Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

Inside the dungeon, guards continuously brandished their whips, each strike producing a crisp crack that mingled with the dull thuds of the whips striking the man's body. As they whipped, they muttered, "Speak! Who sent you? Confess now!"

However, the man was exceptionally resilient. Despite being beaten until his skin was torn and bleeding, he gritted his teeth and didn't utter a single sound. His eyes remained vacant, staring straight ahead, as if the whips weren't striking him at all.

Just then, Boyu entered the dungeon. The guards who were carrying out the executions nearby hurriedly stopped what they were doing when they saw Boyu arrive, bowed to him, and said, "This man is very stubborn and won't say anything."

Qingchuan noticed Boyu's arrival, and his previously lifeless eyes suddenly brightened. He stared at Boyu and shouted with all his might, "I want to see the young master!"

"Does the young master think he can meet just anyone? Tell me the truth: who instructed you to sneak into the Prime Minister's residence? Perhaps then you can suffer less," Boyu said with disdain, looking at Qingchuan's expression.

"I will speak as long as you come to see me, young master!" Qingchuan was now speaking weakly, and a trace of blood was seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Bo Yu turned around and reported the matter in detail to Zheng Luoqi. After listening, Zheng Luoqi said in surprise, "Oh? He's so stubborn. But it wouldn't hurt to go and check on him."

“Let’s go see what kind of trouble he’s up to,” Zheng Luoqi said.

In the dungeon

When the guards saw Zheng Luoqi arrive, they all stopped what they were doing and came out to pay their respects. Zheng Luoqi waved her hand, indicating that they did not need to be so polite and told them to go about their business.

Zheng Luoqi then walked to the cell where Qingchuan was executed, and Boyu immediately brought over a stool for Zheng Luoqi to sit down.

Zheng Luoqi and Qingchuan faced each other across the cell door: "Speak, what do you want with me?"

Qingchuan opened his eyes with difficulty, looked at Zheng Luoqi outside the cell, and said in a hoarse voice, "You finally, finally came to see me. Young master, do you still remember who I am?"

Zheng Luoqi remained silent, waiting for Qingchuan to continue.

Seeing Zheng Luoqi's silence, Qingchuan seemed to have thought of something and sneered, "That's right, with so many beautiful women around you, how could you possibly remember who Qingchuan is?"

"Did you call me here just to listen to this nonsense?" Zheng Luoqi said coldly.

"Young master, you have such a cruel heart," Qingchuan said with a self-deprecating tone.

Zheng Luoqi glanced at Qingchuan indifferently, then closed her eyes, too lazy to pay him any more attention.

"Young master, do you know that your aloof demeanor is quite captivating?" Qingchuan asked.

Zheng Luoqi glanced coldly at Qingchuan and said indifferently, "Tell me how you want to die."

“Hehe… It’s Fan Huai’an, a censor from the Censorate,” Qingchuan said with a sigh of relief.

Zheng Luoqi got the answer she wanted and turned to leave.

Seeing Zheng Luoqi about to leave, Qingchuan was heartbroken. With the last bit of strength in his body, he shouted hoarsely, "Young Master, why are you so heartless? Don't you really have a heart?" Tears streamed down his face like a burst dam, soaking his pale cheeks.

His lips trembled as he continued, "How cold-blooded!" His eyes revealed despair and resentment.

However, Zheng Luoqi simply stood there quietly listening to Qingchuan finish speaking, her eyes cold, before leaving the cell. Zheng Luoqi whispered to Boyu, "Leave him a whole corpse!"

As Qingchuan watched Zheng Luoqi's figure gradually disappear into the distance, he recalled the first time he met Zheng Luoqi. It was the first time he had seen such a stunning person, and she was so gentle to him. Even though they were both men, he couldn't help but fall in love.

Qingchuan only began to live a human life after arriving at the Prime Minister's residence. Here, he was not beaten or starved, and apart from not being allowed to leave the courtyard, he was never mistreated. But people are always greedy. He had hoped to see Zheng Luoqi again, but Zheng Luoqi never came. He also wanted to find an opportunity to tell Zheng Luoqi that he no longer wanted to work for others and only wanted to stay by his side, even without a title or status.

But all of this was just Qingchuan's delusion. When he learned that Zheng Luoqi seemed to have never loved him, he went mad. If she didn't like him, why was she so gentle and kind to him? The better Zheng Luoqi treated Qingchuan, the more Qingchuan was unable to extricate himself.

Zheng Luoqi didn't think too much about it. She just felt that since they were here, she shouldn't mistreat them. She should give them what they deserved and not make it seem like her Prime Minister's Mansion couldn't afford to support them. However, Zheng Luoqi's kindness towards them led many people to mistakenly believe that she had feelings for them.

And so the beautiful misunderstanding began. Of course, Zheng Luoqi had no idea that they had imagined so much.

After Qingchuan was executed, Zheng Luoqi had someone find a place to bury him.

The next day, a secret letter was placed in front of Fan Huai'an, containing some information about Zheng Luoqi.

This letter was written to him by Qingchuan's accomplices. It already stated that Qingchuan had been sentenced to death. Fan Huai'an was unaware that Qingchuan had betrayed him and had exposed him.

With a "crack!", a porcelain cup was smashed against the wall and shattered into several pieces, shards flying everywhere.

Fan Huai'an roared angrily, "Fine, fine, Zheng Luoqi!"

"Sir, please calm down," the elderly man serving nearby advised.

"Hmph, father and son are in cahoots."

"However, now that Qingchuan has fallen from power, you should make preparations as soon as possible, sir."

"Prepare? How should we prepare? Zheng Yuxiang probably already knows. Given the nature of Zheng Yuxiang and his son, they definitely won't let me off easily. I'm afraid I won't be able to escape unscathed," Fan Huai'an said with a dark face and a hateful tone.

"My lord, isn't it almost time for the prime minister to pay respects to his deceased wife? Let's go all the way," the old man said, making a gesture of touching his neck.

"Do you think I wouldn't want to? If it were that easy, Zheng Yuxiang would be gone long ago."

"What if this old servant has a way to shut Zheng Yuxiang up forever!" the old man said confidently.

"any solution?"

"This……"

"Don't be so pretentious, just say it quickly."

"Yes," the old man said respectfully. "We are outnumbered and outmatched, but what if we had more help?"

"You mean?" Fan Huai'an asked, puzzled.

“That’s right. We’ll join forces with some officials in the court to uproot Zheng Yuxiang’s faction. We can’t directly touch the Zheng family, but we can start with Zheng Yuxiang’s associates. Once the Zheng family falls, won’t you be able to rest easy, sir?”

Fan Huai'an pondered for a long time before saying, "That's easy for you to say. Do you know how many officials in the court support the new emperor right now? Even if you include the neutral faction, it's less than a third of them."

“My lord, although the Zheng family wields immense power, their achievements still overshadow the emperor, making him wary. Even though the current emperor is not yet fully powerful, he remains supreme. If we make good use of his power, we will surely achieve the effect you desire,” the old man said.

Fan Huai'an pondered for a long time before nodding and saying, "Hmm, your suggestion is good."