Chapter 137: Shen Yingjue Is a Madman

Meanwhile, Shen Yingjue brought Shen Zijiao to see the attendants and maids who had previously served by his side.

Those servants were locked inside a windowless room, guarded by estate guards.

Shen Yingjue took a seat in a chair, while Shen Zijiao only walked over to stand quietly beside him.

"Take a look. Are all the people who served you here?"

Shen Zijiao swept his gaze over the group, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded softly. "They are all here."

"Now, are we going to subject them to harsh interrogation?"

"If it's a harsh interrogation, won't they just falsely confess under torture? What they confess might not even be true, right?"

Shen Yingjue glanced at Shen Zijiao and let out a cold laugh. "You seem to know quite a lot, don't you?"

"Well... naturally."

Shen Yingjue merely turned his head to look at the servants. "Has everyone been searched, both their persons and their rooms?"

"They have been searched," a nearby attendant replied hastily, stepping forward to present two items. "These were found on the servant who tried to flee earlier and inside his room."

"Oh?"

Shen Yingjue glanced at the two papers in the attendant's hand, then looked at Shen Zijiao. "You are already six years old. You should know how to read by now, right?"

Shen Zijiao instinctively puffed out his chest. "Naturally."

Although he was not as exceptional as Xingqi and Xingyou, he at least knew how to read, alright?

"Read it out loud yourself."

Shen Zijiao froze, not expecting Shen Yingjue to assign him such a task. He took a deep breath, quickly took the two slips of paper from Shen Yingjue's hand, and unfolded them.

Shen Zijiao lowered his gaze to the paper in his hands, his expression turning somewhat ugly. "Make sure not to let Zijiao get too close to Tan Qingjiu. Speak ill of her often in front of Zijiao. Zijiao is impulsive and hot-tempered, making him easy to incite. Use every possible means to make him hate and resent her, and prevent him from becoming affectionate or close to her."

Shen Yingjue looked at Shen Zijiao and let out a cold chuckle. "I heard that when you were at the Heir's Manor, she rarely paid any attention to you. But I think that although she rarely paid attention to you, she understood you quite well."

"At least her assessment that you are impulsive, hot-tempered, and easily incited is spot on. And that is putting it nicely; to put it bluntly, it means you are easily led by the nose and a fool."

Shen Zijiao's expression darkened further, and he clenched his teeth tightly—he was not a fool!

Shen Zijiao opened his mouth, but when he raised his eyes and caught sight of Shen Yingjue's chilling mask, he swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Forget it. Shen Yingjue was simply a madman.

In case he angered Shen Yingjue and the madman flew into a rage...

Furthermore, that woman was still unconscious. If Shen Yingjue went mad at a time like this, no one would be able to control him.

"What about the other paper?"

Shen Zijiao then switched to the other slip of paper. Upon seeing the contents, his face grew even darker.

"Read it."

Shen Zijiao took a deep breath. "Sprinkle this poison onto Shen Zijiao's clothes, specifically his outer garments. Once this poison touches the skin, it will permeate right through. Then, use every possible means to make Tan Qingjiu touch Shen Zijiao's clothes, ensuring her certain death."

Shen Yingjue sneered. "Just as the Princess consort anticipated."

Shen Yingjue raised his head. "From whom were these two papers found?"

"It was him," the attendant replied in a low voice. "His name is Qingfeng, Young Master Zijiao's personal valet."

Shen Yingjue stood up, walked step by step up to Qingfeng, and then reached out to grab him by the chin. "Speak. The Prince of Duan's Manor is heavily guarded. How did you communicate with people outside?"

"Who did you bribe?"

Qingfeng clenched his teeth tightly. "This humble servant does not know. Those two slips of paper do not belong to me, and I have no idea why they appeared on my person. Someone must be trying to frame me. I am truly wronged!"

"Wronged?"

Shen Yingjue let out a cold laugh. "Refusing to tell the truth, are you?"

"Perhaps because I am most famous for my madness, many people do not know that on ordinary days, when my illness is not acting up, I am still quite crazy."

"Moreover, what I hate most is people lying right to my face."

Shen Yingjue spoke in an extremely soft voice, yet it sent shivers down everyone's spine.

"Ah..."

Qingfeng let out a sudden, startled cry. Only then did the others notice that the chin held in Shen Yingjue's grip seemed to be emitting a faint, cracking sound.

It was the bone of his chin.

Shen Yingjue had actually crushed his jawbone with his bare hands.

Qingfeng kept his mouth open, his expression one of agonizing pain. But because his entire jaw and mouth were gripped tightly by Shen Yingjue, aside from muffled wails of agony, he could no longer produce any other sound.

"Still not telling the truth?"

"Do you know that killing a person is actually very easy? The most challenging part is not killing someone, but rather crushing most of the bones in their body while ensuring that they do not die."

"Whenever I was bored in the past, I liked to play this game. It's just that the bones on the head that can be crushed without affecting one's life are far too few."

As he spoke, Shen Yingjue's hand moved downward bit by bit until it clamped around Qingfeng's neck.

"The neck won't do either. If the neck is crushed, the person dies."

Shen Yingjue chuckled lightly, a sound that seemed to crawl straight out of the underworld, making one's hair stand on end.

Shen Yingjue's hand slid slowly downward. "The shoulder blades work."

His hand landed on the shoulder blade and abruptly exerted force.

Qingfeng's entire body jerked violently, trembling all over. Fine beads of sweat began to ooze from his forehead, and his muffled cries of agony began to warp in pitch.

Shen Zijiao was frightened so badly that he shuddered all over. He took two steps back and accidentally bumped into the stool Shen Yingjue had just been sitting on.

The stool let out a creaking sound, and Shen Yingjue slowly turned his head to look at Shen Zijiao.

Shen Zijiao almost jumped in fright. "I... I-I-I didn't do it on purpose."

Shen Yingjue narrowed his slender eyes. "Take Young Master Zijiao away. Do not frighten him. I always thought a real man shouldn't be so easily scared. However, if I really went through with it, I'm afraid the first thing the Princess Consort would do upon waking up would be to settle scores with me."

"Though I am not afraid of her, when women cry, it is truly a bit too troublesome."

"I dislike trouble."

An attendant stepped forward quickly. "Young Master Zijiao, please."

Not daring to linger any longer, Shen Zijiao hurried out. Shen Yingjue was simply too terrifying; he did not want to stay here for even a single second longer.

Once Shen Zijiao was led away, Shen Yingjue turned his attention back to Qingfeng and placed his hand on the other shoulder.

"This side works too. But since you can no longer speak, I suppose I can leave you with one hand so you can write for me."

Qingfeng hurriedly let out sounds that conveyed, "I'll speak, I'll speak." Shen Yingjue smiled. "Decided to talk, have you?"