"I don't want to do anything, I just want to ask you to help me dig this ditch well."
As Shen Xiaoyan spoke, she chuckled lightly. Because her features were becoming even more striking, she was already quite alluring and now she had become even more captivating.
Even though it was just a gentle smile, it still made people feel breathtakingly beautiful.
Zheng Wei turned his head to look at Shen Xiaoyan's smiling face, feeling a pang of jealousy. This was the downside of Mi Mi; she always smiled at everyone, no matter the time or the person.
"Do you know what the crime is for imprisoning a princess of a country?" Baili Hao pressed.
"Who knows I imprisoned you all?" Shen Xiaoyan retorted. "Besides, aren't you all doing fine? I've been feeding you well and treating you like guests. You can't slander me."
Shen Xiaoyan looked as innocent as could be, her pure gaze comparable to a white rabbit.
"Nonsense! Is this how you treat guests?" Baili Hao's chest heaved violently with anger, his words like a broken loudspeaker.
"There's a saying, 'When visiting, guests should follow the host's lead.' You've come to our home as guests, and helping with tasks within your capabilities, what's wrong with that?"
Baili Hao closed his eyes in resignation. He knew that reasoning with Shen Xiaoyan was purely seeking self-inflicted discomfort. This woman only knew how to use logic to twist the truth.
"You seem to have recovered quite well, to have the energy to argue with me. How about this: you rest well and in two more days, you can join them in digging the ditch. Having one more person means one more pair of hands, and perhaps it will be finished sooner."
Shen Xiaoyan delivered this statement with a tone of certainty, then nodded to herself, appearing very satisfied with her own words.
"I haven't asked you yet, why does my wound keep hurting?"
Baili Hao finally remembered what he had forgotten; it was about his wound. It was all Shen Xiaoyan's fault; he was so angered by her that he had become confused.
"Are you deliberately trying to make me laugh?" Shen Xiaoyan looked at Baili Hao in disbelief, then burst into laughter. "Besides, why would a wound not hurt?"
Seeing Shen Xiaoyan's serious expression, Baili Hao closed his eyes again in helplessness.
He hadn't held out much hope of hearing anything sensible from Shen Xiaoyan, but hearing her say this still ignited an uncontrollable anger within him.
He was only in his early thirties. While his past thirty-odd years hadn't been smooth sailing, he had never fallen to such a state.
Who would have thought that he, already married with a daughter and a princess as his wife, and possessing influence, would end up in this predicament?
"It's nothing, you can leave."
Baili Hao calmed his racing thoughts and said faintly, without opening his eyes.
Shen Xiaoyan was amused. "You must be deliberately trying to make me laugh. This is my home, I can go wherever I want and do whatever I please. Do you have a say in this? I think you've been lying down for too long and forgotten your status. How about you start digging with them tomorrow?"
"Yes, your wife and daughter are exhausted to death every day, losing weight and their faces sallow, yet you lie here all day. How can you bear it?"
Zheng Wei followed up on Shen Xiaoyan's words.
Shen Xiaoyan looked at Zheng Wei in surprise, not knowing he also enjoyed a good verbal sparring match.
Even though her intention was only to anger Baili Hao, she was very pleased that Zheng Wei actively joined her.
"By the way, why do you always wear that mask? Is it because you're so ugly that you're afraid people will see you?"
Although Zheng Wei had already made his point very clear, Shen Xiaoyan still wanted Baili Hao himself to explain the reason, as he hadn't elaborated.
"You sure do mind a lot of things."
Baili Hao suddenly opened his eyes, his sinister gaze fixed on Shen Xiaoyan.
Even though it was broad daylight, Shen Xiaoyan still felt as if she were being watched by a venomous snake in a dark forest.
"Naturally. Since you're here with me, I certainly have to worry about you," Shen Xiaoyan replied earnestly.
Baili Hao let out a suppressed laugh from his throat, but didn't say anything more.
"The younger brother of Zheng Xiang, the King without a royal surname of Da Chu, has fallen to this state, not only disfigured but also with greatly diminished powers."
Zheng Wei's voice suddenly cut in, successfully interrupting Baili Hao's thoughts.
"What did you say?" Baili Hao's eyes darkened as he stared intently at Zheng Wei.
Seeing his expression, as if he wanted to devour Zheng Wei on the spot, Shen Xiaoyan felt a surge of annoyance and wanted to use her superpower to blast him away immediately.
"You're not entirely incompetent, managing to quietly marry a princess and even change your surname. How have the past few years been?"
Zheng Wei, unfazed by Baili Hao's glare, continued leisurely.
"Who are you?" Baili Hao looked closely at Zheng Wei's face but couldn't discern anything unusual.
Zheng Wei didn't resemble anyone he had seen or knew.
However, why would Zheng Wei know all this?
"You don't need to know who I am, but I know exactly who you are."
Zheng Wei's lips curved upwards, a faint smile on his face, exuding an extraordinary confidence.
Hearing Zheng Wei's words, Shen Xiaoyan was instantly startled. Just now, she had thought Zheng Wei might have met Baili Hao in a past life, but who knew it was this kind of relationship.
"I don't know what nonsense you're spouting."
Although Baili Hao didn't know how Zheng Wei knew these things, he wouldn't admit it.
"It doesn't matter if you don't admit it. We both know the truth," Zheng Wei seemed indifferent to Baili Hao's reaction, his voice remaining calm.
"So, if I tell Zheng Xiang that you are currently in my hands, do you think he will come looking for you himself?"
The tone shifted abruptly, Zheng Wei's voice suddenly becoming sharp.
Baili Hao was taken aback by Zheng Wei's words, not expecting him to say that.
A look of fear flickered across Baili Hao's face, but it quickly returned to his usual composed demeanor.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Zheng Wei shrugged and pulled Shen Xiaoyan to leave. After a few steps, he turned back and said to Baili Hao, "How do you think Zheng Xiang will thank me? After all, I helped him find his mother's killer."
Shen Xiaoyan could no longer remain calm. Weren't Zheng Xiang and Baili Hao brothers? How could they have gone from that to mother's killer in such a short exchange?
"How do you know?"
Baili Hao could no longer stay calm, his voice erupting from his throat as he sat up straight.
Shen Xiaoyan felt she could understand Baili Hao's feelings at this moment.
A stranger could easily unearth all his secrets.
How could this not be frightening? How could this not make him feel uneasy?
If someone suddenly appeared before her and told her she was a transmigator, a demoness, she would likely feel uneasy too.
"What? Finally admitting it?"
Zheng Wei turned around, showing no surprise at Baili Hao's change of tune, as if he had predicted this outcome from the beginning.
The commotion from their conversation had become quite loud, and Zande, the Grand Princess, and Baili Ziyun, who were digging at the construction site, naturally noticed.
They didn't know what was going through their minds, but their faces were filled with worry. They kept looking towards their location, yet their hands didn't slow down in the slightest.
"What do you want?"
Because the wound was on his abdomen, Baili Hao's abdomen would be strained whenever he moved.
The wound, which had already been faintly aching, now hurt even more.
After uttering just a few words, his face turned pale as paper, and large beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks.
"I want to know why you killed Zheng Xiang's mother. Did Zheng Xiang do something to betray you?"
Baili Hao endured the pain and looked at Zheng Wei for a long time, then managed a few laughs. However, the laughter intensified the pain in his wound, so he stopped.