The City Lord’s Mansion reception room.
Rou Si, clad in heavy armor, leaned against the sofa, marveling at its softness.
“I never imagined the town would change so much in the half year I’ve been away. I didn’t quite believe my subordinates who occasionally came to report.”
As they spoke, Suona poured him a glass of fruit wine and pushed it forward.
“You were out campaigning, so naturally you wouldn’t know what’s happening in the city. If you knew everything happening here, wouldn’t that be strange?”
Rou Si smiled noncommittally and took a sip of the fruit wine.
“Still the same taste.”
“The same batch of magical chefs made it, so the taste definitely hasn’t changed,” Suona said with a smile, sitting down on the sofa. She whispered softly, “Thinking about it, we haven’t sat together like this in quite some time.”
“Yes.”
Kailin’s eyes were filled with nostalgia.
“Lord Chen Yu was still here back then, and we didn’t have this city. At night, Lord would always gather us all together, have roast meat, and tell us interesting stories.”
“Mostly promises of future glory, though,” Rou Si suddenly spread his hands in resignation.
Kailin chuckled at his words.
“Indeed.”
“Lord Chen Yu always said some unrealistic things, but looking at the current situation, even though Lord loved to paint pictures for us, he also made those pictures a reality.”
Everyone on the sofa nodded slightly, their eyes filled with varying degrees of remembrance.
“Hey, didn’t you say you were going to talk about my embarrassing affairs? Why did you get so well-behaved once you came in?” Er Gou, with his eyes narrowed, stared intently at Rou Si. “You better say something, or I won’t let this go. You’ve slandered me like this in front of all my subordinates, this matter cannot be settled.”
“In such a hurry?”
Rou Si suddenly grinned, sipping the fruit wine in his cup.
“I’m afraid you’ll get agitated when I say it. Doggy, honestly, I feel for you. Although you were with the Lord for a shorter time, I’ve always liked you. You’re energetic, very manly. Despite your hot temper, you’re straightforward, and the Lord also values you, entrusting you with the command of Freedom Town.”
“Spare me the flattery,” Er Gou said with a stern gaze.
“We were once colleagues, and we’ve faced life and death together. Why must we stand on opposite sides? We weren’t like this even half a year ago.”
“Are you going to say it or not?”
Rou Si fell into a strange silence. All eyes in the reception room were fixed on Rou Si on the sofa.
“Alright, I’ll say it then,” Rou Si exhaled softly and whispered. “You were so trusted by the Lord, why did you betray him? Why did you contact the Seventh Prince of the Tato Kingdom?”
“You’re spouting nonsense!”
With a ‘bang,’ Er Gou slammed the table and shouted.
“Rou Si, don’t make baseless accusations.”
“If you don’t want anyone to know, don’t do it,” Rou Si sighed softly. “You don’t need to yell at me here. I have evidence of you meeting with the Seventh Prince of the Tato Kingdom and their Grand Preceptor, and you received considerable benefits from them. I don’t know what kind of consensus you reached, but your actions have truly disappointed me.”
The little devil and Suona watched Er Gou quietly, while Kailin looked utterly shocked.
“Er Gou, you…”
“No, I didn’t!” Er Gou shook his head vigorously. “I’ve always been diligently guarding the city. How could I do such a thing? Rou Si is deliberately smearing me. I don’t even know who the Seventh Prince is.”
“Since Rou Si has evidence, let’s see it,” the little devil said.
“No problem.”
With that, Rou Si projected a holographic image from his wristband. The footage clearly showed Er Gou toasting and conversing with the Seventh Prince of the Tato Kingdom and their Grand Preceptor.
Seeing this, Er Gou uncontrollably swallowed.
“Er Gou, what do you say?” the little devil tilted her head.
“This… this is fake, it’s not me, it’s not me!” Er Gou shook his head frantically. “Sister Ba, Sister Suona, believe me, this really isn’t me.”
“Su Ni!”
The little devil called out solemnly, and Su Ni appeared before everyone.
“Su Ni, look at this projection. Did you see Er Gou secretly contacting these people before?” the little devil pointed at the people in the image. Su Ni pursed her lips and then nodded vigorously.
“Su Ni, you!!!”
Accused by Su Ni, Er Gou’s eyes widened, and he was speechless for a long time.
“Please punish me, Lord,” Su Ni knelt down with a thud. “A month ago, I saw Er Gou meeting with these people, but Er Gou, the commander, gave me two million gold coins to keep quiet about it. At that time, my sister Su Bei wanted to buy a better set of equipment to join an adventure group, so I… I accepted the money and didn’t mention it to Kailin. However, the more I held onto the money, the more uneasy I felt. Coincidentally, Lord Chen Yu spoke with Su Bei last time, and I wanted to say something, but…”
Su Ni, kneeling on the ground, couldn’t speak, while Kailin stared at the scene in disbelief.
She had no idea.
“Su Ni, you’ve been avoiding me all this time because of this?” Kailin looked at him incredulously. “How could you do something like this? Lord Chen Yu always thought of you, and he even worried if you were facing difficulties in your life, so he asked me to secretly look after you. And now…”
“It’s all my fault.”
Su Ni knelt, tears streaming uncontrollably.
“I’ve wronged Lord Chen Yu.”
“Two million, that’s not a small amount,” the little devil said, sitting on the sofa with her arms crossed. “Doggy, now it’s your turn. Do you have anything to say?”
“I… I admit it!”
Er Gou gritted his teeth, clenching his fists.
“But my contact with them was not intentional; they contacted me first. They offered me great benefits, but the problem is I never cooperated with them. I just thought, if they’re willing to give money, why not? I’m not at a loss anyway. Moreover, I knew about Sister Su Ni’s situation, so I accepted the money and gave it all to her without keeping a single cent. After that, I had no further contact with the Seventh Prince or the Grand Preceptor. You must believe me.”
“Why were you so concerned about Su Ni?” the little devil raised an eyebrow.
“I…”
Er Gou, with pursed lips, couldn’t utter the words that were on the tip of his tongue. He cared about Su Ni because he had feelings for her, but he didn’t dare to speak them.
“My business is actually not that important.”
Er Gou’s eyes were filled with anxiety. He then pointed at Rou Si.
“As for him, no one saw me meeting with the Seventh Prince and the Grand Preceptor. Where did he get the projection? Perhaps the Seventh Prince and the Grand Preceptor are connected to him. Knowing my path wouldn’t work, he deliberately used this projection to sow discord among us.”
“He’s the one with the problem!”