"Are you going to interrogate them this time like what you did to Ren Lin?" Wei Li asked, not knowing about the sentence that Peng Mingzhu spoke under breath.
"No," Peng Mingzhu shook her head. "Ren Lin was a special case. For the Rens, you guys can use the conventional methods."
"What is Ah Nai talking about?" Wei Kangnuan questioned as he was confused by what Wei Li was asking her.
Turning towards Wei Kangnuan, Wei Li answered, "Before we came here, Miss Peng interrogated the criminal Ren Lin since our interrogator was horribly failing."
"You brought her to the prisons?" Wei Kangnuan asked threateningly with a dark face. "Such a dirty place and you brought her there?"
"Don't get mad at your brother," Peng Mingzhu calmed Wei Kangnuan down. "It was a good thing that he brought me there because you guys would have not gotten any information without me."
"Why is that?" Wei Kangnuan asked before he finally felt a click in him. "Because of the drugs?"
"Yes," Peng Mingzhu nodded and continued to explain. "He consumed so much opium that he was hallucinating, and of course, death was inevitable since he most likely overdosed on it."
Hearing the conversation between Peng Mingzhu and Wei Kangnuan, Wei Li turned to her and asked with a dark frown, "The drug that was in the criminal Ren Lin was opium?"
"It seems you're not the only surprised person," Peng Mingzhu commented when she saw the dark face of Wei Li.
Knowing that he was getting fierce with the wrong person, Wei Li coughed and apologized, "Sorry. I did not mean to…"
"No need to apologize," Peng Mingzhu dismissed his apology. "Anyways, I'll accompany you guys to question the Rens. I'm not questioning them, but that doesn't mean that I can't get a view of it. I'm sure the emperor would be fine with it, right?"
"Well, you have long participated in this case and have been one of the biggest witnesses, so even if my father has something to say, he will have to shut his mouth," Wei Kangnuan answered the question that Peng Mingzhu posed elegantly with a smile.
With every chance that he could get, he was going to make use of it. As long as he had a chance to flirt with her, he would and as long as he had a chance to take advantage of the time, he would - all in the name of love.
"Let's go then," Peng Mingzhu told the two princes. "There's nothing else to do here."
"Huh?" Wei Li hummed in surprise. "You guys already finished scouting the house?"
Explaining in a serious tone, Peng Mingzhu spoke, "Although it is preferable to look through the entire house, there's no need to do that any longer since we already have all the evidence we need. And besides, even if we continued looking, we'd find nothing since there's nothing more to look for. As for the reason why, I'm sure you can already guess the moment I stated that Ren Lin was drugged with opium."
Nodding his head, Wei Li said, "Well...that is right…"
"Let's go then," Peng Mingzhu repeated once again, except this time, she was not walking on her own.
This time, her hand was being dragged by Wei Kangnuan to follow him to his carriage.
Honestly, she really wanted to pull her hand away, but his grip on her hand was tight - so tight that it felt as though they were not hands but chains instead. Only, the chains on her hand this time were not cold or metallic but a warm rough hand.
Even though she was not used to having herself dragged by another man or a person in general, she did not dislike his hand. Somehow, feeling his warmth on her...really made her feel secure and comfortable.
She really wanted to just indulge herself in this warm feeling and never face the coldness again…
By the time she came to, she was already seated on the carriage and Wei Kangnuan was calling out her name, "Ah Nai, what is wrong?"
"Huh?" Peng Mingzhu moaned, coming back down to earth. "We're already in?"
"I was wondering why you were letting me hold your hand without getting angry at me… It seems you were too busy thinking…" Wei Kangnuan pitifully stated with a sad voice.
Once again, Peng Mingzhu was thrown in shock, "Huh? That's not...true…"
"Then what is?" Wei Kangnuan asked as he leaned increasingly close to Peng Mingzhu.
"I-I...I don't mind you holding my hands or hugging me…" Peng Mingzhu shyly admitted. "I-I really don't know why...b-but I like them...so...if you want...you can hold my hand or hug me...i-if you feel like it…"
Not expecting her to tell him that, Wei Kangnuan leaned in even closer to her with an almost childlike voice, "You really mean that? I can really hug you and hold your hand all I want? For as much as I want?"
"Not in public," Peng Mingzhu blushed and turned away from his face while answering. "Only in private…"
Nodding even though he did not plan to do so like she told him, Wei Kangnuan immediately pulled her into his arms, seating her on his lap.
Getting red from his actions, Peng Mingzhu struggled to get out while scolding in a tiny voice, "I said only in private."
"This is private," Wei Kangnuan justified himself with a teasing smile.
When Peng Mingzhu looked up to stare at his eyes that were religiously gazing at her, she instantly looked back then and even buried herself into his chest. She was too embarrassed to continue standing with her chest out, especially after she spoke such embarrassing words.
"You're teasing me aren't you…" Peng Mingzhu complained in an unexpectedly coquettish voice that even she herself was surprised, nonetheless Wei Kangnuan.
"Hehe… Was it that obvious?" Wei Kangnuan continued to speak in the same tone as previous, making Peng Mingzhu even more shyer of everything happening in the world.
Speaking while rubbing herself on his white robe in shyness, "Stop teasing me or I'll stop being nice to you."
"Yes, madam," Wei Kangnuan responded with the same teasing tone, but he eventually stopped as he knew that she was always speaking seriously.
Tease her anymore and she might actually show him a cold face again instead of her cute innocent like face.
"Your Highness, Miss Wu, we have reached the palace," the driver that drove the carriage announced after stopping the carriage.
"Say, did your brother ever tell us where they placed the Rens?" Peng Mingzhu asked after thinking about the interrogation that would take place.
"Before we left their residence, Brother told me that they threw the Rens into the prisons," Wei Kangnuan answered while they got down from the carriage.
"They threw them into the same place as Ren Lin?" Peng Mingzhu continued trying to ask as the frown on her face became deeper.
"Uh… I...think so?" Wei Kangnuan placed a hand behind his neck while trying to think if he had forgotten any details, which he did not.
Hearing his answer that was not positive or negative, Peng Mingzhu could only shake her head in disappointment at the rashness of the two imperial brothers.
As they walked into the prisons with Wei Li and the other subordinates and guards, Peng Mingzhu could only think one thing, 'I guess I'll find out when we reach.'
When they reached the prisons...she was indeed not wrong.
Speaking with a flat tone as though everyone was a dumbass, Peng Mingzhu asked, "You guys are actually idiots disguised as princes, right?"
"..." Wei Li had no response to her question as he did not know what she was talking about at all.
"If I was an idiot disguised as a prince, then I am the smartest idiot in the world," Wei Kangnuan flirted with Peng Mingzhu. "Because I fell in love with the smartest woman in the world."
"You, shut up," Peng Mingzhu stared at Wei Kangnuan upon hearing his flirtatious words. "I was thinking that I wouldn't have to help you guys interrogate these two old dummies, but yet you guys keep on proving to me that your status is nothing but a name. Do you guys not have brains? Are you guys too stupid from all the dumb schemes that are forced upon you guys? Like...are you seriously telling me that you guys threw the parents in with the son who just died not too long ago?"
"Ah, Ah Nai, stop shaming us already…" Wei Kangnuan pitifully begged with fake tears at the corners of his eyes. "We know we have failed you…"
"Shut up! I know you're lying. I'm not so stupid," Peng Mingzhu once again told him to shut his mouth before pointing her finger at a subordinate that belonged to Wei Li. "You there, which of the two princes do you serve?"
"His Highness the Crown Prince, Miss Wu!" the subordinate immediately answered with a straight back due to her strict tone.
"What's your name?" Peng Mingzhu once again asked another question to the subordinate.