The Cannon Fodder Awakens, Training the Cold and Proud Protagonist into a Submissive Dog - Chapter 7

Xiao Huaiyan sneered inwardly, yet on the surface, he maintained the same submissive and numb expression. “I wouldn’t dare.”

Shen Chaoqing stared at him for a long while, as though assessing how much truth and how much falsehood lay within those words.

The air inside the hall congealed into a suffocating stillness, and the murderous intent lurking in the shadows stretched out like a net, waiting for the moment the prey made the slightest rash move to suddenly tighten.

Suddenly, Shen Chaoqing released his grip and burst into a burst of amused, low laughter. That laughter echoed back and forth within the spacious warm pavilion, carrying an air of frenzied yet uninhibited glee.

“You wouldn’t dare?” He repeated those two words as if hearing an immensely funny joke, laughing so hard that the corners of his eyes welled up with involuntary tears of mirth.

You dared plenty, he thought. You chopped off my four limbs, shoved me into a filthy jar, and kept me around as a mere decoration.

At this moment, Fu An stepped carefully inside with a freshly brewed bowl of medicinal soup and a small dish of candied plums. Catching sight of Xiao Huaiyan still kneeling on the floor, his steps paused imperceptibly—evidently not expecting that the emperor still had not dismissed him.

Quickly composing his expression, he gently placed the bowl of medicine and plums upon the side table beside Shen Chaoqing.

Shen Chaoqing rubbed the bridge of his nose as a wave of fatigue washed over him, but the moment his gaze landed upon that pitch-dark bowl of medicine, his expression grew several shades darker.

Noticing this, Fu An lowered his voice to report: “Your Majesty, Wuhuo is outside requesting an audience, saying he wishes to explain last night’s events to Your Majesty.” He cautiously observed Shen Chaoqing’s expression. “This old servant originally told him to return tomorrow, but he insisted…”

The fatigue in the depths of Shen Chaoqing’s eyes was instantly replaced by a flash of sharp radiance. Sweeping his gaze over the silently kneeling Xiao Huaiyan, he smiled. “Let him enter.”

Not long after, supported by two junior eunuchs, Wuhuo hobbled his way in with a weak, floating gait as though walking on clouds.

His complexion was deathly pale, and his buttocks and thighs were evidently injured quite severely. The moment he stepped into the warm pavilion, he collapsed onto his knees with a heavy thud, weeping and wailing as he tried to crawl forward to catch the hem of Shen Chaoqing’s robe: “Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please discern the truth, Your Majesty!”

With a look of disgust, Shen Chaoqing furrowed his brow and kicked him aside.

Wuhuo tumbled over from the kick, wincing in agonizing pain, yet not daring to approach again, and was forced to hastily scramble back onto his knees.

As he lifted his head, a look of malicious hatred flashed across his eyes as he glared at Xiao Huaiyan, though the venom instantly transformed into a twisted sense of schadenfreude upon catching sight of Xiao Huaiyan’s wax-stained left hand.

“Your Majesty, this servant has been wronged! This servant’s loyalty to Your Majesty shines as bright as the sun and moon!” Wuhuo wept and wailed, his voice shrill and piercing. “As for last night’s incident, this servant knew absolutely nothing about it! It must be this Liao slave—he colluded with foreign thieves, kept things hidden from above and below, and deliberately framed this servant! Your Majesty, just think: as a hostile state’s hostage, how could he harbor any kind intentions? Your Majesty must never be deceived by him.”

Going around in circles, his sole aim was to frantically distance himself from blame while splashing every drop of filth onto Xiao Huaiyan.

Leisurely picking up the bowl of medicinal soup, Shen Chaoqing blew lightly on the rising steam and sipped it in small mouthfuls, watching as though attending an entertaining theatrical performance. Not until Wuhuo grew hoarse and breathless, his voice tinged with genuine crying, did he finally set the bowl down and use a handkerchief to wipe the corner of his mouth.

“Oh?” Shen Chaoqing’s tone was flat, yet every syllable cut like a blade. “You claim you knew nothing about it? Then let me ask you: you were responsible for inspecting the troupe upon their entry last night, and unfamiliar faces snuck past you without your notice? And after the incident occurred, instead of protecting the emperor on the spot, why were you in such a frantic rush to head toward the direction of the Liao quarters?”

Every single question struck precisely at the loopholes in Wuhuo’s defense. As the inquiries piled up, Wuhuo’s complexion turned paler by the moment, cold sweat pouring down in torrents as his lips trembled, rendering him utterly incapable of uttering a coherent defense.

Shifting his gaze to Xiao Huaiyan beside him, Shen Chaoqing asked, “He claims this was your doing. Do you have anything to say?”

Lifting his head, Xiao Huaiyan met Shen Chaoqing’s gaze directly. “I was imprisoned in the miscellaneous chores quarters the entire day yesterday until I was brought into the grand hall. The guards on duty can testify to who I saw and what I did during that time. What Eunuch Wuhuo claims is entirely without factual evidence.”

He offered no fierce refutations, merely stating the facts, yet his words carried far more weight than Wuhuo’s shrill, frantic wails.

Nodding slightly, Shen Chaoqing seemed quite satisfied with this confrontation. Turning his gaze back to the ashen-faced Wuhuo, he smiled softly a smile that plunged Wuhuo straight into an icy abyss: “The two of you tell completely different stories; whom am I to believe? Let’s do this: whoever lies shall have an inch of their tongue trimmed.”

Terrified into complete collapse, Wuhuo stammered, “This Liao slave is extremely cunning! He must have bribed the patrolling guards and fabricated an alibi! I… although I was in charge of inspecting the troupe, the palace affairs are complex and heavy, so oversights are inevitable! This was undoubtedly calculated by him with meticulous care, just waiting to exploit a loophole, Your Majesty!”

Lifting his tear-and-blood-stained face abruptly, he pointed a finger at Xiao Huaiyan with poisonous malice: “Your Majesty! Just think: as an enemy state’s prince, receiving such… such ‘preferential treatment’ within our Jin palace, how could he not harbor hatred in his heart? He dreams day and night of retaliating against Your Majesty and destroying Great Jin! If he hadn’t coordinated from within last night, how could those scoundrels have infiltrated the inner palace’s restricted grounds so easily? This servant was merely foolish and failed to pierce his treacherous plot—this servant deserves a thousand deaths! But he is the true mastermind! I beg Your Majesty not to be hoodwinked by his glib tongue!”

This outpouring of venom was extreme, not only pinning the blame squarely on Xiao Huaiyan, but also whitewashing his own fault from “conspiracy” down to mere “negligence,” while painting Xiao Huaiyan as harboring a deep grudge with full motive.

Every eye in the room locked onto Xiao Huaiyan.

He remained kneeling as straight as ever. Despite bearing a body covered in wounds and appearing battered, he retained an unyielding dignity that could not be easily trampled. Slowly raising his head, he displayed no anger or anxiety at being falsely accused, maintaining a calmness that chilled the bone.

“What this person says sounds reasonable, but it falls apart upon the slightest scrutiny,” Xiao Huaiyan said, his tone as flat as if he were analyzing a matter completely unrelated to himself. “Firstly, from yesterday until now, aside from being brought here for interrogation, I have not stepped a single step outside the miscellaneous chores quarters. There are four shifts of guards stationed there, two men per shift, rotating watch; all of this is recorded and can be verified. Whether I left or not can be confirmed instantly by asking them. As for the claim that I bribed the guards—I am completely penniless, with what would I bribe them? And if guards truly were bribed, since Eunuch Wuhuo serves as the Head of the Imperial Household Department, overseeing personnel scheduling and inspection within the palace, shouldn’t a dereliction of guard duty fall primarily upon his head as the chief culprit?”

With that single, quiet sentence, he deftly redirected the core of the issue right back to Wuhuo’s negligence.

“Secondly, the Eunuch claims I harbor deep resentment and intend retaliation.” The corners of Xiao Huaiyan’s lips twitched upward in a fleeting, sarcastic arc. “As a political hostage, my life, death, honor, and disgrace hang entirely upon a single thought of Your Majesty. If Your Majesty were to suffer misfortune and Great Jin fell into chaos, the very first person to be dragged out as a sacrificial scapegoat would undoubtedly be a useless Liao hostage like myself. Though I lack talent, I have not yet sunk so low as to commit an act of self-destruction.”

Pausing briefly, he delivered the final, fatal blow, finally shifting his gaze to the pale-faced Wuhuo with a gaze as cold and sharp as a blade:

“Thirdly, while Eunuch Wuhuo accuses me repeatedly, he produces not a shred of solid proof. On the other hand, regarding the Eunuch himself… at the exact moment the incident broke out last night, did Your Majesty notice where the Eunuch rushed first? It was neither to protect the emperor nor to mobilize troops to capture the thieves, but straight toward the direction of the Liao quarters… What was the Eunuch hoping to confirm with that move? Or perhaps… what was he hoping to destroy?”

Xiao Huaiyan’s voice was not loud, yet every word struck Wuhuo’s heart like a heavy hammer. He offered no frantic, roaring accusations, only logical questioning, which proved far more devastating than any angry rebuttal.

Struck utterly speechless, Wuhuo shook like a leaf in the wind, his mouth hanging open as he realized he could not refute a single syllable. His opponent was terrifyingly calm, every single sentence striking the exact vulnerable spot and tearing his hastily spun web of lies to shreds.

Looking down upon the scene from above, watching Wuhuo’s panic and Xiao Huaiyan’s calm sharpness, the intrigue in Shen Chaoqing’s eyes grew richer.

This dog-eat-dog spectacle was indeed far more interesting than he had imagined. Especially this wolf cub from Liao even with its teeth pulled, its claws clipped, and trapped in desperate straits, it could still utilize the calmest approach to deliver the most lethal bite to its opponent.

“It seems that tongue of yours, aside from spreading malicious gossip, truly serves no other useful purpose.” Shen Chaoqing dropped those light, casual words, drawing this confrontation to a close.