The wind howled, and the situation was extremely critical.

Before Yuwen Yao could pounce on Xie Lingqin, he suddenly stumbled backward and fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, a man holding a long sword held it to his neck before he could even get up.

"you……"

Xie Lingqin then slowly removed the net from her body, and stepped forward with a sneer, "Yuwen Xian, the Emperor has his plans, and you have yours. You both want to manipulate everyone, but you also have to see if others are willing to play along, don't you?"

Xie Lingqin jumped off the couch, walked to Yuwen Xian, bent down slightly, and looked at Yuwen Xian with cold eyes, "I advise you not to move. Don't you think the atmosphere in this room is a bit off?"

"Bang--"

As soon as Xie Lingqin finished speaking, Yuwen Xian, who was struggling to stand up, suddenly fell back to the ground.

"Xie Lingqin, you...you drugged me in the house. No...no, you couldn't possibly have known I was bringing you here. You...you put medicine on yourself."

"Not too stupid." Xie Lingqin straightened up slightly and looked down at Yuwen Xian. "Don't worry, it's not poison, it's just more effective at making you weaker than the Ten Fragrant Muscle-Weakening Powder."

Yuwen Xian's anger subsided slightly as he looked at Xie Lingqin, then at Tinghai, who was holding a sword beside him, and asked, "You, with so many guards outside, how did you get in?"

"You want to trap me like a turtle in a jar, and so do I, don't I?"

Xie Lingqin sneered, "Do you think I don't know that the Emperor dislikes me so much, yet he so easily bestowed this marriage upon me?"

Even with the threat Yuwen Yao mentioned, she felt it wasn't entirely safe, so she had already made preparations for tonight.

It's simply a matter of luring someone into a trap.

"Yuwen Xian, to be frank, you know your situation better than anyone. You also know that whether you succeed or not tonight, your fate will not be good. You should weigh whether you want to live or die."

"You...you'll let me go."

"Of course, as long as you tell me who orchestrated tonight's events, you don't need to say who wanted to sow discord among the nations. You just need to say who wanted to kill me and the Crown Prince, and who even resorted to such despicable means for this purpose."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Xian stared intently at Xie Lingqin. Inside the room, dappled moonlight filtered through, reflecting on the girl's smooth, jade-like face, which appeared almost cold and devoid of warmth.

Inside and outside, there was a deathly silence.

"Haha, I get it, I get it..."

Finally, Yuwen Xian suddenly smiled bitterly, a smile that sounded more like a mourning. "Xie Lingqin, haha, I understand now. All that you did tonight, even using yourself as bait, was ultimately to help Yuwen Yao ascend the throne. The Emperor's actions have been flawed, and his virtue is lacking. Once this gets out, coupled with the previous natural disaster on the border, the explosion of Li Junru's corpse, and the fire at the Beirong Palace... it will soon be a topic of discussion among the people. With the power of public opinion, plus your manipulation, it will be enough to force the officials to petition the Emperor to abdicate. At that time, Yuwen Yao will not have to shed a single soldier, nor will he have any reputation to criticize. He will truly ascend the throne legitimately. Even if the Fifth Prince arrives, he can only sigh in vain."

Xie Lingqin's eyes held admiration. "Hmm, the Prince Xian isn't exactly clever. You're right, but you're wrong about one thing. This wasn't my scheme. It's just that the Emperor is too relentless and has too much blood on his hands. I was simply going with the flow. Besides, wasn't the Beirong Palace incident something the Emperor ordered? This is called reaping what you sow."

"You, is it worth it for Yuwen Yao?"

"For him and for me, of course it's worth it. But for you, is it worth it?"

Yuwen Xian chuckled coldly, "Is it worth it? What does it mean to be worth it, and what does it mean to not be worth it..."

Xie Lingqin's eyes turned slightly cold, and she lost some of her patience. "So, Yuwen Xian, what I'm saying, are you going to do it or not?"

"What if I don't do it?"

“I think you don’t want to die so young, and you certainly don’t want your mother to be buried with you.”

"Xie Lingqin, you poisonous woman."

"A poisonous woman?" Xie Lingqin sneered. "Yuwen Xian, have you forgotten how you and Xie Lingyu persecuted me together? You wanted to beat me and then send me to a brothel. Have you forgotten how you tried to kill me and ruin my reputation? Have you forgotten your despicable actions just now?" As Xie Lingqin spoke, she suddenly raised her hand and slapped Yuwen Xian across the face.

The crisp sound seemed to dispel all the unhappiness and resentment that had accumulated over the years.

"You know, the best revenge is to make the other person wish they were dead. That's why I've kept you alive until now."

As Yuwen Xian's eyes gradually darkened, Xie Lingqin's voice was chilling, "Furthermore, Yuwen Xian, even if I hadn't intervened, if you had done as the Emperor intended, he would have killed two birds with one stone. Besides you and Yuwen Yao, do you think he would have let your mother off the hook? Hmm?"

Xie Lingqin's last words were the final straw. Yuwen Xian's spirit collapsed, and his eyes, dull and lifeless, stared at the floor before him. "Yes, you're right. In the end, I'm nothing more than a pawn in the Emperor's game. But..." Yuwen Xian suddenly looked up, staring intently at Xie Lingqin, "If I can't have you, I'll destroy you. Xie Lingqin, I won't let you have your way. Let me tell you, nothing will be as successful as you imagine. I won't have an easy time. I'll make sure you and Yuwen Yao don't have an easy time either."

"Are you saying that the Southern Qi princess, the Southern Qi prince, and the Xuanyuan heir are in your hands? You want to use this to frame the crown prince?"

Yuwen Xian's expression froze, his eyelids twitched violently, then he burst into laughter, "You're very clever, you guessed correctly, but you will never find them, you will never know who did it, and besides, I don't know either, hahaha..."

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