Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

Deep in the dark and damp sky prison, the candlelight flickered, stretching the human shadows to appear longer and shorter.

The water droplets condensed on the stone wall dripped down, making a crisp sound in the dead silence.

Gongsun Yi leaned against the cold stone wall, his chest heaving violently, and every breath affected the wound left by Zhao Yu.

He stared intently at the figure that suddenly appeared at the entrance of the cell - Prince Chu Ning of Chu.

Chu Ning was wearing a moon-white brocade robe, which made him particularly eye-catching in the dim sky prison.

He has a handsome face, with an innate nobility between his brows and a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.

But those eyes were as deep as a pool, making it impossible to see through their depth.

"General Gongsun, how are you?" Chu Ning's voice was as gentle as jade, but it made Gongsun Yi's muscles tense instantly.

Gongsun Yi unconsciously clenched his hands into fists, his nails digging deep into his palms.

A violent murderous intent surged from the bottom of his heart - if he could kidnap the Crown Prince of Chu, he might be able to leave this gloomy prison alive.

As soon as this thought came to his mind, his eyes involuntarily swept towards Chu Ning's throat.

But then, Gongsun Yi forced himself to suppress this impulse.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zhao Yu had quietly taken half a step forward, his silver spear gleaming coldly in the shadows.

What made him even more fearful was that even if Zhao Yu was not present, with his current injuries, he might not have a chance of winning against Chu Ning, who was rumored to have unfathomable martial arts skills.

"Why, General Gongsun is not convinced?"

Chu Ning seemed to be aware of his murderous intent, but he remained calm and even took two steps forward, only five steps away from Gongsun Yi.

Gongsun Yi's Adam's apple rolled and his voice became hoarse: "Of course I don't accept it!"

He punched the stone wall beside him, knocking off some rubble.

"I didn't expect you to trick me into coming here. If I were outside the city, you wouldn't dare to arrest me in a high-profile manner, right?"

Chu Ning chuckled softly, his laughter resonating particularly clearly in the prison. "After all, you are here with an envoy. If we attack you openly, the spies from the other three dynasties will definitely spread the news and sow discord between our dynasty and your Scorpion Clan."

He walked slowly to the stone bench beside him and sat down with his sleeves brushed.

"We tricked you into coming here, and even had you write a letter to your deputy envoy in advance, which stabilized the delegation and minimized the impact."

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured on Gongsun Yi's head.

It was not until this moment that he truly realized that he had completely fallen into the other party's trap.

From the conflict with Zhao Yu at the city gate half a month ago, to the assassin's sudden identification today, to him being "invited" into the Sky Prison - every step was under Chu Ning's control.

Gongsun Yi was silent for a long time, and finally squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth: "Your Highness the Crown Prince has good tactics."

The candlelight on the stone wall flickered, illuminating Gongsun Yi's changeable expression.

He finally understood why the young prince before him had been able to sideline the King of Chu in just a few years and force the old emperor to abdicate.

Such scheming and trickery are truly chilling.

"This time, I am convinced."

Gongsun Yi took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his chest: "But these assassins have nothing to do with our dynasty, and they were not sent by me."

Upon hearing this, Chu Ning suddenly smiled, a smile that was particularly dazzling in the dim cell:

"Of course I know these assassins were not sent by you."

He lightly brushed off the non-existent dust from his sleeves.

"I pushed you to this point just to make you tell the truth."

"What's the truth?" Gongsun Yi frowned.

Jia Yu, standing by, stepped forward and said coldly, "General Gongsun, you don't really think that you could hide the Crown Prince's knowledge of colluding with so many people to buy grain?"

He slipped a booklet out of his sleeve and waved it in front of Gongsun Yi.

"You just need to tell us who these people are, and His Royal Highness will forgive them."

Gongsun Yi's pupils suddenly contracted. Jia Yu had even prepared all these.

It was then that he suddenly realized - this was Chu Ning's real purpose!

"no!"

Gongsun Yi blurted out, his voice echoing in the prison: "If I reveal these people, then our dynasty will not be able to buy food from them!"

The Scorpion Tribe suffered a severe disaster this year and wanted to buy food from merchants from the State of Chu to maintain their military supplies.

If this channel is cut off, there will be great unrest in the Scorpion Tribe within three months.

Jia Yu shook his head, his tone surprisingly calm: "Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is handling this matter personally, you don't have to worry about the food."

This was an obvious promise - as long as Gongsun Yi cooperated, the Scorpion Tribe could still obtain food from the State of Chu, but the trading partners would change from those merchants to the prince.

Gongsun Yi's eyes flashed as he quickly weighed the pros and cons.

Compared with those profit-driven businessmen, it is obviously safer to trade directly with Chu Ning.

Those merchants may raise prices at any time or even stop supplying at a critical moment.

Since Chu Ning dared to make a promise, he must have a stable supply channel.

"it is good!"

Gongsun Yi made a prompt decision: "I can write down the names of these people."

He paused, then added, "But among those I trade with, some wear masks, and I don't know their identities."

Chu Ning nodded slightly, and Jia Yu immediately handed him paper and pen.

Gongsun Yi took it and began to write in the dim candlelight.

The rustling sound of the pen tip scratching across the paper was particularly clear in the silent cell.

As he was writing, Gongsun Yi suddenly stopped, looked up, and asked, "I'm confused. What does this have to do with the assassination?"

The smile on Chu Ning's face disappeared instantly, replaced by a chilling sneer:

"Since they dare to pin the blame on you, it means they know about you and these people buying food."

He stood up and slowly walked towards Gongsun Yi: "Perhaps, the other party is hiding among the people who negotiated with you to buy grain, especially those wearing masks!"

Gongsun Yi was struck by lightning, and the brush in his hand fell to the ground with a "bang".

Only then did he understand Chu Ning's entire plan - first using the assassination incident to create pressure, then using the grain trade as a breakthrough, and the ultimate goal was to find the enemies hiding in the dark!

"I see!"

Gongsun Yi muttered to himself, then flew into a rage: "How dare these rats use me!"

He suddenly grabbed the paper and continued writing furiously: "Since they want to frame me, then I will help you find them!"

The candlelight on the stone wall suddenly shook violently, and a cold wind blew into the prison from somewhere.

After Gongsun Yi finished writing the last name, he slammed the paper down on the stone table.

He looked up at Chu Ning and found that he was staring at an invisible corner deep in the sky prison, with a chilling light in his eyes.

"Your Highness, everything has been written." Jia Yu reported in a low voice after checking the list.

Chu Ning retracted his gaze and put on a gentle smile again on his face: "Very good, General Gongsun is indeed a smart man."

He pulled a token from his sleeve and handed it to Gongsun Yi: "Once this matter is settled, take this token to Zuixian Tower in the south of the city, and someone will naturally come to negotiate with you about the grain."

Gongsun Yi took the token and felt it was cold to the touch. The dragon pattern carved on the token was lifelike.

He knew that from this moment on, the relationship between the Scorpion Clan and the State of Chu would completely change.

"As for those assassins!"

Chu Ning turned and walked out of the cell, her voice fading away: "I will let them know the consequences of playing with fire in the Chu Kingdom."

As Chu Ning's figure disappeared into the dark corridor, the Sky Prison fell silent again.

Only the sound of water dripping from the stone wall seemed to be telling some unknown secret.

At this time, Jia Yu smiled and said, "Alright, now please invite General Gongsun and I to go over and supervise the execution together!"

He did not forget that he still had to supervise the execution today!

The purpose of letting Gongsun Yi show up was to appease the Scorpion delegation outside the city.