The duchess said mildly, "But from the time you set out until the White Tiger Duke finishes verifying everything, at least five or six years will pass. Before he left to fight on the border, the duke told me he would hardly have time to return to the Duke's Residence and handle its affairs for another seven or eight years. That was why he handed authority over to me. Let me think. While you cultivate at the White Tiger Duke's side, and he is busy fighting his wars, the only people who can protect your mother and younger brother will be away from the Duke's Residence for quite some time. Tell me, if I do something to those two during that time, do you think the White Tiger Duke could possibly find out?"
Those simple words struck Dai Yunze like a thunderbolt.
He immediately retorted, "Impossible! Do you think I won't tell the White Tiger Duke about my mother and brother? Do you know what will happen to you if I tell him everything you've said to me today?"
The duchess laughed, looking certain of victory. "Yes, I certainly can't kill your mother and brother openly. But what if I have someone add a slow, deadly poison to the food they eat and the water they drink every day? With you and the duke both gone, who could know I did it?"
Dai Yunze's thoughts raced madly as he tried to find a way out of the duchess's brazen scheme. "No, you can't... I'll tell the duke everything you've said!"
The duchess laughed louder. She stepped closer, and the pressure radiating from her became more than Dai Yunze could bear, forcing him half a step back.
The duchess stared straight into Dai Yunze's eyes. "Of course you can tell him.