The sound of "Hua'er" made Duanmu Shenghua's hair stand on end, and she panicked instantly.

She knew that Duanmu Junyu would only call her Hua'er when she was truly angry.

Her mother died young, and Duanmu Junyu ascended the throne at the age of ten. At that time, she was only seven years old. Her father was so immersed in grief over his mother's death that he didn't care about her at all.

In the first few years, Duanmu Junyu had just ascended the throne and, in addition to her official duties as emperor, she also had to study literature and practice martial arts, so she had no time to take care of her. After a few years, her father passed away and the politics of Xiliang were basically stable, Duanmu Junyu took her to her side to discipline her.

For the past five or six years, she had been by Duanmu Junyu's side, spending even more time with her than her imperial consort. Therefore, she knew her habits and the way she addressed her intimately. Normally, she called her Shenghua; when she was sentimental, she would call her "Imperial Sister"; when she pretended to be angry, she would call her by her full name, Duanmu Shenghua; and only when she called her by her nickname, Hua'er, was she truly angry!

In fact, Duanmu Junyu had always been like a mother and sister to her. But it was because Duanmu Junyu always kept her by her side that she saw the absolute power of the Empress of Xiliang, which is why she developed her own ambition.

Both are daughters of the Empress and the Emperor, both are legitimate princesses of Xiliang, so why can Duanmu Junyu become the Empress of Xiliang just because she is three years older than her!

She was simply not convinced. In terms of background, she was no less than Duanmu Junyu. In terms of intelligence and wit, she was far superior to Duanmu Junyu. She had also learned just as much in literature and martial arts as Duanmu Junyu. Why could Duanmu Junyu become the Empress of Xiliang, while she could only be the Prince of Hui? She was unwilling to accept it!

Duanmu Junyu stared at Duanmu Shenghua and felt that she was a complete stranger. She had raised this child herself, but when had she raised her to be so ambitious and ruthless? She had no idea.

"The area at the bottom of that cliff isn't very large. If someone had really fallen off, I would have known. Also, when I climbed the cliff, there were no signs of anyone else climbing it..."

“But I…” Before Duanmu Junyu could finish speaking, Duanmu Shenghua hurriedly tried to explain, but Duanmu Junyu didn’t want to hear her explanation at all: “All the soldiers in the army are on a list. Do you want me to check the list of soldiers one by one right now to prove that you didn’t send any soldiers down the cliff at all?”

Duanmu Junyu's words directly shut down all of Duanmu Shenghua's explanations and statements.

Faced with overwhelming evidence, her sophistry was utterly futile. She knelt down before Duanmu Junyu with a thud: "Elder sister, I thought you were dead, so I..."

Duanmu Shenghua hesitated, wanting to explain something, but the pale words she uttered made her feel ashamed.

Duanmu Junyu looked coldly at Duanmu Shenghua: "Do you know what you're thinking? Do you think that if I fall off a cliff and die, you can become the Empress of Xiliang?"

"No, I didn't, I wouldn't dare!" Duanmu Yunyu's words startled Duanmu Shenghua, and she hurriedly denied it.

Duanmu Junyu sneered, "Dare not? What is your purpose in insisting on coming to the border with me this time? Do you think I don't know?"

When she decided to wage war against Eastern Chu, all the ministers opposed it, but she was the only one who supported her. At the time, she was somewhat moved, thinking that after all, she was her own sister, and only she would stand by her side in this critical moment.

So when the troops went out to war, she insisted on following her, saying she was worried about her being alone at the border and wanted to protect her. This touched her deeply. But now she understood; her insistence on coming to the border was probably for ulterior motives.

Duanmu Shenghua felt extremely guilty after Duanmu Junyu's words.

She did indeed have ulterior motives. In the capital of Xiliang, Duanmu Junyu was protected by the Vermilion Bird divine beast, making it impossible and impossible for her to harm her. Only at the border, far from the Vermilion Bird divine beast, would she have a chance.

Duanmu Junyu rarely had the opportunity to leave the capital, especially to lead troops to the border. If she missed this chance, she might never have another one in her life. That's why she insisted on coming to the border.

Upon arriving at the border, Duanmu Junyu fought against Dong Chu every day, thinking about how to defeat Dong Chu. However, Duanmu Junyu was the only one who thought about every day was finding an opportunity to kill Duanmu Junyu.

Previously, she took advantage of Duanmu Junyu's eagerness to win against Dong Chu and deliberately suggested that Duanmu Junyu ambush her at the cliff. She wanted to create an accident. Originally, she planned to take advantage of the battle between the two sides on the cliff and do some tricks to make Duanmu Junyu fall off the cliff.

As it turned out, no one from Dongchu came, only Su Renzhong. She was annoyed that she had missed a great opportunity, but she never expected that Duanmu Junyu would be knocked off a cliff by Su Renzhong. The surprise came too fast and too intensely.

At that time, some soldiers wanted to go down the cliff to find Duanmu Junyu, but they tried many times and could not reach the bottom. She secretly rejoiced, thinking that the cliff was so high that Duanmu Junyu would surely die if she fell. So she kept delaying, not letting Shao Yichen bring troops to search for her, and personally led people on the cliff.

Firstly, it was a show for Shao Yichen and the soldiers; secondly, it was to prevent Duanmu Junyu from climbing back up and to prepare a fatal blow for her.

She waited on the cliff for half a month but Duanmu Junyu did not climb up. She knew that Duanmu Junyu must be dead down there, so she happily returned to the military camp and wanted to lead the soldiers to retreat. But who could have imagined that Duanmu Junyu would actually climb up the cliff alive again? That damned Duanmu Junyu ruined all her plans!

She could have led her troops back to the capital and succeeded to the throne, but now all her efforts have been in vain, and Duanmu Junyu has found out all her thoughts. She can't even explain herself now!

Duanmu Junyu saw through all of Duanmu Shenghua's thoughts: "Put away your little schemes. Don't forget, every empress of Xiliang has had to gain the approval of the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast. You tried it before, and you didn't get the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast's approval. So even if Guzhen passes away, you can't become the empress of Xiliang!"

Duanmu Junyu's two sentences struck Duanmu Shenghua's heart like a thunderbolt.

This is what she is most unwilling to accept: why is it that Duanmu Junyu, who is also a legitimate princess of Xiliang, can gain the approval of the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast, while she cannot?

That so-called divine beast, how did it choose the destined empress? There were no specific rules or conditions, and it just hastily chose Duanmu Junyu. She just wouldn't accept it!

If the Vermilion Bird had chosen her back then, then she, Duanmu Shenghua, would be the current Empress of Western Liang!