One piece of intelligence after another was reported by Ji in a completely emotionless voice.
The smile on Chen Ye's face grew wider.
Everything was unfolding according to the script he had written.
No, it was even more exciting than he'd expected.
"Look, our 'Mantis' has already caught a whiff of something. He doesn't dare believe it yet, but once a seed of suspicion has been planted, it's only a matter of time before it takes root and sprouts."
"And that clever little fox..." Chen Ye meant Ling Zhao. "She's probably already guessed seven or eight tenths of it. Now she's wondering how to verify her suspicions without alerting anyone."
Chen Ye set down his teacup, rose, and paced around the room.
"Everyone thinks they're the chess player, but they don't even realize they haven't seen the whole board."
"The First Prince thinks that just because he has the key, he can unlock the treasure. He doesn't realize he's already become the treasure in someone else's eyes."
"Wei Yan thinks he's investigating the truth, but he doesn't realize he's just a hound being led toward it."
"Ling Zhao thinks she's seen through the puzzle, but she doesn't realize that what she's seen is only the part I wanted her to see."
A near-mad gleam flickered in Chen Ye's eyes, the rapturous delight of having everyone dancing in the palm of his hand.
"Ji."
"Here."
"Tell me, if we handed that clever little fox a ladder right now, would she climb up it?"
Ji fell silent. He couldn't understand such complex human emotions and political games. His job was simply to carry out orders.
Chen Ye chuckled to himself.
"Pass down the order."
"Have the Skin Painter get ready."
"Go to the City Defense Camp and find an opportunity to 'accidentally'