The scumbag was secretly having an affair, while I was openly having an affair with the prince.

Chapter 230 Torture and Interrogation

The secret passage in the courtyard led to a dry well about a mile away. When Yu Chi Ling and Ye Shi Jun arrived at the dry well, they found nothing except messy footprints inside.

Wen Yan, Wen Mo, and the Ye family army searched the city, but after half a day they still found nothing.

The only clue is the three members of the Ye family.

Yu Chi Ling had them locked in three separate rooms, where he would interrogate them personally.

Yu Chi Ling interrogated Madam Fan first.

But Madam Fan kept proclaiming her innocence, and even when subjected to torture, she refused to admit that Ye Shishu's disappearance was related to her.

Seeing that she had fainted twice from the torture, Ninth Aunt advised, "Your Highness, judging from her character, she is extremely vain. I don't think she is the kind of person who would face death without fear. She probably doesn't know anything about it. Why don't we let her go for now and interrogate Fan Yunru and Fan Yunying?"

Yu Chi Ling's eyes narrowed, and he said coldly, "Go and bring Fan Yunying here!"

"Yes!"

Before long, Ninth Aunt grabbed Fan Yunying and brought her into the house, then shoved her hard against Old Madam Fan.

Looking at the cold, dark-faced man on the stool, Fan Yunying trembled violently, her tongue even tied in knots, "Your...Your Highness...I...I'm innocent..."

Yu Chi Ling stared at her with an unwavering gaze, so cold it was almost unbearable to look directly at him. He didn't even ask Fan Yunying a single question, only uttering two words to Ninth Aunt, "Ling Chi."

Aunt Jiu picked up a sharp knife from the table next to her.

Fan Yunying's beautiful eyes bulged open, her eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets, "No..."

She suspected they were just threatening her, but Yu Chi Ling's face remained expressionless, not even blinking. Ninth Aunt also remained silent, walked to her side, and slashed her arm with a knife—

"Ah—" The intense pain made her scream in agony.

Just as she was rolling her eyes and about to faint from the pain, Aunt Jiu suddenly pressed her finger hard on her back, hitting some acupoint, which made her scream again, and then her eyes regained their clarity.

Looking at the bloody flesh on the ground, and then at the bloodstained blade in Aunt Jiu's hand, she trembled and stopped crying out for justice, "I...I confess...please...please don't kill me..."

"Speak!" Ninth Aunt kicked her angrily.

"Someone...someone gave me...one thousand taels...to dig...to dig a secret passage..."

"who is it?"

"I...I don't know..."

"You're asking for it!" Ninth Aunt gritted her teeth and slashed at the other arm.

"Ah—" Fan Yunying screamed again.

But Aunt Jiu used the same method to keep her awake, making her clearly feel the pain of unbearable agony.

Fan Yunying lay on the ground, tears streaming down her face in despair. "I...I really don't know...I only took...I took the silver...I really don't know who it was..."

Ninth Aunt was about to strike again when Yu Chi Ling suddenly raised his hand and gestured, "Take him to the city gate and expose his corpse!"

"Yes!"

"No...no..." Fan Yunying's eyes were filled with fear and despair.

Ninth Aunt struck again, but this time she didn't wake her up, but knocked her unconscious, then dragged her out of the room and threw her to Wenyan and Wenmo.

Ye Shiting, Ye Shijun, Gu Simo, and Li Yao were all waiting outside the door. They only went inside after Fan Yunying was dragged away like a dead dog.

Ye Shiting said first, "The person who kidnapped my little sister must be related to Prince Liang. I have sent people to watch him all afternoon, but I have not found anything unusual about him. I have also sent people to watch Mo Qianxiao. He went to Prince Liang's mansion, but he has not come out since.

Ye Shijun said, "My little sister was just captured, and the whole city is searching for her. They're not stupid; if they give themselves away now, they'll be courting death."

Ye Shiting nodded. "That's good. At least it means my little sister won't be in danger for the time being. And I have another idea. I'd like Your Highness to intervene."

"Speak." Yu Chi Ling immediately looked at him.

“Your Highness, have the Emperor summon them to the palace. If my sister is in their hands, they will be ‘trapped’ in the palace and will have no chance to harm her. Even if people outside want to tip them off, the palace’s tight security will make things very difficult for them. This way, we will have more time to search for my sister.”

Upon hearing his suggestion, Yu Chi Ling was startled and dashed out like a whirlwind—

Li Yao suddenly tugged at Gu Simo's sleeve.

Gu Simo was a little amused and exasperated, but she still said to Ye Shiting and Ye Shijun, "Big brother, Shijun, Yao'er said she can try to find little sister."

The two brothers immediately glared at Li Yao.

Li Yao raised her face and said seriously, "Today I gave the Crown Princess a box of colored beans and told her what they were for. If the Crown Princess listened to me, she might use those colored beans. Although I'm not sure, I think it's worth a try if there's even a sliver of hope."

"Li Yao, what do you need us to do?" Ye Shiting asked her in a deep voice. Finding her was the priority now; even the slightest hope had to be taken seriously!

"Send people to scout out any places where wolves may be seen. The colorful beans I gave to the Crown Princess are a rare wolf-catching bait used by the Jiuli tribe. If a pack of wolves suddenly appears in a certain place, the Crown Princess might be there."

“You…” Ye Shiting was shocked by her words.

He just thought this girl was quirky and often did things that made people laugh and cry, including today, when she sent some random things to his little sister.

But this time, he was very grateful and excited!

"Big brother, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and go find it!" Ye Shijun grabbed his wrist and ran outside.