If you're made a fake emperor, why did you change the country's name?

"Everything I did... was for my brother."

Sun Pinru finally spoke, her voice hoarse, yet strangely calm.

She raised her head, and beneath her disheveled hair, her eyes no longer held madness, but only unfathomable sorrow and hatred.

"My real name is not Sun Pinru."

"I am Princess Ji Yue of the Sun Kingdom."

姬？

Zhao Yu's eyebrows twitched.

The surname Ji is the royal family of the Sun Kingdom. This wife of the Prince of Zhennan of Daliang is actually a member of the Sun Kingdom's royal family!

"Ten years ago, my father, Ji Rulin, who was also the ruler of Sun Kingdom, suddenly changed his personality a few days after returning from a trip to Ying Kingdom." Ji Yue's voice was low and carried a chill.

"He began a frenzied purge of all members of the royal bloodline, claiming we were all monsters who had stolen his fortune."

"That night, the palace was awash in blood. My brothers, my sisters, one by one... all died under the swords of the Imperial Guards."

Her voice began to tremble, and her knuckles turned white as she clenched her fists.

"My mother hid my brother and me in a secret passage, which is how we escaped this calamity."

"But we were still discovered. On the way out of the capital, my younger brother shielded me from a poisoned dart by a sorcerer."

At this point, she became somewhat emotional, tears mingling with the dust on her face, leaving two clear tear tracks.

"That kind of poison is called 'bone-eating and heart-corroding'."

"It flares up once a month on the fifteenth of the month, on the night of the full moon. When the poison takes effect, it feels like thousands of ants are gnawing at your heart, and it feels like steel needles are scraping your bones, causing unbearable pain."

Ji Yue's voice was filled with a profound despair.

"I took him everywhere to seek medical treatment, searching for famous doctors all over the country, and spending all the money we brought with us, but we could only buy some herbs that could barely suppress the poison, which only treated the symptoms and not the root cause."

"Until three years ago, I met Zhao Yu."

She opened her eyes; her tears had dried, leaving only naked hatred.

"He used the Heavenly Silkworm Ice Bed to suppress the poison for my brother, and he also promised me that he would contact the old man in the Sun Kingdom Palace to obtain the unique antidote for 'Bone-Eating Heart-Corroding'."

"The condition is... I must marry the Prince of Zhennan and await his orders."

The story is over.

The hall fell silent once again.

The flickering candlelight cast their shadows on the ground, making them appear longer and shorter.

After a long while, Zhao Yu finally spoke.

"I can help you too. It's just a simple antidote; I have half a month to prepare it."

Ji Yue looked up abruptly, unable to believe what she had just heard.

"I have my own way of dealing with the Sun Kingdom's affairs," Zhao Yu said calmly, afraid she wouldn't believe him.

"If you are willing to submit to me, I can not only save your brother, but also help you restore your kingdom in the future."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yue was stunned.

Immediately, a strong sense of sarcasm appeared on her face, and then she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"you?"

She thought she had heard the funniest joke in the world.

"A fake emperor who rose from beggar's origins dares to dream of asking the Sun Kingdom for an antidote?"

Ji Yue sneered, her voice full of contempt.

"No matter how useless Zhao Yu is, he is still a descendant of the late emperor, a rightful prince! He has the Empress Dowager backing him and the entire Zhennan Prince's Mansion as his support!"

"What do you have?"

She looked Zhao Yu up and down, making no attempt to hide her disdain.

"With these few hundred Deadpools who appeared out of nowhere around you? Ridiculous!"

"Do you really think that just because you're sitting on this dragon throne, you're truly the emperor?"

"Stop dreaming! You're nothing more than a pawn pushed out by the Empress Dowager and the Prince of Zhennan to temporarily stabilize the court! Once they deem you useless, they can discard you at any time!"

Ji Yue's voice grew increasingly agitated, as if she wanted to vent all the pent-up frustration and disdain she had been suppressing over the past few days.

She looked at Zhao Yu, waiting for him to explode in anger, waiting for him to lose his temper.

However, Zhao Yu listened quietly, his expression remaining unchanged.

This left Ji Yue with a feeling of powerlessness, like punching cotton.

But immediately, the mockery on Ji Yue's face suddenly turned into a strange, maniacal laugh.

"Haha...hahahaha!"

"idiot!"

She stared at Zhao Yu and cursed him, word by word.

"Do you really think I'm telling you a story?"

"I'm waiting!"

Before she finished speaking, she suddenly pulled out a palm-sized, blood-red talisman from her sleeve and slammed it hard onto the gold brick in front of her!

"Buzz—"

An invisible ripple spread out from the center of the talisman in an instant!

The air in the entire Hall of Mental Cultivation became thick and sticky, making it difficult to breathe.

A layer of pale red light, like an inverted bowl, completely enveloped the entire hall.

Qiu Ping, who was outside the hall, immediately sensed that something was wrong.

"Protect His Majesty!"

He roared and, with several Imperial Guards, rammed into the palace gate.

"Bang!"

The heavy palace doors remained completely still.

The instant their bodies touched the palace gate, Qiu Ping and the other Imperial Guards went limp, collapsing without a sound and falling into a deep sleep.

Outside the palace gate, even more Imperial Guards rushed forward.

They pushed and shoved each other, and anyone whose body touched the walls or doors and windows of the main hall, like Qiu Ping, fell to the ground and fell into a deep sleep without making a sound.

In a short while, a large number of people collapsed outside the hall.

Zhao Yu raised an eyebrow, not expecting this woman to be so fierce, still unwilling to admit defeat even at this point.

Inside the hall, Ji Yue watched all of this with smug satisfaction.

She slowly stood up from the ground, dusted off her skirt, and smiled with a sense of triumph.

"This is the 'Nightmare Barrier,' one of the imperial treasures of the Sun Kingdom's witchcraft."

Her voice echoed within the barrier, carrying a hint of ethereal quality.

"Anyone who tries to break in from the outside or escape from the inside will immediately fall into the deepest nightmare until the caster dies or actively dispels the barrier."

Now, it's just you and me here.

She looked at Zhao Yu as if he were a caged beast.

Zhao Yu looked around, glanced at the pale red light screen, and listened to the sounds outside that had disappeared, but his face remained expressionless.

"So, you think you can beat me?"

"Of course... we can't win."

Ji Yue smiled, completely unconcerned.

"But I believe that the death of Lady Zhennan at His Majesty's hands is enough to give you, a beggar, a hard time."

"You're going to commit suicide?!" Zhao Yu keenly sensed the other party's intention.

Ji Yue smiled: "Exactly, this barrier is to prevent anyone from rescuing me. Beggar, you're dead!"

After saying that, Ji Yuehao bit down hard, and with a "crack," the medicine in her mouth was crushed.

Ji Yue looked at Zhao Yu triumphantly, wanting to see the panic on Zhao Yu's face.

Unfortunately, Zhao Yu remained calm, seemingly unconcerned about her death.

Ji Yue snorted coldly, closed her eyes, and prepared to die.