The word "also" made the man's body stiffen upon hearing it. He looked at Yun Xi in surprise.
He never expected that before he even revealed his identity, the other party had already exposed him!
Such a sharp insight was hard to imagine coming from this extremely beautiful young girl in front of him!
Seeing that the man remained silent, Yun Xi picked up the tea on the table and took a gentle sip. She said sarcastically:
"Did you come to the Prime Minister's Mansion just to stare blankly at this princess? If you still dare not show your true face until now, I advise you to go back early!"
Since this man dared to come to her in person, he must be in need of her help.
And her previous strategy had finally paid off!
Now it was time to compete with the man in terms of endurance. If the other party was willing to be open and honest, she could avoid some detours.
If he refused to tell the truth... then don't blame her for not giving him a chance!
No matter what method she used, she would surely force the man to tell all the truth!
Previously, she had seen Qi Rong's cruel way of interrogating others. At that time, she had found it hard to accept.
However, after getting to know the darkness of this world, she deeply understood:
Even if one chose to be kind, one needed to have sharp claws.
It wasn't for the purpose of hurting others, but for the ability to protect oneself in times of danger!
Being blindly kind without a sense of proportion would turn into stupidity. It would not only put oneself in danger but also implicate those one cherished!
Yun Xi's face was cold. Her gaze fixed on the man, with a piercing icy glint in her eyes, which made the man panic. Immediately, with a thud! He knelt on the ground.
"Princess, spare my life! I'm innocent. Please listen to my explanation! I really have my own difficulties. Please forgive me!"
The man hurriedly pulled down the brim of his hat, revealing a face exactly the same as the itinerant warlock in the portrait Yun Xi had posted before, which made Yu Zhu beside her stare in surprise.
"How could it be him?!"
Her young lady had spent so much money trying to find this man's whereabouts but had never been able to find him. Unexpectedly, this man would come to them on his own one day!
It was truly a case of "When you break your shoes in search, you find it without even looking for it"!
In contrast to Yu Zhu's surprise, Yun Xi appeared calm, as if she had long guessed the man's identity.
"Tell me then. Where were you innocent when you framed my younger sister for poisoning the Crown Prince? And what kind of difficulties did you have?!"
Yun Xi's gaze was cold and gloomy. She stared coldly at the Taoist priest in front of her, which made the usually glib and observant Taoist priest, who was used to getting wealth from others, feel increasingly guilty under her gaze.
So, the Taoist priest told Yun Xi in detail what had happened when he met Yun Ni at the temple fair that day.
It turned out that Yun Ni had gone to the temple fair with a young lady from a noble family that day. They met the Taoist priest on the street. Hearing from the people around that the Taoist priest was extremely capable and could foresee the future, Yun Ni couldn't resist the temptation and asked the Taoist priest to tell her fortune and calculate her marriage.
After learning that her love life would be full of hardships, like a boat sailing on a high - shoal and it would be difficult for her to find true love, she immediately gave up on herself. She even scolded the Taoist priest and smashed his stall out of anger!
The Taoist priest was indignant and wanted to reason with Yun Ni, but was dissuaded by Yun Ni's entourage.
The entourage privately gave him a lot of silver and asked him to do something for them:
That was to tell Yun Ni that there was still a way to break the situation of her marriage, but she needed to feed the other person a cup of water with a talisman dissolved in it.
The Taoist priest had been publicly provoked by Yun Ni and his stall had been smashed, ruining his business. He had harbored resentment towards Yun Ni. After hearing the request from Yun Ni's entourage, he immediately agreed.
Since the purpose of his going to the temple fair to set up a stall was to collect money, and now that there was money to be made, he naturally wouldn't refuse.
So, he took the silver and called Yun Ni back, tricking her into believing that he could help her. In the end, the Taoist priest not only received thanks from Yun Ni but also extorted a large sum of money from her.
The Taoist priest was feeling smug about this, but when he returned home afterwards, he was inexplicably hunted down. He sensed that something was wrong, so he faked his death to escape.
However, the other party seemed to have discovered that he was still alive and continued to pursue him relentlessly!
Especially in recent days, Yun Xi had posted his portrait everywhere and even promised a reward of ten thousand taels of silver for anyone who captured him.
Lured by the money, more and more people flocked to join the search for him, which severely restricted his range of activities.
Coupled with those who were hunting him down, he could only hide in the capital city, constantly on the run. He hadn't had a good night's sleep for days.
He didn't know whether death or tomorrow would come first!
Now, he hadn't eaten a single meal for two consecutive days. He was hungry and his spirit was on the verge of collapse, which forced him to come to Yun Xi on his own initiative.
On the one hand, he hoped that Yun Xi would withdraw the previous reward. On the other hand, he wanted to clarify the situation to Yun Xi and get her protection.
Suddenly remembering something, the Taoist priest quickly added:
"Also, what I gave your younger sister at that time was not poison. For fear of taking responsibility, I carefully examined it. The powder was fine and white, and it was transparent when dissolved in water. It was just ordinary water chestnut powder."
After hearing the Taoist priest's words, Yun Xi showed suspicion on her face:
"How can you prove that what you said is true?"
Facing Yun Xi's suspicion, the Taoist priest looked embarrassed and tried his best to clarify:
"I have no grudges against the princess's younger sister. I didn't even know her identity. How could I have prepared poison for her in advance? Moreover, it was to poison the Crown Prince..."
Even now, just thinking about it, the Taoist priest couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat.
He never expected that because of his momentary greed, he would be in such a dangerous situation and almost lose his life!
But as for the proof that Yun Xi asked for, he was really speechless and couldn't produce it for the moment.
Yun Xi pondered over the Taoist priest's words. He seemed to be telling the truth, but she didn't dare to draw a conclusion easily.
Since the man in front of her could deceive Yun Ni, he could also deceive her. So at this critical moment, she had to be extremely cautious.
"Okay. I'll give you one more chance!"
Yun Xi suddenly spoke. She got up and walked in front of the Taoist priest and said:
"During this period, you can temporarily stay in the Prime Minister's Mansion. I can guarantee your safety. However, you must tell me who went to the temple fair with Yun Ni that day and who gave you that packet of water chestnut powder!"
Since someone dared to use the Taoist priest to set up a trap, instigate Yun Ni to poison the Crown Prince, and then try to kill the Taoist priest to cover up the evidence, this must have been a carefully - planned scheme!
The person not only knew Yun Ni's situation and personality very well but also managed to grasp the Crown Prince's recent movements accurately. This person was not only scheming but also extremely bold.
They wanted to use a borrowed knife to kill the Crown Prince and frame her father!
There must be some court forces involved in this. She had to follow the clues and dig out the masterminds one by one in order to get out of the current crisis!