The few people kneeling on the ground looked at each other, but no one answered.
The Prince of Pingyang was not in a hurry. He stroked his jade thumb ring, as if trying to polish it to a rich patina.
After a good while, Wang Wu finally spoke up cautiously.
"Your Highness, it's not that we don't want to say, it's just that we truly don't know."
"Originally, we were just running errands for the Estate Manager."
"The Estate Manager treated Advisor Jia and Wang Er the best. Originally Wang Er knew, but now he is dead."
The corners of the Prince of Pingyang's lips curled into a smile.
"Oh, so what you mean is, the people who knew are already dead."
"And the rest of you are all in the dark?"
Wang Wu and the others nodded vigorously.
"Very well. Ling Feng, since keeping them is of no use, dispose of them!"
The smile on the Prince of Pingyang's face vanished.
With a wave of Ling Feng's hand, several guards placed their blades against the men's necks.
The men kowtowed desperately and begged for mercy, but still, no one stepped forward to confess.
The Prince of Pingyang glanced at Ling Feng, and Ling Feng nodded to one of the guards.
The guard raised his blade and brought it down, severing the man's head from his neck.
The head rolled far away before the body finally collapsed, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The people beside him trembled in terror.
"Still not talking? If you don't confess, I will kill one person every time it takes to finish a cup of tea!"
Ling Feng kept a stern face, glaring at each of them.
"Spare our lives, Your Highness, we truly don't know!"
"Spare us, Your Highness!"
"Spare us, Your Highness!"
One person begged for mercy, and the others followed suit.
Even though they knew their chances were slim.
They had thrown their weight around and oppressed the commoners alongside the Estate Manager.
The Estate Manager was dead, Wang Er was dead, and Advisor Jia was in the county magistrate's office, surely facing a similar fate.
Their own ending would undoubtedly be the same.
"Your Highness, you can have someone go ask Advisor Jia! He definitely knows," Wang Wu pleaded.
The Prince of Pingyang remained silent, stroking the jade thumb ring on his hand.
The Estate Manager was able to smuggle these materials back and forge them into weapons.
As the Estate Manager's running dogs, they claim they don't know?
Seeing that the time for a cup of tea had passed, Ling Feng looked at another guard.
The guard raised his broadsword, and the man under the blade instantly wet himself in terror.
The stench of urine drifted through the air.
The guard's blade slanted and missed its mark.
The man saw the blade fall right in front of his face.
Thinking his head had been severed, he closed his eyes and fainted from the fright.
The others, seeing him fall to the ground, thought he was dead too.
A man next to Wang Wu immediately cried out.
"I'll confess! I'll confess! I know where it is!"
The Prince of Pingyang's hand, which had been stroking the jade thumb ring, paused.
"Ling Feng, take two men and follow him!"
"Yes, sir!"
Ling Feng hauled the man up from the ground and, along with another guard, escorted him away.
The Prince of Pingyang called over a guard and gave a few whispered instructions.
The guard nodded, walked over to Wang Wu, and began searching him.
After searching Wang Wu, he moved on to search the next person.
Once everyone had been searched, he had someone bring ropes and tied them all together in a line.
Then, leading a few guards, he escorted these men into the courtyard.
The remaining guards took the initiative to drag away the corpse on the ground and tidy up the area.
The Prince of Pingyang wheeled his chair into the courtyard.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang and Duoduo got into the carriage. The Princess Consort gently stroked Duoduo's face.
"Good child, those people were bad men. Your father is enacting justice on behalf of heaven, so don't be afraid."
Duoduo smiled and nodded.
"Mother, I'm not afraid."
"They are all bad people and deserve to be killed! Father did nothing wrong!"
The Princess Consort was still somewhat worried; Duoduo was so young and surely had never seen a dead person before.
She remembered that the first time she saw someone die in front of her, she had nightmares for days and nights.
What the Princess Consort didn't know was that this was not the first time Duoduo had seen someone die in front of her.
The very first time she truly witnessed death was back in the Song Manor.
Since she was little, Duoduo had been thrown into a dilapidated courtyard, left to survive on her own.
There was a kind-hearted rough-work maid in the manor who would always sneak things over to her.
Sometimes, it was leftover steamed buns;
Sometimes, a piping hot roasted sweet potato;
And sometimes, pastries rewarded by the masters above.
Once, the maid ran over happily with a piece of pastry.
She said she had done her work well, so the Old Madam rewarded her with a pastry.
At that time, Lüdou divided the pastry into three portions.
Because Duoduo was not even a year old then, Lüdou was worried she might choke, so she went to pour some water to soften the pastry for her.
The maid, looking at the pastry she had never seen before, felt a bit greedy.
She broke off a small piece, popped it into her mouth, and smiled, saying she would taste it first to see if it was good.
With the pastry in her mouth, the maid nodded at Duoduo, "Second Miss, the pastry is very delicious."
The next second, the maid collapsed to the ground, bleeding from her seven orifices, and died.
Duoduo was so terrified that she froze.
By the time Lüdou returned with the softened pastry, she saw a stunned Duoduo and the dead maid lying on the ground.
The bowl in Lüdou's hands slipped to the ground, shattering into pieces.
The sound of the breaking bowl was what finally jolted Duoduo awake.
Duoduo opened her mouth to cry, but Lüdou was quick to cover her mouth.
Later, Lüdou buried the maid under the corner of the courtyard wall.
Because of this, Duoduo fell ill.
Whenever she closed her eyes, she would see the maid vomiting blood while smiling and saying, "The pastry is really delicious!"
Duoduo was sick for over a month. Just when Lüdou thought she wouldn't survive, Duoduo recovered.
She was like the little grass in the corner of the wall; having weathered the frost and wind, she regained her vitality.
Seeing the concern on the Princess Consort's face, Duoduo raised her arms and hugged her.
"Mother, I'm not afraid!"
The Princess Consort gently patted Duoduo's back, looking out at the lush green crops.
"Actually, it's quite nice here. Green hills and clear waters, very suitable for living."
Duoduo's eyes darted around.
"Mother, why don't we move here to live!"
"There are mountains to climb here, and places to fly kites!"
The Princess Consort smiled.
"Then what about our home?"
Duoduo hesitated for a moment, then revealed a bright smile.
"Then we can take turns living in both places."
"Greedy little thing!" The Princess Consort tapped Duoduo's little nose.
Duoduo wrinkled her nose playfully and giggled.
At this moment, a guard's voice came from outside.
"Princess Consort, His Highness asks that you bring the Princess into the manor."
The Princess Consort lifted the carriage curtain, only then noticing that the ground at the manor's entrance had been cleaned up completely.
"Let's go."
The Princess Consort led Duoduo out of the carriage.
The two walked into the flower hall, where the Prince of Pingyang was sitting in his wheelchair, deep in thought.
"Your Highness!" The Princess Consort walked over.
The Prince of Pingyang snapped out of his daze and looked at the mother and daughter.
"I still have some matters to attend to. I've already had the guards tidy up the backyard."
"In a while, you two go rest in the backyard. We will likely be staying here for a few days."
Duoduo's eyes lit up.
