Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"You slut, your face is disgusting the more I look at it, spit..."

Yu Ling Shuang spat on Jiang Yue's face.

Jiang Yue remained kneeling on the ground, her body trembling uncontrollably, seemingly lacking even the slightest courage to resist.

"I shouldn't have been soft-hearted when you were born; I should have thrown you into the river to drown!"

"How much suffering and hardship have I endured for you all these years? Do you even know?"

"You and your dead father are both worse than animals!"

Yu Ling Shuang continued to insult Jiang Yue, while Jiang Yue remained kneeling obediently on the ground the whole time, without even having the courage to look up and meet her gaze.

Jiang Yue grew up amidst Yu Ling Shuang's humiliation and beatings.

Since she was old enough to understand, she had never seen her mother smile at her; the way her mother looked at her was as if she were looking at an enemy.

After twenty years of humiliation, Jiang Yue had long since come to the conclusion, through Yu Ling Shuang's constant indoctrination, that she was the cause of her mother's lifelong tragedy.

He had to use every means to please his mother, and he would obey whatever she asked.

Therefore, even though Jiang Yue is now at the peak of the Immortal Realm and could crush Yu Ling Shuang with just a little effort, she still dares not disobey any of her mother's requests.

After scolding her for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Yu Ling Shuang, perhaps tired, turned her back and said, "Alright, get up, don't kneel anymore."

"Thank you, mother."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yue immediately stood up and waited for Yu Ling Shuang to speak.

Shen Lang watched everything quietly from a distance in front of the wooden house.

Because the light was too dim and the distance was too far, I could only see a rough outline of Yu Ling Shuang's appearance. If I wanted to see her more clearly, I would have to get closer.

So he remained calm and waited for their next conversation to see if there was any news or intelligence worth noting.

When are we heading to Nanjing?

Yu Ling Shuang asked coldly.

"Your Majesty, I have already ordered Pei Xu to set off for Changhe ahead of time."

"Set off? Heh."

Yu Ling Shuang sneered and turned around to stare straight at Jiang Yue.

Meeting those pale eyes, Jiang Yue's chest heaved nervously.

"You idiot, what have you been doing these past few days?"

The next moment, a letter was thrown directly at Jiang Yue's face.

"Look for yourself. Pei Xu's Puzhou camp hasn't even been mobilized yet, and he's already been dealt with. With a brain like yours, how can you be the ruler of Great Chu? You really disappoint me."

Jiang Yue hurriedly knelt on the ground and begged for mercy: "Mother, it was my oversight. Please give me another chance."

She was truly terrified of Yu Ling Shuang, and couldn't muster even the slightest thought of resistance when facing her.

Sitting on the dragon throne and replacing her elder sister as the emperor of Great Chu was the only way Jiang Yue could escape Yu Ling Shuang's torment.

After all, when that day comes, he will be the ruler above all others.

On the day he ascends the throne, his mother will surely look at him again, feel proud of him, and thus forgive him for the mistakes he has made.

This distorted idea has accompanied her for twenty years; whenever her mother gets angry with her, it must be because she did something wrong.

Even if she doesn't know where she went wrong, after years of psychological manipulation, she has become accustomed to attributing all problems to herself.

"How many chances have I given you? You bitch! You never give me a moment's peace!"

Yu Ling Shuang's roar continued, echoing mournfully in the darkness like that of a wronged woman.

Shen Lang, watching from afar, felt a sudden tightness in his chest.

"Compared to this, Ji Yuxi is more rational; at least she still looks like a human being."

Jiang Yue kept burying his head in the snow, bobbing up and down: "Mother, I beg you, give your son another chance, your son will definitely satisfy you."

"Humph!"

Yu Ling Shuang snorted again and raised her hand to signal her to get up.

"It's not unexpected that you can be so foolish. After all, if I rely on you, I won't even see the outline of the Nanjing city wall by the time I die."

"I have already notified the Northern Yan Swift Wind Team to handle it."

Jiang Yue stood to the side, still with a submissive expression.

"Your Majesty's wisdom and strategy are beyond compare, I am ashamed of my own inferiority."

Yu Ling Shuang: "Of course you're not as good as me. Compared to me, you're not even as good as a toe. Otherwise, how could I have raised a slut like you until you were twenty?"

Jiang Yue nodded repeatedly without uttering a sound.

"Tell me, have any unfamiliar faces appeared in Blackwater City recently? This leak of secrets is very likely due to an inside job by someone from the imperial court."

Jiang Yue immediately replied, "There is such a person, his name is Shen Lang, he is the husband of the Empress of Great Chu..."

"Heh, that woman in the palace is a lowly woman too, choosing a husband from a commoner's family."

However, her judgment was quite good; the man she chose was capable of stirring up a storm throughout the Chu Kingdom.

"He's far superior to you."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yue felt a strange sense of unease.

Suddenly, a ridiculous thought popped into her head: if her fate could be switched with her sister's, things might be different.

But she quickly dismissed the ridiculous idea.

"Send someone to keep an eye on that Shen Lang. If he really is a spy, we must not hold back."

"Yes, I remember it."

"Go back."

Upon hearing the last sentence, Jiang Yue immediately felt as if she had been granted a pardon and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your Majesty, please rest early. Your son takes his leave."

After saying that, he quickly disappeared into the night.

After Jiang Yue left, Yu Ling Shuang slowly stepped into the wooden house.

The moment the door closed, Shen Lang leaped silently to the roof of the wooden house and listened intently to the sounds inside.

Through the gaps in the roof tiles, one could see Yu Ling Shuang holding a memorial tablet, murmuring incessantly.

"Fenglang, I'm so sorry, I've made you suffer."

"I know it's all my fault, and it's understandable that you hate and resent me."

"Don't worry, I won't let Jiang Yan's descendants get away with this. I raised that bitch for twenty years."

"I want to see those sisters kill each other."

"I won't let those two bitches get away with this. I will destroy everything that Jiang Yan values. If you know this in the afterlife, you'll forgive me, right?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang frowned even more deeply.

He sensed that Yu Ling Shuang seemed somewhat abnormal as well.

If what Jiang Yue told him yesterday was true, then the wooden plaque he was holding must be the childhood sweetheart he had planned to marry.

But what does all of this have to do with this so-called childhood sweetheart?

I took a closer look at the wooden sign; the character "Nie" was engraved on it.

However, after reviewing numerous case files in the palace, he never found any record of anyone from the Nie family in Jiangnan being killed by the late emperor.

Could it be that there is a hidden secret in this?

With that thought in mind, he quickly left the scene, disappearing into the night under the cover of wind and snow.

……

At this moment, atop the Nine Mountains, ninety miles outside Pingyuan County, Zhuque braved the wind and snow to gaze silently at the winding road in the darkness.

Mu Qingqiu said from the side, "Lord Zhuque, after investigation, the entrance to Blackwater City is located in the very center of this mountain range, and it is blocked by a protective barrier."

Suzaku: "Is there any way to break through?"

Mu Qingqiu shook her head and said, "This barrier is exceptionally sturdy. If we were to forcibly break through it from the outside, we would have to rely on the artillery battalion, but now..."

"Where are Qu Yi and the others?"

"They have taken over the Puyang camp and are leading their troops toward Pingyuan County."

"Understood, you may leave now."

"Yes, I am resigning."

After Mu Qingqiu withdrew, Zhuque stood with her hands behind her back, continuing to gaze at the Nine Veins Mountain under the snowy night.