a guard.
"Not yet." Zi Yuan stepped on Zhou Cong's foot to break free from his grasp and quickly ran to Jiang Jin's side.
"Ah Jin, I knew you would bring me lunch!" Zi Yuan took the food box from Jiang Jin's hand. "This person is tough, but my methods are even more ruthless."
"Poisoned?" Jiang Jin knew at a glance that Zi Yuan had used Zhai Wan's poison.
"Yes, but don't worry, I have plenty of other ways. I'll squeeze every last bit out of him!" Ziyuan placed the food box on the table, and the rich aroma of the dishes wafted out.
"Golden threadfin bream and braised pork!" Zi Yuan's eyes lit up with surprise as she looked at Jiang Jin. "Did you make this especially for me, A Jin?"
"You can tell my cooking skills before you've even tasted it?" Jiang Jin set the table for Zi Yuan. "Try it and see if my skills have gotten worse."
"Ah Jin's cooking skills are still excellent, and they're getting better and better!" Zi Yuan smiled contentedly after taking a bite of the fish.
"You!" The man's voice beside her interrupted Zi Yuan's appetite. "Tsk, you really are disgusting!"
Ziyuan took out a pill from her waist and put it into the man's mouth. "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll help you detoxify. While I'm eating, you can think carefully about whether you want to vomit something."
"Do you have the antidote?" Zhou Cong asked, looking at the man who had immediately quieted down.
"Of course, I have an antidote for the poison I used. If I didn't have an antidote, wouldn't that just mean he'd die?" Zi Yuan looked at Zhou Cong as if he were an idiot.
"So you're saying you won't give me an antidote, and that's just what you meant?" Zhou Cong silently walked to Wei Shu's side.
“I have already warned you that he is covered in poison. If you still dare to touch him despite your fear of death, then I can assume that you are simply courting death and there is no need to waste my antidote.”
Ziyuan chewed on the roasted pork and looked at Zhou Cong with a smile. "Don't worry, he won't be poisoned since you didn't touch him."
"Ziyuan, don't bully Zhou Cong anymore." Jiang Jin smiled at Zhou Cong. "Wei Shu knows you haven't eaten, so he brought lunch over. Zhou Cong, come and eat too."
"I appreciate your kindness, Madam, but I'm afraid that if I compete with Lady Ziyuan for vegetables, she might poison me." Zhou Cong glanced at the impatience flashing in Ziyuan's eyes and quickly shook his head.
"Ah Jin, it's no big deal for him to miss a meal, but I can't afford to, I still need to grow!" Zi Yuan looked at Zhou Cong with satisfaction. If he dared to take food from her, she would give him laxatives.
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