It was his own tongue! When did this start? Ye Linghua quickly took out a medicine bottle, poured a pill into his blood-filled mouth, pinched his chin, and forced the medicine from his body down his throat.

The green snake struggled violently, refusing to swallow the pill, but it was beyond her control. Ye Linghua kept pouring the medicine down her throat, and only then did the green snake swallow the pill.

After swallowing the pill, the green snake closed its eyes and fell into utter despair, as if it were about to die.

"Shadow, you've changed. You were never like this before. Why don't you love me? What should I do?" At this moment, Ye Linghua suddenly felt that the image of the woman who had been gone for nearly a thousand years was becoming increasingly blurred in his mind, and he could not even remember her clearly. Instead, he could only remember the face of the green snake.

How could this be? It shouldn't be like this.

At this moment, Ye Linghua began to doubt everything he had done, but it was too late to extricate himself from it. He had no choice but to either become a god or continue to eke out a living in this place that had turned into rotten fruit.

Since I've worked so hard to get her, I must get her, prove I'm not a loser, and leave this place.

Green Shadow lost her tongue and couldn't speak. She just looked at him with mournful eyes, and Ye Linghua suddenly couldn't say anything.

He paused for a moment, then took out paper and pen and placed them in front of Lüying. "Lüying, I really don't want to force you. If you want that child to die, I will deal with this matter immediately. You know I have the ability to do so."

This is the only solution he can think of so far. Only in this way will Green Snake behave herself, after all, she loved that child so much back then.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeah ya ya ya," the green snake hissed from its throat, its hands flailing about, but it couldn't break free of the rope.

"Remember this, this is punishment. You made a mistake today, and I will send someone to punish Li Xiaoxiao and bring her hand back to you."

Ye Linghua looked at the dejected Green Snake, her eyes flashing with hatred and resentment.

"Waaaaah!" The green snake wanted to say something but couldn't make a sound. At this moment, she should beg Ye Linghua for mercy. Only in this way would this man let her go easily.

After a while, Ye Linghua untied the ropes binding her and held the green snake, who was already on the verge of death, in his arms.

“If you were always so obedient, why would I bully you? Don’t run away again next time. No matter where you run, I will catch you.”

Ye Linghua carried the green snake to wash it. The huge pool was filled with a medicinal concoction; the water was quite hot, and it stung and burned every time it touched the scars. The green snake felt a burning pain all over its body.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The Lin State Duke's Mansion, as the Third Prince's secret faction, has disrupted the proper order and its crimes are unforgivable. However, given His Majesty's early reign, a general amnesty is granted, pardoning its death sentence. Nevertheless, punishment is still imposed: three generations of its descendants are barred from holding official positions in the court, and all its property is confiscated as punishment. So be it!"

"Your Excellency, please accept the decree." The chief eunuch Chang Dehai smiled and held up the imperial edict, looking at the wailing crowd below without any reaction. He reminded the handsome man who was over forty years old, "Duke Lin, at least your life has been saved. Why don't you quickly accept the decree?"

Lin Chutian's mind went blank with a "boom." All his scheming and planning had come to nothing, and he had ended up like this. The huge family business he had painstakingly built had vanished in an instant. He was gone and forgotten. How tragic.

The vast courtyard of the Duke of Lin's mansion was filled with chests of gold, silver, jewels, and rare treasures. After the confiscation, the courtyard was doused with tung oil, and a raging fire reduced the once prosperous scene to ashes. The once magnificent mansion never existed again.

He was in a daze, jostled around by the rushing crowds. By dusk, the city gates were locked, and in the vast city of Chang'an, there was nowhere left for him to stay.

In the dimly lit, dilapidated temple, Lin Chutian lit a pile of firewood. He was already starving, but he just stared at the pile of firewood that was about to burn out, his face ashen. Suddenly, he went berserk and kicked the pile of firewood violently, sending up many sparks and blackening the hem of his gorgeous clothes.

He gritted his teeth, feeling quite resentful. He had been poor since childhood and had done many unscrupulous things for fame, fortune and power, finally reaching the highest position in the government. Unlike those young masters from noble families, he never had to fight for anything and only needed to inherit the family business. He was born into a poor family with nothing. He only got what he wanted through his own means. What did he do wrong?

Just as he was filled with grief and indignation, the door of the dilapidated temple was pushed open slightly, and the bright moonlight illuminated the scene inside. The Bodhisattva enshrined in the temple hall smiled kindly.

"Who goes there?" he shouted, holding a fire poker.

Now that he's fallen on hard times, he has many enemies who want to kill him. He'd rather live than die, so he won't give up his life so easily.

Seemingly startled by his voice, the figure shrank back slightly, timidly peeking at him. By the firelight, Lin Chutian could at least make out that it was a disheveled woman, probably a beggar from the neighborhood. But what did she have to do with him?

He was a bad person to begin with, and he didn't have the extra kindness to give to strangers.

"Get out!" he said impatiently, pointing at the door with a fire poker.

The woman seemed not to understand his words. Looking at the firelight, she happily moved closer, her shivering body instinctively touching the flame. Seeing Lin Chutian's somewhat fierce expression, she hesitated for a moment, then shakily pulled a steamed bun from her bosom and handed it to Lin Chutian, saying, "Eat...eat, don't chase me away."

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