"My name is Luo Xing, Miss Wu," the subordinate answered in a loud voice due to the commanding tone in her voice.
"Xing as in 'a star'?" Peng Mingzhu asked.
Blushing at the question, Luo Xing answered with a shaky voice, "Uh...yes…"
"Alright," Peng Mingzhu nodded, ignoring the confused look that Luo Xing was giving her. "Do you agree with me? That the two princes are stupid?"
"Uh…" Luo Xing sounded out while staring at the two princes, gulping nervously.
He did not know what answer to give her. If he said yes, he would be punished by his master. And if he said no, for some reason, he just knew that Peng Mingzhu would punish.
No matter what his answer was...they all ended in one result: punishment.
"Are you worried about punishment?" Peng Mingzhu questioned with a raise of her brow. "Don't worry about it. I'll block it for you, so just be honest."
Having received a shield for himself, Luo Xing finally answered, "His Highnesses are extremely smart. They have shown how great the empire can be as representatives of the country. However…the highnesses...can indeed be a bit lesser on the...intelligent side at times."
'There, he has satisfied both sides, so he should be even more okay, right?' Luo Xing thought with cold sweat dripping down his back.
"Look at this," Peng Mingzhu remarked with a whistle as though making even more fun of the princes. "Your subordinates are smarter than you."
However, while Peng Mingzhu was completely focused on highlighting the faults of the princes, Wei Kangnuan was extremely jealous. Wei Li...well, he could only be shocked frozen since nobody has called him an idiot before - not even by his father.
'She called someone smarter than me. She praised someone else. She's staring at someone else,' Wei Kangnuan was currently being cooked in a jar of vinegar, soaking up all the nutrients.
If someone were to ask just how jealous he was feeling at the moment, words were not enough to describe his jealousy. After all, it was only after a few days of inhaling sand did he finally get to drink water from the oasis.
"Brother," Wei Kangnuan called out in a deathly dark tone.
"What is it?" Wei Li replied, wondering what was up with his little brother.
"Do you mind if I borrow one of your men for a while?" Wei Kangnuan asked with the kindest smile he had ever spoken with.
"Uh...No…" Wei Li instantly denied.
He did not know what Wei Kangnuan planned to do, but he just knew that it was not going to be anything nice.
'Definitely nothing good,' Wei Li shivered just in the same way Luo Xing was sweating earlier.
"Brother, he is but one man. You have no need to worry," Wei Kangnuan tried to persuade, increasing the kindness in his voice.
"Xiao Nuan, the more you speak like that, the more I do not want to let you borrow my men," Wei Li told him while averting his eyes.
He just could not handle the heavy stare that his brother was giving him. If he continued staring at it, he was afraid that he might not even be able to protect himself.
Sighing at the childishness of the people standing in front of her, Peng Mingzhu could only clap her hands to bring their attention back to the important at hand, "Let's get started with the interrogation. Warden, if you can please unlock the door."
Hearing her order, the warden turned to look at the princes. Once they nodded their heads, the warden unlocked the door and allowed her to go in with the entire group.
"W-Who are you guys?" a female voice asked, fear very apparent in her tone.
"I am someone who can save you and your son," Peng Mingzhu spoke, her every word a straight up lie.
To all the people standing behind her, they freaked out. However, Wei Li who was slowly learning to get to know Peng Mingzhu better understood that she did not use conventional methods and Wei Kangnuan already knew what method she was employing in order to get the parents of Ren Lin to fess up.
"Y-You really mean it?" the female asked again before being interrupted by a gruff and deep male voice.
"If you are saving us, then why are you coming here with the princes?" the male questioned.
Already expecting his question, Peng Mingzhu answered calmly without any fear of mistakes, "As long as you honestly answer my questions, I can promise that I can bring your son back to life and release you guys from the prisons. However, should you lie to me, I can promise you that I will make you lie on the ground just like how your son is doing right now. So, would you like to take up my offer?"
"You're not lying to us, right?" the man asked.
Raising her hand, Peng Mingzhu promised, "I swear to the skies which I am standing under right now, that has born me, that I am not lying to you and will really help you leave this prison cell."
Of course, Peng Mingzhu was completely lying. Why did she add "that has born me?"
Naturally because she was not born in this world nor under this sky!
"You're really not lying to us?" the man asked once again, almost annoying the hell out of Peng Mingzhu.
"I've already sworn to the sky, do I really have a choice at this point?" Peng Mingzhu questioned while crossing her arms.
"Darling, she does have a point there," the woman spoke. "Let's just trust her. After all...our son's life can't wait anymore."
Listening to his wife, the man finally agreed albeit reluctantly, "Fine. Ask whatever questions you have."
"I know that you guys are not guilty of any crimes," Peng Mingzhu first started off. "In fact, you probably don't even know half of the things you got yourselves into, so I just want you guys to tell me what you know."
The woman did not expect that to be the first thing that Peng Mingzhu would say.
With wide eyes, the woman asked, "Miss...how did you know? How did…"
Ignoring her question with a sigh and raise of her hand to stop her from continuing to speak, Peng Mingzhu said, "Let me ask, why did you guys believe that your son was ill?"
Once again, the woman was surprised.
In a shaky voice, she answered with tears in her eyes, "About two years ago, Lin'er got into an accident. He was in pain everyday and we couldn't stop his pain no matter what. Until…"
"Until a man in white robes came and told you to feed your son the item in that medicinal bag, right?" Peng Mingzhu finished her sentence.
"H-how do you know that?" the woman questioned, the weakness in her tone very apparent.
"If a woman came, you would have easily dismissed her claims and even her medicine. However, if it was a man who came, even if you suspected whether he was a fake or a real, you would still try because you were too desperate for your son. As for why specifically a man in white robes, that was quite easy to guess," Peng Mingzhu honestly answered her question, knowing that there would be a stronger bond of trust if she did.
"There were quite a lot of white robes in the secret room that had the same smell as the medicine. In order for the fabric to have the same scent, it must be soaked in the liquid for a long time. However, that was not the important part. The most noticeable thing was that the fabric was much too expensive for your family to afford, so it only means that it belonged to the person who gave the medicine to you guys," Peng Mingzhu continued to explain.
"That's right," this time, the man spoke instead of his wife. "He told us that if we kept on feeding the medicine to Lin'er, he'd stop being in pain."
"But, did he tell you that the medicine was a hallucinogen?" Peng Mingzhu asked with a smile.
"Huh? A hallucinogen?" the man repeated, not knowing what she was talking about.
"Opium is indeed a good painkiller," Peng Mingzhu commended the mysterious white-robed man. "However, consuming too much opium will make the person become addicted to it, and eventually, they would overdose on it and die. Just like your son here, you see."
"Y-you must be lying, r-right?" the woman asked, her tears streaming down her face.
"As I said, you guys are not guilty," Peng Mingzhu tried to emphasize. "You did not know that your son was being fed opium. However, I have another question."
The man knew that Peng Mingzhu already knew the entire story, but she was merely confirming her guesses by asking them questions, so he immediately accepted to answer her next question, "Please, ask away. After all, we are now guilty of illegal possession of opium."
"Do you have any idea of which country the man could have come from?" Peng Mingzhu asked with a serious face.