Forcing me to become a concubine? Remarrying the Ninth Prince, she'll be pregnant all over the

"Lin Wantang!"

Shen Huai'an's words, sharp and forceful, seemed to spill from between his clenched teeth. His cold, bloodshot eyes were fixed on the woman he held in his arms, and for a moment, he truly wanted to…

That's how it ended for her!

That way, she won't be thinking about helping others even when she's about to die!

"Don't force me!" Shen Huai'an gripped the sword tightly, the blade digging into Lin Wantang's skin once more, blood seeping out. "Think of your father, and your entire family. Do you want them all to be buried with you and that Wei fellow!"

"……OK."

Lin Wantang endured the stinging pain in her neck, whether from excessive anger or the increasingly cold wind in the latter half of the night, she could not feel any warmth left on her body, and she met Shen Huai'an's eyes without any regard, her voice cold and firm.

Blood was still dripping from the corner of her mouth. Forcibly circulating her qi and blood to break through the confinement of her acupoints caused her brain to spin continuously. Her breath was weak and feeble, but her voice, though strained, was still strong.

"If you have the guts... if you have the guts, then come at me! Kill me, kill my entire family, Shen Huai'an, do you have the ability? You're already struggling to protect yourself, how many more people can you drag down to hell with you?"

Shen Huai'an was furious, but his pupils clenched in shock.

"Are you out of your mind? Don't you care about your whole family's lives?"

He blurted out incredulously, simultaneously moving some sharp blades aside, and then grabbed her neck tightly: "Lin Wantang! Look carefully, the one who has now ascended the throne in accordance with the will of Heaven is me! Do you really...?"

"Kill me!"

Lin Wantang interrupted her abruptly, barely managing to raise her hand, and without hesitation, tried to grab the sharp blade in Shen Huai'an's hand.

Shen Huai'an reacted quickly, turning sideways and grabbing her hand with his other hand.

"You wouldn't dare kill me..." Lin Wantang deliberately provoked him, now truly disregarding life and death. "Shen Huai'an, you've succeeded to the throne? Ha! What makes you think you can succeed? You're incompetent and immoral, a hypocrite who only seeks fame and fortune, you..."

"Shut up!" Shen Huai'an couldn't stand it anymore, and gripped her neck so tightly that he almost choked her unconscious.

Enraged, he resealed Lin Wantang's acupoints on her back, immobilizing her once more. She was held captive, watching the scene below the bridge. In the dawn, blood and smoke mingled, and a cold wind blew up debris from the battle, brushing past the still-wet bloodstains on her armor, sending chills down her spine.

The scattered weapons and the corpses lying on the bluestone slabs were like a living hell, just like... the night Shen Hu forced the emperor to abdicate.

This is the inheritance from father to son; there's no such thing as a son being unfilial to his father.

Shen Huai'an quickly suppressed the ferocity hidden in his eyes, arrogantly looking at Wei Wujiu, who was heavily guarded in the distance, "I see you won't shed tears until you see the coffin! Very well..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Wantang felt an even sharper pain in his throat!

Shen Huai'an's sword advanced another point.

Wei Wujiu's brow furrowed suddenly, his indifferent face remaining impassive, but his unfathomable eyes fixed on Shen Huai's sword-wielding hand. "Shen Huai'an, you threaten women with their lives, is this the ambition you have to become emperor?"

Even the humblest laborers know that a real man, if not a pillar of strength, shouldn't coerce a woman into taking advantage of him when trouble comes!

Shen Huai'an listened, revealing a cold smile and his snow-white teeth like fangs: "The victor is king, the loser is villain; what does it matter what methods are used!"

"Wei Wujiu, you don't want to care about her anymore, is that it? Then I'll send her to the Yellow Springs right now!" Shen Huai'an said coldly, and at the same time ordered, "All troops, listen up! Fight to the death, kill without mercy!"

The Imperial Guards, led by Xiao Renxiong, immediately obeyed the order, drawing their swords once more to meet the enemy. The two armies clashed fiercely, and Shen Huai'an, showing no mercy, swung his sword to strike Lin Wantang—

"Your Highness!"

At the critical moment, a deep voice suddenly pierced through the noise, and an elderly man with a full head of white hair, walking with faltering steps, hurriedly broke through the darkness of dawn.

Upon hearing the sound, Shen Huai'an's hand holding the sword inexplicably paused.

When he finally saw who was rushing towards him, he was stunned.

The visitor was none other than Zhou Jin, his mentor and teacher, a veteran of three dynasties, who had long since retired into seclusion. He remained unmarried and childless throughout his life, and was now eighty years old, living a solitary life. He had devoted his entire life to serving the emperor and the country.

Shen Huai'an still respected and valued Zhou Jin. He instinctively removed the sharp blade from his hand, then gasped, "Why is the Grand Tutor here? At a time like this, don't try to persuade me! Guards! Quickly help the Grand Tutor home!"

Someone was about to obey the order when Zhou Jin suddenly pulled a short sword from his sleeve, unsheathed it, and held the blade to his own neck: "Your Highness, please allow me to say a few more words..."

"I am old and my days are numbered, but I am truly... worried about Your Highness! I cannot bear to see Your Highness make one mistake after another, aiding and abetting evil and embarking on a path of no return!"

Zhou Jin was in tears, but his resolute spirit remained unwavering. He was truly risking his life to remonstrate with the emperor, his voice ringing out like a bell, each word dripping with blood: "As the crown prince, instead of showing compassion for your subjects and ensuring the stability of the nation, you have resorted to these despicable acts of forcing the emperor to abdicate and taking hostages. Is this the behavior of a benevolent ruler?"

"With His Majesty still alive, how can Your Highness be allowed to act so presumptuously!"

Zhou Jin turned his head in pain and disappointment, then looked at Wei Wujiu in the distance with a heavy heart: "Lord Wei, you have already rendered meritorious service in saving the Emperor today, but why do you have to confront His Highness the Crown Prince like this? I know that you have good intentions in trying to persuade His Highness, but you should not be so impolite and reckless as to act insubordination!"

"Grand Tutor, you are mistaken!"

Zhang Qian suddenly stepped forward from the ranks of the Imperial Guards, bowed deeply to Zhou Jin, and said, "What do you mean by insubordination? Grand Tutor, you probably don't know the truth. This Lord Wei's surname isn't Wei, but Shen!"

The crowd was filled with shock and fear.

Zhou Jin's eyes widened in surprise: "You said...you said what?"

Lin Wantang was speechless, but she was also quite frightened. She stared in astonishment at Wei Wujiu standing in the distance. The distance was too far, and dawn was about to fade into darkness. She couldn't see his expression at all.

But Wei Wujiu's surname is Shen? What... is that going on?

Shen Huai'an didn't want Zhang Qian to reveal Wei Wujiu's true identity at this time. Whether true or false, it would easily shake the morale of the army, but...

Zhang Qian came prepared, speaking swiftly and giving no one a chance to breathe or think, directly asking, "Does the Grand Tutor still remember Emperor Jing? Do you still remember Empress Xiaowen?"

"Then the Grand Tutor should know that Empress Xiaowen and Emperor Jing first had Princess Duanhui, Shen Zhaohua, and many years later they had a son, Shen Chengji. He was named Crown Prince while still an infant, but when he was three years old, Emperor Jing led his army to conquer the barbarians and was attacked and died. At that time, Prince Shen Hu took the opportunity to collude with the barbarians to rebel, stage a coup, and force Empress Xiaowen to commit suicide with Emperor Jing, under the pretext of separating the mother and keeping the son!"