"Are you really willing to give me another chance?"
Lanxiang, of course, was unwilling.
If it weren't for unavoidable circumstances, if she weren't already dying and had no way to continue taking care of the only person she cared about most and who was also her closest relative in this world.
She never wanted to see this cold-hearted man again in her life.
But now, she could only suppress her immense heartache and gaze helplessly at her grandmother as she slowly began to speak.
"For the rest of your life, promise me you'll take good care of my mother and me, and protect my grandmother. If you do, perhaps I'll consider lessening my hatred for you!"
Upon hearing this, Long En asked with some confusion, "For you? Why is it for you, and not for us to protect her together?"
Lanxiang looked at her face and shouted angrily, "Stop talking nonsense, just say whether you agree or not, whether you can do it or not? This is what you owe me and my mother!"
Long En stared at him for a moment, then raised his head and said confidently, "What's so difficult about that? Not to mention your grandmother, even if it's you, I will make sure that you two will be able to do whatever you want in the future. Our immense wealth and unparalleled honor are just around the corner."
Lanxiang seemed to have anticipated such a boast.
Perhaps he had made countless promises to his mother in the past, but in the end, they all fell through.
Upon realizing this, Lanxiang gave a cold laugh.
Then, she said dismissively, "Hmph, what kind of bullshit wealth is this? You've already fooled my mother, are you trying to fool me again? I only hope that Grandma will have enough clothes and food for the rest of her days, a place to live in peace, and that she can live a stable life. I ask for nothing more."
Long En, however, dismissed it and declared emphatically: "As a dignified seven-foot man, how can I be content with mediocrity and inaction? I must do something extraordinary."
Upon hearing this, Lanxiang sensed a hidden meaning in his words and asked, "Big news? What big news? Wasn't the Xiaolong Society disbanded? What are you doing now?"
Long En looked into Lan Xiang's eyes and said earnestly, "Lan Xiang, listen to me, I'm serious this time. Everything I've said is true, I'm absolutely not lying to you. You must have heard of the Guardians of Western Qin, right?"
Lanxiang exclaimed in surprise, "What? The guardians of Western Qin?"
Long En nodded, confirming, "Yes, it is indeed the guardian of Western Qin! You should have heard that the guardian of Western Qin possesses a mysterious power, and whoever obtains this power can rule the world..."
In an instant.
Like a thunderbolt striking her head, Lanxiang stared at Long En's face in disbelief and said, "You...you actually dare to covet the position of the master of the Western Qin Kingdom?"
Long En, however, said with wolfish ambition, "More than that? I, Long En, have suffered countless humiliations in the first half of my life. How could I only covet the position of the ruler of this eight-hundred-mile-long Western Qin? What I want is the entire Lingkong Continent..."
Lanxiang was stunned and asked him, "Are you crazy?"
Long En reached out and placed his hand on Lan Xiang's shoulder, making a solemn promise to her.
He said, "Lanxiang, please forgive me this time. I will definitely make up for the mistakes I made to your mother. From now on, you will stay by my side obediently. I want you to witness with your own eyes how I climb to that position step by step, making you the most honored woman in the world. When we possess this entire world, I will make those who bullied us pay a heavy price!"
Not to mention that she was already a dying person, even if she hadn't died, she never dared to imagine that the day Long En spoke of would come.
Watching him open and close his mouth in front of her, looking as if he had everything under control, Lanxiang could no longer hear what he was saying.
She never imagined that Long En harbored such a treasonous plan.
Finally, she couldn't listen anymore.
She forcefully shook off Long En's hand, which was holding her captive, and said to him, "No, you are wicked and rebellious. This world is not something you can handle!"
Upon hearing this, Long En's expression immediately changed. He raised his voice and said indignantly, "Even that imposter Emperor Jing in the palace, who is now universally resented, can shoulder the responsibility for the world. Why can't I?"
"What do you mean by that? What do you mean by 'imposter'? Emperor Jing... are you saying... the current emperor in the palace is a fake?"
Lanxiang slowly pieced together the information from Long En's words and finally understood.
Still unable to believe it, she quickly pressed for an answer, asking, "Where did you get all these earth-shattering secrets that no one has ever known before?"
In a fit of anger, Long En blurted out, "The current Empress Dowager..."
But as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized his slip of the tongue, so he quickly looked away and said, "You don't need to ask about any of this. In short, if I say he's fake, then he's fake."
Lanxiang thought to herself when she saw that he had suddenly become so mysterious.
Judging from his detailed and articulate manner, it didn't seem like he was making things up out of thin air. It's quite possible that what he said had some truth to it. I never imagined that Long En had such a powerful, influential, and mysterious informant in the palace.
So he silently speculated in his heart: "If the emperor in the palace is really a fake, then the only true Son of Heaven left behind by the late emperor is His Highness Prince Qin! May Heaven bless him, and may the late emperor protect him. If he can truly overthrow Emperor Jing's rule that plunges the people into misery and establish a new emperor, His Highness Prince Qin will surely be a rare and wise ruler, a blessing for all the people!"
So she said, "Even if the current emperor isn't real, you still won't reach that position. The true Son of Heaven will never be you. Because throughout history, no one with an evil heart has ever won the hearts of the people, ruled over all, or ultimately met a good end. Even if the current emperor is fake, don't forget, the late emperor still had His Highness Prince Qin!"
Upon hearing this, Long En scoffed and said, "What is Qin King Xuanyuan Han? He's nothing more than a mere child born to a concubine. At most, he knows a few tricks with swords and spears. What's there to fear?"
Lanxiang, however, said with immense pride and arrogance, "His Highness Prince Qin is a brave and skilled warrior. On the battlefield, he always strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies, earning him the title of the invincible God of War. His Highness loves his people like his own children, a reputation that is widespread. And now, His Highness's wife is deeply devoted to him, working together to benefit the people. Just look at what they are doing in Lu County right now—it is a great undertaking that benefits the region and will last for generations. How can you compare to them?"
He paused, then resumed his lecture to Long En, saying, "The way to govern a country is not necessarily to solve everything with force and power. Wasn't the lesson you learned from His Highness's complete destruction of your lair at the Xiaolong Society last time enough?"
Finally, Lanxiang's words completely enraged Longen, reopening his old wounds and even rubbing salt into the wounds that still ache to this day.
Long En listened intently through clenched teeth, finally losing his temper and shouting at her, "I've tolerated you time and time again, but who gave you the audacity to speak to me so provocatively?"
Lanxiang wasn't afraid of him at all. Meeting his eyes, which were red with anger, she said, "What? Is there something wrong with what I said? So what if His Highness Prince Qin is born to a concubine? May I ask which noble lineage you come from, that of the Empress?"
Long En was so angry that he seemed to be trembling all over, his fists clenched tighter and tighter.
Lanxiang continued, showing no restraint, "Every word I said today is the absolute truth. It's just that you've been stubbornly going against the will of Heaven. If you continue down this path, you will surely bring about your own destruction!"
In an instant, a rather loud "smack!" was heard.
Finally, Long En raised his hand and slapped Lan Xiang hard across the face.
Lanxiang quickly reached up to cover the red five-finger mark that had instantly landed on half of her face, while also tightly shutting her mouth and glaring at him angrily.
Originally, she thought Long En was just a little bad, but now she never expected that he would even dare to have the ambition to rebel.
No, judging from his demeanor, it seems he's not just plotting; I wonder how far he's progressed...
Given this, how could she entrust her grandmother, whom she cared so much about, to such a desperate criminal?
What do world affairs have to do with a weak woman like her, who is so ordinary and unremarkable?
She didn't care at all.
But why did she feel a slight anxiety rising in her heart when she knew he was going to do something so dangerous? Was she worried about him?
Or perhaps, they are simply worried that their grandmother will be left unattended after they pass away!
But in Long En's heart, which was even more complicated than hers, he had just been overjoyed.
It was rare for Lanxiang to travel so far to come and find him. Even if it wasn't because of her, at least the father and daughter were gradually moving in a positive direction and starting to communicate properly.
But in the blink of an eye, he found it hard to control himself and personally broke the little bit of trust that the two of them had just built up.
The moment he raised his hand, he already regretted it...
Just then, Lanxiang's grandmother saw her granddaughter being bullied in a corner, and stumbled through the crowd to rush to their side.
"Who are you? Why are you bullying my granddaughter? You're a bad person! You're a bad person, a bad person..."
As he spoke, he bent down to pick up a whip used to drive cattle and sheep that had fallen to the ground, grabbed it, and lashed it haphazardly at Long En.
"Grandma, stop! Stop right now!"
Lanxiang quickly came to her senses, snatched the whip from her hand, and pulled her grandmother back to Yan'er's side.
At this moment, the outside world.
The storm carried dust forward, with giant yellow dragons whipping up sand and massive waves of sand churning as if to devour the entire world.
Streaks of lightning occasionally flashed across the sand dunes...
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