Chapter 50: Interrogating the Magistrate of Jingzhao-Amores e Desavenças: Um Galho de Ameixa Verde Rompe a Muralha(Encostado na parede, esperando minha amada de infância.)

Xuanyuan Hongyu looked into her wide-open eyes—large, bright, and filled with a pristine clarity that belonged only to a little one's pure innocence. He gave a soft sigh. Growing up in such a family, the purity in the little thing's eyes would inevitably vanish one day; such a quality did not belong to her world.

Though his reason drew a sharp line, his heart selfishly yearned for the little one to live out her days with that very innocence intact.

Never think that just because she was young, she could be bullied at will! Did you take a tiger for a sick cat when it didn't bare its teeth?

With doting fondness, Xuanyuan Hongyu covered her eyes: "You little fool, call me master, and I'll give you whatever your heart desires."

Lingwei bit her lip until it went numb, her large eyes blocked once again by the mischievous youth. In exasperation, she flailed her chubby little hands: "Stupid sackcloth, get away from me!"

While the young couple bickered and played, the main show was already underway. Zhao Meng's thick right hand gripped the magistrate's chin, while his left hand held a pale yellow pill. "Audacious villain, how dare you impersonate a high-ranking imperial official and come to the General's Estate to cause trouble! Confess the truth immediately and you may be spared physical torment. Otherwise, once this divine pill enters your belly, your intestines will twist and rot, and blood will pour from your seven orifices!"

The magistrate shook his fat head, weeping miserably as he begged for mercy. With his mouth bound by a torn rag, he could utter no plea, pinning all his hopes on his pathetic expression to elicit Zhao Meng's sympathy.

As for what kind of person Zhao Meng was—empathy was a rare commodity he had abandoned eight hundred years ago. Torturing you half to death or scaring you out of your wits was his guiding principle when dealing with enemies.

He cupped his ear with an exaggerated tilt of his head. "What? What did you say? Why can't I hear a single thing? Good fellow! How dare you play games with your grand-grandfather? Let's have you taste the flavor of this divine pill right now!"

The magistrate rolled his eyes back, looking as though he were about to faint on the spot. Zhao Meng chuckled, "Go ahead and pretend to faint; that suits my intentions even better. I'll just chop you up and feed you to the fish in the pond."

Subconsciously, the magistrate glanced toward the pond not far away. Heavens! Were those not crocodiles? Why on earth were there crocodiles in the General's Estate? He shook his head even more frantically, tears streaming down his face.

*"Mm..."* He desperately wanted to open his mouth and beg for mercy, but unable to make a sound, he could only shake his head violently from side to side while tears ran wild.

Disgusted, Zhao Meng shoved the pill in his hand straight into the magistrate's mouth. "What a useless thing. Crying over a little bit like this—have you no backbone at all?"

The magistrate made a frantic attempt to spit out the terrifying pill, only to find that it melted the moment it touched his tongue. He wept even louder, "Hero, spare my life! This lowly one begs you, please spare this dog's life of mine!"

The rest of the people in the General's Estate followed suit, each of them first toying with their captives before catching them off guard and forcefully shoving pills down their throats.

Fawning like a dog, Zhao Meng scurried over to Xuanyuan Hongyu. "Deity Lord, what are your orders?"

Xuanyuan Hongyu had no desire to pay him any mind, but the little thing in his arms stopped ignoring him the moment she heard Zhao Meng's voice. Finding himself bored, he decided to take matters into his own hands!

Holding the little one securely in his arms, he had already left his seat. None of the onlookers could catch the trace of his footsteps; in the blink of an eye, he was standing right before the weeping and pleading magistrate. "Who ordered you to come to the General's Estate?"

The magistrate wailed without answering, causing the youth to frown. With a flick of Xuanyuan Hongyu's hand, the magistrate instantly froze in place, his vacant, dull gaze making it clear to anyone that the truth serum had taken effect.

Xuanyuan Hongyu asked once more: "Who sent you to the General's Estate?"

The magistrate answered with crystal clarity: "The Grand Princess."

Hearing this reply, Mother Wang's face twisted with uncontainable fury! It was the Grand Princess again! Ever since her master was born, this woman had been at irreconcilable odds with him. And now, upon hearing that both her master and the general had gone missing, she had sent people to cause chaos in the General's Estate! There is nothing more venomous than a woman's heart!