Zhou Shuxian’s beautiful eyes widened as two streams of hot tears rolled down her cheeks.
Impossible. Xu Ning must be lying. Brother Lingtian would never betray me!
But if he hadn’t heard it from Brother Lingtian himself, how else could Xu Ning have known about all this?
Could it have been Yuwen Shuang who leaked it? No! The Yuwen family had suffered miserably at Xu Ning’s hands—she had a deep grudge against him, not to mention she also liked Brother Lingtian. Both emotionally and logically, there was no way she could be on Xu Ning’s side!
Even if she really were Xu Ning’s person, there’s no way she’d know about the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul-Nourishing Wood.
Her mind was a complete mess. Her delicate shoulders trembled, and a bitter pain surged in her chest.
All the evidence pointed to one brutal truth—
The man she loved most, Brother Lingtian, had sold her out!
“You… you!” Zhou Yan rose in anger, pointing at her, his finger trembling.
He couldn’t believe that his always obedient and sensible daughter would commit such treason for someone like Long Lingtian!
The consequences of offending Xu Ning… he didn’t even dare imagine them!
Empress Xiao Yi let out a cry of shock and collapsed on the spot, unable to withstand the blow.
“Mother!”
“Someone, call the imperial physician!”
The two princesses hurried to support Xiao Yi, throwing hateful looks at their elder sister.
Watching everything unfold around her, Zhou Shuxian felt her entire world collapse.
The betrayal of the one she loved shattered her heart.
And that wasn’t the worst of it—she had also implicated her father, her mother, and even the entire Great Zhou royal family! The crushing guilt made her wish she could die right there.
[Ding! Zhou Shuxian has severed ties with the Child of Destiny. Negative impact on Child of Destiny. Plundering one strand of Primordial Purple Qi. Gained 200 Fate Points.]
She slowly stood up and walked to the center of the hall. With a soft thud, she knelt before Xu Ning.
“I deceived Your Highness and defied the ruler. I deserve death. I ask for punishment!”
She paused briefly before continuing, “Everything was done by me alone. It has nothing to do with the royal family. I beg Your Highness to spare my father and mother.”
As her voice fell, all eyes in the hall turned to Xu Ning.
Yao Ling’er and Yuwen Rou watched with great curiosity, wondering how he would deal with Zhou Shuxian.
The royal family members were overwhelmed with anxiety. None dared to even breathe loudly, afraid they’d be dragged down.
Xu Ning rested his chin on one hand, seated high on the main throne, one leg casually crossed over the other. He looked down at Zhou Shuxian with a playful smirk tugging at his lips.
The reason he’d exposed Zhou Shuxian was simple—to drive a wedge between her and Long Lingtian and squeeze the last bit of Fate Points out of him.
Besides that, though Zhou Shuxian’s means were far inferior to his own, she was by no means an ordinary woman. As the Eldest Princess of the Great Zhou, if he could subdue her and support her to become Empress, wouldn’t that be ideal?
Though his current position looked glorious, in truth, it was a precarious balance, entirely dependent on the Empress’s favor.
If one day the Empress turned on him, he’d be in real trouble.
He had to prepare a fallback plan. The Great Zhou Empire bordered the northern frontier—naturally, it was the perfect option.
“I am not a bloodthirsty man. Don’t always speak of life and death. Tonight, come to my bedchamber. I’ll give you 300 strokes as punishment,” he said calmly.
Why in the bedchamber?
She bit her lip, and tears of grievance welled in her eyes. She had always intended to give her first time to the man she loved.
But now, everything had changed. The one she loved had betrayed her, and she had no choice but to submit to Xu Ning and give up her purity.
The cruelty of reality was hard to accept, but she had no choice but to force herself to endure it.
“Thank you… Your Highness,” she said word by word, her voice filled with sorrow and humiliation.
Zhou Yan watched this scene and was overjoyed!
He had thought disaster was imminent—
Who could’ve guessed such fortune would strike so suddenly! It turned out Xu Ning had always been interested in his daughter!
Otherwise, how could he have let her off so easily?
After this shocking turn of events, no one in the hall had any interest in drinking or watching the performances. They all left in succession.
As they departed, while no one was paying attention, Xu Ning sent a voice transmission to Yuwen Shuang, sharing his plan with her.
Upon hearing it, Yuwen Shuang’s beautiful eyes widened in shock, her scalp going numb!
No matter how reluctant she was, under the control of the Dao Slave Seal, she could only nod and obey.
“Understood, Master.”
…
In the cold, dark prison—
Long Lingtian sat slumped against the wall, eyes lifeless, face ashen.
His biggest trump card, Wei Qingyi, had now fallen into Xu Ning’s hands, pushing him into total despair.
He had completely lost the confidence to face Xu Ning and could only place all his hopes on the Demon Lord’s Tomb, waiting for Zhou Shuxian to come rescue him three days later.
Step, step, step…
Just then, footsteps echoed from a distance. He turned his head and saw a petite figure approaching.
“Shuang’er!” he called out in shock. “Why are you here?”
Yuwen Shuang’s beautiful face was filled with complicated emotion. Watching the man she loved walk straight into a death trap, yet being powerless to stop it—it tore her apart.
“Lingtian, I’m here to rescue you.”
As she spoke, she pulled a key from her robes, unlocked the cell door, and removed the shackles from his hands and feet.
As the searing pain on his wrists disappeared, Long Lingtian let out a long breath and stretched his limbs, then asked, “Where’s Shuxian?”
In his mind, the key must’ve come from Zhou Shuxian.
Yuwen Shuang looked down, her tone sorrowful, “I stole it. Zhou Shuxian… she’s probably enjoying carnal pleasure with Xu Ning right now.”
Her words stunned Long Lingtian. His eyes widened in disbelief. He staggered backward, his pupils contracting sharply.
His eyes gradually turned bloodshot, veins bulging. He stepped forward, grabbed Yuwen Shuang’s shoulders tightly, and shook her, roaring, “What did you say?!” This chapter was copied from NovelPing without permission.
Frightened by his outburst, Yuwen Shuang’s eyes reddened. “I just found out yesterday. That Zhou Shuxian… she’s been Xu Ning’s woman all along.”
A buzzing filled Long Lingtian’s head—his mind went blank.
He had always wondered how Xu Ning had appeared so conveniently that day—it was as if he had been waiting in advance.
So it had all been a setup!
Zhou Shuxian had first played the good cop, using the Soul-Nourishing Wood as bait to trick the ring containing Wei Qingyi’s remnant soul from his bloodline space.
Then, just as she left, Xu Ning—who had been hiding in the dark—struck and seized the remnant soul!
The fury of betrayal, mixed with the humiliation of being made a fool, nearly drove Long Lingtian mad!
So he had always been the clown in their show!
“Why would she betray me!” Long Lingtian clenched his fists, mumbling in disbelief.
Lingtian, did you really believe Xu Ning’s lies? Did you never trust Sister Shuxian at all?… Yuwen Shuang felt a deep chill in her heart, but followed Xu Ning’s instructions.
“Sister Shuxian told me herself. She said Xu Ning is powerful, influential, and heroic, while you’re just a wandering rogue. Following you would only bring shame. She even asked me to serve Xu Ning together with her…”
“Enough!”
Before she could finish, Long Lingtian smashed his fist into the wall.
BOOM!
The sturdy prison wall was punched out, blood pouring from his knuckles, yet he didn’t seem to notice—he kept hammering the wall again and again!
“Lingtian, don’t destroy yourself!” Yuwen Shuang quickly grabbed his arm, her eyes full of worry and pain.
Tears of humiliation and rage streamed from his eyes, his gaze bloodshot, his entire being like a man possessed.
“Yao Ling’er, Zhou Shuxian… those two sluts looked down on me! They both betrayed me!”
“Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west. The wheel turns. Don’t look down on the poor youth!”
“Xu Ning! I will tear you to pieces! Rip you limb from limb!”
Looking at the monstrous, twisted Long Lingtian, Yuwen Shuang found him completely unfamiliar.
Her face turned pale, but she still gripped his hand tightly.
“Lingtian, calm down! Xu Ning doesn’t know about the Demon Lord’s Tomb. That’s your only chance to turn things around!”
Though she knew about it, Xu Ning had never asked, so she kept the secret as ordered.
Even the most cunning strategist can make mistakes. Xu Ning might be scheming, but he had overlooked this!
That was the one ray of hope left for Long Lingtian.
Little did she know, Xu Ning had been aware of it all along.
“Shuang’er, you’re right. I was too impatient,” Long Lingtian said, taking a deep breath. “There’s no time to lose. Delaying will only bring trouble. We leave tonight!”
His face twisted with malice, as if he could already see the day he inherited the Demon Lord’s legacy and slaughtered Xu Ning and the two women in cruel revenge.