Ashina Yeting had never suffered such a blow.
Psychological warfare, this must be the legendary psychological warfare! Ashina Yeting stared blankly at the wall. He could still bear what happened with He Yang earlier, after all, He Yang was good-looking, but now that it was Mo Xing, this rough man, he really felt like he didn't want to live anymore.
Ashina Yeting watched as Mo Xing, a rough and uncultured man, got more and more carried away with his words, and promptly fainted again.
Mo Xing: "…………"
Its destructive power was indeed great.
He glanced at Ashina Yeting a few times to make sure he was really unconscious before leaving the dungeon to find Shang Shaoyan.
"Princess, he's fainted again." Mo Xing asked Shang Shaoyan with some curiosity, "Why did you use this method to deal with that kid?"
Shang Shaoyan chuckled briefly, a slight smile playing on his lips: "This is called fighting poison with poison. Although Ashina Yeting has been captured by us, his only purpose is as a hostage. Since he's not of much use to us anyway, we might as well torture him a bit more so he'll behave."
Mo Xing suddenly realized: "The county princess is brilliant!"
The two exchanged a smile and decided that they would continue to "visit" Ashina Yeting in the days to come.
Let him feel the care of humanity.
...
Lu Shuangyi returned to the princess's mansion in Shuocheng, which had been built with countless manpower and resources, and stared blankly at the yellow sand outside the window.
After she returned, she made inquiries around the city herself, and the more she learned, the colder her heart felt.
Lu Shuangyi was indeed going to marry that old Khan who was over fifty years old, but Shang Shaoyan let slip a little—that the old Khan had tortured several of his Khans to death; he was an extremely violent person.
The custom of levirate marriage also existed. If a woman was lucky enough to survive the old Khan and outlive him, there was a high probability that she would marry the next Khan.
What did the Empress say again?
"Shuangyi, how could your mother harm you? If you stay in Shengjing, you'll just be a princess. But if you marry into the Northwest, you could become Empress." Empress Li coaxed her gently. "As the mother of the nation, you can do whatever you want, isn't that good? I've heard the Khan is only twenty-five, has never married, and is incomparably handsome. If the eldest princess weren't already married, I would have married her off to him—"
Lu Shuangyi was lost in thought and couldn't help but recall what Consort Zhao had said to her before she set off for the Northwest.
"I have raised you for four or five years. If you do not want to be married off, just come to me. I will protect you even if it means giving up my position as a Noble Consort."
Lu Shuangyi covered her face and suddenly burst out laughing.
Qiao Zhuo was right; he was brainless, ruthless, and stupid—Empress Li clearly had ill intentions, yet he believed her; Consort Zhao was genuinely kind to him, yet he thought she couldn't stand to see him doing well…
Without realizing it, she thought of the Princess of Heyang from earlier again.
Lu Shuangyi knew about Shang Shaoyan.
Shang Shaoyan, the Princess of Heyang County and the younger sister of the Duke of Zhenguo, is a woman of unparalleled beauty, but she is also eccentric and domineering. The Duke of Chengen's family broke off their engagement with her and instead came to ask for her hand in marriage.
At that time, she did not take Shang Shaoyan seriously. In her opinion, he was just an insignificant one among all the noble ladies in Shengjing.
But yesterday, she saw that "insignificant" Princess Heyang easily lift a large sword weighing dozens of kilograms, stained with blood; she heard the soldiers and people of Shuocheng singing praises to her as the reincarnation of a war goddess, brave and resourceful, saying that if she were there, the Western Turks would be wiped out sooner or later...
Lu Shuangyi lowered her eyes, recalling the words Shang Shaoyan had said to her.
"If you've found out and don't want to get married... come find me, I have a way."
Does she really have a solution? Lu Shuangyi hesitated; she was now afraid to trust anyone.
If she can't even trust the maidservants around her, then who can she trust?
Lu Shuangyi thought wearily, "Let's wait and see what happens next, and see if Shang Shaoyan can be relied on."
...
Southern Chen Dynasty, Shengjing.
Shang Yunlan received a letter from Shang Shaoyan, read it carefully several times, and fell into deep thought.
It's not difficult to find a way to lure Emperor Chen to Hangzhou; Emperor Chen is too easy to fool.
Besides, there's no rush. We should wait until Yan Xuening and Li Langxuan get married in a month and a half before making any plans.
The difficulty lies in sending Li Langhuan to Yunnan, which is not easy to do. After all, she is in the heavily guarded palace and can hardly leave the palace, and he, as an outsider, cannot enter the palace either.
Shang Yunlan went through the things he needed to do next in his mind. After these two things were resolved, he should leave Shengjing. At the same time, he also needed to find a pretext for Shang Shaoyan to start a rebellion.
Actually, it's not hard to find a reason. There are many options: purging corrupt officials, the people suffering from Chen's long-standing strife, or being forced to wear the imperial robe. The difficulty lies in choosing which one to use and when to start.
As he was pondering, Lin Jing walked in: "Yaochen, Su Sanniang is loitering around the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion again. What exactly are you planning to do?"
Shang Yunlan snapped out of her reverie, took out the letter Shang Shaoyan had sent her from the bookshelf, and handed it to Lin Jing: "The Palace Master of Xuehua Palace has already met with An'an. The Palace Master of Xuehua Palace is named Xie Huayin. She was originally an unregistered person, but she took over the identity of Xie Erniang, the legitimate younger sister of the Empress of Northern Zhou. Fortunately, she doesn't seem to know who Xie Erniang really is."
Lin Jing carefully read the letter, while Shang Yunlan continued, "She arranged for Su Yan, the Right Protector of Xuehua Palace, to enter the Nan'an Prince's Mansion. It was this Su Yan who caused my cousin's death. She also instigated the Nan'an Prince to kill my parents—this Xie Huayin is also our enemy."
Lin Jing suddenly raised her head, her eyes slightly red: "Lingxiu was killed by them?"
Shang Yunlan paused for a moment, then lowered her eyes and said, "The Prince of Nan'an, Xie Huayin, Su Yan, the Crown Prince, and Emperor Chen are all innocent."
Shang Yunlan paused for a moment, and then recounted the truth behind the deaths of the old Duke and his wife.
From initial anger to later bewilderment, and finally to self-mockery, Lin Jing remained silent throughout.
After Shang Yunlan finished speaking, she poured Lin Jing a cup of tea: "Uncle Lin, you don't need to be sad or blame yourself. An'an and I will avenge our parents."
Lin Jing took the cup of tea blankly, took a sip absentmindedly, and it took her a long time to come back to her senses. She gently tugged at the corner of her mouth and said sarcastically, "Yao Chen, do you know that I gave the Prince of Nan'an and the Crown Prince a life each?"
Shang Yunlan was stunned for a moment, looking at Lin Jing with some confusion.
Lin Jing lowered her eyes, making it impossible to see her expression: "I am not a good person. I used to only do what I wanted to do. When the Prince of Nan'an and the Crown Prince found the medicine I wanted, I gave each of them a Soul-Returning Pill—a Soul-Returning Pill that can save you even if you only have one breath left."
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