Chapter 88: Prisoner at the Foot of the Stairs

Ling Feng actually wanted to say that he was quite disgusted as well, but since his master had ordered it, he couldn’t refuse.

“Yes,” Ling Feng resignedly squatted down and personally placed a set of black iron shackles on Han Rong.

Han Rong’s face showed anger, and he instinctively tried to struggle, but Shen Ning’s foot on his face was as heavy as a boulder, leaving him no room to struggle.

The Nan Dynasty envoys were embarrassed and awkwardly averted their eyes.

It wasn’t until Ling Feng successfully shackled him that Shen Ning slowly withdrew her foot.

“Cough, cough, cough!” Han Rong propped himself up, covering his chest as he coughed incessantly, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. “You… you Yong Kingdom are going too far… too far…”

“This is going too far?” Shen Ning said coldly, “Han Rong, this is just the appetizer; the real feast is yet to come.”

With that, she turned and stepped up the stairs: “From this moment on, Han Rong is my prisoner at the foot of the stairs! Ling Feng, watch him and make him kneel here for two hours until the meeting is over.”

“Yes!”

The Nan Dynasty envoys looked terrified and uneasy as they watched Han Rong’s miserable situation, feeling displeased but completely lacking the confidence to question, given their need for assistance.

The group returned to the hall and sat down one after another, while Han Rong no longer had the qualification to even listen from the side and could only kneel outside the hall.

Nan Dynasty had not yet fallen, but he, the Loyal and Brave Marquis, had already become a prisoner at the foot of the stairs. Before leaving Nan Dynasty’s imperial city, he was still full of spirit, probably never imagining that the Yong Kingdom would become his hell.

After the Regent’s consort caused such a scene, the Nan Dynasty envoys were completely demoralized. During the meeting, they were afraid that any word might displease the Regent and his consort, leading to the same fate as Han Rong.

Even speaking to Princess Pingyao, was done with trepidation, weighing every word and thinking thrice.

Han Rong, bound by sixty catties of shackles, was slanted and could not lift his hands at all due to their weight, and with Ling Feng watching over him, he truly had no freedom.

However, amidst the pain and dizziness, he couldn’t help but think of the look Shen Ning had given him earlier, which sent chills down his spine.

Disciple?

No, how could Shen Ning possibly be that woman’s disciple?

That look… the look of deep-seated hatred in her eyes was clearly that of War Goddess Princess herself.

Princess Yan Jiuli had a fiery temper. Even when she was severely injured and on the brink of death, tormented to the point of being barely alive, she never verbally submitted. The look in her eyes was this kind of deep-seated hatred…

A dense chill flowed through every part of his body. At this moment, Han Rong felt an indescribable fear. He knew better than anyone that the War Goddess Princess was dead, and she died in a very tragic manner.

For two long years, he personally poisoned her, destroyed her martial arts, broke her bones inch by inch, and she was covered in injuries for a long time, tormented to death.

Her body was laid out for seven days, and it had stiffened.

The Emperor personally decreed a grand funeral for her, and the entire city’s people came to see her off…

Even after death, with such a tragic appearance, she remained the strongest female war god in the hearts of the people.

Shen Ning could absolutely not be the reincarnation of the Princess.

But her eyes were truly terrifying.

Her methods were so ruthless.

It was because he was wary of her martial arts that he, on the night of their marriage, used the scent of the wedding night’s incense and wine to cover up the poison he put in the wine.

Although it was a colorless and tasteless poison, he was still extremely cautious, afraid that she might notice something amiss.

Fortunately, it went smoothly.

He was very careful with everything regarding her. Before her death, the chains were never unlocked. Even after she lost her martial arts, and after her death, he made sure the body wouldn’t disappear, ensuring she had no chance of coming back to life.

So she was dead, completely dead, and it was impossible for her to still be alive.

Thud.

Han Rong was dragged by the heavy shackles and couldn’t help but fall forward.

Ling Feng kicked him with his foot: “Is the Loyal and Brave Marquis this useless?”

Han Rong felt humiliated and awkward as he struggled to get up, his voice cold as ice: “They say the Yong Kingdom is a great and vast country, yet I never expected it to also bully the weak. Today, I’ve fallen into your hands because I failed to recognize people clearly—”

Ling Feng kicked him over: “If you can’t even beat our little princess consort, then stop talking big and just kneel there obediently.”

…

Inside the hall, Minister Ji had just sat down when he sincerely asked: “May I ask, Princess Consort, when did the War Goddess Princess take you as her disciple?”

“Is it any of your business?” Shen Ning looked over, her gaze cold. “Would you rather I send you down to ask the War Goddess Princess herself?”

Minister Ji’s expression changed, and he quickly said: “No, there’s no need. I was just curious.”

Shen Ning said coldly: “Curiosity killed the cat.”

“The iron cavalry of the Western Zhou is formidable, and indeed, we of Nan Dynasty are not their match. May I ask how many troops the Regent can lend us?” Lin Yi asked respectfully. “If we could borrow two hundred thousand troops, it would likely relieve Nan Dynasty’s predicament.”

“Borrow two hundred thousand troops?” Princess Pingyao, sneered. “Are all you Nan Dynasty people so clueless?”

Lin Yi was taken aback: “What does the princess mean?”

“Who will lead the troops and who will be the commander if we lend you the troops?” Princess Pingyao asked. “The Loyal and Brave Marquis outside, burdened with heavy shackles? Are you trying to send our Yong Kingdom’s soldiers to their deaths?”

Lin Yi’s face turned red: “Princess—”

“You’ve seen the princess consort’s skills just now. She has received the true teachings of your country’s War Goddess Princess. Presumably, her battlefield tactics and strategies are also inherited from the princess. Why not let the princess consort be the commander and lead your campaign against the Western Zhou Dynasty?”

The Nan Dynasty envoys looked at each other: “This… this doesn’t seem appropriate, does it?”

Not to mention whether Shen Ning’s apprenticeship under the War Goddess Princess was true or false, even if it were true, she was, after all, a citizen of the Yong Kingdom. How could she be the commander?

“In that case, you only want to borrow troops, not generals?” Princess Pingyao asked with disdainful laughter. “If so, can Nan Dynasty find a military genius who can guarantee that the troops borrowed from our Yong Kingdom will return unscathed?”

Lin Yi immediately replied: “We will definitely—”

“There must not be a single loss, not even a single horse can die. ” Princess Pingyao emphasized. “After all, the lives of our Yong Kingdom’s sons are also precious. They are all someone’s son, someone’s father, someone’s husband, and cannot die for no reason for strangers who have nothing to do with them.”