Chapter 65: The Brothel Dungeon

Everyone thought that after finally unearthing such a startling deep-cover agent like Vermilion Bird, this Sovereign—who had begun displaying his thunderous methods early this morning—would surely use her head to consecrate the flags!

Yet, he actually let her go without any punishment whatsoever!

Wasn't that utterly baffling?

Imperial Noble Consort Yun, who had remained silent all along, was also extremely surprised, having no idea what her son was thinking.

Not killing her, and not even punishing her!

Could he truly be this magnanimous and lenient?

This not only surpassed Cao Cao publicly burning the treasonous letters, but was almost on par with Emperor Taizong of Tang reusing the confidant of his mortal enemy Li Jiancheng!

Could it be that he truly intended to plot and secure the entire realm?

Vermilion Bird's face was also written with sheer disbelief. Uttering only a soft "Young Master," she found herself completely at a loss for words.

Chai Xiao asked a question.

"What is your junior martial sister's name? Do you know where Kindling might have locked her up?"

Vermilion Bird replied, "Her name is Lü Wanyin. According to my two masters, the Second Prince is holding her captive right here in Great Xu, which is why they summoned them here. But as for her exact location, I do not know!"

Chai Xiao nodded thoughtfully.

"Since she is kept right here in Great Xu, Kindling is clearly trying to have your two masters push me to my absolute death!"

He tilted his head in thought, then quickly beckoned to Jian Lei.

"Bring me the artist with the highest skill in sketching. Have him work with Vermilion Bird immediately to draw a likeness of this Lü Wanyin!"

"As you command!"

Jian Lei hurriedly summoned an artist, who began painting on the spot alongside Vermilion Bird.

Chai Xiao shook his head unceasingly and winked at Su Zhongjing.

"Sir, putting ourselves in their shoes, if we were Kindling, where would we lock this young woman away?"

Hearing this, Su Zhongjing also tilted his head, and then winked back at Chai Xiao.

"Let the two of us each guess two places, write them down on paper, and see if they match!"

Chai Xiao smiled slightly and actually pulled out all the silver banknotes he carried in his bosom.

"Very well! Sir, let us wager these. How about it?"

Accustomed to such antics, Su Zhongjing cast a sideways glance at him.

"I told you long ago, I don't hoard money. Ever since you swindled the post messenger out of the two hundred taels meant for Vermilion Bird, my pockets have been completely empty."

"If you truly wish to gamble, use the reward money promised to me after these ten days to front the stake. How about that?"

Chai Xiao laughed heartily, tears welling up in his eyes.

Needless to say, the enormous effort Second Prince Kindling had spent to invite—or rather, coerce—the "Black and White Oddities" into action meant that the person he truly feared and wished to deal with was by no means himself, a mediocre ninth prince, but rather the peerless Junior Tutor Su Zhongjing.

Therefore, to crack this standoff of "two tigers fighting," the best approach was not to meet force with force, but to turn enemies into friends.

The Second Prince had lacked affection since childhood, rendering him ruthlessly extreme. To achieve his goals, he would not spare the slightest pity even if it meant sacrificing a hundred thousand or a million lives.

"He who kills one man is a bandit; he who kills ten thousand is a lord"—this was his guiding principle in life.

Thus, imprisoning the adoptive daughter of the "Black and White Oddities" to force their compliance was simply standard procedure for him.

Even if this attempt failed, he would undoubtedly seek other paths and exhaust every possible means.

While ordinary people would refuse to give up until they reached the bitter end, he would not shed a tear until he saw his own coffin.

Summoning him in the briefest possible language required just four characters.

Utterly devoid of humanity.

To thoroughly defeat him, one had to do the exact opposite—also four characters.

Warming people's hearts.

At present, refraining from pursuing any wrongdoing by Vermilion Bird was a way of warming people's hearts.

If one could resolve the leverage Kindling used to force the "Black and White Oddities" into submission—meaning rescuing their adoptive daughter Lü Wanyin—it would warm their hearts all the more.

Why worry that the two masters would not switch allegiance?

When that time came, with Vermilion Bird as general and the Black and White Oddities as tacticians, they would forge a truly benevolent and mighty army.

Why worry that the realm would not be pacified?

Soon, Chai Xiao and Su Zhongjing each took a sheet of paper and wrote down two words.

Turning them over, they found the writings matched.

Except that one had written "prison" and "brothel," while the other had written "brothel" and "prison."

At this, Vermilion Bird, who had been unable to speak for a while, actually cried out.

"That's right!"

"Why didn't I think of that!"

"And my two masters didn't think of it either!"

"Indeed, the places least likely to be checked and hardest to suspect as holding places are precisely a prison or a brothel!"

Chai Xiao sighed, "Care breeds anxiety! If my own loved ones were seized, I too would lose my analytical judgment due to excessive worry."

In truth, this was also his latest understanding of the course on "Introduction to Psychological Warfare and Its Applications" he had taken prior to his transmigration.

At the time, the most profound example given by the white-haired Professor Pan had left a deep impression on him.

There was an exceptionally brilliant surgeon who could handle virtually any difficult and complicated medical case, known widely as the "Infallible Blade" and the "Divine Hand of Rejuvenation."

Yet on this particular day, his son fell ill with acute appendicitis and required surgery.

This was the simplest of surgical procedures.

Had he performed it on anyone else, it could have been quickly and successfully completed in less than an hour.

Yet, facing his own son, he could not even pick up the scalpel.

This was the most typical case of "role conflict" and "emotional involvement" in psychology.

Viewed now, the same principle applied.

If the captive were not the daughter of the "Black and White Elders" and the junior sister of Vermilion Bird, but someone else, they certainly would not have lost their composure.

In all likelihood, they would have quickly guessed the hiding place, just as Su Zhongjing and Chai Xiao had.

It was precisely because it *was* them that care bred anxiety, leaving them at a complete loss.

Chai Xiao called out, "Vermilion Bird!"

Vermilion Bird snapped to attention, cupped her fists, and responded, "Here!"

Chai Xiao enunciated every word clearly.

"Let us make a gentleman's agreement!"

"The vulnerability threatening you and your two masters—the Teacher and I will resolve it for you!"

"If in the future, Mother, the Teacher, or I should face a life-threatening vulnerability, you shall resolve it for us. Agreed?"

Deeply moved, Vermilion Bird dropped to one knee.

"Understood!"

At this moment, Imperial Noble Consort Yun stepped forward lightly and raised her "adopted daughter" to her feet.

"A promise must be kept, and action must follow words. The two of us mother and daughter make this vow together!"

"Mother!"

Tears finally overflowed Vermilion Bird's eyes as she lowered her head heavily, performing the formal kowtow to express her gratitude to her new mother.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

The sound of her forehead striking the stone flags sounded both like the declaration of a resolute determination and like the clarion call to wage war against the mastermind behind the scenes.

Chai Xiao pointed forward with his wooden branch.

"Jian Lei, hear my command!"

Jian Lei hurriedly cupped his fists. "Young Master, Jian Lei awaits your command!"

Chai Xiao had Zhang Bao fetch another sheet of paper, took up a wooden branch, dipped it in ink, and wrote rapidly.

"This orders Jian Lei as the Imperial Envoy of the Prince's Estate, acting in concert with the Ministry of Punishments, the Court of Judicial Review, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the Bureau of Music and Dance, to thoroughly investigate the whereabouts of Lü Wanyin in both the prisons and the brothels. Treat this decree as my personal presence; anyone who defies it shall be executed before reporting!"

Having finished writing, he drew the imperial jade seal from his bosom, breathed a warm breath upon it, and stamped it directly onto the paper. Then he turned sideways to glance at Su Zhongjing.

The look conveyed the question: *Sir, will this approach suffice?*

Su Zhongjing raised a thumb in approval.

"Desperate times call for extreme measures. With the Sovereign being this decisive and resolute, success is sure to follow!"

Chai Xiao nodded and handed over the written decree.

"Jian Lei, the rest depends on you!"

Jian Lei dropped to one knee and received the "Imperial Decree" with both hands.

"Jian Lei accepts the decree. This mission shall swiftly investigate Lü Wanyin's whereabouts and rescue her, thereby relieving General Vermilion Bird of any worries back home!"

Chai Xiao smiled.

"Your rescuing Lü Wanyin immediately will do more than just relieve Vermilion Bird's worries; both of her masters will come over and throw in their lot with us at the risk of their lives, won't they?"

This final remark was spoken while looking straight at Vermilion Bird.

Vermilion Bird nodded heavily.

"If Lü Wanyin can be rescued, my two masters will undoubtedly cast aside all reservations, ready to join us at any moment—they might even bind the Second Prince and bring him here themselves!"

Chai Xiao gestured for Jian Lei and the others to hurry off and conduct the search, then burst into hearty laughter.

"Binding him and bringing him here won't be necessary!"

"When the time comes, he'll just play dumb and foolish, and we'd still have to feed him—I don't have any spare silver for that!"

"Actually, the two seniors might not come over to join us immediately, but staying on the other side as secret agents to thoroughly gut the Second Prince's treasury—wouldn't that be even better?"

Upon hearing this, Su Zhongjing, Imperial Noble Consort Yun, and Vermilion Bird all lit up with realization.

This little ancestor's impromptu scheme of "sowing discord" was truly inspired!

If things really turned out that way, the Second Prince would undoubtedly "lose his silver alongside his troops"—and it would be a wonder if he didn't fly into a furious rage!

At this moment, Chai Xiao posed another question to Vermilion Bird.

"Earlier, I saw that cooing carrier pigeon flying back and forth at least five or six times, yet you said it only carried two messages. Could there be other message-receivers?"