Confession

  Confession

  "Queen."

  In the study, Ye Li put down the chess piece in her hand and looked up at Qin Feng standing by the door. "What's wrong?" Qin Feng said, "The assassin has been caught." Mo Hua, sitting opposite Ye Li, lit up his eyes and also put down his chess piece, staring intently at Qin Feng. Qin Feng smiled, "The princess's method is indeed effective. Yesterday afternoon, some of the assassins couldn't hold on and were caught, but the leader of the assassins was only caught now." Ye Li nodded in satisfaction, putting away the chess pieces and board while saying, "Bring him over, and bring the confessions of these people too." Qin Feng nodded and left.

  Before long, a man with a haggard face was escorted in by two guards, one on either side. Just looking at the crimson blood vessels in his eyes and his vigilant gaze fixed on Ye Lian, it could be seen that this person had reached his limit. After several days and nights of not eating, drinking or sleeping, he was extremely weak both physically and mentally. Even if she were to release him, he would immediately collapse and fall asleep outside the gates of Dingguo King's mansion.

  With a smile, Ye Li looked at the man who was being held down on the ground and said: "It's been a few days since we last met, are you still doing well?" The man's scarlet eyes seemed to be about to spew out fire as he stared at the woman in front of him. Ye Li didn't mind, playing with the jade bangle on her wrist, she sighed softly and said: "You don't have to look at me like that, I'm also forced to use this method to deal with you all. My king is not here, and so many of you bullying a weak woman like me isn't exactly fair and square, is it?"

  The man was already dispirited, but he could still muster up the spirit to glare at Ye Li, which was enough to show that he was resilient. Unfortunately, it had no effect on Ye Li, and soon he subsided, asking in a hoarse voice: "What do you want?" Ye Li slowly wiped away her smile, and said seriously: "Tell me who is behind the scenes."

  "I've already said."

  Ye Li sneered and casually threw the confession on the table, laughing: "As for fabricating confessions, you're probably not even a master. Zhuo Jing..."

  An nodded three times and said: "Understood, double the courses on interrogation and intelligence analysis."

  Ye Li nodded in satisfaction, glanced at the man on the ground and said, "You still don't want to talk? Then let's continue back to rest. Don't worry, I won't take your life. Let him rest for an hour before re-interrogation." After hearing Ye Li's words, the man's face finally changed. Qin Feng frowned and asked, "Letting him rest enough and then starting again, will it affect the effect?" Ye Li smiled and said, "One hour, don't worry, I believe that after a brief rest, this guy should be more able to appreciate the wonders of this interrogation."

  "No," the man said with a pale face...

  Ye Li said: "Alright, who sent you. Don't tell me it's someone from the palace again, although you just arrived but those few under your command aren't completely clueless either. The leader of Ye Sha, the third-ranked assassin organization in the Jianghu? Hmm?" The man's face changed, looking somewhat weak as he gazed at Ye Li and said in a low voice: "The princess is indeed all-knowing." Ye Li smiled, taking it as his flattering response, raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Answer?"

  The man said: "I don't know who the other person is either, but judging from his appearance and accent, he seems to be a Western Hills person."

  Ye Li thought for a moment and asked: "Is he still in contact with you somewhere?"

  The man said: "Night killing in the south, is near... Yongzhou. When the other party came to find us, King Ding had not left Beijing, so we did not plan to take this business. But the other party solemnly stated that at most one month, King Ding would definitely leave Beijing. So they paid a lot of money for us to sneak into Beijing first, and if King Ding didn't leave Beijing, we wouldn't make a move either. More than ten days ago, King Ding indeed left Beijing, and after observing for another ten days, we found that the assassin entering the mansion was not one of our Night Killers, so we decided to take action."

  "Alright, where is your leader?" Ye Li said with a faint smile.

  The man was shocked and stared at Ye Li in astonishment. Ye Li said calmly, "You are not impulsive people who can observe for ten days before taking action, I don't believe that the various assassins from the past few days didn't let you assess the strength of the Dingguo King's mansion. Knowing it's impossible to do something and still doing it? That can only mean...you're not the real leader of the Night Killers, are you?" Seeing the man lower his head in silence, Ye Li didn't mind and pulled out a piece of paper from the table, scribbling some words before handing it to Qin Feng. "Take him away and ask him according to what's written here. If he still can't answer, then don't bother bringing him back. I don't have that much patience." Qin Feng glanced at the paper in his hand and waved at the guards to take the man away.

  Mo Hua looked at Ye Li and said: "The queen has known all along that he is not the real leader? If so, why waste time on him?"

  Ye Li smiled helplessly: "Although he's just a scout, we really don't know where the remaining Night Killers are, do we? I think... if we can't find these people quickly, we'll be in big trouble." Mo Hua gritted his teeth and said: "Even if the one in the palace didn't participate, they must know about their plans. The Dark Guards have been searching for people in the capital city for days, but they've been blocked at every turn - it's definitely that person's doing." Ye Li said calmly: "Have the Dark Guards already fallen to the point where they can be easily blocked by the palace guards?" Mo Hua's face turned iron-gray, and he was speechless for a long time. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and said: "I don't know what clever plan you have, Your Highness!"

  Ye Li shrugged and smiled: "There is no high move, remain unchanged in response to countless changes."

  Half a time later, Qin Feng brought the assassin's confession again. His face was more solemn than before. Ye Li didn't rush to read the confession and asked: "Is he dead?" Qin Feng shook his head: "Not dead, just fainted." Ye Li nodded, lowered her head to look at the confession in her hand, and a cold smile gradually appeared on her lips, "Very good..." She handed the confession to Mo Hua and Zhuo Jing. The two looked at each other with heavy faces, and Mo Hua stood up: "I will immediately summon all the dark guards near the capital back to the mansion!"

  "Halt!" Ye Li said calmly.

  Mo Hua turned back in anger and glared at Ye Li, "Your Highness, it's clear that the various forces have joined together to attack the palace. If we let them..."

  "They once enter, this princess will make sure they have no return!" Ye Li said coldly. Mo Hua was taken aback, seemingly intimidated by Ye Li's unreserved and fierce aura at the moment, and frowned: "Although the king's mansion is heavily guarded, it's impossible to defend against so many powerful people at the same time. Not only the safety of the princess, but also many important places in the mansion..."

  Ye Li's smile was warm and gentle, but it made the listener feel a chill run down their spine. "Don't worry. Send someone to inform General Sun to lead the Black Cloud Riders to guard all the roads in and out of the capital. If any assassins are found escaping, kill them without mercy. Station the Dark Guards at various locations throughout the capital. If anyone is found fleeing, kill them! Also, if the Dark Guards near the Ding Wang Fu see anyone suspicious entering or leaving the mansion, immediately surround it and seal off all exits."

  "Understood, I will follow orders." Qin Feng and Zhuo Jing replied in unison.

  Mo Hua nodded in agreement with the two, Ye Li nodded and said to Qin Feng: "Let all your people out for training. Their first mission, codenamed 'Extinction'."

  Qin Feng nodded excitedly and said: "I understand, I will definitely not disappoint the princess's trust."

  Ye Li waved her hand to let the three people retreat, raised her head and took a look at the bright sunlight outside the window, and couldn't help but sigh. In just over ten days, the Dingguo Wangfu had already become a bloody sea. However... no matter what, she had to protect this mansion well, it was not only a magnificent palace, but also her home.

  Since the King of Ding left the capital, the dignitaries in the capital have clearly felt a depressing atmosphere that something is brewing. The successive attacks on the Dingguo Palace are not unknown to everyone, after all, the noise of fighting and killing is not small. However, there was no indication from the palace, and people somewhat understood the thoughts of the person in the palace. Occasionally, there would also be some hidden unease in their hearts. It's good that nothing has happened to the Dingguo Palace yet, but if something really happens, it will be a very troublesome thing when the King of Ding returns.

  In the following days, news spread that the Crown Princess was bedridden due to shock, and even imperial summons were all declined. The Dingguo King's residence closed its doors to visitors, leaving no one knowing the true condition of the Crown Princess, whether they were worried or trying to pry into the situation. Many people secretly believed the rumors of the Crown Princess being seriously ill. After all, she was just a teenager, and even if she was extremely capable, without King Ding by her side, she had been attacked repeatedly for over a dozen days - not to mention that she was a woman, even an ordinary man might not have been able to withstand it.

  "Your Highness, Xu from the Imperial Censorate requests an audience." Mo Zongguan reported in a respectful tone.

  Ye Li's brush paused, and she said lightly: "I'm not seeing anyone, please ask Lord Xu to leave. When I recover, I'll go to the Imperial Censor's residence to pay my respects to Uncle and Aunt."

  Mo Zongguan hesitated for a moment, saying: "Xu Daren is very insistent and also said that if the Wangfei insists on not seeing him, he will immediately enter the palace to meet with the Emperor and make a painful report about the recent assassination attempt at the Dingguo King's residence." In fact, it was not that no one had reported this matter to the Emperor, but all the memorials were kept by the Emperor without being issued, treating it as if nothing had happened. Some of these people were constrained by the Emperor's intentions, while others were secretly appeased by the Dingguo King's residence, so although the assassination attempt at the Dingguo King's residence was now an open secret, on the surface everyone still pretended to be unaware along with the Emperor.

  Ye Li was silent for a moment before finally saying: "Please come in, Uncle."

  Xu Hongyan followed Mo Zongguan in, and Mo Zongguan retreated at the door to ask him to enter the study alone. Ye Li put down his pen and stood up to greet him, "Uncle, why have you come?"

  Xu Hongyan glared at her with a bad temper and said: "If I didn't come, would you let yourself die in the Ding Wangfu without knowing life or death?"

  Yeli smiled and pulled Xuhongyan into the study, laughing: "What's this about life and death? I'm fine. These past few days have worried Uncle and Aunt."

  Xu Hongyan slightly raised an eyebrow at her, "Do you know that we're worried and have your second brother blocked outside? If I hadn't come personally today, you weren't planning on sending any news back to the family?" Ye Li looked at Xu Hongyan with some difficulty, saying: "Uncle, these past few days in our manor..." Xu Hongyan furrowed his brow, saying: "These days, the capital is in chaos. Those people who came to our manor were sent by you?" Ye Li nodded, saying: "In the next few days, the capital will likely be thrown into turmoil, Uncle and Aunt should be careful." Xu Hongyan furrowed his brow, saying: "What exactly does the Emperor mean!"

  Ye Li smiled helplessly: "What else can it mean? Taking advantage of the king's absence to borrow someone else's hands to destroy the Ding Wang Fu, even if the king returns, he can't blame the emperor, right? At that time, the king will either lower his head and swallow this loss, or if the king can't bear to offend the emperor, it will be the Ding Guo Wang Fu forgetting gratitude and betraying righteousness. Lian'er is afraid that she will also become a beauty in calamity."

  Xu Hongyan didn't know how he could be so unaware, and his disappointment with the emperor's actions grew even more. Looking at Ye Li, he asked in a low voice: "You can't always pretend to be ill, do you have any plans?"

  Ye Li lowered her eyelids and smiled slightly, "Sweep them all away, so that no one in this world dares to make decisions for the Imperial Palace again."

  Xu Hongyan looked at Ye Li with some surprise, his niece in front of him seemed to be still gentle as before, but the cold intent that flashed between her eyebrows made people know that she was not as harmless as she appeared on the surface. Xu Hongyan sighed and said: "It's okay if Uncle stays in this mansion for a few days, right?" Ye Li frowned and disapprovingly said: "Uncle, how can it be like this?"

  Xu Hongyan raised an eyebrow, "They say that a maternal uncle is like a mother, can't the paternal uncle also enjoy the blessings of his niece?"

  Ye Li smiled wryly. In the past, when things were going smoothly, she couldn't even invite her uncle and aunt to come over, fearing that it would bring trouble to herself and the Ding Wang Fu, and provoke the emperor's displeasure. Now that the household was in a mess, what good fortune could her uncle enjoy if he came? "Uncle, why not wait for a few days and let Ye Li invite you and Aunt into the mansion to enjoy some good fortune?"

  Xu Hongyan looked at her faintly, neither opposing nor agreeing. Ye Li touched her nose and lowered her head in frustration. This expression of Uncle's was not unfamiliar to her; it meant that whatever she said would be useless, as he had already made up his mind. Ye Li could only retreat and say: "In that case, I'll have someone clean the house for you, Uncle. Qin Feng, Mo Hua."

  Qin Feng and Mo Hua entered from outside, took a glance at Xu Hongyan's respectful salute and said: "Greetings to the Princess, greetings to Lord Xu."

  "Dispense with the formalities," Ye Li said, waving her hand. "Second Uncle will be staying in the mansion for a few days, so arrange it, Mo Hua." Mo Hua nodded, understanding that the queen meant for him to make arrangements for the dark guards to secretly protect Xu Hongyan. Qin Feng asked, "Your Majesty, should we send more people from the Xu and Ye families?" Ye Li replied, "Mo Hua, assign a few more dark guards to protect Madame Xu and Second Master Xu. As for the Ye family, there's no need - who in the capital doesn't know that I have a chilly relationship with my natal family? If we send too many people, it will only put them in greater danger."

  "I understand. I'll go and take care of it right away." Mo Hua nodded and turned to leave.

  Qin Feng looked at Xu Hongyan and said: "Princess, Mr. Xu's courtyard is arranged in..."

  Ye Li said: "Just arrange it in the nearest courtyard of the main courtyard. Also, send someone to tell Feng San to hurry up a bit, the sooner these things are settled the better."

  Qin Feng's spirit lifted, and he smiled: "Understood, I'll immediately send someone to inform Feng San Gongzi." These days they had been driven mad by those wave after wave of assassins who seemed to never end. Being able to settle it once and for all made his mood turn pleasant. Turning around to leave, Qin Feng's mood was soaring. The princess had said the codename "Extinction", so anyone who dared to enter the palace would absolutely not be able to leave standing!