TRBDM -Chapter 166 You Don’t Know My Methods?

Outside the house, the guards arrived just in time with the coroner and their senior disciple.

Seeing the courtyard gate wide open, one of the guards shouted, “Something’s wrong, there’s been an accident!”

With that, they rushed inside.

Inside, Zhao Jingrui had set the fire and immediately tried to escape. He didn’t have time to wait for the flames to spread.

As long as this entire residence burned down, any leverage against him would vanish.

As for what came after, he would have to plan it out slowly once he returned.

But things were never going to go as smoothly as he imagined.

Just as Zhao Jingrui reached the doorway, he collided head-on with the guards rushing in.

Lightning, torrential rain, and thunder struck simultaneously.

Illuminating Zhao Jingrui’s horrified face.

He froze in place, his voice hoarse as he asked,

“Who… who are you?”

One of the guards glanced behind him, urgency in every second: “I’ll hold him! You go save them!”

“Understood.”

The coroner and the senior disciple didn’t hesitate for a moment. They immediately tore down the burning bed curtains and threw them into the courtyard.

The torrential rain swept in, instantly extinguishing the flames.

But the collapsed secret chamber before them made their hearts tighten. “No… Lord Jiang and the others are still inside!”

The guards knew that, of course.

“Quick, save them!”

One of them found a rope and tied Zhao Jingrui to a pillar, then joined the others in moving the fallen bricks and rubble.

Zhao Jingrui watched their frantic efforts and laughed like a madman. “Stop moving! They’re already dead. They wanted to uncover my secret, so let them become my stepping stones early, on the road to the afterlife!”

No one paid attention to Zhao Jingrui’s insane rambling; they focused on clearing the debris as fast as possible.

The coroner felt a chill in his heart as he worked. “The smell of gunpowder… someone planted explosives inside beforehand.”

The collapse was too severe—just the three of them moving rubble would take who knows how long.

The guard’s face went pale. “Keep moving them. I’ll go get help.”

“Good. Hurry and come back quickly.”

The guard dashed into the pouring rain and rode off.

“Ha! Even if you bring people, it’s useless. They were blown to pieces long ago. Even if you dig them out, all you’ll get are corpses! Hahaha!”

Zhao Jingrui had already lost his mind.

His secret chamber, hidden for so many years, had been discovered. His secret could no longer be kept, and the people from the northern border in the palace would all be buried with him.

Tears glistened in Zhao Jingrui’s eyes as he laughed madly. A sorrowful cry echoed in his heart: Mother, Father… I’m sorry. I’ve doomed you. I promised to bring you home, but now I can’t.

He had been so close. Just a little longer, and once Zhao Kuang was dead, he could have taken his parents home.

But he was one step away.

He was unwilling. So unwilling.

The ropes binding him were tight, leaving Zhao Jingrui unable to move an inch. He knew… it was all over.

Half an hour later, the guards returned with people from the Princess’s residence.

Behind them was Zhao Lingchen.

Stepping into the room, Zhao Lingchen’s voice was firm: “Quickly—save them!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Zhao Lingchen then turned to Zhao Jingrui’s side, and a chair was immediately brought forward by the guards.

“Heh… Royal Elder Sister, risking yourself in the stormy early hours. May I say this little house of mine now shines with grandeur?”

Zhao Jingrui had shed his previously meek demeanor and bared his sharp fangs.

Unfortunately for him, as soon as he opened his mouth, he realized his teeth had been broken.

Zhao Lingchen had no patience for his taunts; she preferred to strike straight to the pulse:

“Zhao Jingrui, I’ll only ask you one thing—does the secret chamber have an escape route?”

Since he had dared to dig a secret tunnel, Zhao Lingchen didn’t believe he hadn’t prepared an escape path.

“No. It’s sealed inside. There was only one passage, and I blew it up. Aren’t your people digging right now? Just wait to dig out their corpses.”

At this point, Zhao Jingrui had nothing left to worry about. Provoking Zhao Lingchen felt exhilarating.

His eyes were vicious, the corners of his lips curling upward as he stared at Zhao Lingchen, studying her expression closely.

He wanted to see her furious. The thought of angering her excited him.

Zhao Lingchen gave a faint, ambiguous smile and leaned lazily against the back of her chair, one foot stepping onto Zhao Jingrui’s chest.

She pressed down with force, kicking until Zhao Jingrui let out a muffled groan.

Her shoe ground hard against his chest, her expression unchanged. “Zhao Jingrui, playing tricks with me? Don’t you know my methods?”

His fear of Zhao Lingchen had long been carved into his bones. A paper tiger, no matter how fiercely it tried to pretend, could not last even a breath before a real tiger.

Zhao Lingchen extended her hand. A guard drew his saber and respectfully placed it in her palm.

The next moment, the blade’s tip plunged straight into Zhao Jingrui’s left chest.

“Zhao Lingchen, have you gone mad?!”

He hadn’t expected her to attack him directly. When his mind caught up, searing pain struck, and the metallic scent of blood filled his nose.

Tilting her head, Zhao Lingchen looked at him.

“Is this the first day you’ve realized I’m mad?”

As the words fell, the blade drove several inches deeper.

“Ah! Ah—!”

Zhao Jingrui screamed in agony.

“Zhao Jingrui, with such heavy rain outside, do you think Consort Ling is sleeping soundly in Liuxiao Palace?”

Clenching his teeth, he replied, “We’ll die sooner or later anyway. You won’t spare the people of Northern Frontier. Better to let Mother sleep peacefully tonight.”

“No, no, no.” Zhao Lingchen shook her head. The smile on her face sent chills down his spine.

“Wouldn’t death be letting her off too easily? Keeping her alive to torment slowly—that’s far more interesting.”

Zhao Jingrui’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“She is the Spirit Consort of the Dachong Dynasty, and a princess of the Northern Frontier Kingdom. You can’t treat her like that.”

“Heh—”

Zhao Lingchen found his naivety laughable.

“How old are you this year? You’ve lived in the imperial palace for so long—how can you still be this childish? If I want to torment Consort Ling, who would dare stop me? Father Emperor?”

Blood rose in Zhao Jingrui’s throat. Everyone knew how absurdly Zhao Kuang doted on Zhao Lingchen. He even suspected that if she wanted the throne, Zhao Kuang would not refuse her.

So her threat was real.

And she had always meant what she said. Anything she decided to do, she would carry out immediately.

“Enough. I’ll give you half an incense stick’s time to think. The death of a Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review means nothing to me. But Consort Ling is your mother. You know how to choose. Besides, I promise you—if you tell me where the escape route is, even if Father Emperor orders the execution of all the Northern Frontier people in the future, I will let Consort Ling pass without pain.”

Zhao Lingchen released her hand. The blade remained lodged in his chest, unmoving.

Blood flowed more and more. Zhao Jingrui’s lips turned pale; dizziness clouded his vision.

Zhao Lingchen was unhurried. She turned away, watching coldly as the guards moved the fallen stones blocking the entrance to the secret chamber.

Time ticked by. The torrential rain outside began to ease.

Huff… huff… huff…

Zhao Jingrui gasped in pain, beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolling down his temples.

Water dripped from the eaves—drip, drip—while the green bricks soaked in rainwater.

Finally, he could endure no more. Weakly, he said:

“The escape route… is beneath the artificial rockery in the back courtyard.”

The moment the words left his mouth, without needing Zhao Lingchen’s command, the guards rushed toward the rear courtyard.

Zhao Lingchen clapped slowly, almost absentmindedly. “Fifth Brother, a wise man submits to circumstances. Well done.”

Zhao Jingrui looked at her.

“Eldest Sister… you must keep your promise.”

“Of course. I always keep my word.”