“Give up!”

Ning Kun, lying on the ground, somehow managed to spit out the rag in his mouth. Seeing Chu Tang hand the note and Xiao Xun’s seal to Xiao Tu, he let out a cold laugh.

“You may have taken the heir hostage, but you won’t escape. You can’t even get out of this room—”

Before he could finish, Xiao Tu had already run to an old woman’s side. This old woman was one of those who had subdued Tie Ying earlier.

“Rat Granny,” Xiao Tu said, “send it out.”

The old woman responded with a smile, taking out a rat from her bosom. She wrapped the note and seal around the rat with a piece of cloth and tossed it to the ground. “Go, my little grandchild.”

The rat disappeared with a skitter along the hall’s wall corner, vanishing to who knows where.

Ning Kun’s voice cut off abruptly. These were a gang of petty thieves who had strange methods of delivering messages.

“But!” he shouted again sternly, “What you’re doing is completely futile! Even if you manage to send the message out, you can’t escape, and no one can break in from outside. If you surrender now—”

Before he could finish, Chu Tang stepped forward, bent down, and slapped him across the face.

Before Ning Kun could recover, she slapped him twice more.

“Now I’ve offended the heir’s attendant as well,” Chu Tang said, shaking her hand with a frown. “The road is completely blocked.”

With that, she waved her hand.

“Xiao Tu, gag him tightly.”

Xiao Tu hopped over and stepped on Ning Kun’s neck. Ning Kun’s eyes rolled back, and he passed out.

“Now he can’t talk anymore,” Xiao Tu said with a grin.

Chu Tang let out a long sigh and looked around. More than a dozen people surrounded the hall, encircling them, but this gave her no sense of security.

Just as Ning Kun had said, they had no way to escape. They had kidnapped the heir, but would they dare kill him?

If they didn’t kill the heir, they would be killed.

If they killed the heir, they would also be killed.

This seemed like a dead end no matter how she looked at it.

Chu Zhao had told her to stop Xiao Xun and then wait, but in her panic, she had forgotten to ask: wait until when? One day, two days, three days, or one year, two years?

Chu Tang raised her hand and knocked on her head. “Chu Zhao, oh Chu Zhao, why did I lose my mind and listen to you?”

…

…

Chu Zhao was also waiting, watching the sun rise and fall, the light and shadows changing in the hall of the prince’s mansion.

A-Le, sitting on a chair, suddenly jerked awake from a doze. Before his eyes were fully open, he hurriedly stood up, assuming a protective stance.

“A-Le, go back to sleep for a while,” Chu Zhao said with a smile.

A-Le rubbed his eyes. “I’m done sleeping. It’s almost time for a meal.” He sat up straight and looked outside. The doors and windows were all open, revealing the bright daylight outside, but also the soldiers standing rigidly.

That day, Chu Zhao had asked the Prince of Zhongshan to think carefully. The prince had glanced at Chu Zhao and left without another word.

They had been confined here since then.

Soon it would be breakfast time, A-Le thought. This would be their fourth breakfast—this time Chu Zhao had actively requested tea and three meals a day, and the people of the Prince of Zhongshan’s mansion, having no intention of starving them, had complied and delivered on schedule.

“I wonder if things are going smoothly on their end,” A-Le muttered, then quickly looked at Chu Zhao. “Miss, I’m not afraid. Even if Miss Tang fails, I’m not afraid.”

Chu Zhao laughed heartily. “Yes, if we fail, we die together. Nothing to be afraid of.”

When she had first reawakened in her new life, she had been a little afraid of death. Now, though, her regrets had been remedied, and she had no attachments.

A-Le nodded. “If I die with Miss, I fear nothing.”

After speaking, she glanced at Ding Dachui.

Ding Dachui was momentarily stunned. Did that include him too? Well, without the Empress, all his efforts would have been wasted, and he’d have to go back to being a bandit—no, that wouldn’t work either. If something happened to the Empress, the boss would not let him off, and he’d be dead for sure.

“Me too,” he said, mimicking A-Le’s words. “If I die with Miss, I fear nothing.”

Chu Zhao laughed heartily.

Footsteps sounded from outside, but this time it wasn’t someone bringing breakfast. It was the Prince of Zhongshan, entering with his cane, which made a thud as it hit the ground.

The laughter in the hall stopped.

The Prince of Zhongshan looked at Chu Zhao. “Miss Chu seems very happy.”

Chu Zhao looked at the prince’s gloomy face and smiled. “It seems Your Highness is not so happy.”

The Prince of Zhongshan looked at this girl, seated calmly in her chair, her expression half-smiling—

When he first met her, though Chu Zhao’s gaze had been unfriendly and her words abrupt, she had at least appeared to be a proper young lady.

Now? However, he looked at her, she seemed… roguish?

The Prince of Zhongshan sat down. “Miss Chu, you’ve become an Empress, yet you appear like a ruffian. This doesn’t resemble your father at all.”

Did she resemble her mother then? Chu Zhao’s mind wandered briefly. Mu Mian Hong didn’t look like a ruffian either—she pushed the name away and refocused.

“Then Your Highness knows only appearances, not hearts. If my father weren’t a bit of a ruffian, he wouldn’t have reached his current position,” Chu Zhao said with a smile. “The same goes for me.”

The Prince of Zhongshan nodded. “You’re right. All wealth and nobility in this world come from scoundrels.” He placed a note and a seal on the table. “Miss Chu, my son has had bad luck this time.”

Chu Zhao’s smile grew brighter as she reached for the note, examining the writing and the seal carefully.

A-Le was already clapping her hands in joy. “Miss Tang is amazing! She captured the heir!”

“People don’t know how capable they are until pushed to the limit,” Chu Zhao sighed.

In her previous life, Chu Tang had even dared to kill.

She had killed her.

The Prince of Zhongshan observed the master and servant’s reactions and cleared his throat. “Miss Chu, though my son has had bad luck, it doesn’t mean you’ve won.”

A-Le glared. “Your son has been captured, and his life is in our hands. How is that not winning?”

The Prince of Zhongshan looked at this maid and smiled. “Young lady, you may not know how many sons I have.”

How many sons? A-Le was taken aback.

“This prince has one wife and thirty concubines, with seven children in total,” the Prince of Zhongshan said, looking at Chu Zhao. “Xun is the heir appointed by the court, but he is not my only son.”

Chu Zhao uttered an “oh” and looked at him. “So Your Highness means that this son’s life is of no importance?”

The Prince of Zhongshan didn’t answer directly, gently stroking the cane in his hand. “Xun is my eldest son. At that time, I still felt like a child myself, and suddenly having a child felt strange. I watched him open his eyes, from a swaddled infant to a toddling child. Looking at this child, he resembled me in every way, yet he was a new life. People say children should be grateful for their parents’ nurturing grace, but in truth, it was Xun who saved me. His arrival changed my dreary, dull life, invigorated my spirit, and made me laugh heartily.”

He looked at Chu Zhao.

“Miss Chu, you must surely mean the same to your father.”

Chu Zhao thought for a moment about her father, who, while besieging mountain bandits, suddenly saw a child held up and proclaimed to be his. How did he feel?

Shocked, probably? Chu Zhao couldn’t help but smile. Her father’s life had certainly changed from that moment.

Seeing the girl smile brightly, the Prince of Zhongshan said, “The bond with one’s children is a rare blessing in life, but life inevitably brings misfortunes, gatherings, and partings.”

“Just say what you mean,” A-Le shouted angrily. “Are you abandoning your son?”

The Prince of Zhongshan replied, “I said earlier that I raised Xun from childhood. He is another me that I carved out. His heart and ambition are the same as mine. If he knew he would hinder our great cause, he would certainly sacrifice his life.”

A-Le said, “After all that talk, you’re just abandoning your son.”

Ignoring her, the Prince of Zhongshan looked at Chu Zhao. “Miss Chu, when I ascend the throne, I will posthumously appoint Xun as Crown Prince. At that time, I will name you as the Crown Princess, so you can accompany Xun in the afterlife.”

“You!” A-Le shouted in anger.

Ding Dachui drew his weapon.

The guards who had entered with the Prince of Zhongshan also raised their swords, bows, and crossbows. The hall was filled with a chilling atmosphere.

Chu Zhao remained seated calmly and smiled slightly. “Indeed, in royal families, there is no father-son bond.”