Hearing that she was pregnant, Zhiying instinctively looked at her lower abdomen, then exclaimed in shock, “No, impossible. How could I be carrying that scoundrel Soren’s bastard child? Afterwards I frantically washed myself with medicinal solution.”
The female cultivator said coldly, “Nevertheless, this is the truth.”
Zhiying shrieked, “Where is the abortifacient? Quick, give it to me, give it to me. I still must marry, I still must marry Prince Ji Min.”
Then, Zhiying staggered forward, snatched the pill from her hand, stuffed it directly into her mouth, and swallowed it down fiercely.
The entire process was extremely decisive, without a moment’s hesitation.
Was the medicine of this world so advanced that it could offer painless medical abortion?
No, the medicine of this world was not advanced, but energy studies were highly developed.
This was an energy medicinal pill. After swallowing it, it was sufficient to destroy any small life within the belly.
After taking the energy medicinal pill, Zhiying continuously pounded her lower abdomen, appearing hysterical, as if she wished to immediately annihilate the life in her belly.
The female cultivator stood in place watching for quite a while, then turned and walked out, closing the thick door of the underground quiet room.
After walking out, she even simulated the sound of walking away, yet still stood in place listening intently.
“No, no, I cannot be pregnant, I still must marry Prince Ji Min…” Zhiying’s voice continuously came from within, along with the sound of pounding the wall.
The female cultivator stopped and listened for half a minute, then silently departed.
And inside, Princess Zhiying, sensing the female cultivator’s departure outside, immediately bent down and趴下, then desperately thrust her fingers into her throat, desperately inducing vomiting.
Desperately struggling until she was in agony, she finally vomited out that terrifying abortifacient energy pill.
Then, she collapsed sitting upon the ground, gasping heavily.
She gently stroked her lower abdomen, her beautiful eyes welling with tender love, her heart surging with incomparably complex emotions.
Did she truly wish so much to bear Soren’s child?
No, she did not! She had no wish to bear Soren’s child.
Although she held strange feelings towards Soren, they were far, far inferior to her feelings for her brother Zhili. He was her only kin, the kin she had depended upon for survival.
If forced to choose sides between Soren and Zhili, she would unhesitatingly stand with Zhili. Even if Zhili gave the order for her to kill Soren, she would do so.
Her desperate wish to protect the child in her belly was entirely due to instinct.
The instinct to cherish life, the maternal instinct.
During that great upheaval years ago, she had been young, with almost no memory of it. But she knew that her parents, and many brothers and sisters, had died, had been killed.
Grand Eunuch Li Chenglian had desperately rescued her and Zhili, fighting through heavy encirclement to deliver the two of them to the Dragon God Temple.
Then, the great cultivators of the Dragon God Temple had mobilised temple armed forces overnight to send the siblings to the Yanjing Temple.
Thus, the two siblings had survived, and from then on lived at the Yanjing Temple for over a decade.
There, Zhili had befriended Fang Qingshu, befriended the Crown Prince of the Yan Empire, gaining incomparable assistance.
This terrifying experience had caused Zhiying to especially cherish life, even more so her kin, her brother Zhili thus, and the small life in her belly even more so.
Because the small life in her belly was her own flesh and blood.
She sat upon the ground, gently stroking her lower abdomen, her beautiful eyes turning rapidly, her face revealing a resolute and powerful light.
Originally, regarding the fact of her imprisonment, she had already accepted it, and turned to indifference, not hating her brother Zhili in the slightest.
As for this austere life, she cared even less. She could enjoy prosperity, and endure hardship.
But now, she must save herself. Regarding the false abortion, she could deceive for a time, but not for a lifetime.
Later, her brother Zhili would still send people to examine her body, and even after several months, her belly would gradually grow larger, utterly impossible to conceal.
Moreover, Brother Zhili understood her too well. Once he learned of her pregnancy, he would certainly rush over at the first moment to personally watch the life in her belly be destroyed.
She must save herself, must save herself. Time was short. Zhili should presently be at Duke Turing’s residence, deliberating how to destroy the Sorrens.
Zhiying’s mind raced rapidly. She must think of a way to save herself.
…
At Duke Turing’s residence, all guests had departed, and the duke’s residence returned to quiet.
In the great hall, Turingduo knelt upon the hard floor, half her face swollen and battered, the corner of her mouth bleeding.
It was Turingtuo who had struck her. Although he had always been strict, he had never beaten his daughter before. Today he had raised his hand.
Above the hall sat two men, Duke Turingtuo, and a tall, thin man. This was Tuli Yang’s father, Tuli Wen.
The third vassal of the Fury Wave Kingdom, City Lord of Luanyang.
He stood tall and straight, over one hundred and eighty centimetres, and if not for his nose being too steep and his eyes too cold and severe, this man could even be called handsome.
This man, every inch of his face, appeared stern, even harsh.
His thick stubble was extremely dense, each hair like a steel needle. Yet his face was quite narrow and long, so this was a face that left a very deep impression.
Tuli Yang and he were as different as night and day. Had he been poisoned by the old Wang next door? Of course not. Tuli Yang was his biological son, and his only legitimate son. The reason Tuli Yang grew to look this way was because his mother had been poisoned by some toxin while pregnant with him, so that Tuli Yang was born with this strange, ugly appearance.
Moreover, his mother had died not long after giving birth to him.
Luanyang City Lord Tuli Wen was a man of deep devotion. After his wife’s death he had not remarried. Although he had other illegitimate sons, handsome and dignified in appearance, he still insisted upon establishing Tuli Yang as his heir. He did not despise Tuli Yang for his ugly appearance, but rather cherished him greatly.
He was stern to all people, but made an exception for Tuli Yang.
Because Luanyang City was a peninsula, and earned massive profits through maritime trade, it adopted a detached, distant attitude towards the Fury Wave Kingdom.
But because of his son Tuli Yang’s particular circumstances, he had been compelled to make certain changes to this strategy.
Turingduo, to escape the marriage contract, had incited Tuli Yang to duel with Soren, and Tuli Yang had been severely injured. This caused Tuli Wen extreme fury.
A moment later, a mentalist walked in and said, “Greetings to both lords.”
Duke Turingtuo immediately rose and said, “How fares Young Lord Tuli Yang?”
The mentalist said, “His mind and brain domain have suffered massive trauma, but his life is not in danger.”
Tuli Wen said, “Will this affect his intelligence in the future?”
The mentalist said, “There will be no effect, but henceforth he cannot overuse his brain, and he will suffer intermittent epileptic seizures. Moreover, his mental power cultivation will be difficult to improve.”
The moment these words were spoken, the muscles of Tuli Wen’s face twitched, then he slightly breathed a sigh of relief.
Regarding mental power cultivation being unable to improve and such, he cared not at all. As a vassal, whether one’s martial arts were high or low mattered little.
But intermittent epilepsy was an extremely painful torment.
Duke Turing looked at his daughter kneeling on the ground and said word by word, without any emotional colour, “Turingduo, you now have two choices. The first choice, willingly marry Tuli Yang as his wife.”
Instantly, Turingduo’s face trembled slightly.
“The second choice, choose your so-called freedom, leave the Turing Family. Even if you immediately throw yourself into Soren’s embrace and become my enemy, that is acceptable.”
Duke Turing said coldly, “You have only these two choices, and you must answer immediately.”
Turingduo was utterly blank, then her mind began to fantasise.
Fantasising about the scene once she left the family, she would be free.
However, she felt not the slightest joy of freedom. The moment she thought of being expelled from the family, she would be like a lone wandering ghost, with nowhere to rest.
Her thoughts and body and mind had been imprisoned by the family, by her father, for too long, so that she simply could not break free.
To put it in one sentence, if the family was her grave, then outside the family, she would die with no place to be buried.
As for throwing herself into Soren’s embrace and becoming the family’s enemy, she had not even considered it.
“I… I choose the first, to marry Tuli Yang.” Turingduo spoke these words as if they weighed a thousand catties.
After speaking, her body went limp, as if all her strength had vanished completely.
Turingtuo said, “Once you choose to marry Tuli Yang, you must be loyal to him, love him. You should know how Luanyang City deals with unfaithful women, and how the Turing Family deals with them?”
Luanyang City’s method was quite simple. They would place the unfaithful woman in a sack, tie it to a stone, and sink her to the bottom of the sea.
And the Turing Family, originally of alien stock, dealt with unfaithful women in a far more bloody manner.
When Turingduo was eight years old, she had once witnessed such a scene. A concubine of her uncle had committed adultery with a handsome nobleman outside.
Thus, she was stripped naked and paraded through the duke’s residence for three days, then made to walk over red-hot coals, and was burned alive.
At that time, all women within the family had to witness this scene with their own eyes, and this scene had practically become her second nightmare.
She remembered clearly that at the time, two elder sisters beside her, upon seeing their uncle’s concubine burned to death, were so frightened that they lost control of their bladders and collapsed upon the ground.
The Turing Family’s original alien custom was that women could be indulgent before marriage, but after marriage must be loyal to their husbands.
Therefore, Turing Si had circulated rumours with many nobles before marriage, and even after marrying Gui Xingfu, whether that symbol of purity had been repaired by a sorcerer was unknown.
But after marrying Gui Xingfu, she had not even touched hands with another man.
Later, to integrate into the Fury Wave Kingdom, the Turing Family established even more conservative family rules. Turing Family women must be chaste and proper even before marriage.
Therefore, in this regard, the family rules were especially strict.
Turingtuo said heavily, “I care not what happened to you before. But once you marry Tuli Yang, if you dare be unfaithful in any way, I shall not let Count Tuli Wen drown you, but shall personally bring you home and enforce the Turing Family’s family law.”
Instantly, the screams of her uncle’s concubine being burned to death echoed once more in Turingduo’s mind, and her entire body shuddered.
“Yes, Father.” Turingduo bowed.
Turingtuo looked towards Tuli Wen and said, “My lord, may we now form our alliance?”
Count Tuli Wen extended his hand, and Duke Turingtuo grasped it. The two families were formally allied.
“Thus, let us proceed to the castle rooftop and continue the four-party conference. We must not keep His Highness waiting too long.” Duke Turing said.
Count Tuli Wen rose and said, “Let us go.”
Then, the two proceeded to the castle rooftop of Duke Turing’s residence for the secret conference on destroying the Sorrens.
…
Zhiyan and Soren had just returned to the princess’s residence. Eunuch Gao, the chief eunuch, was already waiting in the residence.
“Count Soren, His Majesty wishes to see you. Please follow me into the palace.” Gao Yu said.
Princess Zhiyan directly asked, “Did Father say what matter it concerns? If it is that matter, I shall speak of it myself.”
Gao Yu said, “It concerns the secret of Count Soren’s father’s cause of death.”
Instantly, Soren’s heart leapt. He had previously thought that perhaps Count Suo Long’s cause of death was not at all simple. Now it was finally to be revealed?
He said to Gao Yu, “I shall follow Eunuch Gao into the palace to have audience with His Majesty immediately.”
Then, Soren boarded a palanquin and followed Gao Yu into the palace.
Princess Zhiyan walked into the princess’s residence. Zhiying was still inside eating and drinking.
“How was it?” Duke Zhiying asked.
“I like him very much.” Princess Zhiyan said.
Duke Zhiying asked, “Why?”
Zhiyan said, “He is extremely ruthless, yet extremely kind. Crucially, he is also clever, and handsome.”
Duke Zhiying was stunned!
This eldest princess before him was completely like an immortal. Her criteria for choosing a mate were such?
Then, Zhiyan walked towards the outside again.
Duke Zhiying asked, “Do you still have business?”
Zhiyan said, “Just now Soren asked me to inquire about Zhiying’s whereabouts.”
Zhiying said, “Zhiying has been imprisoned by Zhili. She must bear responsibility for the failure of this Tianshui City battle. But where exactly she is imprisoned, no one knows. Why would Soren ask you to inquire about her? Zhili could not possibly kill his own sister.”
Zhiyan’s expression turned somewhat strange as she said, “Soren said Zhiying’s physiological cycle is unstable, and he fears she is pregnant.”
Zhiying was instantly speechless, asking, “Then, he asked you to help inquire about Zhiying’s whereabouts. If she truly is pregnant?”
Zhiyan said, “Then Zhili will certainly terminate the child. He asked me to think of a way to rescue Zhiying.”
Zhiying said, “You agreed?”
Zhiyan nodded.
Zhiying said, “You are not angry?”
Zhiyan shook her head and said, “Why should I be angry?”
Zhiying was speechless, saying, “You two are truly a pair of oddities.”
And just then, a flying goshawk dove from the sky, landing upon Zhiyan’s palm.
Princess Zhiyan unfastened the secret letter from its leg and opened it. Upon it was written but a simple line of text, “Zhiying has committed suicide at Hidden Garden.”
Duke Zhiying had not the slightest sense of privacy, directly leaning over to look, and thus saw the line of text.
Then, Zhiying hesitated for half a minute, suddenly speaking with gravity, “Little Yan, heed my words. Pretend you know nothing, and let Zhiying die.”
“No.” Zhiyan said, then her immortal figure flashed, instantly vanishing, speeding towards the direction of Hidden Garden.
Her martial arts were so high they knew no bounds. Not even her shadow could be seen.
Zhiying gazed at the empty street, sighing and saying, “Truly a pair of… oddities!”