In Douluo Continent, I am the mastermind behind the scenes.

"Wait, why would I want to join someone else's group? With my current status, even if I directly poached people from other groups... it wouldn't cause any trouble, would it?"

Ning Peiya slapped her forehead, realizing that her identity was different from before. In the entire outer courtyard, there were very few people she couldn't afford to mess with.

Thinking of this, Ning Peiya suddenly changed direction and walked towards the location of the Foreign Languages ​​Department's office building.

Thanks to her status as the Yun family's little princess, Ning Peiya obtained the lists of Class 1, Grade 1 and Class 1, Grade 2 with very little effort.

Of course, this list is not the kind of list that only records the students' names, ages, martial spirits, and second professions, but rather... it includes information such as each student's family background, whether they have recognized any godparents, and whether they have a sect or school behind them.

"Gu Yuena was born in the working-class district of Baishui City."

"Xu Xiaoyan was born into the Xu family of Donghai City."

"Zheng Yue was born into a collateral branch of the Zheng family in Lingdou City."

"These three are all worth winning over, but what a pity, they are all under the control of Yue Zhengyin. And behind Yue Zhengyin is the Angel Douluo Yue Zhengen... even my adoptive mother would have to give way to her."

Ning Peiya pouted and crossed out the names of Gu Yuena and the other two with a helpless expression.

"Ye Xinglan, um... is this person sick? There's nothing wrong with liking chubby people, but does that mean she's indiscriminately attracted to a chubby foodie?"

Looking at Ye Xinglan's information, Ning Peiya couldn't help but mutter to herself. Any normal woman wouldn't like to be friends with a woman like Ye Xinglan who has special fetishes, right? In this respect... she and Yue Zhengyin are the same.

Wait, Yue Zhengyin? Yue Zhengyin wants to break up Ye Xinglan and Xu Baozi and destroy the Sea God Pavilion—this is such a shameless and utterly shameless concept of pure love… Could it be that she has also awakened?

This isn't exactly a good thing, but it's not a bad thing either. Rebuilding the divine realm is not something that one or two people can do. She and Yue Zhengyin have no grudges against each other. If they really encounter any trouble, it's not impossible for the two groups to cooperate.

As for Huo Yuhao... he's a bit arrogant and doesn't seem like the type to be a subservient subject.

Seeing that there were too few candidates for Class 1 of Grade 1, Ning Peiya simply took out the full list of Class 1 of Grade 2 and carefully examined it in front of her.

"Chen Ning, fourteen years old, level 42 Soul Power, Martial Soul... Blazing Shadow Chasing Wind, huh? The daughter of the Vast Ocean Douluo Chen Xinjie. Wasn't she in a love triangle with the Light and Dark Douluo Long Yeyue and the former Sea God Pavilion Master?"

"Is Chen Ning worth winning over? Can she be used by me?"

Ning Peiya rested her chin on her hands, her gaze unconsciously drifting to the window, looking at the azure sky, her thoughts wandering elsewhere.

……

Meanwhile, in the Ming capital, within the imperial palace, the Daming Palace.

A handsome and refined young man knelt on a futon, constantly wielding his brush as he reviewed the memorials on the desk.

A middle-aged woman in palace attire stood by, her eyes fixed on the young man behind the table.

After an unknown amount of time, the middle-aged woman finally couldn't hold back any longer. She took a deep breath and said in a questioning tone, "Your Highness, do you still hate me?"

"Hate? What do I hate? Do I hate that you colluded with Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong to assassinate me?"

The young man scoffed, "If I still hated you, I would have allowed you to climb into my bed last night..."

"But...you sleep with vegetarians!" Xu Ruoqing pouted, looking resentful. "Why don't you touch me? Do you think I'm too old?"

Women are most unreasonable when they are being unreasonable.

Who would have thought that the former Valkyrie of the Sun and Moon... would have such a side?

"If I were to despise you... I wouldn't have resurrected you in front of that one; I would have chosen Confucius instead."

The young man sighed and said, "A hero is destined to be lonely. My relationship with Master Kong is merely that of a ruler and his subject. He has already worked hard enough for the Sun Moon Empire. There is no need to dig him out again... to make him bear some responsibilities that he should not have to bear."

"But you are different. You are my bedmate, and the little tenderness I have is reserved only for you."

Upon hearing this, Xu Ruoqing subconsciously clenched her fist, a strange pang of sorrow instantly welling up in her heart.

As she grew older, she gradually realized that man's intentions. He... could have chosen a suitable child from the royal family to be adopted into his own family as the heir to the Sun Moon Empire, instead of choosing Zilu and sending her to retrieve that prince's seed...

For a woman, her greatest support is not her husband, but her own child...

She resisted that person's orders at the time, and even publicly refuted them, but... she didn't offer any other solutions, she just let her ambition grow until it reached the point where she wanted to take his place!

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

But when she actually sat in that position, she understood that person's good intentions.

On the battlefield, the allied forces used Xu Yunhan's orders to coerce the Sun Moon Empire into withdrawing its troops. If that person really gave the order, how would he explain it to the families of the fallen soldiers?

Xu Yunhan's life is a life, but aren't the lives of their husbands, sons, fathers, and brothers also lives?

Later, the man refused to take her to the campaign, not because he was disappointed in her, but because she... acted too impulsively.

She can be an excellent wife and mother, but not a qualified commander-in-chief.

Children can be born again, but if people lose their hearts, those Soul Master families will rise up in rebellion... and overthrow the rule of the Sun Moon Royal Family!

That person saved her life, and making her the empress wasn't enough for her; she wanted to take his place.

Ugh!

Xu Ruoqing sighed, slowly kneeling on the ground, two streams of tears flowing from her beautiful eyes. "Your Highness, I only wish to atone for my past mistakes!"

The young man then put down his brush, slowly raised his head, looked at the middle-aged woman kneeling below, and said expressionlessly, "Compared to this look of wanting to atone for your sins, I prefer the you who has some respect for me and some ideas of your own."

"If life were only as beautiful as our first meeting, why would there be sorrow in the autumn wind and painted fans? So easily the hearts of loved ones change, yet people say it is the hearts of loved ones that are fickle."

"What I love is that girl who is single-mindedly seeking revenge for her father and who is willing to take a knife for me to achieve our shared dream. Not... a Valkyrie of the Sun and Moon who exudes an imperial aura."

Upon hearing this, Xu Ruoqing could no longer control her emotions. She stood up, rushed onto the platform, and buried her face in the young man's arms, crying pitifully.

She was wrong, utterly wrong. From beginning to end, she never considered him her husband. (End of Chapter)