At the same time, Xiao Meier was also working overtime.
However, what she was studying was not the art of seduction, but the more advanced Husband Taming Technique.
She tapped her fingertips on the scattered documents on the table, her sharp gaze seeming to pierce through the words and into the man's soul.
"Three years ago..."
She murmured, her fingertip stopping on one of the records:
"Three years ago, Zhang Yu was just a mediocre, cowardly, and incompetent nobody.
But three years later, he can stir up trouble in the Capital City."
She looked up at Prince Qi, who was fidgeting beside her, and a meaningful smile curved her lips:
"Father King, do you believe in ghosts and gods?
Or rather, do you believe that a person can be so reborn in such a short time as if replaced by another?"
Prince Qi was stunned by her question, then shook his head:
"This... I only believe in power, not ghosts and gods.
But Zhang Yu is indeed strange."
"Yes, strange."
Xiao Meier picked up the topmost paper, which recorded Zhang Yu's thrilling every move in the Marquis Estate, how he narrowly escaped danger several times, and finally turned the tide.
"These methods, this scheming, where did they come from in the former timid Zhang Yu?"
She stood up and paced slowly in the study, her skirt brushing the floor like flowing clouds.
"That fool Xiao Fenghua thought she could conquer a man with an abyss-like heart with just a bit of beauty."
Xiao Meier sneered, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes: "She truly doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth."
She stopped, her expression returning to calm, but with an unquestionable confidence: "Father King need not worry. No matter what kind of prodigy or hero Zhang Yu is, your daughter has a way to bring him under her sway."
The next day, the Imperial City Heavenly Prison.
The once gloomy and chilling imperial stronghold was now filled with a bizarre sense of luxury.
To ensure secrecy, the Imperial Family not only replaced all the jailers but also cleared out the prisoners. The vast Heavenly Prison was left with only Zhang Yu, Xiao Sheng, and Xiao Yun, who was kneeling in a corner, trembling.
Even more astonishing was that in just one night, it had been transformed into an extravagantly luxurious private club.
The black iron prison gates and heavy doors were all removed, replaced by exquisitely carved rosewood doors.
The dark corridors were covered with soft Persian carpets, and the walls on both sides were inlaid with ever-burning lamps, illuminating the place as bright as day.
A kitchen, living room, and study were all present, and there were even dedicated maids and servants waiting in each "cell" compartment.
Although Zhang Yu himself refused, the Imperial Family dared not neglect him in the slightest. All his food and clothing were of the highest quality, as if he were not imprisoned but a reclusive master.
Zhang Yu, however, remained composed. He leaned back on a soft couch covered with a white tiger skin, holding a book in his hand, as if the surrounding luxury and noise were irrelevant to him.
Although Xiao Fenghua had already learned of this, seeing the scene of the "Heavenly Prison transformed into a temporary palace" with her own eyes still stirred up a storm in her heart.
She suppressed her shock and, following Concubine Liu's plan, began her "performance."
She took off the County Princess coronet that symbolized her status and power, and put on an extremely beautiful pink dress.
This attire not only outlined her graceful figure but also concealed all her sharpness.
She abandoned her usual bold and powerful Western Steps, and instead used the "Graceful Lotus Steps" that Concubine Liu had taught her all night.
She swayed her body and walked lightly, deliberately controlling the swing of her waist with each step, striving to display a posture of delicate fragility.
Although the steps made her walk very awkwardly, she pushed through with it.
It had to be said that Xiao Fenghua was indeed a genius; she learned everything quickly.
In just one night, she had fully grasped the knowledge taught by Concubine Liu, and now it was time to integrate it through practice.
The crisp and slightly strange footsteps echoed in the spacious and luxurious Heavenly Prison.
Xiao Sheng, who was holding a plate of freshly peeled crystal grapes and trying to offer them to Zhang Yu with a fawning expression, instinctively turned his head at the sound.
With just one glance, he froze as if under a spell.
The fruit plate in his hand fell to the ground with a clang, and the crystal-clear grapes rolled everywhere, splashing juice.
He opened his mouth wide, his eyes bulging, as if he had seen something incredibly monstrous.
"Eldest... Eldest Sister?"
Xiao Sheng's voice became sharp and distorted with extreme shock:
"You... what kind of evil spirit possessed you?
Or did you go mad from practicing martial arts yesterday and damage your brain?"
The Xiao Fenghua before him, clad in a pink dress and moving with graceful lotus steps, looked like a delicate and helpless woman.
This was completely different from the sister he remembered, who could wrestle tigers with her bare hands and command armies on the battlefield.
Facing her brother's undisguised shock and doubt, the gentle smile on Xiao Fenghua's face instantly stiffened, and a familiar murderous glint flashed in her eyes.
It was the intimidation of the eldest daughter of the Jing Prince's Estate, accumulated over many years, the psychological shadow left by countless times she had been "educated" by this sister.
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