One of them said, estimating that today’s situation was grim, and they might end up stranded in Chicheng County.

So why not make a bold move? He knew there was a household on the street ahead that was closely connected to the Prefect of Chicheng County. Recently, he heard they had a new son, and they were in a celebratory mood.

Why not attack their house, regardless of whether it was the old mother, the wife, or the son of that confidant, just eliminate them all.

Then tell that confidant that it’s his own fault for being close to the Prefect! If he wants to blame someone, he should blame the Prefect!

With such hatred for killing one’s mother, wife, and son, how could that confidant remain indifferent? While his mind is in chaos, let Shopkeeper Chen use that secret technique on him.

Even if they die, it will be worth it.

As for what secret technique, Widow Hu didn’t know.

But the interrogators were aware; could it be that Shopkeeper Chen also knew the Soul Capturing Technique?

They didn’t dare delay and hurriedly reported this early in the morning to Song Chongjin and Wang Yongzhu.

Although according to yesterday’s situation, Shopkeeper Chen hadn’t had the chance to use the Soul Capturing Technique before Song Xiaowei stabbed him to the ground, they were still worried about the possibility.

Wang Yongzhu came today early in the morning to confirm.

Wu Zhongbao was stunned as he listened, incredulous about such things, and was flustered: "Sister from the Wang Family, I, I wasn’t affected by any Soul Capturing Technique, right?"

Wang Yongzhu, amused and exasperated, replied: "The Soul Capturing Technique isn’t something that easily affects you. In the chaos yesterday, did you make eye contact with that person?"

Wu Zhongbao thought for a moment, "I did look at him once, but his forehead was smashed, and blood was covering his eyes, so I didn’t clearly see—"

"Then that’s fine, isn’t it? Don’t worry about it, just stay home and take care of Aunt and Sister Shen’s child!" Wang Yongzhu said, before turning and getting into the carriage.

Returning to the county yamen, she let Old Granny Zhang go to the back courtyard first, while she went to the front to check on the people they captured yesterday.

By morning, although those people had not yet confessed, according to Song Xiaoyin’s judgment, they wouldn’t hold out for much longer.

Meanwhile, over where Ma Erbao was, he had woken up, persistently clamoring to return to the camp. When someone explained the situation to him, he didn’t believe it. After showing him a mirror, he slumped, remaining silent for half a day.

The guards watching him dared not step away even half a step, not blinking their eyes, fearing that Ma Erbao might suddenly act out.

When Wang Yongzhu entered, the two guards promptly saluted her. Despite the commotion, Ma Erbao acted as though he hadn’t heard a thing.

The guard wanted to remind Ma Erbao, but Wang Yongzhu gestured to stop him.

She went straight ahead, reached out to check Ma Erbao’s pulse; the moment she placed her hand on Ma Erbao’s arm, she felt his muscles tense for a brief moment but then relax quickly.

Wang Yongzhu got the information she needed, calmly continuing to take his pulse before stepping back a few steps and sitting down to the side.

"Do you really have nothing to say? If you continue to remain silent, we’ll presume you admit to being a spy from the grasslands!" She said as she got up and began to walk towards the door.

Before she even reached the door, Ma Erbao finally spoke: "Do you really believe me?"

Wang Yongzhu smiled: "If we didn’t believe you, why would we keep you here? You’d have been thrown into the dungeon long ago. If we didn’t believe you, why would we tell you that you were affected by the Soul Capturing Technique and that it isn’t your real intention?"

Ma Erbao’s eyes reddened: "I, I swear by heaven, if I harbor any disloyalty towards Great Chu, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death! I truly do not know—"

Wang Yongzhu and the two guards silently watched Ma Erbao vent his emotions before speaking a few comforting words, gradually stabilizing his emotions.

Only then did they ask where he had encountered the grassland people that day, if he remembered the location, and the details after they met. Could he recall the appearance of that grassland woman?

Ma Erbao began to answer: "It was just—" but after just two words, he was stuck.

His previously resolute expression turned into confusion: "...just... no, I clearly remembered before, how could I forget now? Where was it?"

The more he spoke, the more bewildered he became.

Wang Yongzhu sighed inwardly, knowing Qi Le must have tampered with it, clearing Ma Erbao’s memory when he touched on that place.

Such caution, afraid of exposure, that place must be extremely important to Qi Le.

Seeing Ma Erbao struggling to remember, his face showing more distress, Wang Yongzhu quickly said: "If you can’t remember, that’s fine. Can you still recall what the woman looked like?"

Ma Erbao, holding his head in pain, stopped thinking about that location, easing his headache a bit.

Licking his lips, after trying to recall again, he said: "I remember she was very beautiful, like a celestial being, but if you ask me about her eyebrows, eyes, or hair, I can’t clearly remember..."

He looked at Wang Yongzhu apologetically after he finished speaking.

But Wang Yongzhu was already mentally prepared.

After asking Ma Erbao a few more questions, she instructed the two guards to fix Ma Erbao’s joints and to call a doctor before leaving.

Once Wang Yongzhu was gone, Ma Erbao quietly asked: "That lady just now, who was she?"

The guard glanced at Ma Erbao before saying: "She is our Lord Song’s wife, the First-Rank Imperial Lady personally conferred by His Majesty! You were quite lucky; if this lady had concluded that you were under the Soul Capturing Technique’s influence, your life wouldn’t have been spared from the dungeon!"

Ma Erbao then realized the young, kind, and beautiful lady he had just met had such an impressive background.

Wang Yongzhu came out to find Song Chongjin looking for her.

After asking about the Wu family’s situation, he felt relieved.

Checking in on the room where Ma Erbao was held, Wang Yongzhu then pulled him into the study at the front and said, "Qi Le has set a backup plan, causing at least two layers of hypnotic commands in Ma Erbao’s brain. The place where Ma Erbao met Qi Le has also been forcibly erased. If he is forced to remember, he might end up an idiot."

Song Chongjin’s eyes turned cold, gaining more apprehension towards Qi Le: "It seems that even if we pry open those spies’ mouths, there might not be any useful clues."

Wang Yongzhu replied, "Not necessarily. If we have patience, we could have people take Ma Erbao around the mountains near Yunzhong County one by one. If there is no anomaly, then it proves it’s not the place. If Ma Erbao shows any emotional discrepancies, then it’s nearby."

Song Chongjin’s eyes lit up, not expecting such a reverse strategy, and immediately pondered over it.

However, what he wanted to discuss with Wang Yongzhu wasn’t this: "I received orders from the Capital City side to start negotiations with the grassland side as soon as possible. Lord Qin hinted that the grassland side might have delivered some information to His Majesty, making our emperor impatient."

Wang Yongzhu and Song Chongjin exchanged a look, wondering what it could be. They hadn’t expected Qi Le to be so anxious, unable to wait until confirming the item was with Song Chongjin.

Was the Small Golden Seal really that important to her?

Song Chongjin sighed: "Since it’s a decree from His Majesty, we can’t delay. Preparations must start as we set off tomorrow. Once I’ve left, the matter of spies in this Chicheng County might cause unrest, so I’ll have to rely on Madam to handle this!"

The last sentence was half-joking yet half-serious.

Wang Yongzhu nodded: "Go ahead and rest assured! Leave everything at home to me!"

The couple said no more since pressing matters were at hand, especially with Song Chongjin setting off the next day, needing things to be arranged, which fell under Wang Yongzhu’s instructions.

Song Chongjin also needed to finish matters at the county yamen, so they simply exchanged a brief smile and went about their business.

Upon returning to the rear courtyard, Wang Yongzhu instructed someone to prepare Song Chongjin’s luggage.

She also contacted Chen Xing.

Perhaps due to Wang Yongzhu agreeing to cooperate with the Alliance, Chen Xing had remained on standby, given its importance here. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Upon contact, Chen Xing responded immediately.

Without wasting words, Wang Yongzhu flipped out the Small Golden Seal for Chen Xing to examine: "I suspect Qi Le has been searching for this item. But what exactly is it? Can you detect it?"