Chapter 516: Tuo Ye Hid in the Pickle Jar

Chapter 516: Chapter 516: Tuo Ye Hid in the Pickle Jar

Xie Mingxu fell silent for a moment, then decided to go out and buy some wontons to have ready for his little sister when she returned.

He had just stepped out of the courtyard gate when, to his surprise, he saw his third brother, Xu Jingxi, walking toward him, holding a book.

It looked as though he was taking it to Shen Ningning.

Xie Mingxu immediately spoke up. "Third Brother, you don’t have to go. Our little sister just left with Second Brother."

As he said this, he gave Xu Jingxi a somewhat sympathetic look.

’We’re both brothers who’ve been temporarily abandoned by our little sister.’

’Misery truly loves company.’

But to his surprise, Xu Jingxi simply smiled. The bamboo-green robes he wore further accentuated his tall, elegant figure.

"Eldest Brother, you’ve misunderstood. Our little sister asked me to find some old books about Changliu Country a while back. I just happened to find a few more. I ran into them as they were heading out, and she told me to just leave them on her desk."

With that, he cupped his hands in a brief salute and turned to leave.

Xie Mingxu silently watched his receding figure.

’Fine. Now I get it,’ he thought. ’I’m the only idle one in the whole family, not helping Ningning at all.’

Shen Ningning and Xie Ming’an returned to Wolf Mountain together.

At the entrance, the young maiden whispered a few words to him. Xie Ming’an raised an eyebrow.

He nodded with a low chuckle. "I know what you mean. Just need to scare him. Simple enough."

Shen Ningning pressed her lips together. "You rotten Second Brother..."

"Hm?" Xie Ming’an’s gaze swept over to her.

Shen Ningning caught herself and instantly changed her tune, flashing a sweet smile. "My *dearest* Second Brother~"

"That’s more like it. What did you want to say?"

"Tuo Ye isn’t completely intimidated yet. If you’re going to say something, don’t be too obvious about it, lest you make him even more alert."

Xie Ming’an let out a couple of hearty laughs. "Little Sister, when I interrogate criminals at the Ministry of Justice, I often have to scare them and lie to them to make them confess. Don’t you worry, I’m a pro at this kind of work."

With that settled, the two siblings pushed open the door and went inside.

To their surprise, Tuo Ye was not in his room.

Shen Ningning was surprised and quickly asked the Black Wolf King, "Where is he?"

A flicker of disdain for Tuo Ye showed in the Black Wolf King’s cold, lupine eyes.

It shook its massive head, then gestured with its snout in a certain direction.

The kitchen, of all places.

Shen Ningning hurried over.

Grandma Qin was living in Xiangyun Village now, so the spacious kitchen was spotless. But at a glance, there was no one there.

Not until the Black Wolf King padded over and tapped its paw against a large pickling jar in the corner.

Xie Ming’an lifted the cloth covering it and was stunned.

Shen Ningning was taken aback as well. "What are you doing hiding in here?"

Tuo Ye, a man of considerable height, was curled up inside the jar, so cramped he could barely even turn over. Yet he didn’t dare to move a muscle.

’There was no telling how long he had been hiding in there.’

When he saw that Shen Ningning had returned, a bit of color finally returned to his pale face.

"Not long after you left, someone broke into the house..." Tuo Ye’s voice trembled as he spoke.

Shen Ningning frowned.

’Someone broke in?’

’That’s impossible. Everyone for miles around knows this is Wolf Mountain.’

’Ordinary people wouldn’t dare come up here looking to die, and those who know the place wouldn’t drop by unannounced.’

"It must have been my grandma, right?" Shen Ningning said, motioning for her second brother to help pull Tuo Ye out.

With a cabbage leaf perched on his head, Tuo Ye stepped out barefoot, his tall frame still shivering uncontrollably.

From Shen Ningning’s reaction, he was certain that the intruders hadn’t been sent by her. This wasn’t some deliberate attempt to frighten him!

It meant that the assassins had actually dared to come for him, even with so many wolves guarding the house.

Tuo Ye’s fists clenched, and he bit his lip so hard it turned white.

"It must have been Xiuxiu sending people to finish the job! Didn’t you say this place was perfectly safe? Why would they dare to come in?"

Xie Ming’an shot him a look. "The price of not killing you is far greater. What do they care about a few wolves? As long as they achieve their objective, all their future troubles will be gone."

"Little Sister, I told you we shouldn’t be harboring this kind of trouble. I’m throwing him out on the street right now. Otherwise, you’ll get dragged into their disputes, and that’s too dangerous."

Xie Ming’an began his act.

He zeroed in on Tuo Ye’s terror, grabbing him by the collar and starting to drag him outside.

Tuo Ye struggled with all his might, wrapping his arms around the kitchen stove. "I can’t go outside! It’s certain death out there!"

Xie Ming’an sneered, his gaze cold and impassive as he looked down at him.

"You’re a dead man here, too. They’ve already found their way to our home. They failed this time, but there’s no guarantee they won’t be back. Are you expecting my sister to risk her life for you?"

"Get out, now. Or I’ll break your arms and throw you out myself."

Tuo Ye frantically looked toward Shen Ningning. "I’ve already sent a message by carrier pigeon, summoning my Hidden Guards! As soon as my people arrive, I’ll go and settle the score with Xiuxiu!"

"Princess Funing, you’ve already sheltered me this long. Why not just a few more days? I promise I won’t cause you any more trouble."

Shen Ningning feigned hesitation and gave her second brother a pitiful, pleading look.

Xie Ming’an shook his head firmly. "No."

Shen Ningning then had no choice but to say to Tuo Ye, "I can’t help you. This is a private matter for your family. You’ll have to deal with it yourselves."

Xie Ming’an gave Tuo Ye a vicious tug. With a loud RRRIP, his clothes tore open.

Tuo Ye gripped the corner of the stove, his knuckles turning white from the strain.

In his desperation, he blurted out, "This isn’t just our family’s affair! It’s a conspiracy aimed at your Cangyun Country!"

’Oh? So he’s finally ready to talk,’ she thought.

Shen Ningning scoffed. "Nonsense. Weren’t you here looking for the Tenth Princess? I’m not falling for whatever lies you’re spinning now." ℯ

This, however, only made Tuo Ye more desperate.

"It’s true! I thought the search for the Tenth Princess was just a pretext, but it turned out to be real. But Xiuxiu’s ultimate goal is to use you to steal the secret formula for gunpowder!"

With that, it was clear that Tuo Ye was finally ready to come clean.

Xie Ming’an let go. Exhausted, Tuo Ye collapsed to the floor, panting heavily.

His forehead was covered in cold sweat.

He glanced at Xie Ming’an, wondering how the legendarily brilliant Minister of the Ministry of Justice could also possess such brute strength.

Shen Ningning’s fine brows knitted together. "Steal the gunpowder formula? How is that possible? It sounds completely absurd."

Tuo Ye caught his breath for a moment before sitting up and wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"My father, the Emperor, hails Xiuxiu as the most brilliant and cunning strategist in all of Changliu Country. He has never failed at anything he’s set his mind to."

"Why do you think you and Qi Xiuwei had a falling out? That was all his doing."

He proceeded to explain Xiuxiu’s step-by-step plan to bring down Cangyun Country.

Shen Ningning was deeply alarmed as she listened to the plan.

Xiuxiu was far more cunning and calculating than she had imagined.

He knew full well that Cangyun Country had just suffered a series of major disasters, and that the people’s morale rested on two pillars: Shen Ningning and the Emperor.

Although the Crown Prince’s illness seemed to be under control for now, it was bound to flare up again.

But when it did, Changliu Country would not be so quick to offer the Heaven Suppressing Pearl to help.

Xiuxiu’s first move was to target Shen Ningning, engineering the falling-out with her friend. His real goal was to destabilize her emotionally.

"If all goes according to plan, their next move will be to have Qi Xiuwei come to you, pretending to reconcile. They’ll prey on your guilt to trick you into handing over the secret gunpowder formula."

Shen Ningning’s lips tightened into a thin line.

She was surprised, it was true. But through Tuo Ye’s words, she had also discovered a secret.

A secret that, she suspected, even Tuo Ye himself hadn’t noticed.