Ren Tianye's head was full of question marks.
What?
Because of love?
So everything is the picture of happiness?
Su Jin was instantly shocked.
Duke, how did you know Wei Chengye's next sentence was exactly that?
It really was that?
Ren Tianye lost his composure again.
It was exactly like that! Su Jin said, Wei Chengye's clansmen, relatives, and friends all strongly opposed this marriage, but Wei Chengye was extremely firm and even brought out the words the Empress had said to him.
Wei Chengye told his clansmen that the Empress had once encouraged him, saying that in a person's life, one can compromise on anything else, but love alone cannot be settled for. If one cannot find the person they love in this life, it is better to grow old alone than to drift with the tide and let a true heart sink into the mud.
Moreover, what else did the Empress say to him? Because of love, one will not easily feel sorrow, so everything is the picture of happiness!
Wei Chengye remembered it very clearly.
His clansmen, relatives, and friends were going crazy, but they also remembered it clearly.
But, Duke, how do you know it so well too?
Ren Tianye breathed a sigh of relief.
So the words came from the Empress Xiao Mingzhao. Then there was no problem!
It was just that this Wei Chengye was truly an honest child.
He actually listened to Xiao Mingzhao's nonsense. It served him right to marry an old woman nearly fifty years old.
He was truly hopeless.
He said, Naturally, I have my ways of knowing.
For now, take your men and go. Wei Chengye is infatuated with lust, neglecting his duties for a long time, and abandoning military and political affairs. Your Demon Suppression Division should execute him.
Yes!
Upon receiving the order, Su Jin immediately left.
Not long after she left, her deputy Xie Changfeng sent someone to report.
Wei Chengye was not at the Wei residence, but had been residing at the Pei residence for a long time.
Lord Pei?
Su Jin said lightly, The Duke only gave him seven days, and the time is almost up. Today is a good time to give him a reminder.
...
The Pei Residence!
Lord Chen, Lord Pei has returned.
After the servant reported this, Chen Liang quickly stood up. He had finally waited for him. He hurried out the door, and before long, he saw Pei Jingzhi's carriage.
Thinking that he would soon leave the capital and the Pei residence, and that this would be their last meeting, with it being unknown if they would ever have the chance to meet again in the future, Chen Liang felt a little sad, and his posture became increasingly respectful.
He personally went forward and helped Pei Jingzhi down from the carriage.
I have come to bid farewell to you, My Lord.
Chen Liang spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear, I can no longer stay in this capital. Ren the thief's power is too great. I have no opportunities left, and I am almost out of places to hide.
I can only go far away.
It is just...
Chen Liang supported Pei Jingzhi. Because of his guilt, he did not dare to look Pei Jingzhi in the eye. He kept his head down as he supported him, completely failing to notice Pei Jingzhi's complexion.
It is just that I failed to accomplish the tasks you entrusted to me, My Lord.
Of the three squad leaders of the Tiqi Division, one was planted by Ren Tianye's people long ago. As for the remaining two... Alas, one accompanied a woman to roam the world and was killed by the Demon Suppression Division.
For the remaining sole survivor, I had repeatedly ordered him to be careful, but he insisted on shouting that she was different, and was arrested by the Demon Suppression Division.
Now, I have completely lost control of the Tiqi Division and can no longer assist you, My Lord.
After a pause, Chen Liang tried hard to raise his head and said, I have let you down, My Lord, and failed your expectations...
Before he finished speaking, Chen Liang realized that Pei Jingzhi's complexion was extremely poor, so poor that it was in a state he had never seen before.
It must be known that when Pei Jingzhi argued with the Empress in the imperial court over the matter of disaster relief and grain allocation, blowing his beard and staring in anger, and falling seriously ill, he never had such a complexion.
What...
What was wrong?
My... My Lord, are... are you alright?
Pei Jingzhi then turned his head and looked at Chen Liang.
But those eyes were hollow and numb. He looked like a living person, but was no different from a dead one.
My Lord... Chen Liang was frightened. Are... are you really alright?
As they spoke, the two had already arrived at the study.
Pei Jingzhi sat directly on a chair. This sitting motion felt as if a heavy burden of a thousand catties was pressing down on the chair, even causing the chair to make creaking sounds.
Chen Liang became even more terrified.
This Lord Pei Jingzhi was acting too strangely!
What was going on?
Did Lady Liu really disregard their past affections as husband and wife and refuse to help Lord Pei?
Was Lord Pei heartbroken over this?
Just as he was about to ask, Pei Jingzhi spoke first. It was impossible to tell if his tone was happy or sad, but his voice was trembling slightly, The Tiqi Division can no longer be used?
Yes, yes! Chen Liang quickly lowered his head, guilt surging in his heart again. But he adjusted quickly, knowing that since things had come to this, he had to suppress his thoughts and solve the problem first.
He said, The Tiqi Division can no longer be used, and moreover...
Hongxiu can no longer be used either.
Pei Jingzhi looked at Chen Liang with hollow eyes, seemingly having some doubts.
Chen Liang hurriedly said, When I came to the Pei residence, I happened to run into her. At that time, she had already packed her bags. When I questioned her, she said that you, Lord Pei, could only give her money, power, and status, but could not resonate with her soul.
So, she was going to elope with someone.
I failed to stop her. By now, she has probably already run away. She might have even run out of the capital...
As Chen Liang spoke, he saw Pei Jingzhi's complexion worsen, and he quickly said, My Lord, this matter is actually not difficult to resolve. As long as you give the word, Hongxiu hasn't grown wings; we can capture that lowly servant girl back at any time.
My Lord, should I go to the government office to pass on the message for you?
Consider it the last thing I do for you before I leave.
Hehe... Pei Jingzhi did not answer whether it was okay or not. He only let out a hehe sound from his throat that was hard to tell whether he was crying or laughing.
My Lord, are... are you really alright?
Hehe...
My Lord, I know a doctor with superb medical skills. I will invite him for you right now, alright?
Pei Jingzhi, Hehe...
Chen Liang, My Lord, could it be that you suffered some kind of stimulation?
Pei Jingzhi, Hehe...
Pei Jingzhi's appearance of a living corpse made Chen Liang's hair stand on end. He felt as if the Pei Jingzhi at this moment didn't care about anything anymore, completely isolating himself from heaven and earth.
There is a kind of pain called nothing is more sorrowful than a dead heart.
Lord Pei Jingzhi seemed to be in this state.
Therefore, Chen Liang could only probe more cautiously.
My Lord...
Pei Jingzhi, Hehe...
Chen Liang, My Lord...
Pei Jingzhi, Hehe...
Chen Liang, Hehe!
Pei Jingzhi, He... hmm?
Chen Liang breathed a sigh of relief, My Lord, it is good that your sanity is still there. At a time like this, you absolutely cannot collapse...
Chen Liang even felt an urge to persuade him further, to ask Pei Jingzhi to leave with him. However, he knew that Pei Jingzhi would not leave, and moreover, Ren Tianye would not let Pei Jingzhi leave.
He could only say, My Lord, I will go find a doctor for you right now. You absolutely must not let anything happen to you.
Chen Liang called the butler and asked him to take good care of Pei Jingzhi while he left. And just as he left on his front foot, Wei Chengye arrived on his back foot.
Wei Chengye was not alone. Beside him was a bashful-looking... old woman!
...
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
