Prince! The political conspiracy is not a play, the show is real

Tao Yao said, "Believe it or not."

After saying that, Tao Yao pretended to go on strike. Seeing this, Shi Lanxin hurriedly said, "Forget it, forget it. I'll trust you just this once."

After Tao Yao painted all ten of Shi Lanxin's fingers with oleander dye, she picked up the hemp rope that had just been scattered on the ground and handed it to Shi Lanxin: "Here, while that woman hasn't come back yet, quickly put the hemp rope back to its original shape."

"Ah?——" Shi Lanxin took the hemp rope with both hands, her eyes were dull and confused, and she didn't know what was going on.

Tao Yao felt her patience was almost exhausted in the face of this rather slow-witted young lady. She forced herself to explain, "Have you forgotten what that woman just said? If we dare to play any tricks, she'll throw us into that cave full of dead bones! Tie yourself up quickly, or she won't find you."

Shi Lanxin suddenly realized what was going on. She nodded repeatedly while busy grabbing the hemp rope and wrapping it around her arms and shoulders.

Because she was sitting on the ground, the movements of everything around her seemed to be transmitted to Tao Yao's body through the subtle vibrations of the ground. Tao Yao became extremely sensitive to the slightest changes around her.

Suddenly, Tao Yao felt a tremor in her palm, which was resting on the ground. She gently moved her palm, measuring the ground inch by inch, and quietly distinguishing it. Soon, she felt that the tremor came from the west and was gradually approaching them.

"Hush! Someone's coming."

Tao Yao winked at Shi Lanxin and lowered her voice to a very low level, "Quick, pretend to be dead."

After saying this, the two men returned to their previous forms and positions, each of them acting as if they were half dead.

Although her eyes were closed, Tao Yao could still clearly distinguish the footsteps of two people approaching.

A female voice said, "I've found the person you want. Remember to fulfill the corresponding conditions."

Then, another man's voice sounded: "Did you hurt her?"

Tao Yao's heart suddenly sank. This was Lu Che's voice, there was no mistake.

No wonder that woman had his falcon and could play his whistle, it turned out they were working together.

The woman laughed coldly and said, "You men, one or two of you, are really funny. You're wasting so much time and energy on a worthless little girl."

There was a hint of forbearance in Lu Che's voice: "...Zhining, you'd better not lie to me."

Tao Yao pricked up her ears and listened attentively to their conversation.

Zhining? So this woman's name is Zhining.

Tao Yao silently remembered the name.

The two people's footsteps gradually approached, and Zhining's voice gradually became louder, sounding frivolous and arrogant: "Hmph, I'm kidding you? It's just such a small business, I wouldn't even give you credit. Everyone knows you're a stingy person."

Then, Taoyao suddenly felt a chill on her back. Zhining grabbed Taoyao's skirt and lifted her out of the mud, squeezing the tendons in her neck until they cracked.

Tao Yao groaned in pain. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Lu Che's panicked face through her tearful eyes.

"Zhining, put her down."

Lu Che used a commanding tone.

"It's not done yet, Lu Che, you have to be honest." Zhining scratched Tao Yao's face with her sharp nails and sneered, "If she wasn't still useful, I would have taken her life long ago."

Lu Che's voice trembled: "Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

"Humph."

Zhining snorted coldly, letting go and throwing Taoyao back into the muddy puddle beneath his feet. He said calmly, "I've set up a decoy in the village to divert Prince Yi and the Marquis of Zhenbei and their group elsewhere. Prince Yi is very careful. Even if my decoy is superb, he will definitely be able to break it and find us here in less than half an hour. All we have to do now is wait and see."

She paused, pointing to Tao Yao, lying in a heap in the mud, and Shi Lanxin, tied to a tree, and said, "Look, these two hostages—the two young ladies of the Shi family. One is the most beloved daughter of General Zhenbei, whom Prince Yi has been trying so hard to befriend, and the other is his beloved whom Prince Yi rushed into the dungeon to rescue and brought back to his palace to care for her with great care. Guess who he would choose if I put a knife to their necks and asked them to choose between life and death?"

When Shi Lanxin heard Zhining call Taoyao Chu Huanjun's sweetheart, she immediately flew into a rage and shouted unconvincedly, "You bitch, what nonsense are you talking about!?"

Zhining walked around to the banyan tree with great interest, carefully examined Shi Lanxin from head to toe, and said with a wry smile, "Miss Shi, you are the most arrogant person I have ever met. In today's world, there are very few people like you who are so ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth. Your family must love you very much and have never let you suffer any hardship, right?"

Shi Lanxin spat in Zhining's face and cursed, "Bitch, if you dare to touch a hair on my head again, you'll lose your head."

Before she finished her words, Shi Lanxin let out a piercing scream. It turned out that Zhining had cut a small cut on her face with a knife. It was obvious that Zhining didn't intend to be cruel, but just wanted to scare Shi Lanxin. The wound was so shallow that not even a few drops of blood dripped out.

Zhining threatened, "Miss Shi, I know you are a noble, but you are now a tiger in the open and bullied by a dog. Although I am a little bitch, I can easily take your life, so I advise you to be respectful."

Shi Lanxin really fell silent, pursed her lips and sobbed silently.

Zhining turned the knife around in her hand, then walked slowly towards Taoyao, using the tip of the knife to lift up the few strands of hair that were hanging in front of Taoyao's eyebrows.

"I guess Prince Yi will choose her."

The cold blade slid slowly along Tao Yao's brow bone to the tip of her nose and lips, and finally just touched her lips lightly without hurting her.

"This isn't an easy choice, don't you think? Lu Che."

Lu Che stood opposite with a cold expression, silent.

Zhining chuckled again and said, "Lu Che, all you have to do is put on a show. When Prince Yi and the Marquis of Zhenbei arrive, you'll act like a bandit and force them to let Shi Lanxin go. Then, in front of them, pretend to kill Shi Taoyao. After they leave, Shi Taoyao will be yours to deal with. That's my condition."

Hearing this, Lu Che was silent for a long time before he slowly spoke, "I thought you wanted some money... What's the point of doing this?"

Zhining said coldly: "You don't understand."

Lu Che sighed and replied, "After this is done, I will take Shi Taoyao away. Don't let the higher-ups know about this."

Zhining replied cheerfully, "Of course. I've already bribed all the Wuyan Pavilion people currently in Beijing. Even if someone knows about our actions, they won't leak them."

Tao Yao was startled when she heard the words "Wu Yan Pavilion". When they first met Lu Che at Chunfeng Tower, Chu Huanjun had already mentioned that he was from Wu Yan Pavilion.

So it seems that this woman named Zhining is also working for Wuyan Pavilion.

What kind of organization is Wuyan Pavilion? Tao Yao has no idea. In all the time she's lived here, she's never heard anyone mention Wuyan Pavilion openly. She thinks it's an organization lurking in the shadows.