There was no accusation, anger, or aggression in Zhao Mi's tone. It was as calm as water, as though he were making small talk. Yet those words stirred towering waves in Ren Ye's heart.
Holy shit, what does this old bastard mean?! Has he already found out we were behind last night's incident...? The Little Bad King sat on the bed, his heart pounding wildly, but did his utmost to control his expression, betraying not the slightest abnormality.
Don't panic. A good criminal has to look serenely uninvolved even when faced with mountains of irrefutable evidence... Ren Ye forcibly calmed his hidden unease before answering softly, "Lord Zhao, I was at home last night...!"
"Think carefully again. Where exactly were you last night?" Zhao Mi's tone remained unhurried. "More precisely... where were you when the incident occurred at the Heaven-Character No. 1 Enlightenment Academy last night?"
Ren Ye paused briefly, then answered with an utterly firm look of bewilderment, "I really was at home!"
"Do you have a witness?" Zhao Mi asked again.
"My Little Aunt hasn't had any assignments these past few days. She prepared dinner for me early, so she's my witness." Ren Ye rose and reached out to tug at the patch of his clothes stained with a little blood when his abdomen had just been cut open, then added, "I haven't come to the Zhao Family these past two days, so I had plenty of time in the evenings and even washed some clothes...!"
Zhao Mi stared fixedly at Ren Ye through the screen. "Only your Little Aunt can vouch for you, and no one else saw you at home, correct?!"
"Correct. I don't usually associate with outsiders. I go home after duty, same as always." Ren Ye answered smoothly.
Silence fell behind the screen again.