The Prince of Dingnan was clearly unaware of this matter. Upon hearing it, he was stunned again.
"So, that National Preceptor you mentioned cast your fortune, saying you could break the Xiao family's curse, and then the young emperor bestowed a marriage upon you with the Prince of Ding'an? Then Old Man Xiao's ghost appeared in a dream, asking for a more spacious coffin, and when you were changing his coffin, you discovered his bones were green, and then you traced the clues all the way to Nanzhou? Is that right?"
The Prince of Dingnan used several "thens" to string together Wang Qingyao's fabricated tale from beginning to end.
Surprisingly, it was quite clear.
Wang Qingyao nodded, "Your Highness is correct, it is exactly like that."
The Prince of Dingnan showed a look of astonishment, "That National Preceptor's divination was quite accurate. Hey, where is he from, how old is he, could he cast a fortune for me too?"
"Certainly," Wang Qingyao said enthusiastically, "He lives in the imperial palace. How about you come back to Duanjing with us?"
"Never mind, I never said that."
The Prince of Dingnan was a feudal lord, and to some extent, unless the Emperor issued a decree, he could not leave Nanzhou. The same applied to his sons and grandsons. However, the young county princess was different; people always underestimated women.
The Prince of Dingnan also wanted to see the current situation in Duanjing through Feng Jiangduo's eyes.
"By the way, how do you plan to deal with the person that Duo Duo captured last time?"
Xiao Yun and Wang Qingyao were stunned. It took them a while to remember that the Prince of Dingnan was referring to Steward Ji.
"This fellow is very stubborn and cannot be killed. We've beaten him, cursed him, but it's all useless. Now he acts like a lord, purely wasting the rice of our Dingnan Prince's mansion."
Speaking of Steward Ji, although the Prince of Dingnan was displeased, he also admired his iron will. In the first few attempts, he was beaten to within an inch of his life, yet he held firm and revealed not a single word.
"I will go and see him," Wang Qingyao said.
Steward Ji was now imprisoned in the dungeon of the Prince of Dingnan's mansion. He had a private cell, the food was ordinary, and he didn't exercise often. Because he couldn't get sunlight, he had become somewhat pale and plump.
Upon seeing Wang Qingyao enter, his eyes sharpened, and he recognized her.
"Princess of Ding'an," his voice was chilling, like cold arrows shooting out from the cracks of the cell.
Wang Qingyao stopped about two meters away from the cell door.
"Steward Ji, I hope you are well!"
"You're wasting your breath. I won't say anything, even if you lock me up for ten or twenty years, I won't utter a word." Steward Ji stood tall, his hands behind his back, looking at Wang Qingyao with utter disdain.
Wang Qingyao: "The more you act like this, the more curious I become. What exactly are you hiding? You probably don't know that Grand Tutor Wei has sent people to Nanzhou. A few days ago, they kidnapped Xiao Mo to threaten me. Fortunately, Xiao Mo was blessed with good fortune and they didn't succeed."
A fleeting look of joy appeared on Steward Ji's face. The Grand Tutor sent people to Nanzhou? He was saved!
He sneered, "What the Grand Tutor intends to do, he will accomplish. I advise you to beg for mercy from the Grand Tutor as soon as possible. In the future, hehe, no matter which prince ascends the throne, the Wei family will be the maternal relatives of the emperor. At that time, your Ding'an Prince's mansion... hmph..."
Wang Qingyao ignored him and turned to leave the dungeon.
What Steward Ji had said was heard by both Xiao Yun and the Prince of Dingnan.
The Prince of Dingnan knew Steward Ji was Wei Taishi's man, but he didn't know what kind of feud Wang Qingyao had with Wei Taishi.
"How exactly did you offend Grand Tutor Wei?" he asked. "You've run all the way to Nanzhou, and he still sent people to follow you. You're not his illegitimate daughter, are you? Hahahaha!"
Wang Qingyao and Xiao Yun looked at him coldly. His laughter grew smaller, and he said awkwardly, "Just kidding."
Wang Qingyao: "Before long, Your Highness will know exactly what kind of feud it is."
She beckoned, signaling Xiao Yun and the Prince of Dingnan to lean closer, and whispered her plan to them.
The Prince of Dingnan glanced at her, "I didn't expect you to be so wicked at such a young age. But I like it, hahaha!"
To show his affection for Wang Qingyao, he patted her shoulder vigorously. The force was so great that it almost made Wang Qingyao fall apart.
Late at night, in the dungeon of the Prince of Dingnan's mansion.
With a slight sound, the two guards at the door fell to the ground.
Hearing the commotion, Steward Ji immediately stood up excitedly.
Immediately after, two masked men in black entered. One of them felt for the keys on the fallen guard and skillfully opened the door.
Steward Ji asked excitedly, "Did the Grand Tutor send you to save me?"
One of the black-clothed men looked into his eyes and said with a cold smile, "The Grand Tutor sent us to send you to hell."
As soon as the words fell, Steward Ji felt a cold sensation at his waist, followed by a sharp pain.
"You..." Steward Ji couldn't believe it. "The Grand Tutor wants to kill me?!"
The black-clothed man, holding a bloody dagger, grinned sinisterly, "The Grand Tutor said that only the dead can keep secrets!"
"I've worked tirelessly for the Grand Tutor, left my homeland, been wanted nationwide, and he wants to kill me?! He's treating me like this?!"
Steward Ji was so shocked that he couldn't believe it was true.
The next second, the black-clothed man raised the dagger and slashed it towards his neck, "Go to the underworld and ask the King of Hell for an explanation!"