Jiang Dongsheng, the Governor of Jingzhao Prefecture, was woken up in the middle of the night. When he saw the two people who had been brought in, his face drastically changed color.
"Greetings to County Princess Linghui. This humble official pays his respects to Commander Fan."
Song Jinzhao said, "I was ambushed by so many assassins right after leaving the palace. I am afraid I cannot be at peace."
Cold sweat poured down Jiang Dongsheng's face.
"It is this humble official's dereliction of duty. I beg the County Princess for forgiveness."
"Men, lock these three survivors in the cells immediately. I will interrogate them overnight and root out the mastermind."
Inside the gloomy prison, the sleeping inmates were awakened by a sudden commotion.
The heavy main door slammed open, crashing against the wall and shaking the room.
Watching the yamen runners drag in three men, one of whom had an upper body that was mangled beyond recognition, two prisoners near the corridor felt sick to their stomachs and threw up on the spot.
"There is a woman too."
"Are you stupid? With that kind of attire, she is obviously not a prisoner."
Looking at Song Jinzhao as she walked in, many people huddled together and whispered.
She wore a yellow dress with narrowed cuffs and a hem that did not drag on the floor. The style was simple, but the embroidered patterns on it were exquisite.
Especially the center of the flowers, which were adorned with thumb-sized pearls.
Her brows carried an aloofness that looked down upon the world. Her fleeting glance swept over them, making them shudder with fear and subconsciously lower their heads, not daring to look again.
Even though Song Jinzhao had just killed more than a dozen people, not a single drop of blood stained her body. Even the tops of her embroidered shoes were perfectly clean.
The three men were tied to wooden crosses.
A basin of cold water was splashed onto them. The assassin who had endured the slicing torture woke up. The glaring firelight forced him to open his eyes and then squeeze them shut again.
On two smooth mahogany chairs, Song Jinzhao and Fan Guanshan sat with calm expressions, watching the Governor conduct the interrogation.
Scorching flames, agonizing screams, the increasingly heavy stench of blood hitting their noses, and fingernails falling to the ground one after another.
Fan Guanshan turned his head to look at Song Jinzhao. "Is the County Princess not going to handle this personally?"
Song Jinzhao crossed her legs and smiled faintly.
"I have already sent my maid back to the manor to fetch my interrogation tools. Let the Governor loosen their bones and muscles first."
He had not spoken even after being tortured like that just now. The mouths of these death-sworn soldiers were indeed very tight; they needed some different methods.
Fan Guanshan scanned the hundreds of torture tools in the prison cell. Were these still not enough?
The three men fainted and woke up, woke up and fainted again, but their mouths remained shut tight like mutes, not saying a single word.
At his wits' end, Jiang Dongsheng looked at Song Jinzhao.
"County Princess, should we take a break? If this continues, they will die."
Song Jinzhao said, "Dragging this out until tomorrow brings too many variables. Who knows if someone might try to break them out of prison? We must get the answers tonight."
"Sister." A yamen runner pushed the door open, and Song Qiming walked in holding a box.
His gaze swept over the three men tied to the wooden frames, and he frowned slightly.
"This humble official pays respects to Commander Fan and Lord Jiang."
Jiang Dongsheng hurriedly said, "Lord Song, there is no need for such formalities."
Fan Guanshan gave him a slight nod.
Song Qiming placed the wooden box on the table, then pulled a porcelain bottle from his sleeve and handed it to Song Jinzhao.
"Qingshuang has already gone to the slaughterhouse. It is not open in the middle of the night, so she will come over a bit later."
Song Jinzhao unplugged the porcelain bottle and poured out three black pills.
"That is fine. Let us start with a little appetizer. Perhaps we will not even need her."
After forcing the three pills down their throats, Song Jinzhao opened the lid of the wooden box. Using a pair of tweezers, she placed three centipedes on the foreheads of the three men.
As the two-finger-long centipedes crawled into the assassins' mouths, the yamen runner holding the branding iron could not hold it back and ran outside to vomit on the spot.
Governor Jiang Dongsheng pressed his lips tightly together, forcing himself to endure it.
Fan Guanshan's fingers, which were resting on the chair, subconsciously curled up. His thick eyebrows knitted into a deep frown.
"The County Princess's interrogation methods are truly unique."
Song Jinzhao looked appreciatively at the three men's disgusted, terrified, and agonizing struggles.
"I have used this method before. Those thug enforcers who tried to kill my brother spilled everything in half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. I just wonder how long these death-sworn soldiers can hold out."
Fan Guanshan thought of how Song Jinzhao had pretended to be afraid to get him to escort her, and he could not help but swallow hard.
Fortunately, not all women in the world were like this, otherwise he really would be a little terrified.
The saying that a woman's heart is the most poisonous was indeed true. She was incredibly fickle.
He cast a glance at Song Qiming, who stood to the side without changing his expression. To be this accustomed to it at fourteen years old, he had probably experienced quite a lot.
In the future, he absolutely could not afford to provoke this County Princess Linghui in the slightest.
The itching in their throats, the pain in their chests, the tightening of their intestines, immense terror hovered over the heads of the three men.
They screamed until their voices went hoarse. Finally, two of the assassins could not bear it anymore and burst into tears.
"I will talk! I will talk! Please let me go, please take it out!"
Song Jinzhao used the tip of a knife to slowly trace across one of the men's stomachs.
"Speak. Who is the mastermind?"
The centipede gnawing inside his stomach seemed to jump and bite along with the movement, terrifying him into full-body convulsions. It felt as if his soul was floating out of his body.
"It is Prince Qi. Prince Qi sent us to kill you." Tears mixed with blood and saliva flowed down his face, his features contorted in sheer agony.
In the prison cell, Jiang Dongsheng's expression drastically changed, and he looked at the assassin in horror.
Fan Guanshan's frown deepened even further.
It was actually Prince Qi. Why would he want to kill County Princess Linghui?
Song Qiming's hands, hanging by his sides, clenched into tight fists. The veins on the back of his hands bulged, and his eyes revealed a surge of murderous intent.
His teacher was right indeed; neither of the two princes in the court was any good.
Since Prince Qi dared to send people to assassinate his eldest sister, he absolutely could not be allowed to ascend the throne. Moreover, he had to die.
Song Jinzhao continued to ask, "Why did he want to kill me?"
The assassin stared in terror at a centipede crawling out of his nostril, his entire body drained of strength.
"The one responsible for passing the orders was Cen Yue, who is by the Prince's side. He told us to lie in ambush in the alley at the second watch, but he did not say anything else."
