The Demon Concubine of God

The officials in the palace all looked in the direction from which the loud noise came, patiently waiting for the messengers to gather information and report back.

Sure enough, two people came running over shortly afterward: a young eunuch who was leading the way and a guard who was running errands.

The guard arrived and said, "It's from the direction of Prince Rui's residence. It's been confirmed. In an instant, Prince Rui's residence was struck as if by divine punishment, as if by a thunderbolt, which blew the entire residence up... blew it up like flat ground."

As the guard spoke, everyone saw him tremble with fear and stammer, "Many people have died in Prince Rui's mansion. Those who saw it with their own eyes have come to report... Among those who died were not only Prince Rui's servants and soldiers, but also tens of thousands... tens of thousands of Blood Talisman Army soldiers."

Everyone gasped.

What did they hear?

He said the Blood Talisman Army.

That?

Isn't that a legendary evil object? Isn't it something that's only mentioned in ancient and forbidden books, and refined using evil magic?

How did they suddenly appear in the human world?

Still within the Prince Rui's mansion, and by sheer coincidence, he was annihilated by a divine punishment within the mansion itself.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Those who had heard the rumors couldn't help but mutter, "Could what's happening in the streets be true? Prince Rui is truly despicable! He's done such a heinous thing; that must be why he angered Heaven and was punished by it in an instant!"

This speculation was quickly confirmed.

However, this was not the end of the matter. Then one or two more errand guards rushed in, scrambling and crawling with fear on their faces. They said urgently, "There are so many corpses hidden under the Prince Rui's mansion. Just now, the Heavenly Punishment blast brought out all these mutilated corpses. There are so many! It's absolutely horrific."

These words caused another uproar among the crowd!

Another legend about Prince Rui has been confirmed. It turns out that Prince Rui's abduction and cruelty towards the people were true. Then, it's no wonder that the Blood Talisman Army was refined. It turns out that Prince Rui had been using the people to slowly refine the Blood Talismans in secret.

At this moment, a minister stepped out from the crowd and asked the errand-running guard, "Where is Prince Rui? Is he dead or alive?"

The guard was momentarily stunned by the question. He racked his brains for a moment, recalling that many people had searched for Prince Rui's shadow among the corpses and ruins, but they hadn't found him. They were all too frightened by the scene of corpses everywhere and had forgotten about the search.

Seeing the guard shake his head, all the ministers started discussing again, their conversation filled with complaints, and some even began to curse Prince Rui.

Chu Yanqiu was happy, but he couldn't stand the noisy chatter of the person next to him, so he lifted his foot and left.

Unexpectedly, those two members of the royal family, with their sharp eyes, couldn't stand seeing Chu Yanqiu leave so easily. They pointed at Chu Yanqiu's back and shouted, "Hey...hey you! Who told you to leave? His Majesty is still angry and in a time of crisis, and you just swaggered away without even asking permission! You're incredibly audacious!"

Another shouted, "See? Doesn't this prove that your Ji family has treasonous intentions? You show no respect for the Ji royal family, no respect for the Ji dynasty. Your heart is truly despicable!"

Little did they know that their foolish behavior had already been seen through by the shrewd and astute senior officials, some of whom had already spoken out.

"Who exactly encouraged these two to come out and be used as pawns?"

"This is exactly what they wanted, and I can die a quick and painless death."

Chu Yanqiu also realized that the two guys were talking about him.

However, Chu Yanqiu was in a good mood at the moment. Even though he had been forced to this point, he did not have the impulse to kill anyone. He even admired his own extraordinary self-control.

He was like a leisurely person, even with a slight smile on his lips. He pointed at the eunuch he had just appointed as the chief eunuch. The young chief eunuch had just replaced Eunuch Guo. Seeing that Chu Yanqiu had given instructions, he hurriedly ran to Chu Yanqiu to receive them.

Chu Yanqiu said, "His Majesty is still unconscious. It's not convenient to see blood here right now, as it's considered unlucky. My third uncle and Princess Shanjin have been in charge of things in the side hall, haven't they? Send them to the princess and explain this to her. You know it's not good for these two to be jumping around while His Majesty is unconscious, don't you think?"

From the very first day he saw these two, Eunuch Wang was extremely disgusted. After all, he was a loyal servant of His Majesty, but these two had been so open about their intentions that it was obvious what they were up to. If it weren't for the princess constantly reminding him of their royal bloodline, this newly promoted chief eunuch would have already started some underhanded tactics.

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Wang immediately followed the instructions and ordered his men to gag the two men and carry them away.

Everyone was incredibly surprised by Chu Yanqiu's seemingly virtuous act today. Was Heaven finally opening its eyes? This descendant of the Ji family, who could have easily overthrown the Xiao Dynasty, and who had been killing people at the drop of a hat lately, had his brain not working properly, thus letting two small fry escape?

To be honest, the ministers were secretly hoping for something. In fact, they had long been fed up with the young emperor who was in a coma in the room. He hadn't accomplished much in terms of political achievements, and he was always doing a lot of strange and outrageous things in the court. Every time he caused trouble, it was the ministers who suffered. Good officials were worn down, and treacherous officials were unable to achieve their ambitions. They didn't know what kind of good fortune the young emperor had. He was more trouble than he was worth, and neither good nor bad officials appreciated him.

Looking at this enigmatic Lord Chu, they were actually filled with anticipation. Given the current state of the dynasty, it wouldn't be so bad to watch this man overthrow it and establish a new one under his leadership.

And so, under these complex gazes, Chu Yanqiu walked out of the palace step by step.

Just as he left the palace, the guard who had gone to investigate Prince Rui's residence again went to see the officials once more.

The news was confirmed: the Prince Rui they were looking for was indeed dead, and his death was particularly gruesome. His entire body was blown to pieces, leaving only a recognizable head. The guards were very diligent; even though only a head remained, they carefully placed it in a box and brought it into the palace to show the ministers.

Such a clever search for results was naturally the deliberate act of someone with ulterior motives.

When the guards mounted their horses and rode back to the palace with the severed heads, Shen Wen, who had deliberately made his move, finally revealed himself from his hiding place.

Seeing Chu Yanqiu emerge from the palace, Shen Wen used the tree's spacetime teleportation ability to return to the Duke of Ji's mansion ahead of time.

Before long, Chu Yanqiu returned. She sat in the house and watched from the window as Chu Yanqiu walked in from the courtyard.

The rift in their relationship that had been brewing for the past few days was finally half resolved today, and the unease that had been weighing on their hearts returned to calm at this moment.

When Chu Yanqiu stood close to him, Shen Wen suddenly felt a sense of belonging.

The ordinary life that belongs exclusively to women, which I never dared to imagine in my two lifetimes, is actually like this.

Chu Yanqiu also seemed to be in a good mood today.

The man stood there gracefully, looking at her, then opened his arms and did a very ordinary gesture between lovers.

Chu Yanqiu held the woman in his arms, stroking her head gently with his other hand.

"You were the one who did the things at Prince Rui's residence, weren't you?"

The woman in his arms nodded obediently, and Chu Yanqiu could hardly suppress the smile on his lips.

“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. Prince Rui has committed so many evils that even killing him once would be too lenient for him.”

Chu Yanqiu found it amusing and said, "You! A person can only die once. Even if you want him to die again, it's impossible."

His words were somewhat humorous, and he even laughed heartily after saying them, but Shen Wen, who was buried in his arms, remained expressionless.

Because she has died more than once.

At this point, she felt that fate was incredibly ironic.

She lived two lives and did so many good deeds for the country and its people, yet fate arranged such a tragic destiny for her, forcing her to die again and again while she was fully conscious.

The sadness passed quickly, but the two people grew closer, finally mending their previous broken relationship.

Even the maids and servants in the mansion could see the nature of their relationship, and they were secretly happy for the two of them. Only then did the festive atmosphere gradually begin to emerge before the wedding.

Dinner was eaten at the same table as Master Ji and his wife. During the meal, Master Ji brought up the etiquette and customs before the wedding, saying that the man and woman should not see each other frequently before the wedding, and that they should not live together.

Chu Yanqiu put down his chopsticks and said, "She can't move out of the Duke of Ji's mansion. At worst, we can see each other less often, but she can't live anywhere else."

Shen Wen didn't intend to interrupt at all. She just ate her food slowly and deliberately, without even giving him a second glance.

But her ears weren't idle; she listened as Master Ji and his wife reasoned with their stubborn son about the matter.

For a moment, I felt that these two elderly people were much more patient than most others, which was probably a manifestation of their deepest love for their son.

Finally, the three of them reached an agreement that Shen Wen would not move out of the Duke of Ji's mansion. Instead, she would move from her original house to the farthest northwest corner of the entire mansion, where there would be a back door. On the wedding day, she would leave through the back door, then circle the streets of the capital before returning to the main gate and being carried into the mansion openly and legitimately.

After agreeing to move out, Shen Wen suggested moving out that very night. Chu Yanqiu initially disagreed, but he clung to Shen Wen's waist with both hands, acting all sticky and affectionate in the room, completely losing his dignified and aloof demeanor from the daytime.

Shen Wen had no choice but to go along with him. However, when it was time for her to go to bed, she remembered her intention to tease him. She coaxed Chu Yanqiu to go to the next room to wash up, but she took the opportunity to go to the new courtyard with her personal maid.

This is nothing special. After all, Chu Yanqiu is no ordinary person. He has always had that thought. Even if the new courtyard is moved to the outskirts of the capital, Chu Yanqiu, with his superb martial arts skills, will catch up with her and continue to be affectionate with her in no time.

Chu Yanqiu didn't chase after them late at night, so Shen Wen went to sleep.

Around midnight, Shen Wen suddenly woke up from her bed. She wiped the cold sweat from her face and stared blankly into thought in the pitch-black night.

The dream I just had felt very real, but I don't know what it was warning me about.

"Could it be... that the young emperor is really going to die? If he dies, who will inherit his body?"