He still remembers the first time he saw Ling Ya, he was captivated by her stunning beauty. In order to marry Ling Ya, he tried his best to please his superiors and perform well, just to gain a status that matched Ling Ya. Finally, he became the Minister of Rites and married Ling Ya as he wished.
However, his boundless power made him forget his original intention. He only had power in his eyes, and love had become dispensable to him. Soon, he married Yin Youlan, the daughter of the Minister, on the grounds that Ling Ya had not given birth to a child, in order to consolidate his position.
Then, he gradually rose to the position of Prime Minister, and there he met the equally beautiful Su Luoyan. Compared to Ling Ya's reserved and demure demeanor, Su Luoyan's alluring charm suited him better at the time, so he married her.
"Is Father reminiscing about what happened back then?!" Shen Qianmo interrupted Shen Lingyun's thoughts, her smile becoming even more sarcastic. "Reminiscing about how Father vowed to marry Mother, only to ultimately abandon her after taking advantage of her?!"
"What nonsense are you spouting! When have I ever abandoned Ya'er after starting something?!" Shen Lingyun shouted angrily, as if he had been stepped on.
"No?! Then who married one wife after another?! And who was having sex with other women every night while Mother was seriously ill?! And who didn't even shed a tear after Mother died?!" Shen Qianmo looked at Shen Lingyun with amusement, her eyes deepening, like a sword slowly being drawn from its sheath.
"Shut up!" Shen Lingyun suddenly stood up, interrupting Shen Qianmo. He stared at Shen Qianmo for a long time, seemingly trying to confirm her identity, and asked with some hesitation, "Are you really Mo'er?! Why are you dressed like this? And what about the news of her death that circulated before?!"
"Hmph! Father must be very happy to know I'm not dead, right?" Shen Qianmo snorted lightly, asking with a smile. Then, her smile gradually turned cold, and Shen Qianmo continued coldly, "Happy that you haven't lost your bargaining chip! But, my father, you've probably miscalculated!"
"What do you mean by that?" Shen Lingyun looked at Shen Qianmo suspiciously. He had discovered that his daughter was not simple before. Now that she deliberately spread the news of her death and appeared in Qi Yue in this manner, there must be some conspiracy behind it.
Shen Lingyun stared at his daughter and found that he understood her thoughts less and less. Judging from Shen Qianmo's words, she seemed to want to be his enemy. Now that Shen Qianmo had Situ Jingyan as her backer, if she really became his enemy, the consequences would be unimaginable!
Thinking of this, a ruthless glint flashed in Shen Lingyun's eyes. If necessary, he would not hesitate to do anything even to his own daughter!
“I don’t mean anything by it.” Shen Qianmo’s lips curled into a smile. “I’m here to tell my father my other name, Mo Chi.”
"The Demon Palace Master?!" Shen Lingyun stared at Shen Qianmo in disbelief, his eyes once again filled with astonishment. His daughter was actually the Demon Palace Master?!
In the past, he would have been very happy and would have treated Shen Qianmo well so that he could take advantage of her. But now he couldn't be happy at all. Shen Qianmo's appearance clearly showed that she had no intention of helping him.
"That's right! Does Father want to help Second Sister and the Eighth Prince seize the throne?" Shen Qianmo glanced at Shen Lingyun and asked with an ambiguous expression.
"What exactly do you want?!" Shen Lingyun hated this feeling of being controlled, especially since the other party was his own daughter. How could he not be angry!
Shen Qianmo feigned excitement and said, "In order to gain powerful external support, my father insisted that I marry Situ Jingyan, which forcibly separated me from Shangguan Che. Therefore, I have decided to join forces with him to destroy the Eighth Prince's faction, including the Prime Minister's Mansion."
Shen Lingyun was unaware of Shen Qianmo's thoughts, nor did he know who Shen Qianmo truly loved. Therefore, Shen Lingyun was not suspicious of what Shen Qianmo said. Moreover, what Shen Qianmo said made perfect sense, leaving Shen Lingyun no choice but to believe it.
"Mo'er! How could you say such treasonous things?!" Shen Lingyun pretended to be heartbroken and said to Shen Qianmo, but a trace of panic flashed in his eyes. If Shen Qianmo really joined forces with Shangguan Che, then with the power of the Demon Palace plus the power of the Third Prince's faction, he was afraid that he would be in grave danger!
"Hmph! Ask me what kind of fatherly love you ever gave me when I was little!" Shen Qianmo laughed sarcastically. "Don't think I can't see through the hypocrisy behind your kindness. You're just using me! I've already done more than enough by coming here to tell you this! You'd better watch yourself!"
Watching Shen Qianmo's departing figure, a sinister glint flashed in Shen Lingyun's eyes. Since things had come to this, he had no choice but to do his best to help Shangguan Jin. Otherwise, given Shen Qianmo's hatred just now and the ruthlessness behind Shangguan Che's gentleness, he was afraid he would die a horrible death!
Chapter Six: Mocking the Second Sister
As they left the Prime Minister's residence, a playful smile curved Shen Qianmo's lips.
After her outburst, Shen Lingyun should no longer hesitate. What will his reaction be when he discovers that Shangguan Jin, whom he has been wholeheartedly helping, is the real wolf?
Being trapped in the Eighth Prince's residence these past few days and unable to contact Shen Lingyun, Shen Qianxin must be very anxious. I wonder what her second sister is going through now?!
The Eighth Prince's Residence.
Shen Qianxin lay on the bed, her face pale and her brows deeply furrowed. She already had a delicate temperament, but now she looked even more haggard.
Shen Qianmo calmly knocked out the maidservant sent by Shangguan Jin to "serve" Shen Qianxin and quietly approached Shen Qianxin's bed.
Upon closer inspection, Shen Qianxin's face was unnaturally pale, with fine beads of sweat on her forehead. Her brows were tightly furrowed, as if she were in great pain, and there was a hint of worry hidden in her dark eyes.
"What are you thinking about, Second Sister? You seem so engrossed in your thoughts!" Shen Qianmo smiled and looked at Shen Qianxin with great interest.
Hearing the sound, Shen Qianxin suddenly looked up and saw a refined and elegant young man smiling at her. She was startled and then looked at the person in front of her with some suspicion.
Xiao Su was a maid sent by Shangguan Jin to serve her. Ostensibly, she was there to take care of her, but in the past few days, she had gradually come to realize that Shangguan Jin had discovered that she and Shen Lingyun were communicating with each other, so he deliberately sent her to monitor her.
She had tested the maid's skills before, and found that she knew martial arts. But the newcomer had so easily avoided Xiao Su without making a sound. If the newcomer hadn't spoken, she might have died silently without even knowing what happened!
What's even stranger is that the person who came actually called her Second Sister?! She doesn't remember having such a handsome and dashing younger brother.
"It seems Second Sister doesn't recognize Qianmo either." Shen Qianmo said with a smile, seeing the suspicion, panic, and confusion flashing in Shen Qianxin's eyes.
Shen Qianxin's eyes widened suddenly. She struggled to get up, but ultimately collapsed weakly onto the bed. She pointed a trembling finger at Shen Qianmo and asked, "Qianmo?! You said you are... No, no, how is that possible?! You're not dead!"
"What, does Second Sister really want Qianmo to be dead?!" Shen Qianmo's eyes were calm and unwavering, a sarcastic smile playing on her lips as she lazily sat down beside Shen Qianxin's bed and laughed, "Even if Second Sister didn't recognize Qianmo, she should have recognized me as the man who was talking with the Eighth Prince in the courtyard a few days ago, right?"
Upon hearing Shen Qianmo's words, Shen Qianxin recalled a scene she had witnessed in the courtyard a few days prior. At that time, she had been hiding at the end of the corridor and saw an elegant and refined young man talking with Shangguan Jin in the courtyard. Originally, she wanted to inform her father, but Shangguan Jin tricked her into being placed under house arrest.
Because of the distance that day, she didn't see the young master's face clearly, so she didn't recognize Shen Qianmo just now. But when Shen Qianmo reminded her, she looked closely at Shen Qianmo's figure and temperament, and sure enough, he was the man in the courtyard that day.
Shen Qianmo and Shangguan Jin were secretly communicating?! What on earth is going on?!
Seeing that Shen Qianxin remained silent, Shen Qianmo couldn't help but speak sarcastically, "Second Sister, are you so ill that you don't even have the strength to speak? Although I don't like your hypocritical face, I dislike being around someone who can't speak even more. It seems the Eighth Prince gave you too much medicine!"
After speaking, Shen Qianmo looked at Shen Qianxin with pity. Hearing Shen Qianmo's words, Shen Qianxin looked up in astonishment and finally asked, "You... what did you say?! You said Jin drugged me?!"
"Yes, I gave him this medicine!" Shen Qianmo smiled sweetly, her eyes still carrying a hint of laziness, looking completely indifferent.
"No! How could this be! I don't believe it, I don't believe it!" Shen Qianxin lost her mind, a trace of heartache flashing in her eyes.
"Why should Second Sister deceive herself?" Shen Qianmo looked at Shen Qianxin's appearance and said indifferently. In the past, when Shen Qianxin secretly conspired with Yao Ruoqin to deliberately mess with her and saw her collapse, wasn't she very happy? Today, let Shen Qianxin taste that feeling herself.
Tears welled up in Shen Qianxin's eyes. Yes, she was only deceiving herself. Her illness had been fluctuating these past few days, and she had already guessed that it might be due to being drugged, but she refused to believe it was Shangguan Jin.
Yes, she married Shangguan Jin for power. Yes, she secretly contacted her father to secure her position as empress. But she truly loved him too! She could never bear to do anything to hurt him, so how could he be so heartless?! How could he?!
"Shen Qianmo, you concealed your identity and appearance when you returned to the Prime Minister's residence, and now you've faked your death and secretly contacted Jin. What exactly are you trying to do?!" Shen Qianxin suppressed her grief and looked coldly at Shen Qianmo, her resentment evident in her eyes.
"I told you to be patient." Shen Qianmo gave a lazy smile. "You'll find out soon enough. But until then, you'll have to stay in this dark and gloomy room!"
"You!" Shen Qianxin said angrily, but she couldn't muster any strength. Otherwise, she really wanted to slap Shen Qianmo twice!