Chapter 93: Cockroaches, Snakes, and Rats in One Nest

Princess Pingyao was too lazy to entertain this foolish question and went straight to the point: “Your faked death back then, was it because you were afraid of dying and fled the battlefield, or was there some kind of conspiracy?”

“Pingyao, is there still a place for me in your heart?” Ling Fengyang acted as if he hadn’t heard her words, looking at her with pleading eyes, his voice filled with grief and bitterness. “Don’t marry that Qin family’s concubine’s son, okay? You don’t know how I’ve lived these three years, I… I’ve missed you so much it’s driving me crazy…”

Princess Pingyao teased: “When you were fighting for Nan Dynasty against the Western Zhou and lost 80,000 troops, was it because you were so distracted by missing me that you let your guard down?”

Ling Fengyang’s eyes changed: “The Nan Dynasty envoys are here?”

“Answer my question.”

Ling Fengyang lowered his head, and his eyes were indiscernible: “Do you think, with my combat skills, I would really lose 80,000 troops?”

“Don’t tell me you did it on purpose.” Princess Pingyao sneered coldly, as if she had anticipated his excuse. “Ling Fengyang, you’re full of tricks and lies. Do you think this princess would still believe you? Tell me exactly what happened back then, or don’t blame this princess for being unfeeling.”

Ling Fengyang raised his eyes, stubbornly looking at her: “I don’t believe you would do anything to me. You can’t be that heartless.”

Princess Pingyao stood up, kicked the chair away, and swung the whip in her hand, lashing it across his face.

Ling Fengyang’s pupils contracted as he quickly turned his head to dodge, but the fierce tip of the whip still cut across his face, leaving a deep bloody mark.

Drops of blood seeped out, the sharp pain was clear and intense, and the smell of blood spread through the air.

Before Ling Fengyang could react, another lash struck his face.

Princess Pingyao had no intention of showing mercy, and her actions made it clear whether she still had any lingering feelings for him and whether she could be ruthless.

“Pingyao!” Ling Fengyang dodged, the shackles in his hands rattling with a piercing sound. “Even if you beat me to death, you’re the only one in my heart! For three years, I’ve missed you to the point of madness, dreaming of us being married, having children… Pingyao…”

Princess Pingyao stopped her actions and looked down at his current miserable state: “Ling Fengyang, were you the mastermind behind the Shen family’s total defeat back then?”

Ling Fengyang curled up against the wall, his disheveled hair hanging over his forehead, concealing his eyes and the changes in his expression. However, at the moment Princess Pingyao asked this question, his body involuntarily trembled.

Princess Pingyao had once fought alongside him on the battlefield and knew him far better than anyone else. What wasn’t clear to her at this moment?

His earlier evasive answers were clearly because he didn’t dare to face her questions directly.

Her judgment was confirmed, and Princess Pingyao viciously kicked him, the whip in her hand raining down on him: “This princess doesn’t want to know how much you miss me in your dreams. I only want to know, how many nightmares have you had these three years, and have any spirits come to you at night to claim your life? Ling Fengyang, I will make sure you die a horrible death!”

Ling Fengyang was lashed by her and tried to dodge: “Pingyao, Pingyao, listen to me! Listen to me!”

Princess Pingyao stopped and looked at him coldly: “Speak.”

“Pingyao.” Ling Fengyang subconsciously reached out to grab her arm, “I…”

Princess Pingyao took a step back in disgust, her voice becoming lazy yet still keeping people at arm’s length: “Don’t touch me with your filthy hands.”

Ling Fengyang’s outstretched hand stiffened and then retracted in despair, the bloodstains all over his head and face looking shocking. “I went to Nan Dynasty by the order of the late Emperor, not to betray the country, nor to plot against the Shen family…”

“What did the late Emperor send you to Nan Dynasty for?”

“The late Emperor knew he didn’t have much time left and was worried that the young Emperor wouldn’t be able to hold up the kingdom and would be stripped of his power, so he sent me to Nan Dynasty to make everyone believe I was dead. The purpose was to build up strength in Nan Dynasty and become a support for the Emperor in the future.”

Hearing this, Princess Pingyao’s lips curled into a mocking smile: “A waste like you, not becoming a burden to the Emperor would be good enough, yet you speak of building up strength and becoming the Emperor’s support?”

Ling Fengyang’s lips tightened, and a look of embarrassment flashed across his face.

“You went to another country alone, and it’s impossible for the Nan Dynasty Emperor to trust you. Yet you want to become the Emperor’s support? How easy do you think that is?” Princess Pingyao guessed, “So did the late Emperor also have an agreement with the Nan Dynasty Emperor?”

Ling Fengyang’s lips were already chapped and cracked, his face not only pale but also marked with disheveled bloody streaks, looking nothing like his former self.

Even his voice had become hoarse and unpleasant: “Yes.”

Princess Pingyao thought of a scene from today’s palace banquet and the Loyal and Brave Marquis, and spoke indifferently: “Let me ask you again, the Loyal and Brave Marquis of Nan Dynasty has a wife, do you know about her?”

Ling Fengyang was taken aback and then pursed his lips: “Is that princess really so famous?”

It was one thing for the Regent to know about this princess because of his battles, but why was Pingyao also so concerned about her?

“Do you want another lash?” Princess Pingyao said coldly, “Just answer my question.”

“Pingyao, you know I’ve never hidden anything from you. I answer whatever you ask.” Ling Fengyang said with a bitter smile. “That princess is already dead.”

“Dead?” Princess Pingyao’s tone was calm. “How did she die?”

“After she married the Loyal and Brave Marquis Han Rong, she never appeared in public again, so many people don’t know the details.” Ling Fengyang leaned against the wall. “But I know.”

Princess Pingyao narrowed her eyes: “Oh?”

“On their wedding night, the Loyal and Brave Marquis poisoned the wine he shared with the princess. That poison didn’t exist in Nan Dynasty, I brought it with me.” Ling Fengyang sighed. “It was my first gift to the Nan Dynasty Emperor, to help him get rid of the War Goddess Princess.”

Princess Pingyao narrowed her eyes: “Was this one of the ways you gained the trust of the Nan Dynasty Emperor?”

“Yes.”

“Truly a nest of cockroaches, snakes, and rats.” Princess Pingyao’s expression was icy cold. “You are all despicable people.”

Ling Fengyang disagreed: “If War Goddess Princess were alive, the military power in Nan Dynasty wouldn’t be in my hands.”

“After you took control, how many victories did you achieve?”

Ling Fengyang was irritated and ashamed: “Pingyao, I only went to Nan Dynasty to build up strength and wait for the right moment to return and become the Emperor’s support, not to achieve victories in Nan Dynasty. Besides, what good would it do Yong Kingdom if Nan Dynasty really became powerful?”

“Don’t make excuses for your despicable actions!” Princess Pingyao looked down at him, her voice cold and merciless. “This princess remembers that when you were eighteen, you said that the most honorable death for a warrior is on the battlefield. The Nan Dynasty princess is a war goddess, a model for women. Not to mention that Yong Kingdom and Nan Dynasty are not enemies, even if they were, you should have defeated her on the battlefield with honor. Even if she were to die by a thousand arrows, I would respect you as a man! But you used such a despicable and shameless act to poison her, letting her die in a humiliating manner on her wedding night, in her own home, in a corner unknown to everyone—”

“She didn’t die that night, only her martial arts were crippled.” Ling Fengyang retorted. “She didn’t die, her death wasn’t because of the poisoned wine, but because she was tortured to death by the person she loved.”

“You’re wrong.” Princess Pingyao’s eyes were cold. “On that wedding night, she was already dead.”