"Woman, if you have the guts, give me a clean cut and let me die. Don't use such methods at every turn."

Looking at the silver needle right in front of his eyes, Yuan Xiao was unable to pull it out. He could only let the bone-piercing pain spread. It itched so much that he wanted to scratch, and it hurt so much that he wanted to roll on the ground.

"Dealing with you, a single knife strike wouldn't be satisfying. A slow and lingering game is more fun." Freya crossed her arms. Looking at Yuan Xiao's ferocious expression, the corners of her mouth curled into a triumphant smile.

After Yuan Xiao howled in pain a few times, his already parched throat became even hoarser. In the end, his voice was like that of a male duck, extremely unpleasant to hear.

Freya looked at him coldly and demanded, "Tell me, apart from you, which other people from the Yuan Country came with you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Apart from Qingqing, there's no one else."

Hmph...

Even at the brink of death, he still refused to admit it.

Freya stabbed another silver needle into him, and Yuan Xiao's face was covered in cold sweat from the pain.

"Are there any of your people in Country Z?"

She asked again.

Yuan Xiao could only roar and scream. This kind of pain came fiercely and subsided quickly, but the cycle of its recurrence was very short.

That is to say, he only had a thirty-second chance to catch his breath each time!

"I really don't know what you're talking about. Even if my target was you two, Country Z has no enmity with me. What would I send people to Country Z for?"

Upon hearing this, Bradley suddenly somewhat believed Yuan Xiao.

In fact, if one carefully calculated the time, Yuan Xiao had been locked up here for too long, and those masterminds behind the scenes only emerged some time ago.

Yuan Xiao couldn't have had the opportunity to contact them, so how could he know their plans?

Just as Bradley was about to ask another question, Yuan Xiao continued, "Even if I die, I can't give you the answers you want. You've really asked the wrong person."

"Freya, maybe he's really not lying."

Words can deceive people, but Yuan Xiao's eyes couldn't hide the truth from him.

Bradley was good at reading people's minds. Yuan Xiao was in such a situation but still refused to confess. It wasn't because he was a tough guy, but rather because he was also a pawn being manipulated by others and simply didn't know the inside story.

Freya also noticed that Yuan Xiao really didn't know.

She quickly pulled out the silver needles from his body and threatened coldly, "If you dare to lie, I'll come and 'take care' of you every day."

After saying that, she left the basement together with Bradley.

When they returned to the room, Freya looked at Bradley in confusion and asked, "Why didn't you let me continue the interrogation? Even if he doesn't know who those people are, he definitely knows a lot about the Yuan Country."

Bradley pressed her shoulders and made her sit down. He shook his head helplessly and said, "Sometimes, being too hasty can be more harmful than beneficial. Moreover, Yuan Xiao doesn't seem to be faking it. If he really wanted to hide something, he would definitely insist on denying everything to the end."

"But just letting him off like this is too easy on him."

Freya still couldn't understand Bradley's approach.

The man smiled and said, "You, where's your usual calmness? Since Yuan Xiao is just a pawn, what he knows definitely isn't a very important clue. So, after we've solved the current matters, we must go to the Yuan Country in person to find out the truth."

Freya thought about it and found it reasonable.

However, she had another speculation and voiced it out, "Do you think it could be sent by the queen of the Yuan Country?"

Bradley hummed in agreement. "There's a possibility. But we can't draw a conclusion until the mastermind behind the scenes is caught." After saying that, he took Freya's hand and walked towards the car. "Come on. The old master has been thinking about us. It's time to go home and pay him a visit."

Freya nodded. The purpose of their return this time was for the old master's birthday banquet. If they were too late, the old man would be worried.

...

The Mu family's old residence was brightly lit.

The old master had been staying at home and not going out due to his health problems before. It was rare that this time, for his birthday, his health had recovered, and he was in a great mood, so he held a grand birthday banquet.

This time, he invited all the prominent and influential people in the capital city to attend. The entire old residence was bustling with people, and it was very lively.

When Freya and Bradley arrived, Master Mu was sitting in a wheelchair, chatting and laughing with some old friends. When he saw the two of them, a gratified smile appeared on his face.

"Bradley, Freya, you're here!"

Bradley held Freya's hand and gracefully came in front of the old master. He nodded and said, "Sorry, we're late."

Although Bradley was a monarch, the old master had the kindness of adopting him after all. Therefore, Bradley had always respected the old master and had never made any distinction between a monarch and a subject.

Freya presented the gift and congratulated, "I wish you peace, a long life, and good health, Dad. This is the gift that Bradley and I chose for you. Take a look and see if you like it."

"Good, good!"

The old master laughed heartily and took the gift. He unwrapped the packaging in front of all the guests.

Inside was actually an ancient white jade chessboard, which seemed to have great collection value.

The old master was initially a bit surprised, and then he stroked his beard and smiled. "You two really put your hearts into it. If I'm not mistaken, this is a treasure from the Qing Dynasty, and there's only one set like this in history."

The old master had always been fond of collecting antiques, so he naturally recognized that this white jade chessboard was of great value.

Freya said, "Dad has such discerning eyes. That's right. This is indeed a unique treasure in history."

The guests beside them were all wealthy people of extraordinary status. Most of them also recognized the value of this chessboard and showed envious expressions towards the old master.

"Old Master Mu is really fortunate to have such a filial son and daughter-in-law. We're all so envious."

"Yes, yes. I once saw this chessboard at an auction, but it was bought by a connoisseur. I never expected to have the honor of seeing this rare treasure today."

"I heard that this chessboard was bought for three hundred million yuan at that time. Bradley must have spent a lot of money to buy it from the owner?"

Bradley said indifferently, "As long as the old master likes it, the value doesn't matter. What's important is that the old master is happy."

When he said this, the guests praised Bradley for being sensible.

Of course, they were even more envious that the old master had a son like Bradley.

After all, he was the king of a country. If they established a relationship with him, they wouldn't have to worry about their company's business in the future.

Unlike them, their sons and daughters were unfilial. Many people of their age had already retired, but they were still working hard in the company.

"You must be tired after coming all the way here. Go and take a rest first." The old master handed the chessboard to Mu Beilin and said to the two of them.

Bradley nodded and then led Freya into the hall.

He hadn't been back to the capital city for a long time. In addition, he had handed over the business matters to Mu Beilin and Mu Jinshen to take care of. Bradley had gradually become estranged from these business partners.

Even, he couldn't remember the names of some of them.

However, they all still recognized him and came over with wine glasses to greet him.

"Bradley, long time no see. You're still as young and promising as before."