The little sister is a troublemaker

Chapter 419: Being the Bait to Kill the Regent

Fang Huai gasped for breath and stroked his neck with one hand.

Ying snorted coldly. He is really a good-for-nothing scholar. But looking at his appearance, he is indeed a loyal and honest person as the investigation shows. It's a pity that his ability is limited. But he is more than qualified to be a county magistrate.

"Turn around."

Fang Huai, who was gasping for breath, paused, hesitating and not daring to look back.

Yingyi's voice dropped, "I said turn around."

Fang Huai closed his eyes slightly, then straightened his back and turned slowly. What he saw was a masked man in black.

"Brave man, today... you should leave first."

Yingyi said nothing, but took out a token from his pocket and threw it to him.

Fang Huai hurriedly caught it, frowned and looked at it, somewhat puzzled.

When he turned over the token and saw the word "Chen" written on it, his eyes widened, "This... this..." Then he knelt on the ground suddenly, "Fang Huai, the magistrate of Xueling Town, greets you, Your Excellency. I didn't know you were the one visiting me. I'm sorry for the offense."

Yingyi brought the chair in front of the desk to himself and sat down directly. "Now, can you tell me what exactly is your reason that forced you to become a traitor?"

Fang Huai lowered his head even lower and held the token high with both hands.

Yingyi took the token and played with it in his hand, seemingly casually, but in fact he did not miss any of Fang Huai's emotional changes.

"Your subordinate... Your subordinate made a deal with Duanmu Huo."

"What deal?"

"Duanmu Huo promised me that he would not kill civilians indiscriminately, and I...I will be his bait."

"What bait?"

Fang Huai then raised his head and said, "Be the bait to kill the Regent."

"What?" Ying Yi stood up suddenly and looked at Fang Huai with murderous eyes.

But at this moment, Fang Huai met Ying Yi's gaze without any avoidance, his eyes were calm.

"Humph, you think you can lure the prince to his death?"

"Of course I won't. I just want to calm Duan Muhuo down for the time being."

Ying raised an eyebrow, "Will Duanmu Huo trust you so easily?"

Fang Huai smiled bitterly, "Of course not, in just a few days, the tests have never stopped."

"Duanmu Huo is an extremely proud person. Although he has average ability, he will never be fooled by such a small trick of yours. Don't try to play tricks on me. If there is even a trace of falsehood in what you say, I will know it very quickly. You have to save your life, haha!"

Ying Yi's tone was full of threats, and his cold eyes seemed to see through people.

"I won't lie," Fang Huai's eyes instantly turned red, "Duanmu Huo...he captured my son and daughter and used them to threaten me. So I took this opportunity to agree to cooperate with him, firstly so that Duanmu Huo could kill fewer people, and secondly for my children."

Fang Huai's expression at this moment was like an eggplant hit by frost, and he had no energy at all. "My wife died young, leaving me with only this son and a daughter. That's why Duanmu Huo thought that if he threatened me with my children, I would definitely be manipulated by him."

Yingyi's eyes were full of vigilance, "So, you really want to betray the prince?"

"I dare not, and I will not. The Regent is the God of War of our Daqing. As long as he comes to Xueling Town, I believe the people of Xueling Town will be saved. I will never do such a treasonous thing for my own selfish desires."

"So you don't care about your children? If you don't follow Duanmu Huo's instructions, your children will be the first to suffer, right?"

Fang Huai closed his eyes in pain, "Yes... I am not worthy of being a father. If they... I will go down to accompany them."

Yingyi frowned, but did not respond. "What did Duanmu Huo ask you to do?"

"Duanmu Huo..." Fang Huai wiped his tearful face, "When the prince came to Xueling Town, he pretended to send me to negotiate. In fact, he wanted me to assassinate him."

"Assassination? Just you?"

Ying Yi really laughed this time. For a scholar, saying that he was powerless was a compliment to him. The prince's ability was such that no matter how many Fang Huais there were, they were not enough to defeat him. How could he assassinate him?

"Duanmu Huo didn't really ask me to assassinate him. He asked me to bring poison to see the prince. Once I see the prince, I just need to open the poison. I heard from people around Duanmu Huo that the poison spreads through smell, and anyone who smells it will be poisoned."

Ying Yi was stunned. "Transmitted through smell?"

Such a powerful poison can be spread through smell. Doesn't that mean Fang Huai could be infected as long as he gets close to the prince?

"But that poison has its drawbacks. It's said that it must be used at close range. It seems that if it is exposed to the air, the toxicity will dissipate quickly."

Yingyi looked at him and said, "Will you also be poisoned?"

Fang Huai lowered his head slightly, "Duanmu Huo didn't want me to live. He kept me alive now just because I am more suitable for this task than others. But don't worry, my lord. Even if I die, I will never really attack the prince. I am just trying to stabilize Duanmu Huo temporarily."

"Whether what you said is true or not, I will send people to keep an eye on you. If you dare to do anything that could harm the prince, humph!"

"I don't dare, my subordinates."

Yingyi raised his eyes slightly, "You get up first."

Fang Huai then slowly stood up and said, "Sir, I want to know when the prince will arrive?"

"We'll be there in two days."

Fang Huai's face was filled with excitement, "Great, now that the prince has come, our Xueling Town will be saved."

"Let me ask you, how many people are there in Xueling Town? How many died? How many are left now?"

"Xueling Town is not big, with about 7,000 people. In the first two days after Duanmu Huo arrived, he killed about 600 to 700 people. Now there are about 6,000 people left."

"You are all at home now, staying indoors?"

Fang Huai sighed, "During the two days when the Simon army attacked, they committed a lot of burning, killing and looting. All the houses in the town that had some belongings were looted. Although they won't kill people randomly these days, there are always Simon soldiers who will go door to door to loot. The people have nowhere else to go except hiding at home."

Yingyi frowned. The people were too scattered and they had no way to protect them. If the two armies really fought, the first to suffer would be the people.

"Is there any place in the town that can accommodate so many people?"

Fang Huai frowned tightly, "How is it possible? There are so many people here."

"You don't have to take all of it, just a bigger one will do."

Fang Huai slapped the table and said, "It really is true."

Realizing that his movements were too big, he looked outside the door vigilantly, fearing that the noise would attract the Simons.

Yingyi moved his ears, but heard nothing, so he continued, "Where?"

"There's an abandoned mine to the north of the town. It's OK, but it's a little deserted. And there are a lot of mines there. Maybe it can really accommodate so many people."

Ying nodded, "Let's investigate this first. If possible, can County Magistrate Fang spread the news? Before the two armies engage in battle, try to evacuate all the people."