Chapter 253: "Young Prince, would you like to make a deal with me?

Inside Zichen Palace, Mu Yunlian explained to Xiao Yang.

"Qi Yue is the Holy Daughter of the Southern Domain and also its future Queen. She and Yin Tianqi get along very well and are extremely close. I always ran into her whenever I went to the Southern Domain to see Yin Tianqi. We’re not friends—in fact, you could even call us enemies."

Mu Yunlian suppressed his irritation. "She excels at using Poisonous Gu and keeps company with venomous creatures in the Holy Land. She often uses her pets to torture people, poisoning them to the brink of death before saving them. She’ll plant a Gu whether she’s happy or not, just for the fun of watching others suffer. With the Holy Land’s protection, it’s common for her to poison people to death without consequence."

He himself had suffered at Qi Yue’s hands more than once and knew her willful and reckless nature.

He could now resist Poisonous Gu, so he wasn’t afraid of her. But he was afraid of causing trouble for Xiao Yang.

He took a deep breath, fighting the urge to tell Xiao Yang about his suffering. "According to the rules of the Southern Domain, the Holy Daughter is forbidden from ever leaving its borders. She shouldn’t be here."

He had worried that Yin Tianqi would say something foolish, but he never expected him to act so recklessly as to bring the Holy Daughter out with him.

Xiao Yang raised a hand to stroke his brow, her eyes clear with an all-knowing understanding. "She bullied you. In that case, we’ll kill her."

Mu Yunlian was distraught, but her comforting words still made him chuckle. "There’s no need to kill her outright. The Southern Domain is full of miasma and poisonous creatures. If we become enemies, it would be a difficult war to fight."

Mu Yunlian grabbed her hand and buried his face in it. Though those days of living a fate worse than death were over, the pain was long since carved into his bones and embedded in his soul. Only with Xiao Yang could he feel like he was truly alive.

When he looked up again, he had calmed down considerably. "I’ll go see them tonight. I will handle this matter. Your Majesty must, under no circumstances, meet with them."

’Yin Tianqi alone isn’t much of a problem, but Qi Yue is another matter entirely.’

’I can’t bear the thought of Xiao Yang being tormented by her, and even less can I endure the risk of losing the Empress.’

’So, I have to send them away. And even if I have to kill her... her death cannot be connected to Her Majesty.’

Mu Yunlian left, but Xiao Yang didn’t go to sleep. Instead, she had someone summon Xiao Ziling.

"Your Majesty."

Xiao Ziling bowed.

Xiao Yang pointed to the seat beside her. "Come, sit."

Xiao Ziling replied, "Thank you for granting me a seat, Your Majesty."

Only after Xiao Ziling sat down did Xiao Yang speak. "Tell me about Mu Yunlian’s time in the Southern Domain."

Xiao Ziling thought for a moment before speaking. "When the Master first went to the Southern Domain, it wasn’t for business. He went for a transaction, to find an antidote for a certain Soul Capturing Gu for someone."

"The Southern Domain is easy to enter, but members of the Witch Clan are hard to find. The Master first befriended Yin Tianqi. The two of them had very pleasant conversations and discussed business, which later led to him opening up trade routes in the Southern Domain."

"The Holy Daughter’s appearance was an accident. While the Master was sleeping at the Young Prince’s residence, he was bitten by a poisonous snake and instinctively killed it. Who would have thought that snake was the pet of the Witch Clan’s Holy Daughter? Needless to say, the Holy Daughter holds a high status in the Southern Domain. She cried her heart out over a snake, but that didn’t stop her from using all sorts of Gu on the Master. That time, the Master truly suffered a fate worse than death."

"She discovered the Master’s willpower was stronger than others’ and that he was able to withstand all the pain. This piqued her interest, so she repeatedly removed the Gu only to inflict new ones on him, treating him completely like a toy. It wasn’t until the Master’s body changed and all Gu became ineffective against him that she finally stopped."

"The Master and the Young Prince usually communicate through letters. In all these years, he has only been to the Southern Domain a total of four times. The Master was never warm toward the Holy Daughter, but she seemed quite fond of him. Whenever he visited, she would appear and stick close to both the Young Prince and the Master. She would even add her own messages to the letters the Young Prince wrote."

Xiao Yang listened quietly. Qi Yue’s every action clearly showed her interest in Mu Yunlian.

’The Holy Daughter, a born little devil, loved to torment people. She met someone special and ended up falling for him without even realizing it.’

’From her perspective, it might even be a sweet love story.’

’Unfortunately for her, Mu Yunlian belonged to me, Xiao Yang.’

For once, Xiao Yang didn’t sleep well. Early the next morning, Mu Yunlian came to the palace and told her he had sent the visitors away.

However, just as he finished speaking, he collapsed.

The Southern Domain delegation departed in a hurry. Inside a carriage, Qi Yue was smashing things in a fit of rage. "I’m furious! Is there something wrong with his head?"

Qi Yue grabbed Yin Tianqi’s sleeve, seething. "Tell me, is he out of his mind? That Empress has other men, not just him, and he’s still willing to accept that? What’s so great about her? Is she worth him giving up everything?"

"And he drove us away! He drove us away!! I came all this way to see him, taking such a huge risk, how could he bully me like this?"

Yin Tianqi said, "If I hadn’t come with you, he definitely wouldn’t have driven me away."

After venting, Qi Yue suddenly grinned. "It’s fine. He may have driven us away, but the Empress will invite us back."

Yin Tianqi knew her too well. His expression changed instantly. "What did you do?"

Qi Yue crossed her arms, looking smug. "I used my newly developed poison on him. Guess if it worked."

Yin Tianqi demanded, "Where’s the antidote?"

Qi Yue replied, "There is no antidote."

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

The sound of urgent hoofbeats drew near, and soon a troop of riders appeared, blocking the delegation’s path.

"Envoys of the Southern Domain, Her Majesty summons you!"

Qi Yue looked as if she held all the cards, but Yin Tianqi’s heart sank. His intuition gave him a bad feeling.

’This isn’t the Southern Domain. Before, we were dealing with Mu Yunlian. Now, we’re about to face the Empress herself.’

However, when they returned, the Empress’s attitude was surprisingly pleasant.

"Young Prince, Holy Daughter, why were you leaving? Mu Yunlian suddenly fainted. The Imperial Physician examined him and said there was nothing wrong, but a few attendants mentioned that the Holy Daughter enjoys playing little jokes on him. Could I trouble the Holy Daughter to wake him up now?"

For some reason, Yin Tianqi just stood there, his back rigid, and didn’t say a single word.

Qi Yue stuck her tongue out playfully. "It’s just a little poison. It won’t kill him."

She grinned. "But don’t worry, Your Majesty. I will stay here to watch over him and research the antidote. It won’t take long. I’ll be sure to return a hale and hearty Yun Lian to you."

Xiao Yang chuckled lightly. "The Holy Daughter is truly innocent and carefree."

Qi Yue’s eyes sparkled. "Your Majesty is so kind! It just makes me feel even more that he’s not good enough for you."

Yin Tianqi glanced at the twenty-one-year-old Holy Daughter, then at the not-yet-twenty-year-old Empress. ’This whole scene is... bizarre!’

Xiao Yang didn’t keep Qi Yue in the palace, but instead arranged new accommodations for her: a large mansion staffed with servants and filled with countless treasures.

She fulfilled all of Qi Yue’s requests, only requiring that she visit Mu Yunlian for a short while each day to research the antidote.

Qi Yue, who had never seen so many novelties, was instantly dazzled. She and her maids had the time of their lives playing with everything.

Meanwhile, Yin Tianqi was captured.

He was forced to his knees, and seated before him was the incomparably beautiful Empress, her gaze as cold as ice.

’I knew it,’ he thought. ’How could the Empress be so agreeable?!’

"Empress, this matter has nothing to do with me! It was all the Holy Daughter’s doing."

Xiao Yang ignored his excuses and spoke in a chilling voice, "The only thing Mu Yunlian has pursued all these years is power. Anyone he deems worthy of cooperation would never be an incompetent mediocrity."

’And even if they were, they would be pawns he chose for the sake of power.’

’A pawn who could become an Emperor, one he could use.’

"The Holy Daughter of the Southern Domain is forbidden from leaving the Southern Domain for her entire life. And in three months, she is to marry the Southern Domain King."

"Are you close with the Holy Daughter simply because you like her personality? You watched as she tormented Yun Lian time and time again—was it because you thought Mu Yunlian wouldn’t die, or were you just enjoying the show? You defied the Witch Clan’s rules to bring Qi Yue out here—was it to fulfill her wish, or were you hoping to use someone else’s hand to destroy her, to prevent her from becoming the Queen of the Southern Domain?"

Three questions, each one sharp enough to pierce straight into Yin Tianqi’s soul.

He wanted to struggle but was pinned firmly to the ground. He struggled to lift his head, only to be met with the Empress’s condescending, contemptuous glare from her high seat.

Just as he was starting to panic, the Empress smiled—an uncannily elegant smile. "Young Prince, would you care to make a deal with me?"