“Third Prince! Your furthest point northward was less than thirty zhang from where Crown Prince Tuoba’s incident occurred. How can you claim you never saw Crown Prince Tuoba?!”

Zhao Yu asked again. Hearing this, Liu Yun stood up in exasperation, “How many times must I repeat myself?! I climbed the mountain from the east, and everyone headed north. What’s wrong with me going in that direction? The thirty zhang distance you mention—on a mountain, that’s not close at all. So what if I went there? Not seeing Crown Prince Tuoba means not seeing him! How many times do I have to say it?!”

Liu Yun had been interrogated continuously for an hour. When he first entered, he still had some spirit, but by now he was completely dejected and agitated. Zhao Yu had asked the same question more than ten times in different ways. Whenever Liu Yun refused to answer, Zhao Yu would say he had a guilty conscience. From climbing the mountain to shooting the first arrow to every subsequent event, everything had to be explained in detail. This had made him irritable and angry, yet Zhao Yu remained unmoved!

“Then why did the Third Prince ask for Crown Prince Tuoba’s arrows when leaving the main camp?! Why did Third Prince suddenly have such a thought—did you already harbor killing intent toward Crown Prince Tuoba?!”

Though Yan Chi was in charge of Tuoba Hong’s case, they lacked proper constables. Thus, Yan Huai had assigned Zhao Yu to assist Yan Chi. These interrogation methods were what Yan Chi had instructed Zhao Yu to use. Zhao Yu kept repeating questions to Liu Yun—not only was Liu Yun exhausted, but Zhao Yu himself felt more tired than after a martial arts match. However, seeing Liu Yun grow increasingly exasperated, he grasped the key to Yan Chi’s interrogation method: ordinary criminals usually had strong psychological defenses, and continuous repetitive questioning was one way to break through their defenses. When the criminal became agitated and confused, they would naturally reveal flaws.

Liu Yun laughed coldly and kicked away the chair beside his foot. “So what if I said that?! Tuoba Hong was my rival this time. I couldn’t stand him, so I wanted to provoke him—what’s wrong with that? If I had planned to kill him, why would I let so many people hear those words?! Just because I provoked him, does that mean I did evil? When I see pretty girls, I have some amorous thoughts, but have I touched them?! Right now I want to hit you, but have I hit you?! I may have evil thoughts, but if I don’t act on them, I’m not an evil person!”

Liu Yun spoke breathlessly, looked at the distant chair, walked over to sit down, and then suddenly slammed the table. “I want water! You’re too bold! I am Western Liang’s Third Prince! Based on someone else’s words, you keep me detained here! Do you still know my status or not?! Bring me hot tea!”

Zhao Yu frowned at Liu Yun. Though young, he had been on battlefields and was naturally different from ordinary noble youths. “Third Prince was so angry at Crown Prince Tuoba. Now that Crown Prince Tuoba has met with misfortune, Third Prince must be very happy?”

Liu Yun’s face was covered in oil, and the inner heat made him feel extremely stifled in the meeting tent. However, Zhao Yu was Great Zhou’s Imperial Guard Deputy Commander with excellent martial arts, and there were guards outside—he couldn’t force his way out. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Sweat appeared on his forehead, and he simply rolled up his sleeves and shouted as if giving up all pretense, “Yes! I am happy! Wouldn’t you be happy if your Imperial Guard Commander died? You wouldn’t show it, but you’d be happy inside because only then could you take the Commander position!”

Zhao Yu’s brows furrowed deeply. By now, Liu Yun was pale and sweating profusely, his expression showing boiling rage. After several attempts to leave, his hair was disheveled, and his clothes wrinkled from the struggle, looking completely undignified. Zhao Yu shook his head, “Not everyone thinks like the Third Prince. Right now, the Third Prince is the most suspicious person in the camp. I advise Third Prince to confess properly!”

Liu Yun gave another cold laugh. “Confess?! What the hell should I confess?! Are you brainless?! Now everyone thinks I’m the killer. Before this, I had already opposed Tuoba Hong multiple times. I knew if anything happened to him, it would be blamed on me—would I still kill him?! Such simple logic, are you Great Zhou people pigs?!”

Liu Yun had given up all pretense, not only abandoning dignity but cursing loudly. However, Zhao Yu listened unmoved.

“You wouldn’t kill him? Then why did you and your strategist secretly plan for Crown Prince Tuoba to have an accident in the camp?” Zhao Yu’s handsome face with bronze skin and masculine features showed no weakness when stern.

Liu Yun laughed in extreme anger. “Didn’t I just tell you and you’ve already forgotten?! I said I only had some evil thoughts! If I hate someone, I hope they suffer, but that doesn’t mean I do something to make them suffer. Yes, I said I wanted to scheme against him—I thought about it! Can’t I want to make him disabled? Can’t I want to humiliate him? Why would I kill someone?! Fine, now everything’s blamed on me! Are your brains made of pig fat, fixating on me like this?!”

Zhao Yu frowned. “Then why did you lie? You clearly went in the same direction as Crown Prince Tuoba later, and you just said everyone went north, so you should have known Crown Prince Tuoba wasn’t far away.”

Liu Yun’s eyes flickered as he looked aside. “At that time, Tuoba Wu was so certain I had harmed her brother! Of course, I denied everything completely! Otherwise, should I wait for her to keep slandering me?! Besides, I didn’t see Tuoba Hong, which means I didn’t see him. Naturally, I won’t give others a chance to slander me! What, is there a problem?!”

Zhao Yu remained unmoved. “Can anyone else verify for you? Your guards don’t count—was there anyone else who went to the furthest point with you and returned together?”

Liu Yun glared at Zhao Yu. “If I had someone, would I need to be tortured by you here?! Listen well! I didn’t kill Tuoba Hong! If I killed him, may I die a horrible death! May heaven strike me with lightning!”

Zhao Yu watched Liu Yun, who gritted his teeth and said, “You bunch of bastards! Would Tuoba Hong’s death benefit me greatly?! Even if he died, if the Fifth Princess was unwilling, I still couldn’t win the princess. But his death would greatly benefit other Northern Wei princes! Why don’t you interrogate that Tuoba Rui?! Tuoba Hong was killed by his arrow—even if I had seen Tuoba Hong, would he give it to me? Only Tuoba Rui! Only Tuoba Rui could easily get Tuoba Hong’s arrows!”

After this great shout, Liu Yun’s mouth was parched. He coughed several times, his face immediately turning red. Seeing Zhao Yu still unmoved, Liu Yun became extremely angry. He suddenly stood up and slammed the table, shouting, “How long are you going to question—”

Before he could finish “me,” Liu Yun’s expression suddenly changed. He clutched his chest and stepped back twice, then quickly collapsed to the ground. Within moments, Liu Yun was covered in sweat. Seeing this, Zhao Yu became somewhat panicked. “Someone! Call the imperial physician! Quickly call the imperial physician—”

At this great shout, the guards outside were startled. When Western Liang’s General Fu Desheng heard this, he immediately rushed in. Upon entering, he saw Liu Yun lying on the ground. Fu Desheng shouted “Your Highness” and went forward to pick up Liu Yun. Turning around, Fu Desheng glared fiercely at Zhao Yu and then carried Liu Yun out of the tent.

When Yan Chi arrived after hearing the news, Liu Yun was already lying on his bed in his tent. An imperial physician was taking his pulse nearby. Zhao Yu waited outside, and seeing Yan Chi arrive, hurried to meet him. “Your Highness—”

“How is he? How did he suddenly fall ill?”

Zhao Yu’s expression was solemn. “I don’t know either. During the long interrogation, the Third Prince was constantly angry and agitated. Perhaps because of this, while he was shouting, he suddenly collapsed.”

Yan Chi nodded and walked to the tent entrance. Western Liang’s guards were watching the entrance, and seeing Yan Chi arrive, they hesitated but dared not stop him. Yan Chi directly lifted the curtain and entered. As soon as he entered, Fu Desheng immediately turned around, and seeing Yan Chi, reluctantly cupped his hands in salute. “Your Highness—”

Yan Chi glanced at the bed and frowned. “What happened to Third Prince?”

Fu Desheng laughed coldly. “Your Highness wants to investigate the case, and we’ve cooperated fully. But Your Highness’s investigation has gone too far! It directly caused our prince to fall ill!”

Yan Chi raised an eyebrow. “What illness does the Third Prince have?”

As these words fell, the imperial physician checking the pulse straightened up, turned to bow to Yan Chi, and then said, “Your Highness, the Third Prince’s pulse is weak and floating. From what I can see, the Third Prince seems to have a heart condition that has accumulated in his body for many years. That’s why the Third Prince is pale and weak. Given this, Third Prince actually shouldn’t have gone hunting on the mountain.”

Hearing this, Yan Chi immediately looked at Fu Desheng, who snorted coldly and pressed his lips together in silence.

Yan Chi then asked, “Third Prince have an illness?”

As he spoke, Yan Chi glanced in Liu Yun’s direction. From the first time he saw Liu Yun, he had noticed Liu Yun’s face was particularly pale, but on the surface, Liu Yun showed no signs of illness, so he had never thought Liu Yun might be sick.

The imperial physician also said, “Just now, Third Prince seemed to have fainted due to chest pain triggered by extreme anger causing blood to rush up. I will now apply acupuncture to Third Prince. I think Third Prince will wake up before dark.”

Fu Desheng coldly looked at Yan Chi. “You forced Third Prince until his illness flared up, but you didn’t even know Third Prince was ill. Riding a horse up the mountain was already his limit—he absolutely couldn’t shoot arrows to kill someone! Why do you insist Third Prince killed Crown Prince Tuoba?! Yes, the Third Prince had thoughts of scheming against Crown Prince Tuoba, but that would only be after the Fifth Princess’s intentions were clear. When the incident happened, it was only the third day of the hunt—Third Prince wasn’t in any hurry!”

Yan Chi’s brows furrowed tightly. “Why didn’t you say this earlier?!”

Fu Desheng’s face turned pale for a moment, but he stubbornly said, “Because there was no need to say it!”

Yan Chi looked at Fu Desheng for a moment and naturally understood. With Liu Yun’s illness, once the Empress and Emperor knew, they naturally wouldn’t give Fifth Princess to him. So all along, Liu Yun hadn’t told anyone about this matter. Liu Yun had even pretended to be fine and joined everyone in mountain hunting, but no one knew that even drawing a bow and shooting arrows was a problem for him.

Who would have thought that after all that questioning without results, this illness would reveal the truth?

Yan Chi frowned. “Having an illness but not speaking of it, watching your prince undergo interrogation—General Fu, you’re truly a loyal minister and general. Since you didn’t explain beforehand, now that there’s a problem, just leave it to the imperial physician.”

These words meant that since you didn’t say anything, we feel no remorse. After Yan Chi finished speaking, he turned and left. Behind him, Fu Desheng’s eyes were as wide as brass bells, but he dared not roar out loud!

Yan Chi left the tent and turned toward another meeting tent. Entering the tent, Yan Chi found the previous maps and somewhat helplessly crossed out Liu Yun’s name. Everyone thought Liu Yun had harmed Tuoba Hong, but who could have imagined he had a serious illness?!

Yan Chi pondered for a moment and ordered, “Go invite Young Lady Nine—”

The guard responded and left. When Qin Wan arrived, she saw Yan Chi looking at the map. She entered and bowed, and after the guard withdrew, she stepped closer. “What happened?”

Yan Chi reached out to pull her to his side and first asked, “How does heart pain manifest?”

Qin Wan slightly frowned. “Heart pain? It depends on the cause. If it’s a chronic condition or present from birth, then it’s very dangerous. The patient needs to maintain a calm mind, take medicine regularly, eat light food, and exercise moderately but not excessively. When an attack occurs, there will be heart palpitations, shortness of breath, chest pain, pale complexion, weakness, cyanotic lips…”

After Qin Wan finished speaking, Yan Chi’s frown deepened. Qin Wan quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”

Yan Chi said, “Just now during Liu Yun’s interrogation, he fainted after being provoked by Zhao Yu. The imperial physician diagnosed him with heart disease, saying it was an old ailment. I went to look—he truly had fainted, and his complexion was very poor. The imperial physician is currently treating him with acupuncture; it must not be fake.”

Qin Wan immediately frowned. “If that’s the case, he couldn’t be the one who harmed Crown Prince Tuoba…”

Yan Chi nodded. “Fu Desheng said he’s too weak to draw a bow and shoot arrows. Although the bows this time weren’t heavy, while ordinary people could draw them, the arrows would lack power and accuracy. You said the arrow in Crown Prince Tuoba’s body hit exactly right, at the perfect angle, indicating the archer must have been highly skilled.”

Qin Wan quickly nodded. “Indeed, and thinking about it later, the arrow penetrated very deeply, so the archer must have had considerable strength.” Then, Qin Wan took a deep breath. “This Liu Yun, having a heart condition—why didn’t he say so earlier? Participating in the hunt was very dangerous for him, and if he had said so earlier, no one would have suspected him!”

Yan Chi laughed coldly. “If he had said so earlier, how would the Emperor and Empress give the Fifth Princess to someone with a serious illness? This was his calculation—even if something went wrong, it would have nothing to do with others!”

Qin Wan quickly said, “In that case, we must investigate others!”