Chapter 560: What are you and the Qin King scheming?

Outside South Peace City, in the deserted, ruined stronghold.

When the Chu Emperor woke with a faint sigh, he saw not only the bound Zongzheng Xingyao, but also his fourth son, Zongzheng Wuxie, who should have been imprisoned in the heavenly prison.

His emotions were intense, but with cloth stuffed in all three of their mouths, nobody could speak.

The Chu Emperor's chest heaved violently with anger, his eyes rolling white; after a while, unable to shout, he could only gradually calm down.

Just as he had calmed, the door creaked open.

A Li Qingluo in male attire entered, her face covered.

Seeing her, the Chu Emperor immediately began to struggle, uttering "mmm mmm mmm".

However, Li Qingluo didn't even glance at him, walking straight toward Zongzheng Xingyao.

She pulled the cloth from her mouth and handed her a waterskin.

"Drink water."

"I don't want such a delicate princess to die of thirst."

Her deliberately low voice, combined with her male garb, made her gender ambiguous.

Zongzheng Xingyao glared at her angrily: "This palace won't drink! Release my imperial father first, or I'll die before your eyes!"

Li Qingluo: "Oh my, you really frightened me."

"He's a tyrant, yet he has such a filial daughter as you—Heaven is truly unfair."

Zongzheng Xingyao continued, eyes red with fury: "You rebels!! If not for the Nangong clan setting fire to the imperial father's secret chamber that day, you wouldn't have had the chance to bind my imperial father!"

"This palace would never stand by and watch you harm the imperial father; even if I am powerless to save him, you dare not touch a single hair of my imperial father!"

Li Qingluo gave Zongzheng Xingyao a hard blink.

Eye signal: "Enough singing."

Zongzheng Xingyao's face stiffened, and she quickly amended: "Even if you want to do something, if you have the ability, come at me first!"

Li Qingluo curled the corner of her mouth beneath her veil.

"Fine, then let this noble princess become the lady of our rebel army—how about that?"

"Then, using this tyrant, we'll exchange for the realm's treasury!"

"Get ready! Tonight, at nightfall, we'll get married!"

After saying that, Li Qingluo rose to prepare to leave.

Seeing the Chu Emperor awake, she merely gave a cold smile.

As for Zongzheng Wuxie, she didn't even spare him a glance.

She turned and left decisively.

The Chu Emperor and Zongzheng Wuxie inwardly shouted: "Water! We want water too!!"

Zongzheng Xingyao looked at the Chu Emperor with reddened eyes.

"Imperial father, your daughter is unfilial… When I first saw these people trying to take you away in the palace, I was powerless and did nothing, failing to save you."

As she spoke, Zongzheng Xingyao shed a few tears.

The Chu Emperor spat "Pah!"

He managed to spit out the cloth lump that wasn't too tight in his mouth.

He first gagged twice, then, with a hoarse voice, demanded: "Just what is going on!?"

"Where am I now?"

"And what about the fourth son—what's happening with him?"

"And Xingyao, in my half‑dreaming state I clearly saw you speaking with the Nangong clan… Xingyao, you'd better not be colluding with them to deceive your imperial father."

The Chu Emperor narrowed his eyes, fixing Zongzheng Xingyao with an icy stare.

Previously, Zongzheng Xingyao would have been cowed by that gaze and might have spilled everything.

But these past two days she has also experienced big scenes, and having been urgently trained by Nangong Qingluo, she can now withstand this bit of wind and wave.

Naturally, she can also maintain a composure that shows no fear.

Zongzheng Xingyao: "Nangong clan?"

She looked surprised, tears on her face: "Imperial father, no."

"Xingyao only saw those people take you out from beside the artificial hill; she saw nothing of the Nangong clan."

"Imperial father, they claim the Nangong clan set fire to your study—could it all be true?"

"Could she have fainted somewhere, allowing the rebels to seize the opportunity to knock you out and drag you away?"

"Imperial father, are you just having a nightmare? Now it's all real, imperial father!"

Hearing Zongzheng Xingyao repeatedly say "imperial father," Li Qingluo, listening openly outside the door, silently sighed.

This Seventh Princess truly is a talent who can bend and stretch, sing and dance.

Hasn't this already bewildered the Chu Emperor?

Indeed, the Chu Emperor shook his still‑hazy head and really believed what Zongzheng Xingyao said.

Beside him, Zongzheng Wuxie strained against the tongue that was pressed down hard.

However, after retching several times, he still couldn't vomit out the large cloth lump.

Zongzheng Wuxie wore a dejected look—he actually couldn't even match that old thing, the Chu Emperor?

Zongzheng Xingyao hiccuped, then turned to Zongzheng Wuxie and said: "As for the Fourth Prince, I also don't know what's going on."

"Just opened my eyes and saw him here too."

"Fourth Prince, you weren't supposed to be in the heavenly prison? Did you break out?"

Zongzheng Wuxie: "Who would break out and run to the rebels' den!!?"

He coldly smirked inside, his mouth stuffed tight, so naturally he couldn't explain.

So she closed her eyes and simply didn't bother to explain.

At that moment a voice came from outside, it was Li Qingluo's deliberately low, hushed tone: "Has the Qin King's Residence sent a reply?"

The second assassin replied: "Report, master, there's no news."

Li Qingluo sneered aloud: "This tyrant loves killing people; of the ten‑plus brothers, only the Qin King remains alive now."

"The Qin King knows his elder brother is captured, yet he still doesn't come to rescue?"

"He only asked him to prepare a hundred thousand taels of gold; can a proper Qin King not produce that?"

"He truly doesn't regard our rebel army!"

"Go, send another letter to the Qin King's Residence, stating that the Fourth Prince Zongzheng Wuxie is now in our hands."

"If he still wants Zongzheng Wuxie to live, bring two hundred thousand taels of gold and ransom him—!"

The voice outside faded away.

The Chu Emperor's gaze turned coldly toward Zongzheng Wuxie.

"Why are they so certain that Your Highness's uncle won't save me, yet would produce double the amount of gold to ransom you?"

"Elder Fourth, you and the Qin King, what exactly are you scheming!"

Zongzheng Wuxie:?

How does he know!!

The Qin King has cherished him especially since childhood.

Zongzheng Wuxie even once suspected that he might be the illegitimate child of the Qin King's uncle and the concubine's affair!

Fortunately, after years of covert observation, he found that the Qin King's uncle and the concubine were not close at all, not even exchanging a single word for years.

Moreover, the Qin King's uncle's nurturing of him was also done in secret.

He secretly arranged better teachers for him.

He brought in MiaoJiang helpers for him.

He provided him with more staff.

He even sent countless piles of rare military treatises, political writings, and discussion essays to his doorstep.

Zongzheng Wuxie believes the Qin King's uncle simply adores his nephew too much.

He wants to deem him the future emperor, which is why there are a few distinct differences.

And now, how could the Qin King's uncle possibly prefer saving him over rescuing the Father Emperor?

Surely these people have gone mad, absurdly presenting the Qin King's uncle with such a choice when cornered.

Unfortunately, he cannot spit out the cloth in his mouth, so he can only look at the Chu Emperor innocently yet aggrieved.

Since the Witchcraft Technique of binding a doll began, the Father Emperor has been trapped in a bizarre madness, falsely accusing his once‑most beloved son.

It has made him lose everything.

Now, does he still intend to falsely accuse him of deeds he never committed?

Zongzheng Wuxie, tears in his eyes, gazed at the Chu Emperor, trying to awaken a hint of compassion.

Chu Emperor: "If I learn that all this is your scheming, that you seek to win my softened mercy or some rescue‑heroic feat, I will personally cut down you, you wretched creature!"

Zongzheng Wuxie: He's even more resentful than Dou E!!

Beside them, Zongzheng Xingyao, feeling insecure, opened his eyes.

The unbearable day finally passed.

During that time, the Chu Emperor and Zongzheng Wuxie nearly fainted from hunger.

Both of them each received only a bowl of vegetable soup to drink.

Their faces grew greener one after another.

The Chu Emperor took a sip and cursed loudly, saying even a dog wouldn't eat this, and he wouldn't either.

Then he continued to starve.

Zongzheng Wuxie actually drank it.

He hadn't spoken a word before the soup choked his mouth.

Parched and starving, he didn't even hear the Chu Emperor's "Even a dog won't drink it" remark, and he kept drinking mouthful after mouthful.

After all, he had been in the Heavenly Prison for months.

Such soup, once you start drinking, you can adapt to it.

However, before he could swallow all the vegetable leaves after finishing the broth, a cloth plug blocked his mouth again.

When Zongzheng Xingyao beside him was served steamed buns and meat‑laden vegetables, the Chu Emperor's eyes went wide.

Zongzheng Xingyao, tearfully, said: "Father Emperor can't drink vegetable soup, surely he can't eat such plain fare either."

"Father Emperor, you must at least eat something, otherwise how can you have the strength to wait for an opportunity?"

Zongzheng Xingyao ate heartily.

The Chu Emperor felt bitter inside.

Even a dead child could not be filial enough to let the feeder force a few bites onto the Father Emperor.

The Chu Emperor calculated that he had been starving for several days.

Thus, smelling the scent of meat and vegetables, he still couldn't eat, his whole body drained of strength.

When the evening soup arrived, he reluctantly gulped it down with a 'glug‑glug'.

That taste reminded him of the days in the cold palace during his childhood, which weren't as terrible as the cold palace's reputed taste.

This time Zongzheng Xingyao didn't receive steamed buns and meat‑laden vegetables; instead, he got a set of bright red wedding attire and bead hairpin ornaments.

"Come now, Princess Your Highness."

"Our rebel army's junior general is already waiting outside to take you in marriage; why don't you hurry and put on your wedding dress?"

Dress up, dress up, and we'll be the leader's wife! Hahaha...

Zheng Mama and A Duo laughed wildly.

Zongzheng Xingyao, looking terrified, was pulled into putting on the wedding dress, and their hair was tied up.

The Chu emperor trembled with rage all over the face.

Bold commoners! Release my daughter!

Zongzheng Xingyao cried out: 'Father Emperor, save me, Father Emperor——'

The Chu emperor seemed to have been stirred by a hint of paternal love: 'Yao'er——'

I will kill you all!!

You are not allowed to touch her!!

She is the princess I personally arranged to marry off to the Western Regions for a peace alliance; you lowly commoners, if you don't want to be torn apart by five horses or have your bones crushed and ashes scattered, hurry and release her!

Zongzheng Xingyao froze.

Zongzheng Xingyao's whole body couldn't stop shivering.

So, even at this moment, what he feels pity for is not his own daughter, but merely the pawn to be sent off in a marriage alliance to the Western Regions?

A tear fell from Zongzheng Xingyao's eye.

Zheng Mama let out a scoff: 'This is what she herself said, so that you, Father Emperor, would suffer less; coming for her is the reason.'

Now, once she marries our young general, you, as her father, will also be able to enjoy a hot meal and meat.

Your Majesty, have you decided?

We give you one chance. Tonight, will we let the Seventh Princess marry, or not?