Meanwhile, in the guest courtyard, Sang Hong awoke with a strange expression. He sat down by the window and stared pensively into the night sky. For some reason, he felt as though he had forgotten something important.

Zheng Dan’s first instinct after she came to was to examine her clothes. When she saw that she was still dressed properly, she sighed in relief. Why had she suddenly fallen asleep?

She moved over to the wall and carefully tapped it. Her cell was next to Zu An’s.

Zu An’s teasing voice soon came from the other side. “What’s wrong? Could it be that Miss Zheng can’t sleep because she misses me?”

Zheng Dan sighed with relief when she heard his familiar voice. She knew that he was talking to her in this manner to deceive the others outside. As such, she replied in annoyance, “Like hell I’d be missing you. I’m just surprised you haven’t died yet.”

Huang Huihong had a strange smile on his face. Even a rabbit would bite when pushed into a corner. It was easy to imagine just how much Zu An had harassed the usually gentle and graceful Miss Zheng for her to turn on him like this.

King Liang and Liu Yao returned after a night of drinking. Satisfied that all of the prisoners were safe and sound, they returned to their own chambers to get some rest.

The next morning, just as they were about to bid King Wu farewell, King Wu invited them to stay for another day. “We were in too much of a rush yesterday, and were unable to prepare many of North Order City’s specialties in time. For example, North Order City’s most famous courtesan queen…”

King Wu had already prepared many enticing options, and his attitude was extremely sincere.

His subordinate Sun Buqi was similarly eloquent. “I’ve heard that you faced all sorts of ambushes along the way here, so heading on rashly might not be the best idea. How about we send some men ahead to scout out the situation first? It would make your departure much safer…”

The two of them were finally convinced. King Liang stroked his beard. “Out of respect for Little Yan’s consideration, we’ll stay for another day. However, we really can only stay for one more day. We cannot stay on tomorrow.”

King Wu smiled. “Of course, of course. Little Yan wouldn’t dare to interfere with the official business of the imperial court.”

Yun Yuqing forced herself to smile. She was hoping that King Liang’s group would insist on leaving, so that she wouldn’t have to carry out her task. 

Unfortunately, it looks like I still have to go through with it…

Soon, it was evening. King Wu held a banquet that was even more splendid than the previous night’s. Even King Liang and Liu Yao, who tasted all manner of luxury in the capital, found it refreshing.

Yun Yuqing accompanied them for a while, then got up to bid them farewell. King Liang and Liu Yao naturally didn’t insist on her staying.

Even though their grandnephew’s wife was pretty, she wasn’t someone they could touch. They were much more interested in the dancing girls.

If she stayed, they might instead be the ones who would have to hold back.

King Wu nodded towards his wife and sent her a voice transmission. “Yuqing, please, you must obtain the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.” 

Yun Yuqing didn’t reply. Her fair face lacked the slightest trace of emotion. She walked straight out of the hall, her beautiful figure slowly disappearing into the distance.

King Wu was also overwhelmed with emotions. He knew that this was also the last chance for him to stop her. Once his wife left, it would be too late for him to stop what happened next.

He raised his hand several times, but in the end, he didn’t call his wife back.

He didn’t know whether his decision was right or wrong. His heart was pained, yet he also felt excited. The conflicting emotions within him were so strong that even his body began to shudder subconsciously.

He raised his wine cup and drained it in one gulp, using the alcohol to hide his expression.

For the sake of the imperial throne, everything was worth it!

He continuously told himself this, but at the same time, several thoughts began to emerge from the darkest corners of his heart, throwing his spirit into disarray.

He drank another cup to suppress his emotions.

King Liang smiled when he saw this. “It seems Little Yan is in high spirits today!”

King Wu smiled apologetically. “It is a rare chance for me to be able to share a drink with my great uncles, and I couldn’t help but get a little excited.”

King Liang said with a laugh, “Little Yan is truly filial, and you are an excellent husband as well. You’ve grown up well. I will make sure to let everyone know about this once I return to the capital.”

When he heard the words ‘good husband’, King Wu flinched a bit. His smile couldn’t help but become a bit forced. He didn’t know how far Yuqing was now.

…

Meanwhile, Yun Yuqing called over her demon race maids and headed to the courtyard where the criminals were being housed.

She’d already done this once yesterday. This second trip was a walk in the park.

Those guards had the Demonic Eye imprints on their souls, so they were quickly subdued again.

Once she made sure that all of them were controlled, Yun Yuqing had all of the maids stand guard outside. She went in to talk to Zu An alone.

Zu An couldn’t hold back an admiring sigh as he watched Yun Yuqing walk over slowly under the moonlight. Her entire body seemed to be giving off a divine radiance. “Madam, are you sure you’re from the demon race and not a goddess from heaven?”

Yun Yuqing was feeling rather gloomy and indifferent. Only when she heard this did she offer a faint smile. “Our demon race is very different from how we are portrayed in the folk tales of the human world. Who said that members of the demon race had to be evil and sinister?”

“That’s why it’s always better to see for yourself.” Zu An carefully examined her flawless face. “Oh? Madam seems to have put a lot of care into your appearance today.”

Yun Yuqing sighed inside her heart. It hadn’t been her choice. Rather, her husband had sent some maids to do this for her. Her heart slowly grew colder.

“Young master must be joking. This is how I look every day.” She wasn’t willing to admit to this and let him take advantage of her.

Zu An didn’t really care either way. “Beautiful people always speak more confidently. So, since you’ve chosen to come here today, what did you and your husband decide?”

Yun Yuqing took a deep breath to calm herself down. Then, she said, “We can promise you that the Chu clan will not be attacked, and we can also ensure their continued prosperity.”

“This is the condition you guys came up with after discussing it all day?” Zu An snorted. “Everyone knows that I’m not a part of the Chu clan anymore. In any case, even if I were still a part of the Chu clan, why would I give a crap about them when I myself am in this sort of situation?”

“There is no need for you to pretend that you do not care. If you really did not care, then why did you sacrifice yourself back then to save the Chu clan? You knew that you could have escaped back then,” said Yun Yuqing. She’d clearly gone over their intelligence on Zu An several times.

“So what if I did? Either way, I’ve already helped the Chu clan out once. I can’t continue to babysit them forever, right? It’s not like I’m their holy mother,” Zu An replied.

“Of course, if the young master doesn’t cooperate with us, we can immediately cause the downfall of the Chu clan. Your wife, your sister-in-law whom you have a good relationship with, and even your mother-in-law might be thrown into the government brothels. I’m sure that’s not the sort of tragic fate you would want to witness.” Yun Yuqing’s tone was full of foreboding. She finally seemed a little more like a demon.

“Are you threatening me?” Zu An was furious. He stared at her coldly.

“It’s not necessarily a threat. I just want to make things clear to you, young master.” Yun Yuqing was incredibly calm.

Zu An snorted again. “I already said that I helped them out once, that’s all. There’s no way I can keep looking out for the Chu clan. Good on them if they prosper, but if they collapse, then that’s that. None of it has anything to do with me anymore.

“Anyway, there’s a reason that the Chu clan has existed for a thousand years, and why not even the emperor could do anything about them. I refuse to believe that a mere King Wu can defeat the Chu clan.”

Yun Yuqing bit her lip, but did not retort. It was a while before she spoke again. “Fine. We won’t talk about anyone else, then. Let’s just talk about ourselves. I can try to give you a chance to run, and I can also let you have your pick of all sorts of secret manuals and beauties. You’ll be free to roam the world at your leisure.”

“Run? Why would I run?” Zu An shook his head. “The entire world belongs to the emperor. Where would I be able to run to?”

Yun Yuqing seemed a little uncertain. “Young master, are you not aware that you will surely die if you go to the capital? If you run, you would at least have a chance at survival.”