Font Size:
Why Advise the Eldest Princess of Chu Not to Get Involved?
The interrogation techniques of the royal secret guards were no less severe than those of the Ministry of Justice. Cheng Si, a distant relative of a concubine’s family living on the fringes, had little to do with core interests and couldn’t endure torture. Under pressure, he confessed everything he knew.
Li Yunli held his confession and flipped through a couple of pages.
According to Cheng Si’s testimony, he arrived in Yongzhou two years ago, initially due to family estrangement. Later, after the Eldest Princess was granted Yongzhou as her domain, Marquis Yongcheng contacted him, offering benefits from time to time in exchange for relaying news from the Yongzhou government office via carrier pigeons. As for anything beyond that, he claimed to know nothing.
It seemed too clean, too smooth.
Li Yunli frowned and lightly dusted off the confession paper. “He claims to know nothing else? Is this credible?”
Shiliu cupped his hands. “At the start of the interrogation, he was tight-lipped, but after a few lashes, he caved in. He couldn’t endure more than a few rounds of torture. If he had anything else to say, he would have spilled it already. It seems likely to be the truth.”
“This was too easy,” Li Yunli murmured, lost in thought. “If Cheng Si was merely the ‘eyes’ of the operation, then who was the ‘hand’ pushing Zhou Foxiao to act?”
She had suddenly raided Zhou Foxiao’s study under Captain Yang’s orders. The news shouldn’t have spread so quickly, and during the investigation two days ago, the mansion was sealed off entirely—there was no room for leaks.
Could the culprit have escaped beforehand?
Yun Chu, standing nearby, suggested, “Could they have been communicating through letters? Has Your Highness checked the correspondence in Zhou Foxiao’s study?”
“Not yet. While this matter is urgent, unfortunately, there are always even more pressing matters,” Li Yunli replied, her voice carrying frustration.
Zhou Foxiao had been in Yongzhou for over a decade, and sorting through his study would not be a quick task. Even if Li Yunli assigned people to search, they would struggle to handle the sheer volume of documents. The man had an obsessive habit of documenting everything meticulously and storing every letter he received.
His study was filled with correspondence—countless letters, an overwhelming mess!
Li Yunli finished reading the confession, pushed her hair to one side, and handed the two sheets of paper to Yun Chu.
For now, she had no intention of investigating the letters. Instead, she instructed Shiliu to keep a close watch on Cheng Si to ensure he didn’t die.
However, Yun Chu couldn’t shake a feeling of unease, as though something had been overlooked.
He had dealt with Cheng Si before. Although the man was distantly related to Marquis Yongcheng, he wasn’t someone who would easily betray his master.
He remembered that during a previous interrogation, Cheng Si had been subjected to extreme torture but had refused to reveal anything about his master.
He had been abandoned, yet his loyalty remained unwavering!
Unable to contain himself, Yun Chu spoke up. “Your Highness.”
“What is it?”
Li Yunli was about to leave when she heard him and didn’t turn around.
“Your Highness, perhaps you shouldn’t go personally,” Yun Chu said carefully, his voice laced with apprehension. “There may be something wrong with Cheng Si’s confession. If the situation at the Western Border is dangerous, you shouldn’t put yourself at risk.”
He couldn’t explain why, but an intense feeling of dread kept rising within him. His instinct was to prevent her from stepping into danger.
But Li Yunli simply glanced at him and said, “If the crisis in Yongzhou were truly a natural disaster, it would be one thing. But as it stands, it appears that I, as the ruling princess, have brought calamity upon my people. I cannot shirk this responsibility.”
She smiled slightly and continued, “Besides, if this truly is a trap, then I am both the biggest prey and the most effective bait. If I don’t show up, the enemy might hesitate to make their move, leaving you all with nothing to uncover. Wouldn’t that be a wasted effort?”
Yun Chu parted his lips, about to argue further.
But Li Yunli raised her hand to stop him and said, “Right now, Yongzhou doesn’t need a princess who hides from danger—it needs a ruler who solves problems.”
“You don’t have to go personally,” Yun Chu countered, his voice rising with urgency. “Let us handle it. The credit will still be yours!”
“That may be true, but the people will see for themselves.”
Li Yunli spoke slowly. “Justice resides in the hearts of the people. They have their own measure of fairness. What, do you not believe in my sense of duty?”
“I’m worried about you,” Yun Chu admitted, his voice louder now. His frustration was evident. “I’ve dealt with Cheng Si before. He’s not the kind of man to betray his master just to save his own skin. He’s pretending. The confession is fake. We still don’t know what their true objective is, and I don’t want you to walk into danger!”
“You’ve dealt with Cheng Si before?” Li Yunli narrowed her eyes slightly and turned to look at him.
“Yes.” Yun Chu exhaled, staring at her intently, hoping she would listen. “He’s extremely tight-lipped. He would never betray his master.”
Li Yunli pondered for a moment. Her earlier suspicions now felt more substantial. She smiled faintly. “If that’s true, then it means—”
“It means he’s not really working for Marquis Yongcheng,” Yun Chu interrupted, his worry deepening. “And yet, you—you never learn to be cautious!”
Hearing this emotional outburst, Li Yunli couldn’t help but smile inwardly.
It had been a long time since someone had told her to take care of herself.
To be cautious.
But if she were overly cautious, how could she carve out a future?
Li Yunli had always been a fighter. Before turning twenty, she had nothing but determination. Climbing from the bottom, she had earned everything through sheer grit and relentless effort.
People saw her as a career woman, but only she knew how much sweat, how many sleepless nights, how much painstaking study and consultation it had taken to get here.
She always gave her best.
Yun Chu’s words made her reflect for a moment.
She smiled and said, “It’s not that I don’t value my life, but I need to do my part before I leave things to fate.”
As long as human effort could still influence the outcome, she couldn’t afford to step back. Leaving matters to fate too soon—that was true despair.
Hearing this, Yun Chu knew he couldn’t change her mind. He sighed in resignation. “If Your Highness insists on going, then please, at least take me with you.”
Li Yunli curved her lips slightly. “Of course.”
After all, he was the central figure of this world. Even if she was meant to be a mere stepping stone, standing by his side and aligning with his cause should allow her to share a bit of his fortune.
Besides—
Li Yunli thought about the dream.
That snowy night…
It had felt far too real.
In all her previous dreams, she had watched events unfold from a detached, godlike perspective. But in this one, she had truly felt every emotion, every sorrow.
Li Yunli lightly pressed a hand to her chest.
When the Li Yunli in the dream had collapsed into Yun Chu’s arms, devastated, she had felt the same crushing despair.
That version of herself must have given everything she had, only to fail due to limitations in vision and strategy.
A devastating blow.
She turned to look at Yun Chu.
He sighed.
He, too, was thinking about that snowy night.
As if finally resigned to her stubbornness, he seemed calmer now.
She had always been this way—unyielding in her principles and decisions.
Like when she had sworn an oath to him long ago, knowing full well that he would one day seek revenge, yet refusing to break her word and kill him.
Stubbornness wasn’t always a virtue, and he still believed that.
But since she had made up her mind, all he could do was worry more for her.