#209 - The most ruthless imperial family
Using herself as bait to lure Jing Yuan to snatch someone tonight was something Youjia was naturally aware of.
The reason she agreed, apart from her identity as a royal death warrior, was more importantly because she deeply loved Ning Yongnian and was willing to give everything for this man from the bottom of her heart.
Her fearlessness of life and death stemmed from the same reason.
When did she begin to develop this inappropriate affection for an emperor?
Looking at Jing Yuan approaching, images suddenly flashed through Youjia's mind.
“...”
“The bad guys have run away, you don't need to be afraid... What's your name? Are you a boy or a girl?”
“I... I'm a girl, boo hoo hoo, my name... my name is Youjia.”
“Okay, Youjia, would you be willing to go somewhere with me? As long as you agree, you'll have the chance to avenge your parents yourself in the future.”
“Boo hoo hoo, as... as long as I can avenge my father and mother...”
“I... I'm willing!”
“Here!”
“Dragon Finch!”
“...”
“Dragon Finch!!”
“Ah! Instructor... I... I'm here.”
“Hahaha!”
“Hahahaha!”
“Alas, Dragon Finch, you're still young. After training, go serve as a palace maid by the Emperor's side first.”
“Ah! Okay, okay, Instructor!”
“...”
“Clang clang clang! Crash!”
“Youjia, how many teapots have you broken already?”
“Ah! Your... Your Majesty, this... this servant deserves to die! Please punish me, Your Majesty!”
“Alright, it's just a teapot, it's not a matter of life and death. Go clean it up quickly.”
“Yes, yes!”
“Your Majesty, this girl is also a member of the Dragon Guard, right? I didn't expect her to be so clumsy. In this servant's opinion, it's better to change someone else to serve you.”
“Old Li, she's just a little girl, it doesn't matter.”
“...”
“Ah! Miss... Miss! Please, don't kill me, I don't want to die! I don't want to die!”
“Clang~”
“In... Instructor... I... I can't do it.”
“Hmph! If you don't even dare to do this, then get out early! The Dragon Guard doesn't need trash!”
“Moreover, this person is a capital criminal who deserves to die!”
“If you can't even bring yourself to do this, what if the Emperor arranges...”
“Pfft! Pfft pfft pfft!!”
“Hmm?”
“...”
“Youjia, I heard that you've avenged your parents?”
“Yes!”
“Well, now that you're sixteen, if you don't want to stay in a place like the Dragon Guard anymore, I can...”
“Thump!”
“Youjia won't leave! Youjia is willing to risk life and limb for Your Majesty!”
“Have you thought it through?”
“Yes!”
“Hahaha, good! Get up and speak!”
“Yes! Your Majesty... Can this servant ask you a question?”
“Ask away.”
“Why does Your Majesty call me Youjia when we're alone, instead of Dragon Finch?”
“That... maybe it's just because I'm used to it.”
“...”
“Dragon Finch, you've been in the Dragon Guard for over ten years, right?”
“Replying to Instructor, fourteen years.”
“Alas, time flies so fast. You were only that short back then, and now you've grown so beautiful... But let's not talk about that. I'm going to retire and return to my hometown tomorrow. I've called you here today because I have a few words to say to you.”
“Dragon Finch, do you like the Emperor?”
“In... Instructor, how... how is that possible...”
“Alright, I'm not stupid. The Emperor must have seen it long ago.”
“Dragon Finch, I don't have any children, so I've always treated you like my daughter.”
“Perhaps I shouldn't say these words, and I also know that even if I say them, you might not listen.”
“But... alas, you must remember, the most ruthless is the imperial family.”
“...”
It was like a big dream, and when she woke up, her eyes were full of tears.
The most ruthless is the imperial family.
In fact, Youjia had long understood this advice.
Because the old instructor who said these words disappeared completely without a trace after leaving the capital.
But Youjia was still like a moth flying into a flame, never hesitating or wavering.
From ninth rank to fourth rank, from the palace to the north and south of the Yangtze River... She experienced countless hardships and trials, killed countless men, women, old, and young who had no grudges against her, just so that Ning Yongnian could look at her a little more.
Perhaps as long as she did enough, did well enough, that man would no longer treat her as just an ordinary death warrior?
And the reality seemed to be indeed so.
“After this matter, I will marry you.”
These were the words Ning Yongnian personally said before she came to Shu Province.
Youjia, who had been敷衍过 (fū yǎn guò: fobbed off) too many times, still firmly believed in this, but at this moment, she could no longer deceive herself.
No matter what she did, she was always just an ordinary pawn.
Perhaps the man who saved her in the first place had always thought this way...
“Crying?”
In front of her, Jing Yuan, with a hideous smile on his face, slowly lowered his head to look at her, like a starving person looking at some delicious food.
“Now you know to cry? It's a bit late.”
“But you can rest assured that I won't let you die easily.”
“If you can serve me comfortably, it's not impossible for me to let you go after I've drained your Yin energy.”
“At that time, you might even be able to continue to go back and work for Ning Yongnian!”
“Hahaha!”
“Hahahaha!!”
In the lewd laughter, Youjia slowly closed her eyes.
She knew very well what she was about to face, but at this moment, she couldn't even commit suicide.
“Pfft.”
Suddenly, a very faint sound entered her ears, and then the laughter stopped abruptly.
The pungent smell of blood rushed to her face, and Youjia opened her eyes suddenly in disbelief, and then she saw Jing Yuan, who was desperately clutching his neck, his face full of pain and astonishment.
This evil monk, who was already at the second rank, desperately opened his mouth, as if trying to shout, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make a sound from his throat.
“...”
More than a dozen evil monks were sitting cross-legged in the temple outside the main hall, resting, completely unaware of the situation in the hall.
The moonlight that penetrated through the broken window flickered, and as Jing Yuan's body slowly tilted and fell to the ground, the face of the person holding the knife behind him gradually appeared.
Youjia's pupils shrank suddenly, never expecting that the person who saved her at this critical moment was actually this man.
“Grandpa, take the person, let's go quickly!”
At the same time, hundreds of miles away.
Inside a speeding carriage, Ning Yongnian slowly closed the small curtain on the car window, his expression gloomy.
“Old Li, do you think... Wei Changtian has discovered something?”
“Your Majesty, this servant dares not make a reckless assertion.”
Li Huaizhong carefully and cautiously replied, “However, since only Your Majesty, this old servant, and Dragon Finch know about this matter, even if Wei Changtian suspects, there is absolutely no way he can find anything.”
“Hmm.”
Ning Yongnian nodded and stopped talking.
At this time, Li Huaizhong naturally dared not speak any further, so he just sat silently on the side, motionless.
Until he suddenly heard a soft sigh.
“What a pity...”
“Your Majesty, your plan this time is already watertight...”
Li Huaizhong hurriedly wanted to say a few more words of comfort, but before he could finish, he was interrupted by Ning Yongnian shaking his head.
“I'm not talking about that.”
“Dragon Finch, what a pity.”
