Yan Beimo paused in his kneading, looked up, and tugged at her belt.
"Then take it off."
"---"
Chu Changning was afraid he would cause trouble, so she dressed very conservatively. When she heard his words, she stammered.
"I don't need to take my clothes off, do I?"
Yan Beimo leaned against the bedside, his cold hand gripping her chin and lifting it up.
"You want me to do it?"
"---"
She closed her eyes, steeled her resolve, and reached out her fair hand to remove her underskirt.
Yan Beimo watched quietly, his breathing gradually becoming heavy.
"come over."
Chu Changning was annoyed by his arrogant attitude.
She cursed under her breath a few times before slowly sitting down in his lap.
Perhaps he thought she was too slow, so he simply pulled her along.
Both of them were wearing thin clothes, and when they bumped into his firm chest, the warm touch made her cheeks instantly turn red.
Before she could react, he grabbed her hand and placed it on her waist and abdomen.
"Untie it yourself."
His voice was hoarse and deep, and his warm breath brushed against her porcelain-white collarbone, sending a tingling sensation through her ears.
Chu Changning subconsciously turned her head to dodge, but he held her hand tightly.
Her palms instantly became hot and sweaty, and she unconsciously let out a soft moan, her breathing slightly erratic.
Ignoring everything else, Yan Beimo cupped her waist and hips, lowered his head, and kissed her passionately.
The moonlight streamed in from outside, illuminating the dimly lit tent. Her eyes were flushed, and her whole body seemed to have softened from his kisses.
In her moment of passion and confusion, she vaguely heard him warning her in her ear.
"I'll help you ascend to the throne, promising you a vast empire. Think carefully before you try to court death?"
-------
The bedding inside the room was in disarray. Yan Beimo lifted the curtain, put on a robe, and got off the bed.
He touched the teeth marks on his shoulder and glanced sideways.
So fragile.
He pulled the blanket over himself, scooped up the unconscious man, and carried him to the back bathroom.
With Shen Yan's death, the Central Plains were thrown into turmoil. The princes fought amongst themselves for the throne, resulting in heavy losses of their troops.
The King of Huainan and the King of Ding clashed at Mohe, causing immense suffering to the people. On the twelfth day, the King of Huainan was stabbed to death by the King of Ding and died at Mohe.
Prince Ding, together with other princes, marched south. Prince An launched a fierce attack, capturing several cities in succession and advancing all the way to the capital.
The night the princes mobilized troops from all over the country and joined forces with rebels to storm the imperial city, the entire capital was thrown into chaos.
But the new emperor was not dead. He summoned his troops back to the capital ahead of time, set a trap to lure the Prince of An into a snare, and directly beheaded him.
The blood in the moat stained the entire imperial city red; the high palaces with their green tiles and vermilion walls were destroyed, and corpses lay strewn throughout the palace.
The palace was eerily quiet in the dead of night. A hawk soared over the towering buildings, its sharp, piercing cry echoing across the entire platform.
The princes' armies stormed into Xuanwu Gate and fought fiercely outside the majestic but empty Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Suddenly, with a loud bang, tens of thousands of soldiers and armored warriors rose high above the palace walls, surrounding them completely. Tens of thousands of arrows rained down like locusts, causing countless deaths and injuries outside the palace.
Under the gloomy sky, arrows rained down, and screams filled the air.
The platform had just experienced a palace coup; it was covered in blood and corpses.
Above the nine-tiered palace steps, the new emperor, dressed in black robes, stood before the main hall, overlooking the massive, dark army on the imperial steps.
Prince An was shocked and retreated repeatedly as he looked at the new emperor in the magnificent palace.
"You're not dead!"
The other kings were also shocked to see the new emperor who was not dead at all. They were immediately alarmed and realized what had happened.
This is essentially letting them kill each other in one fell swoop.
Large numbers of troops were unable to enter the palace, and all four city gates leading out of the capital were sealed off. The six surviving princes gathered at Taihe Palace and were slaughtered, as if their entire army was to be wiped out.
Night fell over the entire Taihe Palace, and heavy troops surrounded the palace walls. Beneath the steps, eighteen bronze tripods and bronze cranes spewed bright red blood from their mouths.
The King of Lingnan, riding a fine horse, looked at the King of Qi behind Shen Yan, and the sound of internal energy slowly rose up.
"Who exactly is behind His Majesty?"
In the grand hall, Shen Yan stood with his hands behind his back, his cold, emotionless eyes sweeping over the princes, his voice indifferent.
“I am delighted that the princes are willing to do the work for others.”
Things had come to this point and there was no turning back; the kings no longer bothered with pretense.
Prince Ding looked at the new emperor on the high throne and sneered loudly.
"My large army is waiting outside the capital. Does Your Majesty think that you can still sit securely on the throne today?"
The King of Lingnan silently retreated. The other kings had all come for the throne, and a large number of troops were waiting outside the capital to meet them. But he knew in his heart that the troops outside had long been controlled by the people of Yanbeimo.
"In the battle of Haozhou back then, Prince Ding lost all humanity. What use is this throne to you?"
Shen Yan's words shocked the princes, who all looked mockingly at Prince Ding's crotch as they watched the spectacle.
Prince Ding's eyes widened in fury, and he pointed his knife directly at Shen Yan.
"you---"
Shen Yan had no intention of engaging in banter with him. He glanced indifferently at the princes and fixed his gaze on the Prince of Lingnan.
Where is he?
As soon as he finished speaking, a gentle voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Is Your Majesty looking for me?"
Behind him, a man in a white robe slowly walked out of the hall. He was tall and slender, and the moonlight poured out of the hall, giving his jade-like face a light.
The generals standing around Shen Yan were shocked and immediately drew their swords. However, to their surprise, there was a traitor among the generals who turned against them and pointed his sword at them.
The two sides faced off, swords drawn and crossbows poised for battle.
Yan Beimo walked slowly towards him, speaking in a gentle voice.
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."
Shen Yan's expression remained unchanged as he glanced sideways.
"Now that things have come to this, why should Lord Yan put on an act?"
Yan Beimo chuckled and looked down at the massive, dark army below.
"Your Majesty is a wise man and should know that there can only be one emperor in this world."
Shen Yan raised an eyebrow. "If someone as eccentric as you were to ascend the throne, wouldn't the world be destroyed?"
Yan Beimo nodded seriously.
"I just want to see if those old men from the aristocratic families will be so angry they'll die."
He paused, then gave a wry smile.
"Hasn't Your Majesty already removed the obstacles from the princes for me?"
Shen Yan became somewhat interested and asked with a smile, "How do scions of noble families become emperors?!"
The family's ancestral precepts dictate that they should not overthrow the monarch, nor interfere in politics, but rather co-rule the world with the imperial family.
Yan Beimo became the first person from a powerful family to seize the throne. Wouldn't the powerful families be thrown into chaos? This move completely shattered the balance of power among the powerful families in the world.
"Isn't the Marquis of Yan afraid that other powerful families will rise up and seize the throne?"
Yan Beimo smiled disdainfully, his eyes full of arrogance.
"Among all the powerful families in the world, my Yan family is the head, and my Yan Beimo is naturally the ruler of this world."
After saying that, he glanced at me sideways and smiled gently.
"With me in charge of the Great Jin, Your Majesty can rest assured and go forth."
Shen Yan remained silent, calmly observing the soldiers below.
Yan Beimo stood beside him, raising an eyebrow.
"Your Majesty has lofty ambitions, but alas, the world is as it is. This world belongs to the powerful families. Even if you kill the kings, you cannot end the division in the north or change the injustice of this world. Only by sweeping away all the kingdoms and unifying the nine provinces can the world be at peace. Do you think you can do it without the support of the powerful families?"
Shen Yan smiled faintly, "Does Marquis Yan have such intentions?"
"I don't have Your Majesty's ambition," he smiled lazily. "I just want to sit on this throne and enjoy myself every night."
Chen Yan, "---"
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