Chapter 246: Chapter 245: Disguise"Mr. Jiu—"


    He Hongzhao felt a sourness inside, but her face showed a gentle smile.


    Qi Wuya smiled and walked to the bedside, sitting down, "How do you feel? Do you need anything else?"


    He Hongzhao shook her head, "No, I don’t need anything. Everything is properly taken care of with Mr. Jiu here."


    "That’s good then."


    Qi Wuya lowered his head and did not speak again, appearing weighed down by heavy thoughts.


    Seeing this, He Hongzhao asked, "Has Mr. Jiu finished taking care of your matters?"


    Qi Wuya nodded, "Yes. It has been taken care of successfully, thank to a word from Hongzhao."


    When he engaged people for tasks, he was never stingy in giving praise.


    Only by affirming the value of others will they strive to create even greater value.


    That was the case for He Hongzhao.


    Having received Qi Wuya’s affirmation, she felt very happy, and asked, "Then why does Mr. Jiu look so troubled? *cough cough* Is it because you’ve run into... some sort of trouble?"


    Qi Wuya did not mind showing weakness, he nodded in response, "Yes. I want to kill someone, but I don’t know how to do it."


    Pure violent assassination, while easy, can quickly lead to grounds for accusation.


    He preferred to kill people without anyone’s notice.


    That was why he had asked He Hongzhao to come.


    He Hongzhao had a wealth of knowledge about assassination methods and said, "Mr. Jiu, you can kill however you want to kill."


    Her implication was clear—she could help him with it.


    Qi Wuya had been waiting for her exact words and smiled, "Before I kill him, I need to know what he and the Four Great Families have conspired, how they plan to deal with me. But torture for information extraction is too slow."


    He Hongzhao understood what he meant, pondered for a moment, and then said with a smile, "I can apply needles, making him answer as we ask."


    Qi Wuya’s eyes brightened, and he praised her, "Hongzhao truly is a master of our generation!"


    He glanced at Han Mo and asked him to invite Zhang Tai.


    Zhang Tai was tall and sturdily built, having inherited the good genes of his father.


    He was also blessed with good looks, had a complexion as pale as jade, more like a scholar rather than a warrior.


    "Greetings to the Ninth Prince—"


    He was very cautious. Upon entering the main hall, he looked around.


    Nothing out of the ordinary.


    Just the same Palace Attendants.


    Followed by Han Mo, whose martial arts were average.


    He also hadn’t heard news of connections with the Deputy Commander.


    It was likely he was unaware of the Eldest Princess’s plan to confront them at court tomorrow.


    Thinking this, Zhang Tai relaxed slightly.


    Qi Wuya observed his microexpressions and said with a smile, "Commander Zhang, have a seat. It’s cold outside, warm yourself up with some tea."


    Next to him, a small stove was boiling water.


    Steam was rising from the bubbling water.


    It had already boiled.


    He picked up the teapot and poured two cups of tea.


    One cup he pushed in front of Zhang Tai.


    Zhang Tai still had his guard up; how could he dare drink his tea?


    He didn’t sit down, but simply bowed and said, "I have to patrol still. If the Ninth Prince has orders, please command."


    Qi Wuya held up the cup of hot tea in front of him, took a sip, and watched him with a smile, "What is Commander Zhang worried about? It’s just tea. To speak bluntly, as a subject, do you not even have this bit of trust in me?"


    Zhang Tai was silent for a moment, then managed to squeeze out a smile, "You’re being too serious, Ninth Prince. I’m but a rough man, perhaps unworthy of your fine tea."


    "Not unworthy."


    Qi Wuya looked at him with a smiling gaze, insistent on him drinking.


    Zhang Tai locked eyes with him for a while but eventually gave in, sat opposite him, lifted the teacup, and sipped lightly.


    The tea was fragrant.


    It was good tea.


    He dared not indulge, took just a symbolic sip, and then asked, "Does the Ninth Prince have any orders?"


    He only wanted to leave as quickly as possible.


    Ever since the late Emperor’s death, the Crown Prince fell into a coma, and Qi Wuya suddenly took power, he had been afraid of him.


    He always tried to avoid him if possible.


    Qi Wuya pretended to be astonished, "Really? I’ve heard that Commander Zhang is well-respected in the Imperial Army, with the hearts of the soldiers."


    Zhang Tai put on a fearful look and replied, "Not so, not so. The Imperial Army is strictly disciplined and loyal to Beiqi, to the Emperor."


    He could not bear the accusation of having the Imperial Army’s loyalty to himself alone.


    What in the world did the Ninth Prince want to do?


    His heart drummed with unease.


    Perhaps it was too warm inside, or he was anxious, but he began to sweat.


    Qi Wuya continued to drink his tea.


    The scent of tea lingered in the air.


    The incense burner, too, emitted wispy white smoke.


    The white smoke wound its way into Zhang Tai’s nostrils.


    He sneezed and hurriedly covered his mouth, "Please forgive me, Ninth Prince. I have lost my composure—"


    Before he could finish, his expression changed, and his eyes filled with terror, "Wuya, you—"


    He clutched his forehead, feeling dizzy and light-headed, swayed a few times, then collapsed.


    "Thump!"


    He fell onto the table.


    Like a dead dog, sprawled out on top.


    Wuya’s quick reflexes allowed him to grab the teacup, downing its contents in one gulp, then he watched expressionlessly as Han Mo dragged the body away to a side chamber.


    In the side chamber,


    He Hongzhao was being helped off the bed by Han Chen.


    She opened the prepared medical kit, took out long, thin needles, and one by one inserted them into the acupoints on Zhang Tai’s head.


    Soon, she turned his head into a porcupine with needles. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea,


    Zhang Tai woke up.


    He lay on the ground with a vacant look in his eyes, as if he had lost his mind, staring at the people in front of him.


    Wuya squatted down, patted his face, and began to ask, "What’s your name?"


    "Zhang Tai."


    "How old are you?"


    "Twenty-three."


    "What’s your rank?"


    "Commander of Imperial Army."


    He answered without any hesitation.


    However, these were all trivial questions that revealed nothing of consequence.


    Wuya paused for a moment before hitting the core issue, "What plan have your father and the Eldest Princess orchestrated?"


    This question was clearly too important.


    Even under control, he knew he should not speak.


    Thus, he began to struggle and scream, clutching his painfully throbbing head, rolling on the ground.


    Wuya pressed down on his body in time, his eyes ruthlessly intent, and asked again, "What are your father Zhang E and Qi Bingshuang plotting? How do they intend to deal with me?"


    "...They’re planning a coup."


    He couldn’t resist and finally admitted, "Tomorrow during the imperial court session. The Eldest Princess will be present as well. They plan to confront the Ninth Prince with the Crown Prince’s injury, publicly accusing him of patricide and fratricide in front of all the officials."


    "And then?"


    "I will lead the soldiers to surround and kill you!"


    "Oh, I see."


    It was much as he had suspected.


    Wuya found it boring; the Eldest Princess had such limited capabilities!


    He asked another question, "Did the Eldest Princess poison Huo Yu?"


    Zhang Tai shook his head, "I don’t know."


    "Then what secrets do you know about the Eldest Princess?"


    "The Lei brothers are... her loyal subjects."


    "Anything else?"


    "No more."


    Zhang Tai was in such agony that his face contorted fiercely.


    Wuya went on to question him about the secrets and weaknesses of Zhang E, Xue Wen Zhan, Grandmaster Zheng, and others,


    until the pain caused him to faint.


    "Tsk, so useless."


    He waved his hand in disgust, "For now, drag him into the secret chamber."


    The secret chamber was within this side chamber.


    Located behind the wall at the back of the couch.


    When Han Mo turned the phoenix head armrest on the couch, the wall split open, revealing a room.


    The room was narrow and claustrophobic.


    Han Mo dragged the man in, stripped off his outer clothing, bound him up, and then stuffed his mouth with a cloth.


    Then he closed the secret chamber.


    He Hongzhao was busy making a human skin mask.


    Once it was completed, she adhered it to Han Chen’s face.


    Han Chen had a stature similar to that of Zhang Tai.


    Once he put on the human skin mask and changed into his clothes, it would be difficult for anyone who wasn’t close to him to see any difference.


    "The voice is the only flaw."


    Wuya’s gaze swept over Han Chen and turned to He Hongzhao, giving a slight smile, "Hongzhao, I require a perfect disguise."