"You mean, you're willing to come back to Tianmo with me?!" Situ Jingyan raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He took a step closer to Shen Qianmo, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. His misty eyes now clearly revealed his emotions.
Shen Qianmo smiled slightly, a sly glint in her eyes, and said softly, "Didn't you say you would use the Enchanting Blood Pavilion as a dowry?"
"If Mo'er is willing to marry me, then the Enchanting Blood Pavilion is naturally yours to play with." Situ Jingyan's eyes were filled with doting affection, but his tone also carried the domineering air of someone who commands the world.
"Jingyan! Sister Qianmo!" An untimely voice rang out from outside the door, carrying a hint of cynicism yet also a clear, childlike innocence.
"Yan Xiuling."
"Young Master Xiu."
Shen Qianmo and Situ Jingyan spoke at the same time, but their tones were completely different. Situ Jingyan's tone carried three parts annoyance and seven parts helplessness, while Shen Qianmo's tone was gentle and playful.
"Jingyan, you're so fierce. Sister Qianmo is so much gentler." Yan Xiuling walked into the room and sat down without any politeness, giving Situ Jingyan a complaining look, and then pretended to pull Chen Qianmo's arm.
Situ Jingyan flashed in front of Shen Qianmo, his eyes carrying a hint of warning. Yan Xiuling reluctantly withdrew his hand, looking helpless, but a sly glint appeared deep in his eyes.
This slyness did not escape Shen Qianmo's eyes, and a playful smile crept into her heart. It seemed that the days to come would be quite interesting. Even someone like Situ Jingyan could be rendered helpless by someone like Yan Xiuling.
"Yan Xiuling, you're really getting better and better lately."
"You deserve a beating." Before Situ Jingyan could finish speaking, Yan Xiuling stretched and said lazily, then looked up at Situ Jingyan with a nonchalant expression.
Seeing that this tactic had no effect, Situ Jingyan gave up on "threatening" Yan Xiuling. He then gave him a cold look and asked, "What do you want with me? Is there any unusual activity from those small border countries?"
"You're quite clever." Yan Xiuling's lips curled into a cynical smile, the wickedness in his smile contrasting sharply with his innocent eyes, yet it didn't seem out of place.
"Otherwise, what else could you possibly do?" Situ Jingyan snorted, standing with his hands behind his back in front of Yan Xiuling, seemingly knowing Yan Xiuling very well.
Shen Qianmo smiled and looked at the two of them with interest, asking, "Do you two wish to discuss the state of the world? Why don't you let Qianmo listen as well?"
"Sister Qianmo is so intelligent, she will definitely understand as soon as she hears it." Yan Xiuling's eyes flashed with a hint of mockery as he looked at Shen Qianmo. He deliberately raised an innocent smile and glanced at Situ Jingyan out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that Situ Jingyan's face still had the same unchanging wicked smile, Yan Xiuling also put away his smile. It was no fun that Situ Jingyan had seen through his trick so quickly.
“The Li Kingdom has become increasingly powerful in recent years,” Yan Xiuling continued. At this moment, his eyes no longer held the feigned innocence, but only a deep blackness, like a bottomless black hole, where one could lose their life if they were not careful.
Situ Jingyan showed no surprise, only a wicked smile, a glint of light flashing in his deep, ocean-like eyes. He chuckled, “The Li Kingdom does indeed have the potential to become powerful, but unfortunately, the King of Li is old and will likely not live much longer. The Crown Prince is cruel, and the other princes are not convinced. Once the King of Li dies, the Li Kingdom will surely fall into chaos. Once we take Qi Yue, the Li Kingdom will naturally be ours.”
“That’s right,” Yan Xiuling agreed, his eyes filled with ambition to conquer the world. “However, although Qi Yue has lost its leader, it is still a great nation that has existed for thousands of years. I’m afraid it won’t be so easy to take it down.”
"I have my own ideas about this." Situ Jingyan smiled confidently, his dark eyes revealing a hint of certainty. If you saw the light in those eyes, you would believe even the most absurd words, because there was a kind of charm in those eyes that made it impossible for you not to believe.
Shen Qianmo glanced at Situ Jingyan and then at Yan Xiuling. Her bright eyes darted around, and a faint smile appeared on her lips as she looked at the two of them with a hint of mockery. "I'm rather curious, after you two take Qi Yue and the other small border countries, what are you going to do? Divide the world among yourselves?"
A thin mist clouded her dark eyes as Shen Qianmo simply smiled and watched the two of them. Dividing the world equally?! Perhaps for others, it was possible, but for Situ Jingyan, it was impossible.
He was such an arrogant and unruly man, how could he allow anyone to share the world with him? Even with her, the only reason he was willing to share was because of his love for her, or rather, because this world was given to her by him, and in his heart, it was still his.
"When the time comes, it'll be up to each of us to rely on our own abilities." Almost at the same moment, two completely different voices spoke.
Situ Jingyan and Yan Xiuling exchanged glances, a glint of shrewdness flashing in their eyes. The two were close friends and knew that the other, like themselves, would never easily relinquish the world. However, if they were to fight each other, they would inevitably lose a lot of strength. It would be better to cooperate first, eliminate all other forces, and then compete for the world openly and fairly. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
"So what are you two planning to do with Qi Yue?" Shen Qianmo seemed unsurprised by their answer, tilting her head and asking casually.
"Qi Yue? Of course, he'll be destroyed." Situ Jingyan also had a smile on his face, but there was no smile in his eyes. Shen Qianmo could only see the ambition of a king in his eyes.
Qi Yue Kingdom, to her, was the place where she was born and raised. However, her so-called family betrayed her and were eliminated one by one. And the so-called nation, with her tacit approval, slowly marched towards its demise.
She was always this kind of cold-hearted person. Those connected to her, she would protect with her life; those unrelated to her, she cared nothing for. But this time, it wasn't just a few lives, or even dozens or hundreds, but the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the capital of Qi Yue Kingdom.
Situ Jingyan had promised her to spare Qi Yue's people. She believed he could do it, but the people of the capital weren't considered ordinary citizens. So many officials, so many royal relatives—if they were spared, they would be remnants. How could Situ Jingyan possibly leave any remnants alive?
If the goal is to kill, then their families must be wiped out as well; otherwise, it would be a case of not eradicating the root of the problem. However, if that were to be done, the entire capital would likely be engulfed in a bloodbath.
"I want Qi Yue's capital." Shen Qianmo said lazily, her eyes not even looking at Situ Jingyan, as if she were just saying it casually.
However, she felt a little uneasy. Her intention in taking Qi Yue's capital was naturally to protect the lives of innocent people, and with Situ Jingyan's intelligence, he wouldn't fail to see through her intentions.
However, leaving those innocent people alive is tantamount to leaving behind a future disaster. Can Situ Jingyan really allow such a disaster to exist?
What if he refuses? Should she argue with him, use all her power to stop him? Should she really stand against him for the sake of those people?! No, she wouldn't do that, because she has always been a selfish person; she would never hurt the one she loves for the sake of strangers.
But if that were the case, she would be sad and feel guilty. After all, those were innocent people. After all, it was because of her revenge that Qi Yue had ended up like this.
"good."
It felt like an eternity before Shen Qianmo finally heard Situ Jingyan's reply. Just one word: "Okay." But that single word contained so much doting affection, so much trust and love.
Shen Qianmo looked up and saw Situ Jingyan's doting eyes. Those eyes were gentle as water, like an invisible net that gradually drew her heart in.
Situ Jingyan, I can never leave you in this lifetime.
At the moment when Shen Qianmo and Situ Jingyan gazed deeply into each other's eyes, a strange light flashed in Yan Xiuling's eyes.
Situ Jingyan actually went to such lengths for Shen Qianmo. I always thought that with Shen Qianmo's help, Situ Jingyan would be even more powerful, but now it seems that this is not the case.
Once a person falls in love, they acquire a weakness. Today, Situ Jingyan can spare Qi Yue's remnants to avoid upsetting Shen Qianmo, but in the future, he will have even more weaknesses because of her. These weaknesses may not matter to an ordinary person, but for a monarch vying for supremacy, they are a major taboo.
I will not yield in this struggle for supremacy. Jingyan, even as my closest friend, I will not give up the world to you. Therefore, since you have chosen to love someone wholeheartedly, then perhaps you will not gain this world.
You must understand that if you are unwilling to be alone again, you will never be able to sit in that supreme position of solitude.
Tianjue Tower. The best restaurant in the capital and Tianque Tower are owned by the same person, but no one knows who is behind both the best restaurant and the best inn.
Inside a fine room at Tianjue Tower, a table was laden with tempting dishes and wine. However, the people around the table seemed to have little appetite, and the fine food and wine were barely touched.
"The armies of Tianmo and Linwei have advanced as if divinely aided, and have already reached Yacheng!" The elderly official in yellow robes sighed softly, his aged eyes somewhat cloudy, filled with worry.
"The Crown Prince is missing, the Emperor has passed away, the Empress has died suddenly, and then the Third Prince, the Eighth Prince, the Prime Minister, and the General all died mysteriously. I'm afraid my fate, Qi Yue's, is truly over!" The official in black opposite the official in yellow sighed softly, looking as if he had already resigned himself to his fate.