Feng Jin crouched down to meet Sun Shi's gaze, attempting to persuade her with earnest advice.
"Obey me first, and then you can do as you please, kill me or flog me. I'll accept it all."
Sun Shi braced herself and stared at Feng Jin. The victor takes all, the loser admits defeat. She accepted her loss, but she would not tolerate such humiliation.
Especially from Feng Jin, this wretched little girl, her former subordinate, now trying to humiliate her. It was a pipe dream. She would rather die than suffer such indignity.
"I never expected Concubine Sun to have such backbone. You truly impress me. I wonder if Feng Ruoyan will have the same resolve as you. If Feng Ruoyan were imprisoned here today, would she, like you, resist death and seek it? What do you think?"
Feng Jin said with an air of detachment, her gaze occasionally shifting to Sun Shi. After a long pause, she stood up. "Since that's the case, we'll have to verify it personally to know the truth."
"What do you want?" Sun Shi lost her composure, the very end of her voice trembling slightly.
"What can I do? I merely wish to be benevolent and let you and your daughter reunite."
"If you have something against me, come at me! I did everything, and Yan'er is innocent. You are forbidden to harm my Yan'er, or I will not rest even as a ghost!"
Sun Shi grabbed the iron bars and screamed heartbreakingly, her eyes widening. If it weren't for the bars separating them, she would have lunged at Feng Jin to fight.
Feng Jin reached up and dug into her ear, finding Sun Shi's voice utterly unbearable and offensive to her ears. "Enough, Concubine Sun. Save your strength. You've just eaten. Shouting more will only waste your energy, making the meal a waste. Wouldn't that be a shame?"
"What do you want to do... what do you intend to do to my Yan'er? If you dare to lay a hand on Yan'er, I will haunt you as a ghost! I will absolutely not let you go!"
Feng Ruoyan was her greatest weakness. Hearing Feng Jin's threat to harm Feng Ruoyan, Sun Shi became utterly frenzied. Her eyes bulged as if about to pop out, and she shrieked at the top of her lungs.
"Don't get so agitated. Your lack of composure is truly baffling. I don't understand why Marquis Baili would send you to Dongchu as a spy. Is it because he has faith in your beauty, or your superior seduction skills that can befuddle Feng Yuanping?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? I don't understand anything!"
Sun Shi's heart lurched, and she quickly denied everything. She was no longer as agitated as before, her eyes darting about in panic, unsure where to look.
Her actions had been so discreet. The only significant thing she had done was to target Feng Yuanping. How did Feng Jin discover her identity? Could it be... could Feng Yuanping have been taken by her?
This was impossible. The entire Feng residence was under her control; not even a bird could fly out. How had Feng Jin obtained the information?
"You are a smart person. There's no need to pretend anymore. Let's speak plainly. I've known for a long time that you are a spy from Xiliang, and I also know that Feng Ruoyan is not Feng Yuanping's biological daughter."
"You... how did you know!"
Sun Shi was flustered. Without thinking, she blurted out the question, instantly regretting it the moment the words left her mouth.
"Feng Ruoyan really isn't Feng Yuanping's daughter!"
Initially, she had just wanted to probe Sun Shi, but it turned out she had unearthed something significant.
"You tricked me! What exactly do you want!"
Feng Jin ignored Sun Shi's heart-wrenching screams. This was truly explosive news, and she needed time to process it.
"You truly have a masterful hand. To have kept this hidden for so many years, making Feng Yuanping raise someone else's child for so long. I'm quite curious how you managed it."
Indeed, Feng Jin admired Sun Shi's methods. To have made Feng Yuanping wear a cuckold's hat for so many years without a hint of suspicion, even raising another man's child for him. Sun Shi was truly skilled.
This also explained why He Miaoqing had met such a tragic end. How could a woman raised in seclusion, naive to the world, possibly compete with someone like Sun Shi, who was adept at scheming?
"A little seduction was all it took to make Feng Yuanping willingly my bedfellow. I was already pregnant when I met Feng Yuanping. During childbirth, I merely lied that He Miaoqing had pushed me, causing a premature delivery. Feng Yuanping believed me and, as a result, blamed He Miaoqing, confining her. After their estrangement, your mother's melancholy and eventual demise were also due to my constant instigation and manipulation..."
"With the most rudimentary of tactics, you made Feng Yuanping believe it without question, creating a rift between him and He Miaoqing. Your mother's death was also entirely Feng Yuanping's doing. If you want to blame someone, blame him. If you want revenge, go to Feng Yuanping to settle the score!"
Sun Shi was now like a madwoman, her piercing screams filling the entire dungeon.
Feng Jin looked at Sun Shi with utter calmness, as if she were a stranger. For someone on the brink of death, her hatred had considerably lessened.
Her gaze drifted to a small door behind the dungeon. Someone else would handle the subsequent matters; she didn't need to worry about them.
"Feng Jin, don't you hate me to the bone? Then kill me! Our grievances will be settled. Don't go after my Yan'er. Direct all your enmity towards me."
"I will not let either you or Feng Ruoyan off. Rest assured, after your death, I will have Feng Ruoyan don mourning attire for you and properly send you off. It can be considered a gesture of mother-daughter affection!"
"You... you don't... don't hurt my Yan'er..."
Sun Shi cried out towards Feng Jin's retreating figure, unaware of the pair of eagle-like eyes fixed on her from behind, their gaze filled with a hatred that seemed capable of tearing her apart.
It wasn't until a pair of black shoes appeared before her that Sun Shi vaguely came to her senses. Following the shoes down, she saw the face of the person before her and recoiled in fear, shrinking back and cowering in the corner.
"Sun Shi, you've deceived me for so many years!"
Feng Yuanping's voice was chillingly cold. He had been hiding behind the secret door and had heard everything Sun Shi had said.
He, who prided himself on his intelligence, had been played for a fool by a woman for over a decade, raising another man's child for all those years.
"I... I..." Sun Shi trembled uncontrollably out of fear, her lips quivering, unable to utter a complete sentence.
At this point, she had nothing left to hide. With a hardened heart, she confessed everything. "That's right, Yan'er is not your daughter. I was already pregnant before I met you. I approached you under the command of Old Marquis Baili!"