Help! The cunning and treacherous minister and I were reborn together!

Xiao Zong carried Yuan Zhi back to the west wing. After they bathed separately, he called for someone to bring a bamboo mat and a brand-new set of bedding, which he threw on the ground, intending to actually sleep on the floor.

Yuan Zhi sat on the edge of the bed, hugging his legs and asking, "Are you really planning to sleep here?"

Xiao Zong threw down the pillow. "You really don't plan to let me sleep in the bed?"

Yuan Zhi shook her finger. "Commander, don't be so fussy. Just change the bedding if it's dirty. Go back now!"

Xiao Zong sat on the quilt, one hand propped on his knee. "Manager Yuan, it's too late to kick me out now. I had them move the bed to the kitchen; it should be chopped into firewood by now. I also want to tidy up the room, so I'll have to condescend to sleep here until it's done!"

"Condescend to me?"

Yuan Zhi threw a pillow at him, "My temple is too small to accommodate a Buddha like you. Please take your things and go next door, thank you!"

Xiao Zong caught her pillow, pretending to return it. Just as Yuan Zhi reached out, he threw it onto the bed and jumped on top of her.

He usurped her place, using her pillow and pressing down on her blanket, and smugly uttered two words: "No way!"

Yuan Zhi turned around to snatch it, but he pulled her around the waist and pressed her against his chest.

Unable to move, she said fiercely but weakly, "Let go!"

Xiao Zong used his other hand to smooth her hair, his long fingers sliding down her earlobe and pinching it gently. "Are you sulking because I didn't save you earlier?"

Yuan Zhi shook his head, shaking off the mischievous hand.

"I'm not stupid. Her strength is about the same as mine, and she doesn't have any tools. There's no way she could strangle me! Besides, I have hands and feet. Why should I always rely on others to save me? If I don't practice more now, what if you're not here one day? Wouldn't I just be waiting to die?"

Xiao Zong said, "You speak so eloquently, yet why did you commit suicide in the Prince of Wu's residence?"

"Hmph, you say I'm being stubborn? Xiao Congyun, how long have you been holding a grudge about this? Did you deliberately not save me just now to see if I would die again?"

She lay on top of him, grabbing his chin and accusing him.

Xiao Zong was not satisfied with her answer. "Don't change the subject!"

"Oh, what's so hard to think about? I'm in pain, I want to die quickly, it's that simple!"

"Don't do it again next time!" Xiao Zong stared into her bright, star-like eyes. "Even if it's excruciating, even if it's agonizing, you have to endure it and wait for someone to come and save you, understand?"

Yuan Zhi covered his mouth, "There will be a next time? Are you cursing me?"

Xiao Zong chuckled, his chest rising and falling, and Yuan Zhi followed suit, bobbing up and down like a swimming little fish.

She awkwardly withdrew her hand and nudged him, saying, "Go to sleep!"

"Okay, answer one question for me first."

"You ask."

"Why are you so angry knowing that Jingzhe is the murderer?"

Yuan Zhi's bright eyes dimmed. "It's just a pity. How can it not be sad that such good friends have to part ways and even turn against each other because of different goals?"

Xiao Zong smiled and said, "It doesn't sound like regret to me, but rather like envy."

"I do feel envious! I'm neither the eldest son nor the heir, and I'm not favored. Before I married you, I hadn't attended any decent banquets, nor had I made any close friends. What about you? Do you have any brothers like those in the stories who would go to great lengths for you?"

"Yes, except for Dou Zhao, the others are all at the border."

Yuan Zhi asked with great interest, "Tell me about it!"

Having achieved his goal, Xiao Zong recounted the interesting events of the past.

"In the second year of Jianzhao, the Su Tuo, together with five tribes including the Pi Ya and Jiu Hu, raided the border of Daqi..."

*

Yuan Zhi fell asleep listening to Xiao Zong's story last night. This morning, as soon as he got out of bed, he saw the bedding scattered on the floor and cursed Xiao Zong as a bastard!

That wicked and treacherous minister has used all his schemes on her. If he succeeds again tonight, she'll be damned!

"Young Madam, are you up?"

Chen Qing sounded anxious outside, as if something urgent had happened.

Yuan Zhi hurriedly dressed and opened the door. "What's wrong?"

Holding the barely breathing kitten in her hands, Chen Qing cried and said, "Before Liu Rong left, he threw the kitten like this. Young Madam, will it die?"

Yuan Zhi took the little raccoon from his hand and felt a pang of heartache when he saw the blood spilling from its mouth.

"There's a doctor at the end of Weiyang Street who treats livestock. Go find him; maybe the kitten can still be saved!"

"I'm going right now!"

Chen Qing ran away quickly. Yuan Zhi was worried about causing the kitten further harm, so she put it in the bedding on the ground and gave it water in a small cup.

Luo Mei had rested well for a night and was now fully recovered. She hurried to serve her mistress. Just as she reached the door, she saw her mistress slam the door shut, refusing her entry.

Luo Mei: "..."

What happened last night that made the young lady so cold to her?

Yuan Zhi explained through the door, "Luo Mei, the kitten is in my room, please don't come in yet."

With her heart at ease, Luo Mei said, "Then I'll go to the small kitchen first and see if Miss's meal is ready."

"Ah."

Less than a quarter of an hour after Luo Mei left, Chen Qing dragged the doctor in.

The doctor examined the kitten, prescribed some medicine, and said that the kitten was badly injured and whether it would survive depended on its fate.

Yuan Zhi was in low spirits and stayed with Chen Qing to watch over the cat. Luo Mei brought her food, but she only ate a couple of bites before losing her appetite.

In her past life, His Majesty bestowed upon her a kitten, a tribute from Persia, pure white with eyes as beautiful as sapphires. She named it Snowball and cherished it day and night.

Later, a concubine, jealous of her favor with the emperor, poisoned Xue Tuan. In a fit of rage, she nearly beat the concubine to death, which displeased the emperor, who then withdrew from her palace for a month.

That feeling of helplessness, of being unable to protect anyone, surged into her heart again. She hated this. Now that she was reborn, why should she still swallow her anger?!

She immediately sent someone to find Liu Rong. After a while, the servant returned to report that the Liu family had disappeared without a trace.

She found something strange. Liu Rong was injured; how could he have emptied the house in one night? He didn't have the money to hire someone!

*

After the morning court session, Xiao Zong received an imperial edict to detain Wei Shi and led the Leopard Guards to confiscate her property.

At this moment, all 240 members of the Wei family were imprisoned in the Leopard Guard's dungeon.

The cacophony of voices was punctuated by desperate wails, the cracking of whips and the incessant cursing. The air was thick with the pungent smell of burning flesh, making the already confined cell even more unbearable.

Wei Xueyao huddled in a pile of straw in the corner, shivering and dry heaving.

Because her hair ornaments were forcibly removed, her long hair was scattered in clumps, making her look like a madwoman from afar. She no longer resembled a legitimate daughter of a marquis.

Xiao Zong and Dou Zhao stood in a blind spot, observing Wei Xueyao's condition.

Dou Zhao asked, "It's only the first day, and it's already like this. Is Master sure you want to continue?"

Xiao Zong said ruthlessly, "Continue! The so-called 'survival from the brink of death' means that no one is qualified to survive unless they are in dire straits. We must make her afraid, break down, and despair. Only when she is facing a life-or-death situation will she be grateful to those who helped her and become completely devoted to them!"