Report to the Empress and the Eldest Princess: They're using the system to poach your men.

Chapter 219 No More Letting the Tiger Return to the Mountain

Shen Sangwan gulped down the wine, then insisted on having another cup. Wen Yuening, fearing something might happen, refused to let Shen Sangwan drink another drop.

But one thing surprised her: two hours later, Shuyun brought Shen Yujing back from outside the city, and Shen Sangwan still acted as if nothing had happened.

Throughout the time, they kept asking about her health, and she always replied that she was fine.

This made her wonder if she had put the wrong herbs in the previous night.

Shen Yujing was bound hand and foot, while Lin Wanyi was free and followed along.

Upon seeing Shen Sangwan and Wen Yuening, he merely offered a perfunctory greeting, then lowered his head and remained silent.

"Your Highness, where have they been placed?"

Shen Sangwan pondered for a moment, then whispered a few words in Shuyun's ear.

"Your Highness, are you really going to..."

Shuyun looked troubled, clearly finding Shen Sangwan's words difficult to handle.

"Then... I won't take it off."

Seeing the other party's hesitant appearance, Shen Sangwan reflected on whether she had gone too far and simply relaxed the conditions.

Shuyun breathed a sigh of relief and ordered her men to take Shen Yujing away.

"Judging from Miss Lin's expression, she must not have had a proper rest for many days. There are still empty rooms in this mansion. I will have them prepared so that Miss Lin can have a good night's sleep."

Lin Wanyi's gaze followed Shen Yujing's figure until he disappeared without turning around. Wen Yuening saw all of this and felt a little sorry for her.

"Wanyi thanks Miss Wen for her kindness."

Just then, Shen Sangwan glanced over and happened to see the mark on Lin Wanyi's wrist.

Somewhat puzzled, he asked, "Didn't he give you the antidote at the mountaintop? Why didn't he cure the Gu poison in your body?"

Upon hearing Shen Sangwan's words, Lin Wanyi slightly raised her hand, her eyes expressionless as she looked at the mark, momentarily speechless.

Sometimes she even wondered if she was so deeply poisoned that the poison had seeped into her very bones, and that for a moment when she saw the antidote, she even had the thought of dying alongside Shen Yujing.

"When will Your Highness take his life?"

Although they didn't say who it was, they both knew who they were talking about.

"I just ordered him to be hung above the city gate. His life depends on fate. If the sky is clear, he might live a few more days; if..."

Shen Sangwan didn't continue speaking, but Lin Wanyi knew what she meant.

Instead of continuing the conversation, he said he was feeling tired and asked someone to lead him to an empty room in the back courtyard to rest.

After receiving Shen Sangwan's signal, Shuyun wrapped Shen Yujing up like a heavy "zongzi" and hung him on the city wall.

Shen Sangwan's original intention was to strip him naked, wrap him up, and hang him up, removing one layer of the outer cotton cloth every other day until the last day when he would leave naked.

They didn't even leave them the last shred of dignity.

At this moment, they were wrapped up in their outer clothes, and were not given any food or even water.

Three days after spreading the news about Shen Yujing, Shen Sangwan, seeing that no one came to her rescue, was about to order Shuyun to finish him off when she received a letter from the Northern Witch.

"Ha—I never thought that Shen Yujing would be so valuable."

After reading the letter delivered by the messenger, he handed it to Wen Yuening.

"The Northern Witches are actually willing to return Qinzhou and even offer two more cities plus a thousand taels of gold?"

Wen Yuening looked at what was written on the paper, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"Ah Ning, do you think he might not be Princess Yu Ling's child with the guard, but rather Princess Yu Ling's child with the Northern Witch Emperor?"

Wen Yuening thought Shen Sangwan must not have woken up properly in the morning, and was already talking nonsense.

"Your Highness, wouldn't you like to hear what was just said? Yu Ling and the Northern Witch Emperor are siblings, how could they possibly—"

Xiao Tong was also shocked by Shen Sangwan's wild imagination. How could his master dare to make up anything these days?

"If it weren't for his son, would he go to such lengths to get it back? And would he even lead troops alongside Yu'er behind the scenes? Would he really abandon two cities just to save his nephew?"

After listening to Shen Sangwan's analysis, Wen Yuening actually nodded and thought that what the other party said made a lot of sense.

Wen Yuening handed the letter back to Shen Sangwan, "What is Your Highness's response?"

"I will never do something like releasing a tiger back into the mountains again. My soldiers in Nanjing can take back Qinzhou on their own merits. As for the city of Beiwu, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

Shen Sangwan crumpled the letter and asked Shuyun, "How is Shen Yujing now?"

"If not treated in time, the latest will be the day after tomorrow."

In the past two days, Mo Ran has calculated the losses of the army. If the Northern Witches do not have the help of the living dead, they will not be afraid even if they make a comeback.

But now that the real person controlling the Gu has not been caught, she is afraid that if she goes too far and pushes the other party too far, they may set up another Gu control formation, which could put Nan Jing in a difficult situation.

She needed to come up with a perfect solution that would both prevent Shen Yujing from living too long and from dying immediately, and also ensure that once he was sent back, the other party would be unable to save him.

Seeing Shen Sangwan's brows furrowing more and more, Wen Yuening gently shoved her.

"Does Your Highness have some doubts or concerns?"

Shen Sangwan pulled the person aside and asked in a low voice, "Does A-Ning know how to make a secret medicine that makes people look like they are not seriously ill, as if they died of natural causes, and then at most last for ten days or a month before they are beyond medical help?"

Xiao Tong found Shen Sangwan's request somewhat outrageous after checking the system's medicine.

Wen Yuening was also a little confused by the question. After pausing for a while, she slowly said, "Life, aging, sickness and death are natural laws. Apart from using poison to damage the body, harm the internal organs and accelerate death, I can't think of any other way."

"No, no, poison will definitely not work."

Shen Sangwan waved her hand, suddenly feeling her head grow bigger.

"Shuyun, how's your investigation going? Have you tracked down the person who escaped from the other courtyard that day?"

Shuyun shook her head. "Following the trail, we only know that the person escaped into Qinzhou City. Catching them will be extremely difficult."

At this moment, Shen Sangwan felt as if a noose was around her neck. If she didn't move, she would be fine, but if she moved, it would take her life at any moment.

"Put the person down first and place them in an empty room in the backyard. Send people to guard them closely."

"Subordinates take orders."

After Shuyun left, Shen Sangwan set her sights on Xiaotong again.

Before I could even open my mouth, I was rejected outright.

"I haven't even said anything, why did you reject me so easily?"

[Master, I'm not stupid. Do you think I can't guess what you'll ask?]

"Look carefully, maybe it's somewhere hidden in some nook or cranny?"

Xiao Tong chuckled coldly twice, then shrugged and spread her hands.

【Master, it's not like what you're saying. If you don't believe me, you can check it yourself.】

Shen Sangwan slumped into a chair beside her and let out a long sigh.