CHAPTER 171: CHAPTER 171: A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH—SHE CAN’T MAKE A MISTAKE

The other prison guards nodded and did not make things difficult.

The other four encountered the same problem, but Pei Shu’er resolved them all.

The five people were deeply shocked. This person is so formidable; they truly believed, perhaps they had a chance to escape unscathed.

This employer is not the cold-blooded type; she hasn’t casually abandoned anyone and has a broad perspective.

Later, after asking the five to remain calm, Pei Shu’er went to inspect the War King’s prison cell.

She found the person inside hanging their head, totally unclear who it really was.

How could this be? In the original story, the War King was swapped out tonight, but the specific hour was not explicitly mentioned in the book.

It was just Xu hour, equivalent to modern times between seven and nine in the evening. If they’ve already swapped now, wouldn’t she have arrived too late?

No, probably not.

This time is not the most convenient time for swapping people.

Since the Emperor wanted to swap, naturally the fewer people who knew, the better.

Otherwise, how could they fish for information?

However, to be safe, Pei Shu’er didn’t want to gamble.

What if the Emperor were truly callous to the point of disregarding everything?

Then if she stayed all night, it would be a waste of time.

Thinking of this, she knocked on the bars, her tone tinged with some coldness.

"War King, do you want to know how your son is doing?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw the disheveled man in the cell, as if frozen, suddenly look up.

His eyes lit up, seemingly very interested in what Pei Shu’er had to say.

"Zan’er, how is Zan’er?"

Due to long periods of silence, his voice was hoarse and unpleasant.

Pei Shu’er sneered, "He’s crippled."

The War King’s pupils shrank, his cheeks quivered slightly, and he sat down on the ground, lost, taking a deep breath.

His bear-like body seemed to weaken suddenly.

"It’s all my fault for implicating him, implicating the Tang Family."

Pei Shu’er watched the War King’s reaction with calm eyes, witnessing his emotions shift from joy, to shock, guilt, sorrow, and regret.

Even the subtle facial expressions clearly conveyed these emotions.

A person’s expression in 0.04 seconds is the most real, and if it exceeds that time, it suggests fakery.

She confirmed that this was indeed the War King.

After all, even if someone wore a human skin mask, and had acting skills, they couldn’t perfectly mimic the eyes.

Not like Shiqi, who was trained as a double since childhood.

The War King’s father was merely a commander, and the Old Madam Tang was a fierce woman from a general’s family, but their official positions weren’t significant.

How could they have had the means to raise a double for the War King from an early age?

Even Shiqi-like doubles might resemble in expression, but emotions can’t be faked.

Pei Shu’er said, "He’s doing quite well now, War King, sleep peacefully tonight, for tomorrow you travel onwards."

Pei Shu’er then left there, but her gaze remained on the War King.

The five experts continued to cover for her.

At midnight, the Prison Chief drove some people out, including the five experts.

Pei Shu’er was also about to be driven out, but she quickly slipped five taels of silver into the Prison Chief’s hand.

"Don’t worry, sir, I’ve already learned about this matter. I’d like to fully work for you."

The Prison Chief, seeing Pei Shu’er’s sincere expression, raised an eyebrow and laughed.

"Alright, you seem clever enough."

Pei Shu’er was allowed to stay. She let out a long sigh of relief; thank goodness, otherwise her efforts would’ve been in vain.

After the other guards left, two guards escorted a person in.

That person had a black cloth bag over their head, resembling Tang Peizhong in stature.

That person was hooded and shoved into the cell while the War King was dragged out.

The War King furrowed his brows, righteously saying, "What are you doing!"

The Prison Chief sneered, "War King, asking what shouldn’t be asked won’t get you answers."

Saying this, he signaled the guards beside him with a glance.

Some ten guards covered the War King’s nose and mouth with a towel. About a minute later, the War King stopped struggling and then slowly collapsed to the ground.

Pei Shu’er sighed; such a valiant man as the War King was brought down by these small-time villains.

She actively squeezed out a guard near the War King, standing by his side.

The War King was taken to a neighboring Water Prison.

The water in this Water Prison was very murky; it was said that there were starving water rats inside.

The War King already had wounds all over his body; if he soaked in the Water Prison for a while and got bitten by those rats, his injuries would likely worsen considerably.

Pei Shu’er clenched her teeth; this Emperor was determined to kill the War King indeed.

In vain had the War King been loyal all his life, only to fight for such a person in the end.

The road to the Water Prison was winding, you just had to follow the one leading.

Others got dizzy after one circuit.

But Pei Shu’er remembered carefully, continuously using mnemonic techniques to memorize the location of the Water Prison.

Concerned with human life, she couldn’t afford to make mistakes.

To not alert them, she spent this night in the prison.

If it got too uncomfortable, she would excuse herself to a secluded spot to enter the space and stay for a while.

Her position was always the most concealed one, and with the five experts’ cover, no one could spot her.

Fortunately, the War King was executed at noon, so she dared to waste time like this.

In the morning, after finishing their shift, Pei Shu’er left with the five experts.

She imitated some owl calls before heading towards the courtyard.

She called out along the way, and gradually, those experts gathered.

They discussed briefly in the small courtyard, everyone merely nodding, silently listening to Pei Shu’er’s plan.

In short, their task was to obey her command.

At the time she directed, everyone just had to listen.

With some time before the execution, Pei Shu’er assigned brief tasks to each person.

Soon after everyone left, she again entered the space, drinking a sip of Spiritual Spring Water.

But she was really too tired, so she used Spiritual Spring Water mixed with some water to take a bath.

Her body stretched, every pore opened, and it seemed the fatigue in her body disappeared.

Usually, she needed to stay in space for three hours to relieve her symptoms.

But now, she only stayed for the time it took an incense stick to burn, and with the Spiritual Spring Water bath, she was already recovered in that time.

She immediately got dressed and left the space.

At present, another group of commoners gathered on the street. The folk song had fermented since yesterday and achieved its effect.

In addition, she stood at the gate of the government office with those scholars resisting yesterday, and now more and more people were joining in.

It seemed as though not joining would leave them behind.