Chapter 299: Disposition

He waited a moment, but the Grand Princess just kept a cold stare and said nothing, then he laughed: "What, nothing to say? Awkward, huh?"

Mu Yuanzhi: "Princess, stop being stubborn, we already know your background, you and the Nine Thousand Years actually come from the same sect, right?"

The Nine Thousand Years beside him darkened his gaze, he did not deny.

The Grand Princess suddenly widened her eyes at Mu Yuanzhi, obviously not expecting her to know this too.

Let me explain in detail—you and A Zi are also from the same sect, right?

The Grand Princess's expression completely changed, her demeanor very unnatural.

Mu Yuanzhi didn't expect that this extremely bold, baseless guess would actually be true.

As for why she would guess that...

"Little Yuanzhi, you never told me this guess before?" As one of the interrogators, Gu Rongjin is now bewildered.

It's simple: I got the idea from the Nine Thousand Years. He knows you have a secret identity, so I boldly guessed that the Nine Thousand Years is actually a defector from Frost Descent. He and the Grand Princess share the same martial arts lineage—they could very well be from the same sect. And this Grand Princess wanted to come in and kill people even before the late emperor died. Doesn't that prove we already had a grudge with them?

If it were just a grudge against Pei Di and his mother, they could have simply seized the Pei family before they arrived and used Pei Di as leverage, rather than waiting for them to come and then attacking.

Since it's all related to Frost Descent, it could be related to A Zi; and if it's related to A Zi, then it's a grudge against them.

These seemingly unrelated things, once linked together, also make perfect sense.

And now, it's not just A Zi but also the late emperor—their feud has become huge!

Gu Rongjin was utterly impressed: "No wonder it's my wife, truly clever!"

Because Frost Descent is so unique, he would never think there could be a traitor he doesn't know about; he stubbornly believes that if there were, that person would definitely be passed down by word of mouth.

But he has never heard of such a person.

"Who is A Zi?" the Nine Thousand Years obviously doesn't know.

Gu Rongjin: "You know me, but you don't know A Zi?"

"You are the leader of Frost Descent, worth knowing." the Nine Thousand Years said.

Gu Rongjin: "Thanks."

"A Zi is my disciple!" the Grand Princess glared at Mu Yuanzhi and Gu Rongjin, gritting her teeth: "You killed her!"

"A Zi actually has a foreign princess as her master?" Gu Rongjin had never heard of such a thing.

"You got it wrong, it was your disciple who sought death." Mu Yuanzhi said.

The Grand Princess gave Mu Yuanzhi an angry look: "It's still because of you."

"Enough, stop with this victim-blaming nonsense; if you don't want to hear it but the Princess insists, I'll just shut your mouth!" Mu Yuanzhi said.

"The Guardian Princess sure is mighty! No wonder she has backing." The Grand Princess glanced at those present, sneered: "Exactly, I infiltrated here just to avenge A Zi."

The Nine Thousand Years narrowed his eyes: "Also, you're trying to frame me?"

"Nine Thousand Years, your pots don't weigh you down?" the Grand Princess laughed, "You hold power over the court, you've even killed the emperor, but have you considered that once your puppet emperor is dead, the Prince of Qin won't just sit by and let the throne slip away again—do you think you can stand against the Prince of Qin?"

Nine Thousand Years: "It doesn't matter; evil deeds will bring their own downfall, the late emperor lacked benevolence and is unfit to inherit the great mandate."

"Whether one can inherit the great mandate is up to you, a eunuch?!"

Pei Di: "He is not a eunuch."

"Hah, or a fake eunuch?!" the Grand Princess widened her eyes in disbelief: "Well done, Yao Zang, you dare to pose as a eunuch and go in and out of the palace gates!"

The Nine Thousand Years was unfazed: "So what? It's still better than you siblings being one or two murderers."

"So you're saying the Nine Thousand Years wants to dispose of me too?" the Grand Princess smiled faintly: "In such a short time, the emperor and the Grand Princess have died one after another—do you think no one would suspect?"

Nine Thousand Years: "You're right, so I decide to send you to the Board of Punishments for trial; this has the officials of Great Zhou as witnesses, it concerns the great matter of friendship between the two states, no room for error, the Grand Princess can only atone with death."

"You! Yao Zang! The Prince of Qin will surely kill you!" the Grand Princess cursed viciously.

"Whether the Prince of Qin will kill me, I don't know, but the Princess will surely die."

"Even as a ghost, I will not let you go!"

"Then I hope your evil arts will be of use." the Nine Thousand Years mocked.

After saying that, he clasped his hands to the others: "Thank you, honored guests, for your help; I will certainly give you an explanation, and I hope this does not harm the friendship between the two states."

The Nine Thousand Years said, then lifted the Grand Princess, preparing to escort her back.

Gu Rongjin: "I'll go with you, to serve as a witness."

Qilin tugged at the monk: "You should come too."

"You fool, the poor monk also went—who will protect you?"

"Alright."

Gu Rongjin and the Nine Thousand Years together escorted the Grand Princess to the Board of Punishments; as they were about to leave, he couldn't help but ask: "When did Official Yao join Frost Descent, and when did he defect? Why have I never heard of this? Judging by your age, aren't you too young?"

He doesn't look much older than him.

The Nine Thousand Years gave a mysterious smile: "Guess."

Gu Rongjin:...

I guess your mother!

But now we can basically be sure that this Nine Thousand Years is not bad, at least not a threat to them.

After the Grand Princess was arrested, the snow stopped falling, the accumulated snow on the sealed mountains quickly melted, and they are truly setting off back to Great Zhou this time.

Gu Rongjin: "According to the Grand Princess's testimony, those women who signed the settlement are all frauds, so wife, we can leave with peace of mind."

Mu Yuanzhi nodded: "Actually, even if they aren't frauds, they could just be wandering mystics, but after his saying that, I just feel uneasy inside."

"Now I can feel at ease."

Qilin: "Too bad I didn't get to see the end of this grand show; I don't know who will win in the contest between the Nine Thousand Years and the Prince of Qin."

Monk: "When the time comes, whoever ascends the throne, we'll know then."

"Let's go, time to head home!"

As for being able to return to Great Zhou together with his mother, Pei Di is very happy, but...

Whenever he thought of his father, he felt awkward.

Mu's older sister said that day it wasn't the Father Emperor but the master; even so, he didn't feel that strong sense of loss toward the master, probably because he and Qi Shihuai never had such deep feelings, and his relationship with Qi Shihuai was just an ordinary master-disciple one.

But his father is his father—it's completely different.

Even if it wasn't his father who chose to abandon him that time, there were other places, other options.

For instance, placing him as the heir apparent to protect the elder brother.

"Go on, Xiao Di, don't overthink again." Mu Yuanzhi patted Pei Di's head.

"That brat's rebellious phase is like this; just leave him alone."