A moment later!
In the room of the widow, Ning Qing.
The middle-aged lady said, "Miss, it is late. It is time to sleep."
Ning Qing sighed. She was a little afraid of sleeping as her insomnia was very serious. It felt like torture every time she slept.
She was tired, yet she could not fall asleep.
The feeling of having her eyes open until daybreak was too much to suffer.
Ning Qing hesitated when she thought about the medicine that Yun AoTian had sent over that could help her sleep. Should I try it?
But she did not try it in the end.
She felt that Yun AoTian's character was unreliable.
He was a very bad man.
Even though he was ugly.
Ning Qing let out a gentle sigh as she stepped in front of her mirror. She took off her robes and left the thinnest piece of fabric on her.
Even she would be smitten by the body in her mirror.
How unfortunate.
A person who was as beautiful as she had become a lone star.
She then put on her thinnest, most comfortable sleeping gown and dug into her bed.
"God-mum, don't let anyone make any noise," Ning Qing said. "Tomorrow is a very important day. I am about to make the report public. I require at least four hours of rest."
The middle-aged lady said, "Yes, I'll not let anyone get close to your room. I should light the incense that helps with sleep."
"Alright," Ning Qing said.
The middle-aged lady took out the incense and lit it.
Ning Qing closed her eyes and began to think.
She would bring about a catastrophic disaster in the Valley of Torn Gust when she made the report public tomorrow.
But Ning Qing did not care.
She was not interested in the killings within the Land of No King. Furthermore, the woman Jing Zhongyue was merciless and overbearing. Her death would not be mourned.
Even though it was unfortunate that she could not protect Yun AoTian, he had chosen the path himself. He could not blame anyone for his death.
She did not care even if Yun AoTian had done her the favor of saving her life.
The only thing she cherished was her reputation, not her life.
There was only one thing she was obsessed with at this point. Had Yun AoTian composed 'Mister Taia'?
Was he a talented individual, or an unskilled, illiterate beggar?
Ning Qing's eyelids started to flutter sometime later. She felt exhausted.
She could not help but be happy.
Her condition today was great. She, who always had difficulty falling asleep, was feeling tired.
Thus, she quickly seized this tired state, determined not to let it slip away. She gathered more and more of this tired feeling.
Then… She fell asleep.
She slept soundly.
One would not be able to wake her up even if they wanted to.
That was because there was an extra ingredient in the incense. It was enough to make a person faint immediately.
A moment later.
The door of the room quickly opened and closed.
A black figure entered the room. She carried a burlap sack.
In the burlap sack was a man. His hair was like weeds, his face old and creepy. Who was it, if not Yun AoTian?
The black-robed figure pulled down her mask. She was an ordinary-looking woman.
The middle-aged lady, Ning Qing's nanny, whispered, "Alright, leave it to me."
The black-robed figure said, "Madam Xu, our master will never forget your contributions."
Ning Qing's nanny said, "Remember your promise. My son has to become an official after he graduates from the school of martial arts."
The black-robed figure said, "That's not a problem. Act quickly. Someone will bring the rest of the officials of the investigation team to catch her in the act an hour from now."
Ning Qing's nanny said, "I understand, go."
The black-robed figure said, "I'll help you."
Then, the black-robed figure stripped Yun AoTian's clothes and was shocked.
"Yun AoTian, you are but a despicable beggar. Consider yourself lucky that you can sleep in the same bed as Lady Ning Qing today. It is the fortune that you have amassed over three lifetimes. It is worth it for you, even if you are going to be dismembered in the future," the black-robed lady said.
Ning Qing's nanny said coldly, her voice shaking slightly, "Isn't that so. Lady Ning Qing has skin as fair as snow. She is like a fairy who has descended from the heavens. A despicable cad like Yun AoTian would not have been able to touch her in ten lifetimes."
Then, the black-robed figure stuffed Yun AoTian into Ning Qing's bed and positioned them within each other's embrace.
Throughout the process, Yun AoTian and Ning Qing remained unconscious, allowing the two people to manipulate them however they wished.
"How is it?"
"They look like a wanton pair. They will never be able to clear their name, even if they jumped into the River Tian."
"Then let us go out. Stand guard outside the room. Do not let anyone get close. Even more so, do not let anyone come out," the black-robed woman said.
"No problem."
"There's no problem with the drug, is there? Will the two of them wake up midway?" she asked.
"There's no problem, of course," the nanny replied. "The two of them will not wake up even if lightning were to strike. The walls here are thick, and there is only one door. Even a mosquito will not be able to fly out with me guarding the door."
"That's good. We'll come to catch them in the act in an hour!"
The two of them walked out of the room. The black-robed figure quickly vanished from the corridor while Ning Qing's nanny sat outside the door. She monitored the closed door closely without blinking.
***
Time passed.
Under the corrosion of his stomach acid, the outer shell of the pill in Yun Zhonghe's stomach started to dissolve.
However, the medicine buried deep within his nostril took effect even faster. The outer shell of the pill cracked and released stimulating drugs deep into Yun Zhonghe's nose.
These two forms of insurance guaranteed that Yun Zhonghe would wake up before the time was up.
These were extremely potent drugs. It had a strong excitatory effect on the brain.
Yun Zhonghe woke up immediately.
He first detected a wave of fragrance. He could not help but take a look, only to see that he was in Ning Qing's embrace.
Wow!
This woman was beautiful.
Her face was too exquisite.
Her skin was as tender as suet.
But… This was not the time. He had to seize every second.
He silently dug himself out of bed and took out a bag from underneath.
He had brought this bag along with him just now. It contained all of the medicine he had to give Ning Qing.
However, there were items other than the medicine in the bag.
These included colored dyes, pollen, honey, red sand, as well as unique materials made from gelatin and the fattiest of porks. There were a few dozen unique items.
He then moved quickly in front of the mirror.
He cast an unprecedented form of 'magic.'
The things he did were comparable to the Three Great Evil Techniques of modern society.
He moved quickly but did not make a sound. His body exuded a unique aura.
He was too excited.
He was too happy.
He was too agitated!
He was filled with anticipation.
The investigation team would come to catch them in the act in just about 50 minutes.
How exciting would the scene be?
***
A dozen people were consumed with worry within the other rooms of the castle.
They had heard the rumor that Lady Ning Qing was going to edit the contents of the report and blame the City of Autumn Waters for the war. She was going to get the Baronage Alliance to severely prosecute the City of Autumn Waters and even the City of Washed Jade.
The investigation team was made up of 15 members. Ning Qing, being the most experienced out of them, was the absolute leader.
"What do we do? We're going to announce the contents of the report to the public and submit it to the Baronage Alliance tomorrow."
"I've already asked Lady Ning Qing if she had edited the report or not. She looked extremely cold and prideful."
Many of the members of the investigation team had been bribed by the City of Autumn Waters or the City of Washed Jade. There was even one member who was working with the first baron, the Tantai Family.
There were, of course, members of the City of Torn Gust within the team, but they made up the minority.
"I heard that Jing Zhongyue had sent over a beggar as a spy. He had saved Lady Ning Qing's life and exposed a traitor by her side. Lady Ning Qing changed the contents of the report because she was grateful for the contributions of the Valley of Torn Gust and hated the harm that the City of Autumn Waters brought upon her."
"Nonsense, Lady Ning Qing is fair and just. How is it possible that she would change her stand just for a personal feud?"
"I heard that there's an unclear relationship between Lady Ning Qing and the beggar, Yun AoTian."
A dozen people immediately stood up to express their fury when this sentence was uttered.
Lady Ning Qing was their ideal lover, a goddess in their hearts. How could she have taken a fancy to an old, ugly beggar?
This bunch of people wagged their tongues too freely. They were despicable to the extreme.
At that moment, a black-robed female warrior sprinted into the room and whispered something into the ear of an official.
"What? Impossible, definitely impossible," the official said with a raspy voice.
"What happened? What happened?" The rest of the officials stood up and crowded around.
The official said, "Xiaomin, tell the rest what you said."
The female warrior said, "Yun AoTian had come again today, but he left in under an hour. However, he did not truly leave the castle. Instead, he made his way around the castle and pretended to leave, yet secretly turned back and snuck into Lady Ning Qing's room."
The group was dumbfounded when they heard this.
The female warrior continued, saying, "Not only that, but Lady Ning Qing's nanny also stood guard outside the door and allowed no one to get close not long after. She would immediately shout at a person to leave, even if they were a dozen feet away from the room."
This… This was a problem.
The female warrior continued. "We can't get close, so I went to the room above Lady Ning Qing's room and listened in on the activity below me. I heard shady sounds. It sounded like a woman's laughter, as well as moans," she said.
"It's been around an hour. Yun AoTian from the Valley of Torn Gust has not come out after he entered Lady Ning Qing's room."
The expressions of everyone present changed when they heard these words.
This was too strange, too ridiculous.
Lady Ning Qing was unbelievably pure. How could she hook up with another man?
If all of this were true, then it would feel as though the sun had risen from the west.
It had been over ten years. Lady Ning Qing had not even touched the finger of a man. She only talked to men through a screen.
A pure saint like her hooking up with someone, especially if that someone was an old, ugly beggar, completely flipped the opinions of the people present.
Many of the officials were admirers of Lady Ning Qing.
"I've seen it with my eyes. You can pierce me with a million blades if I am lying," the female warrior said confidently. "Furthermore, I am not the only one who saw it. You can get other people to come to verify it."
At this moment, the officials of the investigation team either felt that the situation was ridiculous, or was overcome with fury.
"If this is true, then we would have a big problem on our hands."
"That would prove that Lady Ning Qing had indeed edited the report. It would prove that she had edited the report for an old and ugly beggar. She disregarded the authority of the Baronage Alliance. She disregarded the fairness of the Land of No King. She disregarded the innocent victims of that war. This is a crime."
"That's right. This is a crime, a heinous crime."
"The City of Torn Gust, by engaging in the despicable action of bribing someone with sexual favors, has committed an even more atrocious crime."
"We cannot let this matter slide. We have to seek justice for the Baronage Alliance. We have to seek justice for the innocent victims of the war. We have to seek justice for the order and fairness of the Land of No King."
"Then we have to take action quickly. Perhaps that wanton pair are about to be done with their business. That Yun AoTian might be about to run away."
The female warrior said, "Don't worry. This matter is of utmost importance. I have already sent a dozen men to surround Lady Ning Qing's room. I guarantee that even a fly would not be able to escape."
"Go, go, go. Let's go catch them in the act."
"Let's go catch them in the act."
A man suddenly shouted, "What are we going to do if we truly catch them in the act?"
"If we catch them in the act, even if that man, Yun AoTian, is still loitering around in Lady Ning Qing's room, it will prove that the two of them are not innocent, much less if they are still doing the deed in bed. After all, he had shown that he was about to leave the castle, yet secretly turned back. That means that there is an unusual relationship between them."
"Right, right, right."
"What I am asking is how we should deal with them if we catch them in the act?"
"Isn't that simple? If we catch them in the act, then Ning Qing would become a lady who knows no shame and could sleep with any man. If that is the case, she would not have the authority to be the leader of the investigation team, which means that the report she wrote would naturally be rendered useless. As for that man, Yun AoTian, we first neuter him and make him a eunuch, then beat him up in public and clobber him to death with bricks."
There was such a rule in the Land of No King. Once a person was caught in the act, they would first be neutered, then crushed to a pulp with rocks.
"Let's go. Let's catch them."
"Go, for the future of the Land of No King, for the innocent victims of the war, for the authority of the Baronage Alliance, let's go catch them."
A dozen members of the investigation team were overcome with emotion as they charged toward Ning Qing's room.
Catch them, catch them!
***