Feng Jiu’er had the face of an angel, a sweet smile on her lips, while the most venomous words came out of her mouth.

Not just Lei Shenbao — even Yu Jingfeng let out a gulp, swallowing hard.

They said women weren’t to be trifled with, and that statement fit Miss Jiu’er perfectly at this moment.

“Miss Jiu’er, this is my first time doing this — my hand’s a little shaky.” Yu Jingfeng said with a slight tremor in his voice.

Lei Shenbao was finally afraid. Ha… so it turned out Miss Jiu’er was even more ruthless — coming straight in with the most severe punishment, fast, vicious, and precise!

“Just go ahead, casually — believe in your own ability.” Feng Jiu’er waved a hand. “Go on, don’t waste too much time.”

“Got it.” Hearing Feng Jiu’er’s words, Yu Jingfeng relaxed somewhat.

He gripped the long needle and walked toward Lei Shenbao.

“Serving in the palace isn’t bad either — at the very least, you’d never have to worry about food and drink.”

“No!” With Yu Jingfeng still two steps away, Lei Shenbao shouted.

“No! I don’t want to be a eunuch, I can’t!”

“Jiu’er.” Lei Shenbao took a deep breath and opened his eyes, looking at the woman he both loved and hated.

“I can’t be a eunuch, I don’t want to be a eunuch.”

“Jiu’er, what do you want to know? I’ll talk, I’ll talk.”

Lei Shenbao’s face crumpled into a pitiful expression.

In all the world, no man wanted to be castrated — let alone Lei Shenbao, once so glorious.

“You only get one chance!” Feng Jiu’er raised an eyebrow and glanced over.

Yu Jingfeng stopped in his tracks, still holding the silver needle, watching.

“Fine.” Lei Shenbao dropped his playful smirk. “Jiu’er, ask. Whatever I know, I’ll tell you.”

“Where’s the antidote for those sixty thousand guards? And where is your wealth hidden? Whether it’s the antidote or the riches, I want it all!”

The victor becomes king, the defeated becomes outlaw — this was a law unchanged for a thousand years.

She had money, but no one would complain about having too much.

The Ninth Imperial Uncle was also very wealthy, but he had a whole nation to govern — she couldn’t possibly use his money.

Feng Jiu’er was short on funds; she needed far, far more money if she was to stand against Feng Qiongcang.

“The antidote is at the Leiteng Inn,” Lei Shenbao said in a low voice. “The Leiteng Inn has an underground level — only Sun Yishi and I know about that place.”

“Sun Yishi is dead, so now only I know. Take me there, and I’ll give you the antidote.”

“There’s also about a third of my fortune buried underground at the Leiteng Inn — you’d have a very hard time finding it on your own.”

“The rest of my wealth is hidden separately in Lei Family Town and two other locations.”

“Jiu’er, trust me, these places are all very well hidden — without me, you’ll never find them.”

“Don’t kill me, I’ll give you the antidote, and more gold and silver and treasure than you can count.”

“Jiu’er, don’t kill me, don’t turn me into a eunuch, I don’t want to be a eunuch, Jiu’er.”

Feng Jiu’er said nothing, only drew a small vial from her robes.

She gave the vial a shake, and at the sound, Yu Jingfeng turned and came to her side.

“Miss Jiu’er.” He clasped his hands and called softly.

“Show this to Master Lei, and while you’re at it, ask him which one of these is the poison he fed his guards.” Feng Jiu’er’s voice was very low.

“Yes.” Yu Jingfeng took the medicine vial.

These were all poisons Yu Jingfeng had previously searched off Lei Shenbao’s person.

There were quite a number of types, and Feng Jiu’er hadn’t yet had time these past few days to study each one individually — she had simply collected them all.

“Lei Shenbao, take a good look. Is the poison you fed your guards among these?” Feng Jiu’er asked coldly.

“If it’s not here, then he’ll be made to swallow all of it.”

“No!” Lei Shenbao shook his head violently. “It’s the red one. None of the others.”

Yu Jingfeng held the pills in his left palm and dangled the silver needle with his right hand, waving it in front of Lei Shenbao.

“Master Lei, you’d better think carefully before you speak — you only get one chance!”

“The black one, the big one,” Lei Shenbao blurted out. “Take one pill, and you must take another within three months.”

“Actually, it’s not an antidote at all — it’s just poison. I never researched an antidote for this particular poison; you simply have to keep taking it. Why would you need a cure?”

“Continually taking poison — doesn’t that harm the body?” Yu Jingfeng was furious too.

As a soldier himself, he understood the suffering of soldiers all too well.

He hadn’t expected Lei Shenbao to use such a method to force his own soldiers into service.

But that was also exactly why they’d been able to take in the remaining guards so easily.

Yu Jingfeng stepped forward, forced open Lei Shenbao’s mouth, and stuffed all the pills from the cloth into it.

Lei Shenbao struggled, but there was no way for him to break free — he could only watch helplessly as the pills were forced down his throat.

Yu Jingfeng struck him hard on the chest, and with a gulp, Lei Shenbao swallowed all the pills.

“You…” He glared at Yu Jingfeng, brows tightly knit.

“What about me?” Yu Jingfeng clapped his hands and turned to walk back. “It’s the medicine you made yourself — if you don’t even taste it, what a shame that would be!”

Yu Jingfeng returned to Feng Jiu’er’s side and respectfully handed the silver needle back to her.

“Miss Jiu’er, I don’t think we’ll be needing this little thing anymore.”

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er took the silver needle and put it away in her hand.

“Jiu’er, give me the antidote. I don’t want to die — I’m still useful to you.” Lei Shenbao panicked.

“I have a great deal of money. With money, you wouldn’t need to rely on Yue Jianfei, or on those foreign rebels.”

“Jiu’er, give me the antidote, and I’ll give you money — all of my money.”

Feng Jiu’er was in no hurry, and after putting the silver needle away, looked at the man who was shouting.

“Alright then.” She smiled slightly and turned her head to look at Yu Jingfeng. “Let him down.”

“Didn’t you hear? Master Lei wants to send us silver — no, plenty of gold too.”

“I’ll need to research an antidote for him, which means I need to know exactly what his poison is made of.”

“Let him go — he’ll learn his lesson.”

“Yes, Miss Jiu’er.” Yu Jingfeng nodded, went over, and untied Lei Shenbao.

Lei Shenbao’s whole body was covered in wounds, his hands and feet without strength — the moment the chains loosened, he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Yu Jingfeng pulled over a chair and, with one hand, hauled up what looked like a pig.

“Master Lei, how could you be so careless?”

As soon as he spoke, he tossed the “pig” he held onto the chair.

Lei Shenbao was furious, but he understood his own poison best of all.

Without the antidote, he wouldn’t last even twelve hours — there was no time to complain.

Someone outside brought in a table, along with brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

“Master Lei, think carefully about what antidote ingredients you need. Write it all down, and I’ll have them brought to you.” Feng Jiu’er glanced casually at someone nearby.

“And that poison with no antidote — write down how it was made.”

“Understand this: if I can’t develop the antidote, you have only three months left to live.”