At that moment, Shangguan Luoyue finally understood.
No wonder “Huo Ci” told her right at their first meeting that he had already divorced his wife – it was all just bait to catch her, the big fish!
After all, they had been married for years, how could he not see who she looked like?
“He” was even willing to ruin his own reputation just to become her consort.
Thinking back on it now, it must have been to make it easier to find clues about why they looked so similar.
Her face turned pale.
That wretched woman must have left behind some kind of token; otherwise, how could Madame Jiang have hinted at it every time she saw her, implying that she had stolen someone else’s nest?
No, that’s not right!
The title “Huaiwan” alone was enough to confirm it, wasn’t it?
Thinking about how impatient her adoptive father had been with her lately, Shangguan Luoyue broke out in a cold sweat.
If Huo Ci went and told her adoptive father about this, she would die without a burial place!
So she had no choice but to soften her tone and squeeze out a few tears.
“Huaiwan just didn’t want others to speak rudely of my adoptive father.
Great Imperial Scholar Yun, won’t you even give Huaiwan that much leeway?”
Glittering teardrops fell from her cheeks onto the ground.
Anyone who saw her would have softened at least a little.
But Yun Chunfeng’s aura only grew colder.
“Wasn’t it Princess Luoyue who refused to leave any room for us first?”
Shangguan Luoyue was utterly furious.
In Great Xia, everyone flattered and fawned over her. Whatever she wanted, she didn’t even need to say a soft word to get it.
She had already given in so many times, and they still weren’t satisfied. Fine, then they could all go die!
Shangguan Luoyue wiped away her tears with her fingertip.
The moment her slender, jade-like finger reached out, a maidservant respectfully presented a brand-new mask.
She put it on carefully, then turned back and gave Yun Chunfeng and “Huo Ci” a contemptuous smile.
“Fine then. Let’s burn everything to the ground.”
Watching her proud figure walk away, Yun Chunfeng furrowed his brows.
This woman seemed to have some kind of trump card that even he couldn’t see through.
During his divination today, he just couldn’t get a clear reading on the visitor from beyond the heavens in Beiluo.
He tried several different methods of divination, but everything related to this matter was shrouded in fog.
He could calculate that Beiluo had sent envoys to conspire with Shangguan Luoyue.
But as for what exactly they discussed or did, he had no clue at all.
At the morning court session, Yun Chunfeng deliberately spoke in vague, ambiguous terms, trying to bluff Shangguan Luoyue.
Judging by her reaction, she was definitely hiding some unspeakable secret.
The enemy was in the dark, while he was in the light – he really couldn’t afford to be careless.
He exchanged a glance with Jiang Xingyan, and they both understood that this was not the time for a complete falling out.
“General Huo, what you just said about your ‘wife’…?”
A timid voice sounded in front of them.
Mu Shi’an could no longer hold back her grief and just wanted to ask for clarification.
“Princess Shian, don’t worry. It was just a temporary tactic.
Just a little bluff to scare Princess Huaiwan.”
“Then you and she—”
“There is absolutely no possibility of that.”
Seeing how resolutely “Huo Ci” answered, Mu Shi’an finally felt at ease.
She wasn’t the kind of ordinary lady who gets lost in romantic affairs.
She fully understood the difficult situation Western Zhou was in right now, and she would never get hung up on minor details.
Xiao Chonghua was still racking his brains, trying to remember where he had seen Shangguan Luoyue’s face before, and didn’t pay attention to what his cousin was saying.
Only when she tugged on his sleeve for the third time did he snap out of it and bid farewell.
Yun Chunfeng looked thoughtful: “That Princess Shian seems to have genuine feelings?”
Jiang Xingyan said slowly, “Perhaps we shouldn’t have brought her into this.”
——-
Back at Changle Palace, Shangguan Luoyue searched everywhere but couldn’t find Shangguan Hanshan.
She clapped twice, and eleven black figures suddenly appeared behind her.
“Basha is dead.
Huo Ci killed him!”
Yiluo Luoyang clenched his fists: “Tonight, we will definitely take his life!”
Smack!
Shangguan Luoyue raised her hand and delivered a solid slap to Yisha’s face.
“Idiot!
Not only is Huo Ci highly skilled in martial arts himself, but he also has the unfathomable Yun Chunfeng by his side.
That man has some kind of mystical abilities. Are you all trying to throw yourselves to your deaths?”
Yisha covered his left cheek and knelt down respectfully.
“Please instruct us, Princess. We will give it our all.”
“Have you found any trace of my adoptive father?”
The eleven men hesitated for a moment, then shook their heads in unison.
“No, we haven’t.”
Shangguan Luoyue’s heart stirred.
This was an opportunity gifted by heaven. She had to take that wretch’s life before her adoptive father returned!
“All members of the Twelve Assassins, mobilize! I want Madame Jiang’s head!”
“Yes, Princess!”
In the blink of an eye, the eleven figures scattered without a trace.
“Heh.
Princess, are you so desperate that you’re lashing out like a cornered rat?”
From behind the screen stepped out a man wearing a black veil.
Between his brows was an embedded black floral pattern, and his pupils were like black holes in the night sky, deep and bottomless.
Although his entire body was covered, the skin that was revealed was whiter than snow, and every move he made was filled with seductive charm.
His bare feet stepped on the cold, white jade floor, and the golden bells tied around his ankles rang with every step, captivating the soul.
Whether male or female, anyone who took one look at him would feel their heart flutter. He was truly a little devil in every sense.
He was boneless and soft as he wrapped himself around Shangguan Luoyue.
But his restless hand was slapped away.
“Be careful. My adoptive father could come back anytime.”
The man’s beautiful eyes glistened: “What’s there to be afraid of?
Now that you have that treasure, Princess, if he wants to abandon you, why don’t we follow the example of Li Shimin from the Tang Dynasty and stage a coup at Xuanwu Gate?”
Hearing him say this, a smile finally crept onto Shangguan Luoyue’s lips.
She reached out and pinched the soft, pliant man, saying fondly, “You and your clever ideas.
Go on, give me some advice. How should I deal with Yun Chunfeng?”
The man chuckled softly: “Him? He’s just a spent force, barely holding on.
We don’t even need to lift a finger. When Beiluo catches them off guard, in order to protect Huo Ci, he will exhaust his mind and spirit, and eventually burn out.”
Shangguan Luoyue raised an eyebrow: “Oh? Really?”
The man snorted softly and got up as if to leave.
“If you don’t believe me, Princess, Linglong will just leave.”
Shangguan Luoyue pulled him back, lifted his veil, and vented all her day’s frustration onto his thin lips.
“If I don’t believe you, my little minx, who else can I trust?”
As their passion grew more intense, neither of them noticed a dark figure darting toward the outskirts of the city.
——-
Shangguan Hanshan sat dejectedly outside the Golden Light Temple, built by imperial decree on the outskirts of Western Zhou’s capital, refusing to leave no matter what.
As soon as he arrived at the mountain, he had chased away all the pilgrims, frightening the young novice monks so much that they tightly shut the temple gates and dared not show their faces.
“Dharma Master Fakong, you old baldy, get your ass out here now!
What exactly is going on with my daughter?
You’re so afraid to see me, which means you definitely know, don’t you?”
His powerful internal energy carried his reckless curses far and wide.
Creak.
The temple gate slowly opened.
A thin, elderly monk, dressed in a magnificent patchwork robe, walked out slowly with his palms pressed together.
“Patron Shangguan, you are well as always!”
Shangguan Hanshan jumped three feet high.
“Cut the crap!
Just tell me what’s going on!”
The abbot of Jinshan Temple, Dharma Master Fakong, nodded silently and softly uttered a few words: “Heaven’s secrets cannot be revealed.”
Shangguan Hanshan felt a surge of anger rush to his head.
“Damn it, do you need me to set fire to the mountain before you’ll talk?”
Abbot Fakong remained unmoved, still wearing that ethereal, faint smile.
“This matter was actually carried out by a Daoist immortal master. I am a Buddhist monk, how could I presume to comment?
Patron Shangguan, you should look elsewhere!”
“Daoism, huh…”
Just as Shangguan Hanshan was muttering to himself, the gate of Jinshan Temple slowly closed again.
At that moment, he didn’t pay it much mind, but quietly pondered something.
A dark figure flashed over and whispered something in his ear.
His gaze suddenly sharpened, fierce and domineering, like a tiger charging down a mountain.
“Excellent. I want to see if she has what it takes!
Tonight, there will be a bloodbath!”
