Chapter 87 The Chokehold Dilemma 2
Lu Yao pushed open the door and entered, seeing a torn pregnancy test report on the coffee table in the living room.
The tablet was still playing malicious comment videos, calling her a "scheming bitch," "self-directed and self-acted," and a "cancer of the entertainment industry"...
Lu Yao walked over and turned off the video, but Wang Ziying suddenly grabbed Lu Yao's wrist, her nails almost digging into Lu Yao's skin.
"They said I was setting a honey trap, that I was creating hype."
Wang Ziying's lips trembled with anger. "But I really was drugged. Director Sun Zhang handed me that cup. He took me to the hotel, and when I woke up, my whole body ached as if I'd been run over by a car. If it wasn't him, who could it be?"
Her voice held an almost obsessive certainty, but then deflated in an instant, "But he said he had a vasectomy, how could this be?"
Wang Ziying couldn't understand it.
She absolutely did not frame Sun Zhang; everything she said was true.
Lu Yao let her hold her and calmly said, "I believe you, and I will find out the truth with you."
Wang Ziying was stunned for a long time before she murmured, "Thank you."
In a world where everyone was laughing at her, finally someone was willing to believe that she wasn't a clown dancing on the ice, but a drowning person who had fallen into the icy river.
Lu Yao squatted down beside her and picked up a bottle of sleeping pills that had rolled to the ground.
If Lu Yao doesn't come, Wang Ziying will swallow the whole bottle of pills and commit suicide by cutting her wrists with that fruit knife.
Lu Yao sighed silently, put the sleeping pill bottle into her pocket, and cleaned up the scraps of paper.
Wang Ziying stared blankly as she packed up, "Are you really my fan? If I had a fan like you, I would definitely remember you."
“I am Lu Yao. We met a long time ago,” Lu Yao said softly. “You gave me light. So now, it’s my turn to give you light.”
"Lu Yao..."
As Wang Ziying pondered the name, she inexplicably felt like crying.
Lu Yao embraced Wang Ziying and gently patted her trembling back.
Lu Yao has now confirmed that Wang Ziying is the one who helped her weaken the curse on the monument and break the curse.
It takes nine lifetimes of reincarnation, enduring unspeakable suffering in each life, to carve a crack in the stele.
This is the "Throat-Locking Monument".
...
In the palace a thousand years ago, Lu Yao, dressed in a black Taoist robe, stood behind a gilded screen.
The old emperor and the princess were arguing incessantly.
In order to stabilize the border, the old emperor agreed to the Turkic Khan's request and sent the princess to marry him.
For the first time, the gentle princess uttered such a sharp voice, smashing a glass jade cup, "I'm not going!"
"You are my daughter, Princess Changping of the Great Sheng Dynasty! From the moment you were born, you were given a gold-inlaid jade lock and enjoyed the offerings of the world. This is your duty!"
The old emperor, who had always doted on Princess Changping, pressed his hand on the imperial desk, his veins bulging, and uttered a dignified and indifferent voice.
“No! My brothers, which one of them doesn’t live in a golden palace and eat delicacies? They spend their days either scheming against each other and harming their own brothers, or they are idle and debauched. Why should I, a woman, be the one to exchange for peace on the frontier?”
The old emperor's face was grim. "Princess Changping is ill and talking nonsense. Confine her to her quarters and let her rest properly."
Lu Yao gazed at the map spread out on the imperial desk. The territory of the Turks resembled a hideous wound, stretching across the northwest of the Great Sheng.
She stepped out from behind the screen and took half a step forward.
The hem of his Taoist robe swept across the cold blue bricks: "Has Your Majesty ever considered that the peace gained through women is nothing more than a double-edged sword hanging over your neck? If the Turkic Khan is greedy, the next thing he will ask for is the heads of the royal family."
The old emperor's expression softened slightly.
Two days later, at dawn, Princess Changping rushed into the Star Gazing Hall, the red coral hairpin in her hair still glistening with morning dew.
"Grand Preceptor, my father has stopped forcing me to go on this marriage alliance!"
Lu Yao's relieved smile froze as she heard Princess Changping say, "He said that I should choose a clever maid from the palace, train her to look like me for three months, and then go to the Turks in my place."
Princess Changping's gaze unconsciously drifted to the side, where a palace maid with her hair styled in double buns was holding a celadon teacup, her fingertips trembling slightly with nervousness.
That was Yingzhi, a first-class palace maid serving Princess Changping. She usually wore a timid smile, but now her face was deathly pale.
“Yingzhi has been with me since childhood. She is beautiful and can even mimic my speech.” Princess Changping’s voice gradually softened. “The Grand Preceptor was right the other day. It is inappropriate to sacrifice women for peace, but what if the sacrifice is just a palace maid…”
She suddenly turned to look at Lu Yao, a hint of relief flashing in her eyes, "Then it's nothing, isn't it?"
Princess Changping summoned Yingzhi to her side, then removed the red coral hairpin from her hair and slowly inserted it into Yingzhi's hair.
"Yingzhi, you are willing, aren't you?" The princess smiled, but her eyes were unfathomable. "Father will bestow upon you the title of Princess Jiahui, an honor that many noble ladies would rather die for."
Yingzhi's throat bobbed, and her lips trembled slightly.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she couldn't utter a single word.
Princess Changping seemed to sense something, yet also seemed oblivious. She gently patted the back of her hand and said softly, "Don't worry, I will prepare a generous dowry for you and will never let you suffer any hardship."
In the dead of night, Yingzhi quietly arrived at the Imperial Preceptor's gate and knelt on the ground.
"I've heard that the Imperial Preceptor comes from humble origins and divines for people regardless of their social status." She bowed deeply, her voice slightly hoarse, her shoulders trembling slightly. "May I have my fortune told?"
Lu Yao pushed open the door, reached out to help her up, and led her into the house.
The three copper coins bounced and clattered on the lacquered wooden table, eventually forming the shape of the Li trigram.
As the candlelight flickered, Lu Yao gazed at the overlapping cracks in the divination chart. "The ninth line at the top is moving. Going to the Turkic king's camp will likely be like a moth drawn to a flame, with no chance of ever returning home."
Sakura's face turned deathly pale, and her fingertips dug deeply into her palms.
After a long silence, she chuckled softly, her voice as light as a wisp of smoke: "...So my fate was decided when I entered the palace at the age of five and the princess chose me. Thank you, Grand Preceptor."
Lu Yao closed her eyes, frowned, and her heart was in turmoil.
She spoke up in support of Princess Changping, and the task of the marriage alliance fell to Yingzhi.
If we intervene again, who will bear the consequences of this terrible debt?
"Little Yao'er, you can't save everyone."
Master's words still ring in my ears.
Lu Yao suddenly opened her eyes, her pupils reflecting the flickering flames: "Master, not necessarily. What if I insist on changing this divination?"
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