Nan Yujin!
How could it be him?
Nan Shiying turned her head and glanced again at the girl whose face was contorted in a grimace because she couldn't move.
Hmm, didn't recognize her!
"What's going on?" Nan Shiying asked.
Ji Jinmo replied, "A spy from Da Li!"
"Oh ho~"
Nan Shiying almost let out a "wuhu" of admiration. Yu Chengxuan was quite something, reaching his hands into Ji Jinmo's Huancai Pavilion.
"So this is..." Nan Shiying asked, picking up the porcelain bottle from the girl's hand. She pried open the cap and took a sniff, then swallowed her question.
This bottle contained a potent poison. Whatever this girl, or Yu Chengxuan, intended to do, there was no need to ask.
In that case, the accusation she'd leveled was entirely accurate.
Yu Chengxuan had poisoned and attempted to harm the legitimate son and noble daughter of the Nan residence. The evidence was conclusive!
Oh, wait, the poisoning was done by a girl from Huancai Pavilion!
Nan Shiying blinked. Yu Chengxuan intended to frame Ji Jinmo, thus deepening the conflict between Ji Jinmo, Nan Chaoyin, and Ji Hong!
His intentions were truly heinous!
Nan Shiying closed the cap of the porcelain bottle, tucked the poison into her own pocket, and then asked, "Do you need me to extract a confession under torture?"
Speaking of which, since Ji Jinmo could so leisurely bring her to watch a show, he must have long suspected her identity as a spy. However, what he planned to do with this incident next, Nan Shiying couldn't be bothered to guess. When others were using their brains, she preferred to empty hers.
Ji Jinmo nodded. "Yes!"
Nan Shiying looked around. There were no suitable torture instruments on the boat, so she took out her needle pouch. Looking at the pouch, Nan Shiying felt a pang of regret, "Ah, what a waste!"
"I'll compensate you!"
"I heard the imperial palace treasury has a set of silver needles forged from meteorites?"
"I'll get them for you tomorrow!"
Nan Shiying cheerfully spread open her needle pouch and took out the silver needles.
An interrogation on the spot.
Ji Jinmo had no objections to this. In fact, even if Nan Shiying had intended to take the person back to the prince's mansion, Ji Jinmo would likely not have stopped her.
Compared to taking the person back to the mansion, interrogating them on the flower boat was undoubtedly the quickest and most effective choice.
Nan Shiying twirled the silver needle, looking with a smile at the girl whose acupoints were sealed by the needles, rendering her unable to move or speak. Her voice was gentle as she said, "I'll be gentle. If you can't bear it and wish to speak, just blink hard, and I'll stop. But if you resist, don't blame me for not showing mercy."
"Come, let's try it first!"
As Nan Shiying spoke, she took out a small porcelain bottle from her pocket, containing a medicine that stimulated the nerves and amplified all senses!
"Oh, right, I almost forgot one thing!"
Under the girl's terrified gaze, she put down the silver needles, turned, picked up the teapot, and poured the remaining half-pot of cold tea onto Nan Yujin's face.
Nan Yujin slowly woke up and then suddenly sat up.
"Nan... Shi... Ying!"
The familiar face that greeted him made Nan Yujin lose all reason. Without thinking, he blamed Nan Shiying for everything that had happened that night.
He leaped up, his hand turning into a blade, and slashed towards Nan Shiying's neck.
His attack was a killing blow!
As Nan Shiying retreated, Ji Jinmo flashed between them and grabbed Nan Yujin by the neck.
A chilling frost and surging malevolence assailed him. All of Nan Yujin's attempts to resist turned to nothingness upon encountering Ji Jinmo's deep, cold eyes.
It wasn't so much fear that prevented him from resisting, but rather his sealed internal energy that made it impossible.
"Regent!"
The man was the knife, and he was the fish.
Nan Yujin's face contorted with grief and indignation.
Nan Shiying tidied her slightly disturbed robes, a mocking smile on her face. "Nan Yujin, are you acting like a mad dog, or are you still drunk and haven't sobered up? Do you need me to wake you up again?"
Upon hearing Nan Shiying's mockery, Nan Yujin, along with his anger, glanced at his surroundings.
Where was this...?
Faint fragments of memory flashed back. Nan Yujin felt an unbearable headache. The hand tightly gripping his neck made it difficult to breathe. All of this gave Nan Yujin the illusion of being on the brink of death.
"You... you designed all of this?" Nan Yujin questioned with difficulty.
Nan Shiying let out a soft chuckle. "Is there no groove in your brain? Or has your brain been emptied by indulging in a den of iniquity?"
"My lord, tie him up and let him open his dog eyes to see for himself!" Nan Shiying couldn't be bothered to waste any more words with Nan Yujin. She had only woken him up to use his mouth to convey this matter to Nan Chaoyin.
Nan Shiying unhesitatingly ordered Ji Jinmo around. Upon hearing this, Ji Jinmo removed the bed curtain and tied Nan Yujin to the head of the bed.
Nan Yujin watched the scene unfolding before him in disbelief. Since when had the arrogant, world-defying Regent of Lin Yuan become so easily ordered around? And yet, he seemed to do it willingly.
It was truly bizarre.
Nan Yujin felt that he must be hallucinating from drinking.
Nan Shiying ignored Nan Yujin and picked up the silver needles again. She dipped them into the porcelain bottle and then inserted them into the girl's acupoints.
The girl's eyes widened instantly. A muffled sob escaped her sealed throat. Blood vessels spread across her bulging eyeballs, and the protruding veins seemed ready to burst at any moment.
Although her screams were inaudible, Nan Yujin could feel the soul-piercing wails from within the girl.
"How about it, still not talking?"
The girl looked at Nan Shiying, just looked at her.
Nan Shiying smiled. "Very good, I like stubborn people like you the most!"
She smiled and inserted the silver needle into the girl's Tianling acupoint.
Nan Shiying watched the convulsing girl in pain with a cold gaze and said with a continuous smile, "Still not talking? Then I'll have to bury you in a hole, make a hole in your head, fill it with mercury, peel off your skin, and then pour salt water all over you. The taste... everyone who's tried it says it's good."
"Do you want to give it a try?"
"Or perhaps you'd like to experience the torment of a thousand cuts?"
"Either is fine. Oh, right, I forgot to mention, there's a divine physician living in the prince's mansion who can heal bones. Don't worry, if I don't want you to die, you absolutely won't."
Just listening, Nan Yujin felt a chill run down his spine. He was only filled with confusion—when had Nan Shiying become so ruthless?
The unbearable pain shattered the girl's will, and the subsequent threats drove her to near despair. She blinked hard.
"That's more like it!" Nan Shiying removed the silver needles and gently stroked the girl's hair. The smile on her face was warm and radiant, but in the girl's eyes, it was like a devil's grin, making her tremble uncontrollably.
Nan Shiying removed the silver needle sealing her throat. Her fair fingers stroked her cheek, finally clamping down on her jaw. "Speak!"