The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Chapter 421 Taking advantage of the situation

The clown, skilled at deception, has unknowingly developed a genuine heart.

Seeing Ding Cheng gradually break down, Zheng Xun finally chuckled softly.

So what if there's no system?

If she really wants to know, she will definitely find out.

"What exactly do you want to do?"

"I've never liked involving innocent people, but your child is just like you, how can he be considered innocent?"

"You won't succeed."

"You don't think that just because he's in Brown Country, I can't do anything about it, do you?"

Zheng Xun brandished the dagger, seemingly mocking his naiveté.

"Do not……"

"Or do you think I don't know that your fatherly love for the child is also fake?"

The feigned pain on Ding Cheng's face finally became real: "You knew! You actually knew!"

He had no strength left, but he still struggled to grab Zheng Xun.

Zheng Xun let go of him, increasing the distance between them.

"Is this the last mask you're putting on for yourself? If you win this war, you'll be remembered in history, and countless people will want to dig up your life story..."

One child isn't enough, is it?

His meticulously planned life cannot be known by just one person.

“General Ding, you don’t understand me, nor do you understand your emperor. I will make sure your death doesn’t even cause a ripple, and your emperor won’t allow a dead man with no value to occupy too much of people’s attention.”

Ding Cheng's idea was very simple.

In the words of later generations, he could be considered a mad "artist".

He created layers of personas for himself, and the first layer has already been peeled away: he was a general who made great achievements in his youth.

The second layer is the incompetent and muddle-headed garrison after arriving at Chongyan Pass; this is his present state.

The third layer is the defense that he will undertake to win the Battle of Chongyan Pass and turn the tide of battle.

The fourth layer is his cold-hearted and aloof nature, a facade that remained undiscovered until his death; this part should have been revealed by his family.

The fifth layer is the image of a loving father who has deceived others but inadvertently deceived himself, investing genuine feelings. This step will be revealed by his second son.

No one would know that the fourth layer is its core content.

No one would have known otherwise.

However, Zheng Xun exposed him at this moment.

Her guess was spot on, as if Ding Cheng's brilliant design was a boring and childish joke.

"General Ding's weaknesses are too obvious."

Ding Cheng has spent his whole life accomplishing this one thing. As long as we expose him and deny this thing from the root, we will definitely be able to defeat him.

Ding Cheng's eyes were bloodshot: "Hahaha! I won't tell you. You think you've succeeded? You want to know what I did? You've succeeded? You don't understand, my life has been so great! You can't succeed, but I will. Everyone will know, the emperor will proclaim my great achievements. Ridiculous, a joke, I did everything perfectly... There was one detail that went wrong. I killed him, and no one knew. Even Qi Yongji was part of my scheme. That day I ate eight bowls of wontons..."

He was rambling on and on, his logic was incoherent, and he was clearly somewhat insane.

Zheng Xun kept his presence to a minimum and listened carefully to every word he said.

She raised her voice only after he started spouting meaningless platitudes: "By the way, thank you for your cooperation. I know your plan. Unfortunately, you won't see what happens next."

Given her personality, she wouldn't waste so much time talking to him unless she had ulterior motives.

Now that the goal has been achieved, there is no reason to keep him around.

With a swift stroke, Zheng Xun ended Ding Cheng's life, confirming that he showed no signs of life and had no chance of being saved. He then wiped the blood off the dagger onto Ding Cheng's body and left lightly.

In fact, she lied to Ding Cheng.

The fact that a person of his stature died in his own stronghold is bound to cause a sensation and generate discussion.

Therefore, his assumption was not wrong at all.

However, he was so flustered by her exposure that he had no chance to think.

Zheng Xun had precisely grasped this point.

So, before he could figure it out, she ended his life.

She is a good person, so naturally she should do good deeds.

After leaving Ding Cheng's tent without making a sound, Zheng Xun spotted a familiar figure not far away.

She approached silently, then patted the man on the shoulder: "Little Four?"

Xiao Si, who was crouching and wary of his surroundings, was so startled by her that he jumped up from the ground.

"it's me."

"Your Highness! People can be so frightening, they can scare you to death, you know?"

Zheng Xun crossed his arms: "Oh? Now you're not pretending not to know me?"

From the first moment she saw him, she knew this guy was no ordinary person.

However, he meant no harm, and she was also curious about how long he would play this game and what new tricks he would come up with.

Unexpectedly, this person chose to confess on the second meeting.

Xiao Si's eyelids twitched.

He actually saw through it, but luckily he didn't try anything funny.

He shook his head: "Well, I'm quite confident and capable. You know, capable people are usually selective, so I have to see if you're a wise ruler, right?"

"And then? Do you have an answer?"

“Of course. Now that I know Your Highness is the first Ziwei Star to appear in the world, I must also offer you a token of my loyalty.”

Zheng Xun: Look, this is the art of speaking.

Regardless of the exact proportions, let's just praise it first.

Then be honest, humble, and finally offer tangible benefits.

Who can blame him for this?

At least Zheng Xun could not.

"I'm curious, if you have such extraordinary talent, why have you always remained an ordinary soldier?"

"Because the country of Brown has no wise ruler whom I can follow."

“If one is a wise ruler, one will not take a liking to an unknown and incompetent person.”

“Displaying one’s talents is not difficult; if one wants to make a name for oneself, one can do so at any time.”

Xiao Si's words were too Versailles-like, and Zheng Xun simply couldn't stand them: "Then tell me, what merit have you made?"

"I found the warehouse where Ding Cheng hid the heavenly lightning."

Zheng Xun's heart stirred slightly: "Do you know how to get in?"

"I know that, but... I doubt there are any heavenly lightning bolts inside."

This answer is similar to Zheng Xun's conjecture.

She nodded, signaling Xiao Si to continue.

She was very curious to see how far Xiao Si could guess.

However, it's no wonder he's so arrogant; he really does have some talent.

If it weren't for her superpowers, perhaps...

There's nothing to be afraid of; even without superpowers, she's still stronger than him.

Zheng Xun secretly chuckled to himself, but showed no sign of it on his face.

Xiao Si couldn't figure out what she was thinking, so he continued, "You just met with Ding Cheng, so you should already know that he has other plans, right?"

His words were still a test. When he found that Zheng Xun did not deny it, he knew in his heart that he should never try to be clever in front of her in the future.

Having worked under Ding Cheng for so long, he had a good understanding of Ding Cheng's personality.

He was certain that even Ding Cheng's personal guards, who spent every day with him, didn't know him as well as he did.

Ding Cheng is intelligent, stubborn, but also lives life like a game.

He doesn't seem to care about anything in particular.

This is a terrible thing; if you don't care, you have no weakness.

He was like a poison without an antidote, a thunderbolt that could explode at any moment.

Nobody knows when it will explode, and nobody knows how to stop it from exploding.

When such a person still has a brain and knows how to pretend, they are not easily threatened.

Xiao Si was very curious about what methods Zheng Xun had used to get him to talk.

"Yes."

"How much does Your Highness know?"

Zheng Xun gave him a light kick: "Stop talking nonsense and continue."

That's the downside of smart people; they can't help but show off.

Xiao Si didn't dare to dodge and honestly said, "Your Highness may not know, but there has been construction going on inside Chongyan Pass. Ding Cheng's reason for the public is to renovate the fortifications, which does seem to be true. However, he wouldn't make such a claim without a reason, so I suspect that he has ulterior motives."

"What purpose?"

Although Zheng Xun's question was phrased as a question, her expression showed no surprise.

Xiao Si pondered for a moment, unsure whether she truly knew or was pretending.

He dared not keep them in suspense any longer: "I suspect he buried gunpowder underground, with the aim of luring our Dayong soldiers into the pass and then wiping them all out in one fell swoop."

"Is he willing to give up the three perilous passes of Chongyan?"

"Although the three perilous passes of Chongyan have been blown open, it is not impossible to rebuild them. If we can annihilate the He family army in one fell swoop, his prestige will surely reach its peak."

Zheng Xun chimed in tacitly, "Or perhaps, his thinking is even more far-reaching. With the He family army gone, the Brown Kingdom can advance unimpeded and possibly annihilate Dayong in one fell swoop. At that time, the whole world will be in the Brown Kingdom's hands, and whether the Three Perilous Passes of Chongyan still exist will no longer matter."

Xiao Si's face was full of smiles: "It's a pity he didn't expect that the Great Yong would have such an unexpected prince."

"What's even more regrettable is that Ding Cheng died and couldn't see his plan fail."

Xiao Si raised his hand to point at Zheng Xun, but then, realizing it was disrespectful, he forced himself to lower his hand: "You...you...you...killed Ding Cheng?"

Zheng Xun nodded: "We can't kill them?"

Xiao Si: Can I say no? I'm afraid I'll get stabbed along with everyone else.

"Yes! Absolutely. But now, how do we find the person who ignited the heavenly lightning?"

This was a job with no chance of survival, and Ding Cheng certainly couldn't go himself. However, the number of people he trusted, both publicly and privately, was countless.

How are they supposed to find them? How are they supposed to defend against them?

"Even if he's not dead, do you think you can get him to ask that question out of his mouth?"

If Zheng Xun were to ask this question, Ding Cheng would definitely be pleased with himself.

In his pride, he said nothing.

Xiao Si said dejectedly, "No."

Zheng Xun smiled slyly: "Then this matter will need to be resolved by you?"

Xiao Si was on the verge of tears: "Can we discuss this?"

"Not negotiable."

Having come this far, Xiao Si could only grit his teeth and say, "Fine!"

"This is my test for you. If you pass, I will grant you wealth and honor."

Xiao Si slapped himself: "I made you talk nonsense!"

He knew that this matter couldn't be postponed.

Your Highness is deliberately putting pressure on him; she wants him to understand that intelligence should be used in the right way.

This is a rebuttal to what he just called a "test," and also a show of force to overshadow him.

Fortunately, although this matter is difficult, it's not impossible to handle it well...

His mind raced, and suddenly he had a direction in mind.

"By the way, to prevent you from going astray, let me tell you first, don't think you can find a breakthrough through me, it won't work."

Xiao Si's face quickly turned ashen: "You can read minds, can you?!"

He thought it was too simple.

Although Her Highness entrusted this matter to him, she could not place all her hopes on him, nor could she completely trust him.

Therefore, she will definitely find another way.

He already knew of Her Highness's abilities, and he had confidence in her, believing that she would definitely be able to find the person.

So he planned to secretly follow the princess and copy her answers.

Although this method is somewhat unorthodox and opportunistic, it is undoubtedly the simplest and most effective.

But now, His Highness has blocked that path.

He was wrong. He shouldn't have deceived His Highness in the first place. If he hadn't deceived His Highness from the beginning, His Highness wouldn't have given him a hard time. If His Highness hadn't given him a hard time, he could have taken this shortcut...

Unfortunately, there is no such thing.

"Your Highness, please do as you wish. I need to think of something..."

Seeing Xiao Si's worried expression, Zheng Xun mercilessly added insult to injury: "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, there's a deadline for this~"

Xiao Si suddenly realized something and exclaimed in despair, "Before dawn?"

He also knew when Murong Ze arrived, so he could naturally deduce when Dayong would launch its attack.

As he expected, Zheng Xun nodded.

He scratched his head listlessly, not even bothering to move to another spot, and immediately fell into deep thought.

Zheng Xun glanced at a man peeking out from a distance and said, "Come here."

The man pointed to himself incredulously: "Me?"

"It's you."

After hesitating for a moment, the man still chose to approach Zheng Xun.

When he arrived, he wanted to bow to Zheng Xun, but Zheng Xun stopped him: "Keep an eye on him, I'm leaving."

After Zheng Xun finished speaking, he turned around and left with light steps.

She didn't have much time for Xiao Si, and even less time for herself.

It wasn't that she was too demanding of herself, but rather that she didn't expect Xiao Si's answer to solve the problem; she herself had to address this hidden danger.

Not only that, she also needs to allow for time to make mistakes.

Her decision was crucial to the outcome of the war and the victory or defeat of the He family army.

Xiao Si can fail, but she cannot.

Zheng Xun gathered his thoughts and moved through Chongyan Pass like a ghost.

The soldiers couldn't see her figure, but they could feel that the wind was particularly strong tonight.

To verify whether Ding Cheng had indeed buried explosives underground, Zheng Xun dug up several places where the ground had been disturbed.

As expected, she did indeed discover the presence of gunpowder.

"madman……"

The Brown Kingdom doesn't have that much control over gunpowder yet. If a spark were to fly... the Brown Kingdom's soldiers could very well be blown to bits before the He family army even enters Chongyan Pass.

Realizing this, Zheng Xun became determined not to let He's army easily enter Chongyan Pass.

Or does Ding Cheng have other advantages?

A question flashed through Zheng Xun's mind, but she no longer had time to investigate.

Her mind raced, and she quickly came up with a plan to turn the tables on them.

What she's more curious about now is whether Murong Ze knows about Ding Cheng's plans.

If she didn't know, then Ding Cheng's death, and all this explosives scattered on the ground, could also be her trap.

She leveled the ground again.

The most urgent task is to find the person responsible for lighting the signal.

Since Ding Cheng trusts this person so much, he might know whether Ding Cheng has mentioned the explosives to Murong Ze.