"Yes," Su Mingyu replied crisply. "Your Highness Yu, neither of us is a three - year - old. We both know that trust will never exist between us."
"Fine!" Seeing Su Mingyu's determination, the King of Yu took a deep breath and seemed to make a great decision. "Tell me, what kind of leverage do you want?"
"I want to know where your army is," Su Mingyu said boldly.
The King of Yu almost lost his temper the moment she said this. "Su Mingyu! Do you know what a top - secret question you're asking?"
"If it weren't a secret, do you think I'd ask?" Su Mingyu didn't back down at all. She stared straight into the King of Yu's eyes. "Or you can just take me there. You have to let me see it with my own eyes. Otherwise, how can I trust you?"
There was hardly a choice between telling her where his army was and taking her there. The King of Yu immediately decided, "I can take you there, but you have to be blindfolded."
Su Mingyu nodded. "That's okay. After all, neither of us trusts the other."
"Well, why don't we go tomorrow?" Although it was a question, there was not much inquiry in Su Mingyu's words.
The King of Yu knew that Su Mingyu was eager to confirm whether he really had enough troops to stage a rebellion. But the whole capital was under his control, so taking Su Mingyu to have a look wouldn't cause any trouble.
After thinking for a while, the King of Yu nodded. "All right. You can rest well tonight. I'll take you there tomorrow."
Su Mingyu responded with a soft "mm" and made a gesture of invitation. "Then Mingyu won't see Your Highness Yu out."
After watching the King of Yu leave the courtyard for a long time, Xia Mian ran out from the grass nearby. She nervously patted her chest while looking at Su Mingyu worriedly. "My lady, are you sure he'll really take us to see the training ground?"
"The King of Yu is extremely conceited now. He must think that no one can do anything to him, so he will definitely take us there," Su Mingyu said with a sinking look in her eyes. Her face looked a bit pale.
Xia Mian took out a cape and put it on Su Mingyu's shoulders. "My lady, are you thinking about Zhi Zhu?"
"It's all my fault. I should have drugged her so that she wouldn't cause any trouble," Xia Mian said with self - reproach in her eyes.
Su Mingyu patted her hand. "It's okay. It's not your fault. In fact, her presence made the King of Yu trust me more."
However... Su Mingyu knew the little girl Zhi Zhu well. Although she seemed timid and submissive, she was actually very stubborn.
Now that she really thought Su Mingyu had betrayed Gu Ruobai, she must be really angry. But it was not a good time to explain anything to her. Su Mingyu sighed. "Forget it. Let it be for now. Anyway, she can't run out of this courtyard."
Seeing this, Xia Mian could only nod in agreement. "My lady, let me help you go back and rest."
True to his word, the next day, just after Su Mingyu had finished breakfast, the King of Yu came to the courtyard and took her onto the carriage.
As soon as she got in, the King of Yu took out a cloth strip and blindfolded her.
The carriage bumped along for about a quarter of an hour. Then the road seemed to get even worse, and the whole carriage was shaking so much that it felt like it was going to fly.
Su Mingyu almost lost her balance and leaned backward. Fortunately, a big hand quickly reached out to steady her.
Feeling the warmth of that hand, Su Mingyu dodged it as if it were a venomous snake. "Thank you. I can sit steadily now."
The King of Yu glanced at his empty hand, lowered his eyes, and finally said nothing.
After another cup of tea's time, the carriage finally stopped.
The King of Yu helped Su Mingyu out of the carriage. He was about to hold her hand and walk forward when Su Mingyu withdrew her hand. "Your Highness Yu, we've arrived. Can you take off the blindfold now?"
Seeing this, the King of Yu clenched his empty palm. He looked deeply at Su Mingyu, then walked behind her and removed the blindfold.
A burst of white light flashed before her eyes. Su Mingyu could only hear the chirping of insects and birds. There was a dense canopy of leaves above her head. She looked around and found that there was a flat ground in the middle of the jungle in front of her.
In that flat ground, countless heads were moving regularly. Just a glance from afar was enough to tell that there were a large number of troops.
Su Mingyu's heart sank. Although she had long known that the King of Yu was going to rebel, she didn't know that he had so many soldiers.
This was far beyond the number that the imperial guards in the palace could resist. Su Mingyu's face looked a bit ugly. "How... How do you manage to feed so many people?"
The King of Yu clearly saw the shock in Su Mingyu's eyes. He curled his lips, and a hint of pride flashed in his eyes. "If Gu Ruobai can do business among the people to earn silver, why can't I?"
Su Mingyu bit her lower lip. "This is not something that can be supported by just a small business."
Su Mingyu squinted her eyes and carefully examined the weapons used by the troops below. Fortunately, they were still just cold - steel weapons.
"Isn't this out of the scope of our deal?" The King of Yu raised his eyebrows and glanced at Su Mingyu, clearly indicating that she had asked too many questions.
Su Mingyu took a deep breath. "I originally thought you only had a small number of troops... I didn't expect..."
The King of Yu raised his eyebrows. "That doesn't matter. I've fulfilled my promise. Now it's time for you to keep yours, isn't it?"
Su Mingyu's face still looked a bit ugly, as if she hadn't recovered. After a long time, she exhaled a puff of turbid air, then looked up at the King of Yu. "Since I've promised you, I'll do as I said."
The King of Yu nodded and immediately raised his hand, indicating for Su Mingyu to hold his arm.
Su Mingyu was stunned for a moment and then suddenly realized that the King of Yu was taking revenge for her not letting him hold her hand just now.
Looking at the King of Yu's outstretched arm, Su Mingyu bit her lower lip, looking very embarrassed. In her heart, she couldn't help but mock him for being so childish. Su Mingyu pretended to do some mental preparation for a while before she walked to the King of Yu's side and carefully held his arm. There was a hint of dissatisfaction in her tone. "Is this okay now?"
Seeing this, the King of Yu curled his thin lips. "Then let's go back."