"Come to think of it, I have a good idea."
Shi Muyuan twitched the corners of her mouth. Thinking that what the two of them were about to say might be inappropriate for children, she coughed twice to remind the two people outside the door.
The county magistrate came to his senses and hurriedly left with his wife.
Cui Qizhou folded his arms and calmly stared at the person sitting opposite him.
Shi An was quite annoyed by his gaze and stepped forward to block it.
"National Preceptor, what do you think we should do next? Should we keep those two in the county yamen or take them with us on our journey?"
"Doesn't the eldest young master already have an idea in mind? Why do you still ask?"
"After all, I'm not the only one on this trip. Of course, I have to ask for the National Preceptor's opinion."
Hearing this, the man didn't answer directly. Instead, he turned to look at the divine doctor beside him.
"Divine Doctor, did you use any methods to suppress the illness of the people in Changjing City at that time?"
San Qi stroked his beard. "Sure enough, nothing can be hidden from you. That's right. Before coming here, I considered that we might be delayed for some time, so I prescribed some medicine to suppress the illness for them."
Shi Muyuan thought she must be seeing things. Why did it seem that the man let out a sigh of relief when he heard this?
This man was clearly cold - blooded and heartless, and no one could affect him. Yes, she must be seeing things.
She took the conversation initiative.
"In that case, let's interrogate those two first."
"Okay."
The man didn't say anything more. One word represented his attitude. The matter was quickly settled. Since they decided to interrogate here first, if they got results, they would continue their journey.
Afraid that the scene would be too bloody and his sister might see something unpleasant, Shi An directly rejected his sister's proposal to go with them.
"Your Highness, please wait in the room. We'll come back to you as soon as we get good news."
Shi Muyuan pouted. Her elder brother was over - protecting her, but she had no objections.
"Then you must be careful. Although those two have been captured, there probably won't be anyone trying to rescue them."
...
The group came to the prison. Granny Lin slowly woke up. When she saw them, she snorted.
"Kill me or cut me up, it's up to you. You don't need to beat around the bush. I know you definitely won't let me go."
"Granny Lin, we're not blood - thirsty people. As long as you can tell us your plan, I can let you and your granddaughter go."
But Granny Lin didn't believe a word of it.
"No one in this world would easily let go of the prey in their hands. I've lived for so many years and I've had enough. I'm sure my granddaughter isn't a coward either."
Sure enough, those favored by the King of the Western Regions were by no means ordinary people.
Cui Qizhou calmly sat down beside them.
"It seems that you really don't care about family at all, not even about your own granddaughter. Since that's the case, we'll start with your granddaughter first. I'm sure Granny Lin, who is so loyal to her master, definitely won't care about her granddaughter's life or death."
After saying that, the man turned around gracefully and left.
Granny Lin watched his back, feeling a chill down her spine. Suddenly, she thought of something and roared loudly.
"If you dare to touch my granddaughter, I'll never let you go, Cui Qizhou. If you have the guts, come at me. What kind of man are you to go after my granddaughter?"
But the man seemed not to hear. No matter how she shouted, he didn't turn back.
Granny Lin could only watch helplessly as the man walked towards her granddaughter's cell, but she was powerless and could do nothing.
When Cui Qizhou arrived at Lin Sun's cell, he saw a woman as pale as death.
Only when the woman saw Lan Xi did her eyes show a glimmer of vitality for a moment.
"Why? We're the same kind of people. Why do you have to follow them? Did they threaten or bribe you? You promised the King that you'd never betray him."
Lan Xi seemed to hear a joke. Recalling his past experiences, the mockery on his lips grew.
"Do you know why I said that back then?"
"Why?"
"It's because he put a gu worm on me back then, leaving me with no ability to resist. After all these years, I've finally regained my freedom. Do you think I can let him live?"
Even after knowing the truth, Lin Sun still thought her master was right.
"Master did it for your own good. Can't you just let go of your prejudices?"
"No! I'll never forget the words he said when he put the gu on me."
A hint of red appeared in Lan Xi's eyes as his memory returned to that winter.
The snow was flying everywhere, and everything was white as far as the eye could see, looking desolate and beautiful.
But in this bone - chilling weather, there was a figure kneeling at the entrance of the Western Region Palace Hall. No matter who called, he wouldn't get up.
A young and lively girl held an umbrella over his head.
"Go back. The King has already said that he definitely won't see you. Don't torture yourself here."
The young man's lips were pale and he was on the verge of collapse. But he held on with his last bit of willpower and refused to fall. He even ignored the girl's concern.
"Get out! It's not your whole family that was executed. Of course, you can say such things with a smile. I even forgot that Miss Lin has always been by the King's side. There has been a long - standing feud between the Lin and Lan families. I'm afraid this matter has something to do with your Lin family, right?"
It was just a random guess from the young man at first, but when he saw the girl's flustered expression the next moment, he suddenly understood. A crazy smile appeared on his face.
"Yes, how could I forget? The Lin family wouldn't send you to the King's side for no reason. Your so - called letting go of the past is actually just waiting for this moment, right? Your Lin family is really disgusting."
The girl staggered back two steps and almost dropped the oil - paper umbrella in her hand.
She instinctively wanted to explain herself.
"I... I just gave that thing to the King as my father told me. I didn't do anything else. I didn't expect it to turn out like this. You should go back quickly. You're not in good health. If you catch a cold in this freezing weather, what will you do?"
The young man avoided her worried gaze and thought how ridiculous his previous actions were.
"If I had known this would happen, I should have killed you directly. My cousin was right. Your Lin family are all heartless people. I really regret it. Why did I save you, an ungrateful person?"