Not long afterward, TanTan and the others arrived at a room inside the Law Mansion.
The officer escorting them reported their arrival, and ManQi soon came out to receive them.
"Everyone may enter, except the maid. She can wait outside."
XiaoRue looked a little disappointed, but she didn't dare argue with the order. She could only remain outside, waiting for her XiaoJie.
As TanTan entered the room, she couldn't help looking around curiously.
To her surprise, it wasn't the grand courtroom she had seen in historical movies and television dramas. There was no imposing judge's bench, no giant wooden gavel, and no rows of seats for spectators.
Instead, it was just an ordinary office room.
Prince Li ZhouWei was already waiting inside, along with an elderly man wearing what appeared to be an official uniform.
Who is that old man? Is he one of Prince Li's assistants in the Law Mansion?
TanTan assumed that, as the authority responsible for governing the town, Prince Li must have several officials assisting him with administrative and judicial matters.
Meanwhile, Lady FengHuang, QingQing, and TaGou immediately knelt before Prince Li and the elderly official.
TanTan merely gave a polite gesture of greeting before standing beside them, calmly observing her surroundings.
This isn't even a proper courtroom... Is he just calling us here for an interrogation?
She didn't have to wait long for an answer.
"I believe everyone here knows why you have been summoned!"
Prince Li's sharp voice broke the silence.
His gaze swept across the group, lingering particularly on TanTan.
"I don't want to waste any more time on this case, so let's get straight to the point!"
He suddenly turned toward Lady FengHuang.
"LADY FENGHUANG!"
His voice became noticeably harsher.
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE WRONG?!"
Lady FengHuang was startled by his sudden outburst.
"Prince... Please, please forgive me! I was just..."
"HOLD ON!"
TanTan unexpectedly interrupted her.
Everyone turned toward her in surprise.
Lady FengHuang was especially confused.
What is this woman doing now?
TanTan looked directly at Prince Li and boldly asked,
"First, I'd like to know what our status is here. Are we being treated as criminals? And what exactly are the charges against us?"
What is this woman talking about?! Isn't she the reason we're having this investigation in the first place?!
Prince Li looked at TanTan with a mixture of curiosity and irritation.
"HuaMuTan, it's not your turn to be questioned. Please remain silent and wait for your turn!"
"No, I won't!"
TanTan stood her ground.
"Before you judge someone, shouldn't you explain the case first? How can we defend ourselves if we don't even understand what we're being accused of?"
Everyone in the room was puzzled by her attitude, especially Lady FengHuang.
Wasn't HuaMuTan supposed to be the one who feared and obeyed Prince Li?
Why was she suddenly challenging him so boldly?
"I am the one who has the authority to ask questions here, HuaMuTan!"
Prince Li was becoming increasingly irritated. It was obvious that TanTan was deliberately interrupting his interrogation.
"Well, there can't be a proper investigation unless you explain the charges first!"
TanTan remained firm.
The elderly official, who had been quietly observing the exchange from the beginning, suddenly let out a small chuckle.
Prince Li glanced at him displeasingly.
The old man quickly coughed to conceal his amusement.
"Ahem... I believe Young Madam is simply curious about the reason she has been summoned, Prince Li. Perhaps you should explain the situation first so that the investigation can proceed smoothly."
TanTan turned her attention toward the old man.
Hmm... This old man seems rather bold. He even dares to offer his opinion to Prince Li.
She also noticed something interesting.
Although Prince Li looked displeased, he didn't rebuke the old man. Instead, he simply stared at him for a moment before falling silent.
Interesting... He must be someone important.
"Fine..."
Prince Li finally turned his attention back to TanTan.
"Like I said, I don't want to waste any more time on this case. But since you insist on knowing everything, I'll explain."
He let out a sigh before pointing at TanTan.
"You!"
Then he pointed toward QingQing.
"And you!"
Both women looked toward him.
"You two caused a disturbance in the street in front of the restaurant. Then, together with this man..."
He pointed toward TaGou.
"...you also caused a commotion inside the gambling house. Creating disturbances in public places is already enough reason for an investigation!"
"That's ridiculous! We weren't the ones who started it!"
TanTan immediately defended herself.
Then she remembered something.
"And what exactly is Lady FengHuang being accused of?"
Prince Li suddenly became uncomfortable.
Explaining Lady FengHuang's wrongdoing would mean revealing something that directly involved his own dignity.
"She knows perfectly well what she did wrong!"
TanTan easily noticed his hesitation.
Ah... So that's it. He's embarrassed to say it.
She turned toward Lady FengHuang with a mischievous smile.
"Well, apparently she doesn't. Isn't that right, Lady FengHuang?"
She even gave Lady FengHuang a subtle wink.
Lady FengHuang understood the signal and could only nod uncertainly.
TanTan continued,
"As for the disturbances in the street and the gambling house, you should know that we weren't the ones who started any of them. There were some scoundrels causing trouble in the street and scheming against innocent people. QingQing actually deserves recognition for helping expose their scheme!"
She paused and gestured toward TaGou.
"As for TaGou and me, what did we do wrong? We simply played a game in a gambling house. You know, the very place where people go to try their luck!"
TanTan gave Prince Li a confident smirk.
"And regarding Lady FengHuang... if you can't even explain what she has done wrong, then perhaps there's no case against her either. In that case, shouldn't we all be free to leave?"
Everyone in the room fell silent.
After hearing TanTan's explanation, even the others couldn't help thinking that her arguments made some sense.
Prince Li, however, stared at her suspiciously.
Since when did this woman become so good at arguing?!
Still, he wasn't about to admit defeat.
"According to the report I received, you and..."
He glanced toward TaGou.
Realizing that the prince was about to mention him, TaGou immediately introduced himself with pride.
"TaGou! That's my name! It means..."
"TaGou," Prince Li interrupted impatiently. "I heard that you and HuaMuTan were captured by Lady FengHuang, and that she even drugged both of you. Is that true?"
TanTan and Lady FengHuang immediately glanced toward TaGou.
Both were silently hoping he wouldn't suddenly change his mind.
TaGou, however, simply winked at them as though reassuring them that everything was under control.
Then he answered,
"I'm sorry, Prince Li, but I think you've received the wrong information. Lady FengHuang didn't do anything wrong to me."
Prince Li was taken aback.
He turned toward ManQi, giving him a questioning look.
ManQi could only raise his shoulders slightly, indicating that he had no idea what was happening either.
Prince Li looked back at TaGou.
"Let me ask you again, TaGou. Did you win a considerable amount of money at the gambling house?"
"I did! Thanks to XiaoDi... Ah, I mean, Young Madam HuaMuTan!"
TaGou suddenly realized his mistake and hurriedly corrected himself.
"I'm sorry, Prince Li! I didn't know she was Young Madam at that time. She was so good at disguising herself as a young man!"
TaGou looked a little nervous, perhaps worried that Prince Li would misunderstand his closeness with TanTan while she was disguised as a man.
However, Prince Li didn't seem interested in that particular detail.
He continued questioning him.
"But you never received your winnings, did you?"
"Erm... That's right..."
TaGou's expression changed slightly as he remembered the money he had won.
Prince Li seized the opportunity.
"That's because Lady FengHuang refused to pay you! And instead of giving you your winnings, she drugged you so she wouldn't have to pay the money!"
"Well... that..."
TaGou began to hesitate.
Prince Li's argument actually made sense.
Seeing that TaGou was about to be persuaded, TanTan immediately interrupted.
"The payment was merely delayed, wasn't it, Lady FengHuang?"
She turned toward Lady FengHuang and gave her a meaningful look, silently urging her to follow along.
"That's right!" Lady FengHuang immediately caught on. "I only asked them to wait for a while before collecting their winnings. I'll pay everything once we return to my gambling house!"
She smiled confidently at TaGou.
TaGou immediately smiled back, apparently satisfied with her answer.
"BRACK!"
Prince Li suddenly slammed his hand against the armrest of his chair.
Everyone jumped at the sudden noise.
"HuaMuTan! Do you think I won't dare to punish you for repeatedly disrupting this investigation?!"
TanTan wasn't frightened in the slightest.
"How exactly am I disrupting your investigation? From the beginning, there wasn't even a proper case against us!"
"You...!"
Prince Li was so frustrated that he almost couldn't find the right words.
The elderly official watched the exchange with growing amusement.
He finally smiled and spoke up.
"Well... If no one is willing to press any charges, should we simply close this investigation, Prince Li?"
Prince Li's expression darkened.
To be honest, he hadn't been particularly interested in investigating the disturbances in the first place.
His original intention had been to punish Lady FengHuang for drugging him and to give HuaMuTan a warning not to cause any more trouble.
He certainly hadn't expected TanTan to join forces with the others and turn the entire interrogation into an embarrassing situation for him.
He glared at her.
"We're not finished yet! I still have to charge Lady FengHuang!"
"For what accusation?" TanTan immediately challenged him.
Prince Li hesitated.
He felt extremely uncomfortable explaining the actual reason, but he simply couldn't accept losing this argument to TanTan.
"For drugging me!"
He finally answered curtly.
"Oh?"
TanTan widened her eyes, pretending to be surprised.
"Do we have a witness for that, Prince Li?"
Prince Li was practically fuming.
"Stop pretending to be foolish, HuaMuTan! You witnessed everything yourself!"
TanTan suddenly turned toward Lady FengHuang and questioned her as though she were a defense lawyer in a courtroom.
"Lady FengHuang, do you have any personal grudge against Prince Li? Did you deliberately intend to harm him?"
"Of course not!" Lady FengHuang answered immediately. "I have no grudge against Prince Li, and I would never want to harm him!"
Her answer was completely sincere, at least from her own perspective.
"You heard that, Prince Li? Lady FengHuang has no reason to drug you!"
TanTan smiled triumphantly.
"Of course she has a reason! She...!"
Prince Li stopped himself.
It was simply too embarrassing to openly reveal Lady FengHuang's feelings toward him.
He could hardly announce in front of everyone that she had drugged him because she wanted to force him into a compromising situation!
So he could only continue,
"She has her reasons! Besides, you, HuaMuTan... Don't deny what you saw in that room!"
He stared sharply at TanTan.
However, the moment she met his eyes, TanTan suddenly felt embarrassed remembering exactly what had happened in that room.
Still, she knew that the incident could be used to defend herself.
She lowered her eyes, gathered her courage, and carefully began explaining.
"...If what you mean is that you almost attacked me in that room, but I stopped you by kicking..."
"STOP!!!"
Prince Li suddenly shouted.
Before TanTan could finish her sentence, he rushed toward her and covered her mouth with his hand.
"Kicking?!"
The elderly official and everyone else looked at TanTan in surprise, eager to hear the rest of her explanation.
But Prince Li wasn't about to let that happen.
"It's nothing! Absolutely nothing! Excuse us for a moment!"
Without giving anyone an opportunity to ask further questions, he pulled TanTan away from the others and toward a corner of the room.
Everyone could only stare at them in confusion.
Once they were far enough away, Prince Li lowered his voice and whispered furiously,
"As a woman, aren't you ashamed to tell everyone about something like that?!"
"Mm... Mmm!"
TanTan glared at him, still unable to speak because his hand was covering her mouth.
Prince Li finally realized what he was doing and quickly released her.
TanTan immediately whispered back in an equally irritated tone.
"You're the one who keeps pushing me to explain everything! If that's what you want, I can tell them the entire story in detail!"
Prince Li's expression stiffened.
As a man who valued his dignity above almost everything else, he finally gave in to her threat.
But he still couldn't understand her intentions.
"All right! What do you want, HuaMuTan?"
TanTan immediately gave him her answer.
"Release everyone without pressing any charges. Otherwise, I'll tell them exactly how I managed to wake you up last time..."
Prince Li froze.
He had already guessed what she was going to demand.
Honestly, releasing everyone was a much better option than allowing the others to discover how easily he had been drugged by a woman—and, even worse, how TanTan had managed to bring him back to consciousness in such an embarrassing manner.
Still, there was something he couldn't understand.
Why was she defending these people?
Had she made some kind of deal with them?
Curiosity finally got the better of him.
"What exactly have you done, HuaMuTan? Why are you defending these people after they kidnapped and drugged you?! What kind of deal have you made with them?!"
"That's my business."
TanTan casually brushed off his questions.
"But don't worry. Lady FengHuang has promised not to force you into anything again. That's part of our deal."
She then attempted to walk away.
However, Prince Li wasn't ready to let the matter go.
He grabbed her hand, stopping her.
"Wait! What?!"
From the perspective of everyone else in the room, the two looked very much like a married couple having a private argument.
The elderly official was the first to speak up, apparently trying to break the awkward atmosphere.
"Ahem... Prince Li, should we continue with the investigation, or...?"
Prince Li suddenly realized how their behavior must look to everyone else.
He immediately released TanTan's hand and cleared his throat.
"Ahem!"
He returned to his seat and announced,
"No! Everyone may leave. There are no charges against any of you... for now!"
The elderly official narrowed his eyes slightly, looking first at Prince Li and then at HuaMuTan.
He smiled before speaking in a respectful tone.
"Very well, as Your Highness commands."
He turned toward the others.
"Everyone, you're free to leave now."
Lady FengHuang, QingQing, and TaGou immediately showed delighted expressions.
They quickly stood up and prepared to leave, relieved that they had escaped punishment.
TanTan was equally happy.
She approached the others with a bright smile, while Prince Li remained behind, staring at her sharply from the doorway.
The elderly official approached Prince Li.
"You certainly have an interesting wife, Prince Li. She seems to have changed quite a lot compared to how she used to be."
Prince Li glanced at him.
"Do you think so too, Mr. Shi?"
"Indeed. But I believe it's a good change."
"I doubt it. She's nothing but a troublemaker."
Mr. Shi chuckled softly.
"Well, my duty here is finished. If Your Highness will excuse me..."
He was about to leave when he suddenly paused and recited a rather puzzling sentence.
"...Pure gold must first endure the process of being refined before its brilliance can truly shine. I imagine it takes quite some effort for the one responsible for refining it."
With that mysterious remark, Mr. Shi finally excused himself.
Before leaving, he also gave TanTan a polite greeting.
TanTan returned his gesture respectfully, although she couldn't help wondering who this old man really was.
However, she decided not to concern herself with that question for now.
There was something more important she needed to discuss.
"Lady FengHuang! Before you leave, I'd like to speak with you!"
Lady FengHuang stopped.
Although she still disliked TanTan, especially after witnessing how close she had appeared with Prince Li during their private argument, she had begun to see her in a slightly different light.
After all, not many women could openly challenge Prince Li and even win an argument against him.
"What is it?" she asked.
TanTan looked directly at her.
"Although I defended you just now, that doesn't mean I agree with what you did! You still owe me an apology, and you must also pay the winnings that TaGou and I deserve!"
TanTan had already prepared herself for the possibility that Lady FengHuang might become angry or even attack her again.
However, Lady FengHuang merely smirked.
"I don't need to apologize for anything. My gambling house has its own rules. One of them is that players aren't allowed to win too much money, especially when their winnings exceed the host's expectations."
"What kind of rule is that?! That's completely unfair!"
"Too bad. Nothing about gambling is fair."
Lady FengHuang shrugged casually.
"Besides, don't we already have a deal? If you insist on receiving the money, I can pay you as a reward for helping me today."
She paused and smiled meaningfully.
"But that would mean you won't receive any information from me. So... which do you prefer? The money or the information?"
"You... wicked woman!"
TanTan suddenly regretted helping her.
Lady FengHuang simply smirked.
"Well, take your time to decide. Come and find me when you've made up your mind."
She turned toward QingQing.
"Come on, QingQing. Let's go!"
However, QingQing didn't move from her position beside TanTan.
"Erm... Actually, I think I'll stay with HuaMuTan for a while, Feng Jie."
"What?!"
Lady FengHuang widened her eyes.
"She's helped us, Feng Jie. Don't we need to keep our promise? Besides, I still haven't repaid my debt to HuaMuTan. So I'd like to stay with her until I've helped her find the information she's looking for."
She then turned toward TanTan.
"That is... if Young Madam HuaMuTan doesn't mind?"
TanTan was surprised by QingQing's request.
But after seeing how different QingQing was from her sister, she couldn't help feeling that having her around might actually be a great help.
"Not at all! I'd be happy to have you."
"Fine! Whatever!"
Lady FengHuang was clearly displeased.
"QingQing! You never listen to your own sister! And now you're even taking the side of your sister's enemy?! What a wonderful sister you are!"
Despite her complaints, Lady FengHuang understood that QingQing was simply trying to preserve their family's dignity by honoring the promises they had made.
In their family, keeping one's word was considered extremely important.
Even though she disliked the idea of QingQing staying with HuaMuTan, she couldn't force her sister to break a promise.
Lady FengHuang finally turned her attention toward TaGou, who was still standing nearby, apparently waiting for her.
"What about you? What do you want? Your money too?"
TaGou shook his head.
"Well, I do care about my winnings, but I'd rather receive the reward you promised me for helping you."
He rubbed his hands together and looked at Lady FengHuang with an unmistakably expectant expression.
Lady FengHuang smiled meaningfully.
"Of course. Come with me. Let's return to the gambling house and collect your reward."
TaGou immediately followed her.
He looked like a little insect willingly flying straight into the jaws of a Venus flytrap.
TanTan watched them leave with some concern.
She then turned toward QingQing.
"Do you think he'll be all right?"
QingQing sighed.
"I'm afraid he'll fall into the same trap my sister prepared for you earlier. But don't worry, my sister isn't a murderer."
She paused before adding honestly,
"The worst that could happen is that he might end up being thrown outside the gambling house... completely naked."
TanTan stared in the direction TaGou had disappeared.
Then she let out a helpless sigh.
"Well... I guess there's nothing more I can do for him. I hope he has better luck this time."