Chapter 163 A Bet on Stance
“I simply cannot believe it.” Bai Su remained resolute, even determined. “They say you were originally a sickly prince, often bedridden and rarely seen, but this time you suddenly risked your life. You must have some ulterior motive. How could it be for the people of the Southern Border? Oh…right, you wanted some kind of ‘amnesty’ and came to negotiate with the King. Heh, a prince like you can certainly negotiate, but we poor commoners can’t.”
After saying that, he turned and walked straight towards the door.
"I am a woman." Mu Xi had no other choice but to utter these four words.
Bai Su's hands, which were already on the door bolt, froze, but he immediately turned around and spat: "Pah, what's wrong with women? Not everyone can be one. People like you are not even worthy of pretending."
"I really am a woman." Mu Xi took a great risk in revealing this biggest secret.
Pian Baisu didn't believe it: "Your Highness, you should be careful and not cause any more trouble. My patience is also limited."
"Hey... what? What about me doesn't look like a woman? Am I not as pretty as you?" Mu Xi was speechless. She touched her cheek. Although she couldn't be considered a top beauty, if she dressed up, she would be a hundred times prettier than most women.
Bai Su went to pull the door open again.
Mu Xi had no other choice but to step forward and block the doorway: "It's true. Do you want me to take off my clothes to prove it to you?"
"You..." Bai Su was stunned.
Mu Xi began to loosen her collar, muttering, "Your brain is really... I've already admitted it myself, and besides, I'm dressed entirely in women's clothing today, don't you even suspect anything? If this were in Moyang, I would never dare to do this, even if you beat me to death."
Bai Su stared in disbelief as Mu Xi unbuttoned his outer robe, inner robe, and middle garment one by one.
“This is a fake human skin…” Mu Xi couldn’t think of a good name for it, but she picked up Bai Su’s hand and said, “You can poke it. It’s fake. There are still seams connecting it here. I haven’t taken it off for the past few days. It’s so itchy that I’ve developed a rash.”
Bai Su was stunned as Ren Muxi poked her chest with her finger, still unable to react.
Now that Mu Xi had revealed his true identity, there was no need to worry. He pulled the dazed Bai Su back into the house, pressed him into a chair, and went to the bedside to take off his outer robe, then simply took off the imitation human skin underneath.
She would have changed this item at least once every night before, but she didn't dare to because she had been kidnapped these past few days.
Mu Xi turned around and changed back into the ordinary "corset," then put on her men's clothes one by one: "Hey, are you going to give me a reaction?"
Bai Su stared blankly at Mu Xi's entire sequence of movements, unable to move an inch.
"You're not so shocked that you've lost your mind, are you?" Mu Xi stepped forward and poked Bai Su's forehead.
Bai Su suddenly slapped his forehead repeatedly, managing to blurt out, "Could I have arrested the wrong person?"
"You..." At this point, Mu Xi was so angry she was about to explode. "If you didn't already know my secret, I would have already taken back my proposal to cooperate."
Bai Su rubbed his square face vigorously until it turned bright red: "But...but...why? Why did you..."
"Why am I, the dignified heir of the Jin Fang clan, a woman?" Mu Xi had no choice but to cut to the chase, omitting some crucial details, and recount the whole story. She concluded by adding, "This is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family. I did have a personal motive for coming to the Southern Border; I wanted a pardon from the Prince of Yu so I could rightfully regain my identity. I've told you everything, so you must keep this a secret. However, as things stand, if you don't keep it a secret, there's nothing I can do. If that happens, I can only say that I will haunt you for all eternity."
Mu Xi was gambling, but not on Bai Su's character; she was gambling on their shared stance as women.
Bai Su listened in a daze, his brain "crashing" for a long time before struggling to restart. Finally, he suddenly knelt down before Mu Xi with a "thud": "Your Highness... Your Highness... I... I..."
Seeing that Bai Su was about to burst into tears, Mu Xi went up and covered his mouth, saying, "Keep your voice down. Are you trying to sell me right now?"
Bai Su's heart was churning with emotions, and he didn't know what to do. He could only gasp for breath: "I...I, Bai Su, swear to the Seven Gods, to Goddess Yi Guang, and to the heavens...If I reveal this secret, may I be struck by lightning and never be reincarnated. Your Highness...Your Highness...Your Highness Jin Fang is actually...We are saved...As long as Your Highness is willing to save the Zhennan Army, whose entire army is loyal and devoted, I, Bai Su, am willing to go through fire and water for Your Highness from this day forward without batting an eye."
"There's no need to make such a solemn vow." Mu Xi pulled Bai Su up, feeling relieved.
Bai Su remained kneeling on the ground, refusing to rise: "Your Highness, you don't know how much resolve our brothers had when we took this action. It was a matter of abandoning our families and even risking our lives. To this day, those soldiers who are kept in the dark still don't know what's going on, but we can't keep it a secret for much longer. As for us, the masterminds behind this, we're not afraid of anything else, we're only afraid that if things don't go well, we'll implicate them instead..."
Mu Xi was confused and could only roughly understand what was going on.
It appears that Bai Su, in collusion with some of Dai Rong's key subordinates who disdained the behavior of their superior, conspired to place Dai Rong under house arrest and seize military power, but the ordinary soldiers below were unaware of this.
Their original plan was to preserve their strength and act according to circumstances, but by not directly confronting the pirates, the ordinary soldiers were probably dissatisfied and had already begun to harbor doubts and suspicions.
"I understand. You can get up and we can talk about it later. There are still many things to discuss." Although Bai Su was a head shorter than Mu Xi, he was big enough to fit two of her, and Mu Xi couldn't move him no matter how hard she tried.
Bai Su was a man of strong character with a military background. Once he trusted someone, he would not hesitate to kowtow. He kowtowed three more times before standing up and said, "It's good that the young master has this selfish intention... It's good that he has this selfish intention, as it is our turning point."
Mu Xi plopped back into her chair and finally got back to the point: "Your matter is simple in a way; it's just a matter of making up a reason. With General Bai's abilities, eliminating the pirates shouldn't be a problem."
"Of course, that's not a problem." Bai Su said without hesitation.
"Then there are only two important things left," Mu Xi thought to herself. "The first is to rescue Zhu Mingjun Mu Cong."
"Your Highness wants to save him?" Bai Su clearly didn't want to.
Mu Xi spoke frankly: "If you are unwilling to save her, I am unwilling to save him, and I even suspect that the King himself may not be willing to save him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left out the military pledge made in the Heavenly Emperor's Palace and the decree to pacify the South. Ten thousand shi of grain—it's better to help the common people than to redeem a person from two different families."
Bai Su didn't understand: "Since no one is willing to save him, why does the young master need to...?"
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