#553 - Irresistible temptation
A woman as foolish as you truly doesn't deserve Wei Changtian to go to such lengths.
Wind and cold swept through the hall, the candlelight flickering, creating an eerie atmosphere.
After saying this, Ning Yongnian stopped looking at Li Wutong.
The latter was suddenly stunned.
If she had been filled with remorse for Wei Changtian just now, then Ning Yongnian's mockery was like a sharp sword, instantly shattering the last bit of dignity she had left.
You are not worthy...
Her breathing became labored, and her eyes lost all their light.
Li Wutong fell into endless self-denial, no longer knowing what to do or think.
Undoubtedly, she was extremely remorseful at this moment.
But in fact, even now, even though Ning Yongnian, the enemy, had already seen that she had little value, Li Wutong still didn't really understand where she was "foolish."
She just felt that she had done something wrong.
As for where she went wrong...
...
Helplessly looking at Li Wutong, Li Qi sighed heavily in his heart.
And at this moment, Sima Cong, who had been waiting for a long time, finally asked Ning Yongnian in a low voice.
"Your Majesty, shall we continue the massacre of the city?"
...
"Wait a while."
Raising his eyes to look at the heavy snow outside the hall, Ning Yongnian turned around, walked past the screen, and headed towards the back hall without looking back.
"Wei Changtian will definitely come to Huailing."
Half an hour ago, the Suspended Mirror Division officially launched a general attack on the Imperial Palace.
The sounds of fighting and the roar of various giant machines reverberated throughout the capital, and the people were trembling with fear, hiding in their homes, not even daring to light a lamp.
More than half a month ago, Wei Xianzheng led people to surround the Imperial Palace, and after a war of words with Ning Yongnian, they dispersed again.
This incident undoubtedly shocked the Great Ning court and the public at the time, and for a time, even a random farmer knew that the Wei family had the intention of rebelling.
But probably no one would have thought that in just less than a month, the Wei family had already implemented the rebellion from the "idea level" to the "actual action" level.
This time, the world was really changing...
"L-Lord..."
In the bedroom of a wealthy family, a noblewoman asked the middle-aged man beside her, trembling: "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to the front gate!"
The man's face was unsightly, and he took a long sword from the wall and held it tightly: "Take down our house's signboard!"
"Signboard?"
The woman widened her eyes: "What are you taking it down for?"
"Confused!"
The man looked out the window and said quickly: "Have you forgotten?! That was a word personally bestowed by the Empress!"
"If the capital really falls into the hands of the Wei family, it will no longer be a life-saving plaque, but our death warrant!"
"Ah!"
The woman exclaimed and then reacted: "Then, then let the servants take it down!"
"Servants?"
The man snorted coldly: "Hmph! Those sons of bitches probably don't know where they're hiding right now!"
"Alright, I'll be right back!"
"Don't just sit there, quickly think about what items in the house can't be kept, and find them early to burn!"
...
Saying that, the man quickly flashed out of the room and went straight to the front gate.
The woman also quickly ran to a cabinet, hurriedly opened the secret compartment, and took out many letters inside and threw them on the ground.
Obviously, this family should have had close ties with the Ning family before, and it is estimated that they were staunch "royalists."
But judging from their current behavior, they undoubtedly did not believe that the capital could be defended, so they had the current act of "sewing a red flag overnight."
It is not important why they made such a judgment.
What is important is that if most people think something is about to happen, then that thing will really happen with a high probability.
Just like now.
When the fierce fighting sound from the Imperial Palace had already begun to gradually diminish, almost everyone understood one thing—
The Imperial Palace could not be defended, and the capital was about to completely fall into the hands of the Wei family.
The capital changing hands, this was the first time since the founding of the Great Ning Dynasty.
Wei Manor.
In a dark and windless secret room, Ning Wenjun was like a trapped beast with no way out, his expression angry, but also containing a trace of fear.
His acupoints were not sealed, but the weapons and treasures on his body had been taken away.
Of course, he could still commit suicide.
It's just that Ning Wenjun would definitely not do that.
Because he had vaguely guessed what the Wei family wanted to do...
"Creak ~"
Along with a soft sound, the door was slowly pushed open, and there was finally a glimmer of light in the room.
Wei Xianzheng came in from outside the door, glanced at Ning Wenjun, whose body was tense, and put the lantern aside.
"Your Highness, you've been waiting for a long time."
...
Ning Wenjun did not speak, nor did he overestimate himself and fight Wei Xianzheng desperately.
He didn't even utter a curse, just stared at the man in black robes opposite him, without saying a word.
The lantern emitted a faint red light, reflecting in the eyes of the two, like two wandering ghost fires in the dark and deep.
"Your Highness, I invited you to the manor in this way. I hope Your Highness will forgive me for any offense."
Smiling, Wei Xianzheng casually threw a piece of blood-stained jade pendant at Ning Wenjun's feet.
"Oh, right."
"The Suspended Mirror Division has just stormed into the Imperial Palace. Two second-rank elders of the Ning family resisted desperately, and in the end, one of them unfortunately died."
"This is his keepsake."
...
His breathing became slightly rapid, Ning Wenjun looked down at the jade pendant at his feet, his face becoming more and more unsightly.
That's right, this was indeed the keepsake of the Ning family elder.
Just as Wei Xianzheng said, there were indeed two second-rank elders in the Ning family.
However, they were loyal to the Ning family, not the Great Ning court, so they rarely showed their faces, and only took action when the Ning family encountered a major disaster.
And the current situation was very obvious, at least one of these two elders had died.
I wonder if Wei Zhaohai or Han Zhao killed him...
Slowly moving his gaze away from the jade pendant, he raised his eyes and looked at Wei Xianzheng again.
After a long silence, Ning Wenjun finally spoke.
"Wei Xianzheng, even if Han Zhao is one of you, you should also know that the Wei family cannot defend this capital."
"Even without the need for Father Emperor to lead a large army back, as long as the nearby states send troops, the capital will return to the hands of the court."
"So, I don't understand why you are doing this."
"Your Highness, you are right."
Nodding, Wei Xianzheng did not refute Ning Wenjun's statement: "The Wei family cannot defend the capital for too long, but this subject does not need to defend it for too long."
"What do you mean?!"
Ning Wenjun narrowed his eyes: "I don't understand."
"Is that so?"
Looking askance at Ning Wenjun, Wei Xianzheng suddenly changed the topic.
"Your Highness, do you know who the real culprit behind the Yuanzhou City incident is?"
"What if I know, and what if I don't know..."
Not answering directly, Ning Wenjun's tone instantly became gloomy: "What exactly do you want to say?"
"It seems that Your Highness knows."
Shaking his head, Wei Xianzheng's expression did not change: "Then has Your Highness ever thought about how the people of the world would react if the truth of this matter were to spread?"
"I haven't thought about it."
As the truth gradually approached the previous guess, although Ning Wenjun's emotions were extremely complicated, he still tried his best to maintain a cold appearance on his face.
"Just say what you want to say!"
"Alright."
"Since Your Highness is so anxious, then this subject will not beat around the bush..."
Taking a step closer, Wei Xianzheng looked directly at Ning Wenjun and said calmly:
"Your Highness, His Majesty's cultivation has now reached the second rank. If no accident occurs, he can live for at least fifty more years."
"This subject assumes that Your Highness can also live to that time and successfully inherit the throne."
"But I wonder if Your Highness has ever thought about how many years you can be emperor even so?"
"To put it bluntly, perhaps Your Highness won't even be able to sit on the dragon throne for a single day."
"However, now this subject is willing to help Your Highness achieve your wish as soon as possible..."
After a pause, Wei Xianzheng smiled softly:
"As long as Your Highness nods, the Wei family can help you ascend to the throne legitimately within three days."
"This subject's words are absolutely true."
"I just don't know if Your Highness is willing."
