CHAPTER 33: CHAPTER 33: THE TRUE CULPRIT BEHIND THE DYNASTY’S DOWNFALL!

Zhao Yi’s thoughts raced, but his face remained calm.

Zhao Yi had reservations, but Huang Ying wouldn’t indulge her.

Looking at the frail little girl in front of her, Huang Ying initially felt pity, but when she heard the girl call Zhao Yi a "great villain," her expression immediately soured.

Huang Ying’s face was sullen, and she said solemnly, "Whose child are you? Do you know that disrespecting the Prince is a capital offense?"

The little menace ignored Huang Ying, tilting her head full of withered yellow hair, her wolf-like pale yellow eyes staring at Zhao Yi like a beast eyeing its prey!

"Are you the great villain?" she persistently asked.

Huang Ying’s face became even more unsightly.

Zhao Yi raised his hand to stop her, turning to look at the little menace.

The little menace grew up in the mountains and forests, unfamiliar with manners, and ignorant of right and wrong. It was impossible to communicate with her using normal logic.

Zhao Yi asked, "Why do you think I am the great villain?"

The little menace replied matter-of-factly, "Because you want to kill Brother Xiao Jing?"

"Who is Xiao Jing?" Huang Ying asked from the side.

Zhao Yi gestured with his hand, signaling her not to speak.

Although it was the first time he heard this name, Zhao Yi could easily guess that this Xiao Jing must be the male lead!

Zhao Yi asked the little menace, "How do you usually get your food?"

To communicate with savages, you have to use what they are most familiar with.

For the little menace, food was the most familiar thing!

Sure enough!

Hearing Zhao Yi’s words, the little menace’s eyes suddenly became lively.

The little menace said, "Of course, by hunting!"

Zhao Yi: "Why hunt? Isn’t digging for wild vegetables good enough?"

The little menace shook her head, "Wild vegetables don’t taste good and don’t fill you up. Meat is tasty and fills you up."

Huang Ying looked at the little menace, slightly dazed.

She didn’t know if it was an illusion, but when this yellow-haired girl talked about food, her face showed a look of devotion, as if eating was the most important thing in the world for her!

Zhao Yi said, "Eating meat is good, but to eat meat, you have to kill. If you yourself also kill, then why do you think I am a villain?"

The little menace paused, confused, "...Killing people is wrong!"

"Why do you think so?" Zhao Yi asked calmly.

The little menace hesitated, "Because... I am also human?"

Zhao Yi nodded, "That’s right, you are also human, and humans shouldn’t eat humans!"

He looked at the little menace, the corners of his mouth curving upward.

"I don’t eat humans, but I have friends."

"My friends aren’t human, can they eat humans?"

"If my friends eat humans, and I don’t eat them, am I still a villain?"

"You should have friends too, if your friends eat humans, are they villains?"

The little menace shook her head firmly, "They’re obviously not villains!"

"Then why am I a villain?" Zhao Yi said expressionlessly.

The little menace paused again, her eyes growing more bewildered, her pupils losing focus.

She was smart, but rarely interacted with people, and had never heard of the sophistry of "a white horse is not a horse," so Zhao Yi’s twisting words made her brain overheat.

Zhao Yi continued, "I only kill, I haven’t eaten humans, and you say I’m a villain. Your friends not only kill but eat humans, yet they are not villains. Don’t you think your words are ridiculous?"

This sentence seemed to flip a switch, and the little menace’s tone became firm again.

"My friends aren’t villains!"

"I am the same as your friends," Zhao Yi said calmly, looking at her, "Since your friends aren’t villains, I am not a villain either, is that right?"

The little menace’s brain paused once more, blankly nodding.

Zhao Yi said again, "Since neither I nor your friends are villains, the ones who told you I am a villain are the real villains! They want you to think I’m a villain so they can kill me. In turn, they can use your friends being villains as a reason to kill them too!"

The little menace’s face changed, "Anyone who dares to kill my friends, I will kill them!"

Zhao Yi nodded with satisfaction, "Now you understand those people’s treacherous intentions, right?"

The little menace’s eyes suddenly became sharp!

Then, she thought of something and said, "But you made people kowtow to you, that’s wrong... they say doing that disrespects them!"

Zhao Yi didn’t argue, instead saying, "Since you saw them kowtow to me, you should have also seen my maid reward them with golden melon seeds, right?"

The little menace recalled, "Is that the yellow thing?"

She asked curiously, "What is that?"

Huang Ying, upon hearing this, froze for a moment, looking at the little menace in confusion.

Whose family was this yellow-haired girl from, that she didn’t even recognize gold?

Huang Ying couldn’t help but say, "That’s money, gold that you can buy many things with!"

The little menace realized, "So that’s money! I heard from the hunters in the mountains that money can buy food, no wonder they were so happy!"

Huang Ying chuckled, "Do you know how much food that golden melon seed can buy?"

The little menace had no concept of money, but she understood food.

Upon hearing Huang Ying’s words, she curiously asked, "Can it buy a lot of food?"

Huang Ying looked her up and down and said casually, "Not a lot, but for someone like you, it would surely last three to five years!"

The little menace’s eyes widened instantly, "It can buy that much food?"

Zhao Yi smiled slightly, just about to speak when he saw the little menace suddenly kneel before him with a thud!

Zhao Yi was startled, thinking she was about to cause trouble, hurriedly stepped aside.

Huang Ying looked at the little menace with a frown, "What are you doing? If there’s something to discuss, speak up. My master doesn’t like these antics!"

The little menace ignored her, instead fixing her eyes on Zhao Yi, her gaze intense.

"I can kowtow to you too, I can kowtow many times. Can you give me a golden melon seed?"

"I have many friends who aren’t getting enough to eat, they’re all about to starve to death! That’s why I went to Black Stripe’s house to steal the Seven-Star Begonia, the herbalist said it’s very valuable!"

"I want to gather herbs to exchange for money, and then buy food for my friends!"

Oh?

Zhao Yi’s eyelid twitched.

Seeing the little menace kowtowing incessantly, Zhao Yi suddenly understood how the male lead subdued this peculiar creature!

Turned out all it took was money!

I never thought it could be so simple!

Realizing this, Zhao Yi’s expression changed, and suddenly felt incredibly uneasy!

If Zhao Yi guessed correctly, the money the male lead used to subdue the little menace should be his!

The male lead was just a poor monk, how could he afford to keep beasts from the mountains? The money must have come from the female lead.

The female lead’s family was also impoverished, unable to come up with much money either.

But it didn’t matter.

She had an extremely rich admirer!

The case is solved!

The mastermind behind the poisoning of thirty thousand Iron Armor Army soldiers, the breach of Shengjing City’s defenses, and the fall of the Great Xia Dynasty.

It was Zhao Yi himself!

After understanding the key point, Zhao Yi suddenly felt rather unwell.

With a grim face, he gestured to Huang Ying to give her a golden melon seed.

Although Huang Ying didn’t like this yellow-haired girl who slandered her master as a villain, she wouldn’t defy Zhao Yi’s orders.

Huang Ying took a golden melon seed from her pouch and tossed it casually in front of the little menace.

She said with annoyance, "Be sure to keep your eyes open in the future, don’t let yourself be used so foolishly! Fortunately, you met my master this time, if it was another royal member, you’d already be dead!"

The little menace’s eyes lit up at the sight of the golden melon seed. She quickly picked it up and hid it in her bosom.

Then, her eyes darted around before she began kowtowing to Zhao Yi again.

Huang Ying looked at her in confusion, "Is there anything else?"

The little menace looked up at Zhao Yi, blinking, "Can I kowtow to you every day?"

The little menace, though lacking manners and understanding of human affairs, wasn’t stupid.

She could distinguish between occasional feast and constant feast!

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