After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

In the pitch black, in the nameless secret room where Baili Ce had been imprisoned, he suddenly opened his eyes again after being "dead" for many days.

......

To prevent the decaying corpses from causing disease and contaminating the water source, Lu Jian arranged for someone to clean the manor inside and out three times after arriving on the island.

The soldiers responsible for cleaning up naturally discovered that Lady Sun had failed to escape.

"A normal person?" Lu Jian couldn't help but smile when he heard the report.

"It's rare that Wang Qingyan can still tolerate normal people."

"Would Your Majesty like to see him?"

Lu Jian put down his book with interest. "Bring the person over."

"Yes"

Lady Sun had been living in fear these past few days. If she hadn't eaten and drunk her fill, she probably wouldn't even have the strength to walk. So when she saw Lu Jian, she was trembling all over. "Bye...Greetings, Your Majesty."

"Don't be nervous, young lady. I don't eat people."

After letting Zhang Shan take a seat and ordering someone to pour her a cup of hot tea, Lu Jian began to ask questions once she was less nervous.

"Does the young lady recognize Baili Ce?"

"..." Madam Sun looked bewildered.

Zhang Shan quickly added, "She is Wang Qingyan's wife."

After hearing this, Madam Sun immediately nodded, "I know her, but the head of the family always calls her A-Zhu."

Seeing that Madam Sun still couldn't change her way of speaking, Lu Jian didn't rush to get to the point, but instead asked some random questions.

Zhang Shan, who was standing nearby, was very perceptive and led his men to retreat outside the door.

After learning how long Lady Sun had served by Baili Ce's side, what had happened during that time, and how she was transferred, Lu Jian finally got to the point, "Does the young lady have anything to give me?"

After hesitating for a while, Madam Sun nodded.

His gaze toward Lu Jian instantly became much more wary. "Before handing over the items to Your Majesty, please answer a few questions for this humble subject."

What if I don't answer?

"Then..." Composing herself, Madam Sun resolutely raised her head, her eyes no longer showing any fear, "This humble subject can only die first."

The common people died first, and the emperor died later.

All things in heaven and earth are the same.

"..." Looking at Madam Sun, who was completely different from before, Lu Jian's lingering worries vanished.

This is the true nature of a qualified ally.

"Okay, you ask."

"Your Majesty, after eliminating the He family, you slowed down your actions against the Wang family. Was this intentional, or were you simply unable to do so?"

Half and half

"Refugees entered Lincheng, and Baili Sanniang led three thousand soldiers into Lincheng, followed by hidden guards..."

Before Lady Sun could finish speaking, Lu Jian raised his hand to interrupt her, "Lincheng, Shucheng, and Jicheng are facing numerous calamities, which is indeed what I wish to see."

"..." Madam Sun's eyes glazed over, as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

After a long pause, she finally heard a slightly angry voice, "Why?!"

“The three cities are vast, and the neighboring city is rich in resources, yet they are all tamed and controlled by the Wang family from top to bottom.”

"So His Majesty is using one enemy to devour another, repeatedly choosing the three cities as the battlefield? Treating all the people of the three cities as dispensable pawns?"

"It's a matter of expediency in an emergency."

"Can't we educate them?"

"Easier said than done."

"Is it difficult, or is it that people don't want to do it?"

Lu Jian couldn't help but sigh and didn't take Sun Niangzi's rudeness to heart. "The Gu poison is not only planted in their flesh and blood, but also in their hearts and bones. Even cutting flesh to heal the wound will not be effective."

"Only by pulverizing them to pieces can they be eradicated."

“…” Bai Li Ce once said that the price of awakening has always been cruel.

These days, Madam Sun has been trying her best to adapt to this cruelty. She even managed to survive from Wang Qingyan's clutches and the watchful eyes of Wuming, carrying a "secret".

But when she heard such words from the mouth of an emperor, she sincerely felt that what she thought was true was still too naive.

"Your Majesty, did you know of the existence of the Heavenly Dao from the very beginning?"

"..."

"A king's word is law; please answer, Your Majesty."

After a long silence, Lu Jian finally spoke, "Yes."

This means that Lu Jian sought out Baili Ce not only because of the family's power, but also for other reasons.

But she didn't want to know anymore.

"This humble subject takes her leave," said Madam Sun, who didn't want to stay a moment longer, and turned to leave.

But Lu Jian stopped him, "You think you can just leave like that?"

"..." I almost forgot.

"The document needs to be copied and will be delivered to His Majesty in half an hour."

Lu Jian walked calmly to the sword rack beside him. "That's not what I meant."

"Then Your Majesty..." As soon as she turned around, the tip of the sword was already silently pressed against Lady Sun's throat.

"who are you?"

The latter was stunned for a moment, then quickly feigned panic, "Your Majesty...Your Majesty, spare my life."

"Isn't it a bit too late to install it now?"

"..." Gradually straightening her expression, Madam Sun's body was clearly trembling with fear, but her eyes showed that she was too lazy to act.

What does Your Majesty mean?

"Your tone of voice is very similar to Baili Ce's."

Madam Sun slightly curled her lips, raising a smile tinged with disdain, "Perhaps I am Baili Ce."

"No," he said with absolute certainty, pushing the sword forward a little further to force Lady Sun back.

“Wang Qingyan couldn’t possibly not recognize her. If the Baili Ce beside him were a fake, he would never have left the manor.”

"And you..." He looked at Madam Sun carefully again, finding no trace of disguise, and there was no murderous intent in his eyes. "Under Wang Qingyan's nose, how could Baili Ce possibly let you know so much?"

"How could I let someone ask such a pointed question on her behalf?"

Not to mention that Baili Ce was isolated and helpless in this manor and would never trust anyone.

Given Baili Ce's vigilance, he wouldn't be foolish enough to entrust such an important matter to someone who could be exposed at any moment.

"So, who exactly are you?"

He showed no murderous intent, yet he was ruthless.

Feeling the blood flowing down her neck, Madam Sun trembled even more violently, but her face remained calm.

"Your Majesty may have heard her mention me. My name is Zu Gu."

After a moment's thought, Lu Jian removed the sword.

Madam Sun immediately took a step back and hurriedly covered her neck with her sleeve; any deeper and she would have confessed!

Seeing that she was still trembling violently, Lu Jian, who had already sheathed his sword, seemed not to be surprised at all. "Shouldn't you be with Baili Ce?"

"What, you suddenly got a different host?"

"She herself didn't want to, and there was nothing I could do about it."

Sun Niangzi only had a superficial understanding of acupuncture, so how could she possibly save Baili Ce, who was determined to die and whom even Wang Qingyan couldn't save?

The reason why the "Death Hexagram" becomes a death sign is not only because one is in a desperate situation, but more importantly because the person in the hexagram has lost the will to live.

"What about Baili Ce now?"

According to this theory, Baili Ce might already be dead.

"Don't worry, he's still alive."

"If Yichen has not made a mistake, you should not have the ability to bring the dead back to life."

"At the critical moment of life and death, Baili Ce's luck suddenly increased. It must have been because someone lent her luck. Otherwise, I would not have been able to save her."

now it's right.

While admiring his own brilliance, Lu Jian posed another question, "May I ask, Your Excellency, why did you not choose me as your host?"

He thought that this question would be difficult for Lady Sun, or rather, the ancestral Gu with Lady Sun as its host, to answer.

He didn't want the other party to simply bow deeply, clearly indicating the boundaries: "Things will inevitably turn into their opposites when they reach their extremes. Your Majesty is already the supreme ruler, and any further action will only lead to decline and utter defeat."

"Is that so?" Lu Jian looked incredulous.

But when Lady Sun went out, he ordered Zhang Shan and the others not to stop her.

Things reach their extremes and then reverse; the moon waxes and wanes.

Unfortunately, Wang Qingyan did not believe in this principle.

"Did you hear everything?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Song Zhaohe stepped out from behind the screen. "Yes."

After Baili Ce returned from the Xianbei, Lu Jian gave Song Zhaohe the last thing he had given him. He then coldly ordered, "If this matter fails, I will exterminate your entire clan."

"..."

After receiving the "incredibly heavy" box, Song Zhaohe finally understood how this power struggle should end.