Chapter 47

After downing a cup of wine, he saw the other person’s eyes gradually grow hazy. Her head drooped, and she collapsed onto the table.

Li Nantong was overjoyed. “Second Sister’s stuff really works!”

It was his first time doing something like this, and the urgency of the situation, combined with his fear and nervousness, only made him more excited.

Fortunately, years of wine and women had already ruined his health. He was not very capable in that department, and would not last long—an advantage that proved especially useful at a time like this!

Li Nantong hurriedly began undressing, leering as he said, “Little beauty, tonight I’ll make sure to pamper you properly!”

Just as his other hand reached toward Yun Yaoyao’s body, Yun Yaoyao grew too bored to keep pretending. She seized his wrist and twisted it, then grabbed his arm and slammed him hard onto the floor.

Li Nantong struck the ground face-first. The part of him that had been standing stiffly ramrod straight slammed directly into the floor—and snapped.

The next instant, a heart-wrenching scream rang out.

“AAAHHHHH!”

Yun Yaoyao rose leisurely, drew a sharp dagger from her robes, and crouched in front of him, waving it threateningly.

Li Nantong trembled all over from the pain, tears and snot streaming down his face. “You… how did you know…”

“Do you really think Yun Liang could have obtained his mortal weakness in just a few days? Did you think all his years of work amounted to nothing? Or have you simply misjudged your own level of uselessness?”

“Madam Yun killed herself, so it was sensible for you to run away. But you just had to come back and provoke me. Tell me—what made you think you could succeed?”

“And what exactly was this thing from your second sister?”

By now, Li Nantong regretted everything so deeply that his guts had turned green. He never should have given in to lust right before fleeing!

As the old saying went, lust brought a blade down upon one’s head. The ancients certainly had not lied!

(༎ຶ-༎ຶ)

The cold, sharp dagger slid along his neck. A bone-chilling terror immediately spread through all four limbs and his entire body, and Li Nantong confessed at once.

“I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything! Please don’t kill me, sob…”

Li Nantong explained how he had stolen the infertility powder from Madam Yun in order to take revenge on others, then sneaked into her room to hide. There, he had unexpectedly encountered Yun Liang and overheard a secret, so he had stolen the powder first.

He also revealed every detail about the effects of the medicine he had obtained from Madam Yun.

“That aphrodisiac powder can bewitch people and make them obey your commands for a short time. The next day, they lose all memory of everything that happened after taking it. That’s why I dared to give it to you, my lord!”

“And I absolutely had no improper intentions! Just now, I only wanted you to examine my hemorrhoids, my lord. Please spare me!”

Yun Yaoyao let out a cold laugh and kicked him. Li Nantong promptly passed out.

When he next awoke in a daze, he discovered that his hands and feet had been bound with hemp rope, his mouth stuffed with cloth, and his body thrown into a corner of the private room.

Meanwhile, that little demoness was drinking and eating with several people in the middle of the room.

Li Nantong immediately closed his eyes and pretended to still be unconscious.

At the dining table, one of the Dragon Shadow Guards, who had been keeping a close eye on Li Nantong, gave Yun Yaoyao a signal. Yun Yaoyao nodded slightly.

One of the Dragon Shadow Guards immediately began his performance, his voice dripping with flattery. “My lord truly is as brilliant as the gods. Fortunately, we discovered that Li Nantong was up to no good in time. Otherwise, he might have ruined Lord Yun’s grand plans!”

Lord Yun?

Which Lord Yun?

It couldn’t be the Lord Yun he was thinking of… could it?

Li Nantong’s heart lurched. He pricked up his ears and continued listening.

Yun Yaoyao poured herself a cup of wine with great satisfaction. “You flatter me, you flatter me! No matter how capable I am, I’m not even one-thousandth as brilliant as Lord Yun. Lord Yun is the true master strategist!”

“During the assassination at the palace banquet, he took a dangerous gamble by sending the eldest Miss Yun to the Tyrant and the second Miss Yun to Prince Ze, planting two pawns.”

“Speaking of which, this infertility powder is truly marvelous. The eldest Miss Yun used it to ensure that the foul Tyrant could never have children again, while the second Miss Yun used it to make sure Prince Ze could never father a son. The only two remaining imperial bloodlines have now been cut off from continuing the royal line. How will they inherit the empire in the future? Hahaha!”

The Dragon Shadow Guards admired their sovereign’s acting skills. He even insulted himself without batting an eye, so they each threw themselves into their roles with even greater enthusiasm.

“Hmph. On the surface, Lord Yun seems to be struggling, pushed around by the court officials. In reality, everything is under his control. Sooner or later, the Yanchi Dynasty will fall into Lord Yun’s hands!”

“We’ll just wait until Lord Yun becomes the ruler of the Yanchi Dynasty, then claim a share of the credit for helping him ascend!”

“That eldest Miss Yun is the only one who lacks sense. After entering the palace as a consort and escaping Lord Yun’s control, she actually thought she had found a powerful backer and stopped obeying Lord Yun. Fortunately, the second Miss Yun is clever and obedient!”

“By the way, my lord, what should we do with Li Nantong?”

Yun Yaoyao snorted coldly. “Lord Yun only needed his mouth to expose Madam Yun’s infertility powder. Now that he has served his purpose, we’ll kill him after we’ve finished eating and drinking.”

“Yes, my lord!”

The more Li Nantong heard, the heavier his heart became, until his lips began to tremble uncontrollably.

How terrifying…

This was simply too terrifying…

Yun Liang’s scheming was far more frightening than he had imagined. What he coveted was actually the imperial throne!

Even the Emperor and Prince Ze had been manipulated by him and led around by the nose!

Along with his terror, a faint thrill rose in Li Nantong’s heart at having learned such a world-shaking secret.

If he could escape alive and tell the Emperor or Prince Ze what he knew, he would become a great hero who had saved the nation!

Why would he still need to hide in the countryside?

With that thought, Li Nantong opened his eyes again. After making sure that the little demoness and the others had their backs to him and were not paying attention, he frantically began struggling against the hemp rope.

Only after rubbing his hands raw and bloody did he finally break free. He quickly untied the rope around his feet as well.

At the dining table, Yun Yaoyao waved her hand extravagantly. “It’s not every day we get to come out. You lot, go bring over two more jars of fine wine!”

Soon, Yun Yaoyao was the only one left in the private room.

Holding his breath, Li Nantong rose as quietly as a cat and crept toward the door. Then he suddenly shoved it open and sprinted away.

“Catch him!”

Watching Li Nantong flee for his life, Yun Yaoyao revealed a faint smile.

She simply adored these adorable little fools who willingly took the bait. Go on, go on—hurry and tell Prince Ze this earth-shattering secret. Let him and Yun Liang tear each other apart!

Li Nantong made his perilous escape all the way to Prince Ze’s residence. When he saw the guards stationed outside the princely manor, it was as though he had laid eyes on his own father. Two streams of tears immediately ran down his face.

“I need to see Prince Ze! This concerns the continuation of Prince Ze’s bloodline! Someone is chasing me to kill me—protect me, quickly!”

The guards immediately surrounded Li Nantong. The guard captain hurried inside to report to Prince Ze.

Tushan Ze had been rather troubled lately.

After learning that Yun Liang had been rendered infertile by his own wife, his suspicious nature had flared up again.

Yun Yanyan was Madam Yun’s daughter—and his own bedmate.

Could ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‍she… have also poisoned him in a fit of anger and made him infertile?

Thus, over the past several days, he had refused to see Yun Yanyan whenever she tried to meet him. Whenever she had servants send him soup or porridge, he would not touch a single bite. What if it contained infertility powder?

At that moment, someone came to report the situation. The moment he heard the words “children” and “bloodline,” Tushan Ze’s heart lurched, and he instinctively sensed that something was wrong.

After listening to Li Nantong’s exaggerated account, complete with tears and mucus streaming down his face, Tushan Ze’s entire body slumped in his chair, his face ashen.

It was over. Despite taking every precaution, they still hadn’t managed to prevent it—he had been rendered infertile too!

Tushan Ze still clung to one last sliver of hope and secretly summoned the household physician.

After examining him through observation, questioning, and taking his pulse, the physician’s pupils contracted, and his lips began to tremble violently. “Kidney yin deficiency, kidney yang insufficiency, a severe depletion of both yin and yang, and cold stagnation in the liver meridian… This… this… this is a case of male infertility!”

The words struck like a bolt from a clear blue sky, shattering the last bit of wishful thinking in Tushan Ze’s heart.

The household physician fell to his knees, trembling like a leaf.

Li Nantong immediately knelt as well. Seeing how terrified the physician was, a sense of unease slowly rose in his heart.

He was the great hero who had revealed this earth-shattering secret to Prince Ze. Surely Prince Ze wouldn’t repay his kindness by killing him to silence him, would he? After all, Prince Ze had always been known for loving and caring for the people…

As his thoughts drifted away, a sharp pain stabbed through Li Nantong’s chest. Two shadow guards had appeared behind him, and each drove a sword straight through him and the household physician.

With his final breath, Li Nantong had only one thought:

The capital was far too dangerous. He… he wanted to go back to the countryside!