"Why does she look so unfazed?"
Z poked his head out, seemingly trying to discern Shen Qingqing's expression from the gloom. But after a long look, it was too dark in the cell to see anything.
Feeling a bit disappointed, he turned to the jailer.
The jailer flinched. "Sir, what are your orders?"
"Turn on the lights."
This presented a genuine dilemma for the jailer. There were no lights in this dungeon, specifically designed to put immense pressure on prisoners and break them in the darkness. Then, during interrogation, no torture would be needed; most would confess.
"Uh, there are no lights here..."
He spoke with difficulty, the air around them growing colder as he did. Z slowly turned his head to look at him, still smiling, but exuding an aura of unspoken fear.
"So, can't you go find some lights?"
"Yes, yes, I'll go now!"
The jailer turned and bolted.
Z sighed, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "This guy is truly useless. He needs me to spell out every little detail to know what to do."
"Don't throw your weight around here," Shen Qingqing scoffed. "As if I haven't seen you in your pathetic state before?"
Z laughed instead of getting angry. "You're right. You were a witness to my past. We relied on you to survive on the island."
"It's good you remember that."
Z stepped forward, coming within inches of the iron bars, able to smell the rust. "Since that's the case, shouldn't I just kill you?"
"Only then will no one know of my pathetic state."
He deliberately lowered his voice, like a lover whispering an endearment.
Shen Qingqing was unimpressed. "If you have the guts, then do it."
If he dared, if he could, he wouldn't be babbling here. She didn't know what means he used to make the King obey him, but...
"Are you sure your position is already comparable to Pei Ji's?"
"As expected, you're so clever."
Just then, the jailer returned, holding two high-powered flashlights that instantly dispelled the pervasive darkness in the dungeon.
Especially when he shone the two beams into the cell, Shen Qingqing's eyes were momentarily blinded.
"Are you blind, shining that flashlight in my eyes?"
"Apologies."
The jailer instinctively apologized, fumbling to move the beams away, shining them beside her. But then he felt it was wrong. Why should he apologize?
He was the jailer, the boss here!
But as he was about to retort, he saw Z's gaze and swallowed his words.
He looked at the woman with a peculiar gaze, not like an enemy, nor like a prisoner. It was a look filled with a strange light.
It was admiration.
He was admiring that prisoner!
Z spoke slowly, "This is much more comfortable. I like watching you talk."
As the words fell, Fu Jing Shu shot him a cold glance.
His words were almost a flirtation.
Z spread his hands, smiling helplessly. "My apologies, I didn't express myself clearly. I have no intention of stealing your wife. Please don't look at me like that."
He seemed to back down, but even the jailer could tell he wasn't afraid at all. Instead, he seemed to be playing.
Toying with them.
Shen Qingqing said coldly, "You've said what you needed to say. You can leave now."
Z clicked his tongue. "Why do you dislike me so much? Is it because I killed Zhao Qian? No, Miss Shen, aren't you forgetting that you were the one who caused his death?"
Shen Qingqing's head shot up, her expression turning icy.
"See, I hit the mark," Z sighed softly. "Why did you have to do this? If you and your group hadn't tried to escape with him, the King wouldn't have been so enraged. I was still wondering how to capture you, and then you walked right into my hands."
Shen Qingqing stared at him intently. "Do you dare to touch me?"
Z paused for a moment, then smiled. "Not yet. But since I've caught you, it's only a matter of time before I do."
"Then you can try."
Shen Qingqing's challenge was almost provocative.
The smile on Z's face finally vanished. "It seems you have a tough exterior. But I, for one, enjoy cracking tough nuts."
"Why did you kill him?"
Shen Qingqing suddenly asked.
"What other reason could there be? Because he sided with you," Z grinned broadly, heartily, and gleefully. "He dared to instigate your escape, trying to slip out of my grasp, so he deserved to die."
Like a yandere!
Shen Qingqing inwardly grumbled, "Alright, get lost."
"Only you dare speak to me like this," Z stared at her sinisterly, a smirk playing on his lips. "But you're only fierce with your words. The situation is entirely in my hands now, so I won't argue with you about it."
Shen Qingqing finally looked up at him. "What situation have you got under control? Are you going to be King?"
"Not yet," Z seemed oblivious to the astonishing thing he had just revealed. "But it's close."
"You certainly don't take others seriously."
Shen Qingqing didn't know much about the royal family, but she knew there were three princes. The second prince was abroad, and the third and eldest prince were in H country.
One was deeply favored by the King, and the other commanded the army.
Compared to Z, which of these two wasn't more advantageous?
Z smiled meaningfully. "You wouldn't understand."
"I don't understand," Shen Qingqing retorted mercilessly. "I don't understand how some people can be so delusional in their dreams, not waking up even in broad daylight."
"Pei Ji is gravely ill. The eldest prince has power but lacks brains and cunning," Z shook his head. "Neither of them is a threat. All of this will eventually be mine."
"You're part of the royal family?" Shen Qingqing's mind flashed with an idea.
Z didn't deny it. "You're not completely stupid after all."
Shen Qingqing immediately understood. "You were the one who poisoned them. The three-day sea trip you gathered everyone for was also to poison them, to control them, all for the sake of ascending the throne!"
What immense ambition!
Z smiled faintly, with a cultured grace. "Clever. But you've also miscalculated one thing. Those fools didn't need me to poison them. They were just collateral. The ones I wanted to control were not them."
Not them?
This meant that these people's status was not high enough. If it were, Z would definitely not have let them go.
Who else among these people had a high enough status, even capable of influencing the matter of the throne...
In a flash, she understood everything!
"Alright, I won't waste any more time with you. Goodbye."
Z didn't want to argue with her any further. Whoever laughed last was the true winner.
He checked the time and prepared to leave.
Because he suddenly realized that he couldn't kill them. Any provocation in front of them now would have no deterrent effect.
As he turned to leave, he thought of something and called back.
"Zhao Qian's body has already been cremated. I investigated, and he has no family. He was a loner. His death is insignificant."
With that, he turned and strode away.
Shen Qingqing's gaze was fixed on his receding back as she gritted her teeth and said, "That bastard!"