The Demon Prince

Xiao Xingyue reached out and put his arm around her waist: "Okay."

Kim Wol-hee's smile deepened:

"The Crown Prince is truly pragmatic."

The back door opened, and the old servant who came out bowed in greeting.

"The lord has already rested. If Your Majesty wishes to make a move, please do so quickly."

Jin Yueji glanced at Xiao Xingyue: "Aren't you going in?"

Xiao Xingyue pointed outside:

"I have to keep watch for you. If that old scoundrel Qin Zhenyue comes, I'll have to stop him. You can't stop him."

Jin Yueji snorted coldly:

"You'd better not try anything funny."

"I wouldn't dare, I'm a coward," Xiao Xingyue replied.

Chiba Teruhi's eyelids twitched as he listened; anyone who believed that was crazy.

Jin Yueji led her people through the back gate. The mansion was unusually quiet, with only the occasional gust of wind passing through the copper bells under the corridor, making a tinkling sound.

In the master bedroom, the bed curtains were drawn, and a figure lay inside, with half a cup of calming incense beside him.

Princess Jin Yue walked to the bedside, and Chiba Teruhi lifted the spine of the book and drew a short sword.

Jin Yueji took the knife and, without hesitation, stabbed down.

*Thud*, the blade pierced flesh, the person on the bed twitched twice, and then fell silent.

Princess Jin Yue breathed a sigh of relief:

"Lu Chengzhang, you deserve to die too."

Chiba Teruhi stepped forward and yanked open the bed curtains. The next moment, her face turned deathly pale.

The person lying on the bed wasn't Lu Chengzhang at all, but Park Tae-hun!

Kim Yue-hime's head was buzzing:

"No, retreat!"

She turned and left.

Suddenly, torches were lit outside the door, and that familiar, leisurely tone rang out again:

"General Qin, you've finally arrived. Lord Lu has been stabbed to death by Queen Gou Li."

Jin Yueji rushed out of the bedroom, and Xiao Xingyue had already opened the gate of the Ministry of Rites' mansion, where the sound of armored soldiers roared outside.

Qin Zhenyue stood in armor, with the Imperial Guards and City Patrolmen behind him.

The old general's face was gloomy, and the emperor's spies were hidden in the shadows of the crowd.

When Qin Zhenyue saw the blood on Jin Yueji's hands, his heart sank.

This is so dirty! So dirty that he even thought of Xiao Junlin crawling out of his coffin to beat his son.

Jin Yueji finally reacted and stared intently at Xiao Xingyue:

"You're lying to me?"

Xiao Xingyue raised his hand and slapped Jin Yueji across the face.

Chiba Teruhi drew her sword and was about to charge when a member of the Imperial Guard rushed in from the side door, flicked his sword, and knocked her short sword away!

Chiba Teruhi's wrist went numb, and his eyes turned red with anger. Kimi Tsukihime covered her face, her eyes filled with resentment.

Xiao Xingyue bent down:

"You damned old hag, do you really think I'd let you through?"

I've said it so many times, I'm a loyal subject!

Qin Zhenyue glanced into the shadows, and sure enough, the emperor's spy shrank back.

The old general breathed a sigh of relief. Good lad, he actually said that to His Majesty.

But you can say whatever you want, why did you have to make the situation so scary first?

Jin Yueji finally understood. It all started with the late-night conversation at the post station, with Cao Bi's secret letter, with the so-called seduction, and with her belief that she had Xiao Xingyue under her control.

She was being led around by Xiao Xingyue the whole time!

She gritted her teeth and said:

"Xiao Xingyue, I will definitely kill you."

Xiao Xingyue smiled.

Qin Zhenyue waved his hand: "Take him down."

The imperial guards stepped forward, and Jin Yueji did not resist.

She knew that as the ruler of Gouli Kingdom, she could not die here, at least not be killed on the spot.

But she remembered that slap.

When Chiba Shōri was taken away, he glared at Xiao Xingyue with eyes that looked as if he wanted to devour him whole.

……

Inside the Imperial Study.

The emperor's expression was still not good.

Xiao Xingyue stood in the hall, and Qin Zhenyue stood beside him.

Tonight he ran from his private residence to the palace, then from the palace to the Ministry of Rites' residence, and was then summoned back to the Imperial Study. Even the mighty old general is being walked around like a dog.

The emperor glanced at Xiao Xingyue, who had an obedient expression:

"Cao Bi is dead, and you've also captured Jin Yueji. You certainly know how to cause trouble."

Xiao Xingyue cupped his hands in greeting:

"Your subject is utterly loyal."

The emperor picked up the memorial, then put it down again:

"But Jin Yueji cannot die yet. She is the ruler of Gouli Kingdom. If she dies in the capital, all the foreign lands will say that Great Xia has no capacity to tolerate people."

Those who come to court but die in the capital—this is a reputation that Great Xia cannot bear.

Xiao Xingyue looked heartbroken:

"Then my sacrifice was for nothing?"

The emperor stared at him:

"What did you sacrifice?"

Xiao Xingyue said seriously:

"Reputation, innocence, and the risk of almost being taken as a male concubine by the Queen of Gou Li Kingdom."

The imperial study fell silent for a moment, and Qin Zhenyue looked up at Liang.

The emperor rubbed his temples:

"At least you've dealt with two people who didn't get along with you."

With Cao Bi dead, Jin Yueji dared not make any more rash moves.

"Go down."

Xiao Xingyue didn't move, so the emperor asked again:

"Is there anything else?"

Xiao Xingyue cupped his hands in greeting:

"Jin Yueji hates me to the bone. If I just let her go back to the post station, she might retaliate. I must go and release her myself."

"Go on, go on," the emperor said, already growing impatient.

"Thank you, Father Emperor."

The dungeon was very damp.

Jin Yueji sat on a wooden chair, her hands bound, the slap mark on her face still visible.

Upon seeing Xiao Xingyue enter, hatred almost overwhelmed him:

"Xiao Xingyue, you dare to come here again?"

Xiao Xingyue sighed:

"Your Majesty, I gave you a chance to live, and this is how you treat me?"

Jin Yueji sneered: "Do you think I'd still believe you?"

Xiao Xingyue looked frustrated, as if he had been wrongly accused.

Believe it or not, it doesn't matter, the door is open.

The jailer stepped forward and untied the ropes.

Jin Yueji was stunned.

She loosened her grip on his wrist, and her gaze towards Xiao Xingyue held genuine doubt.

"You're really letting me go?"

"Otherwise what?" Xiao Xingyue turned around:

"Hurry up and leave, I can't stop the emperor if he changes his mind."

Jin Yueji followed him out of the dungeon.

……

When they arrived at the inn, Chiba Teruhi was already going crazy waiting. As soon as she saw Kingetsuhime, she rushed up to her:

"Your Majesty, are you alright?"

She turned and glared at Xiao Xingyue:

"It's all your fault! If you hadn't led the King on this dangerous journey, how could he have been detained by the Great Xia?"

*Slap!* Jin Yueji raised her hand and slapped her.

Chiba Teruhi covered his face, completely stunned.

Jin Yueji said coldly:

"Without Xiao Xingyue, I would have died this time."

Chiba Teruhi's lips moved slightly: "Your Majesty?"

Jin Yueji sat down and stared at Xiao Xingyue:

"What exactly happened?"

Xiao Xingyue rubbed his shoulders:

"Lu Chengzhang died long ago; he was killed by the lamplighter."

He wants to pin this score with the Minister of Rites' office on you.

Jin Yueji's expression changed.

Xiao Xingyue continued:

"Our plan had already failed. After much thought, I decided that I should save myself first and then secretly rescue you."

Chiba Teruhi stood there, stunned.

She recalled Xiao Xingyue slapping Jin Yueji in public, and his words, "I am a loyal subject." That slap was meant to be a show for the Great Xia Dynasty.

Chiba Teruhi's face alternated between pale and flushed; he lowered his head, full of apology.

"Your Highness, I misunderstood you."

Chiba admires your strategy.

Xiao Xingyue waved his hand:

"Keep a low profile. I don't have many merits, except that I'm handsome, kind-hearted, and have exceptional strategic skills."

Princess Kingetsu glanced at Teruhime Chiba:

"You can go out now."

Chiba Teruhi hesitated for a moment, then closed the door.

Only the two of them remained in the room. Jin Yueji stood there for a long time before finally walking up to Xiao Xingyue and speaking softly:

"Xiao Xingyue, this time, I owe you my life."

Xiao Xingyue looked at her: "Repay with intelligence."

Jin Yueji remained silent. The wind outside the window stirred the lamplight. When she finally spoke, her voice was somewhat hoarse:

"The lamplighter and Gou Li first collaborated on the northern border."

The smile on Xiao Xingyue's face slowly faded.

Jin Yueji continued:

"The deaths of your eight elder brothers and Xiao Junlin's final battle were inextricably linked to the lamplighter."

The room fell silent immediately.

Xiao Xingyue pondered that the lamplighter and the emperor were clearly enemies, and that the lamplighter was secretly causing trouble in the court and disrupting the country. Xiao Xingyue was determined to get rid of him.

After all, this empire is part of the process of exploiting those who have no descendants; it will eventually belong to him.

To disrupt the emperor's empire is to disrupt his empire.

But if his father and brother's deaths were related to the lamplighter... does that mean it had nothing to do with the emperor?

Xiao Xingyue felt as if two enormous hands, capable of covering the sky, were enveloping him.

Jin Yueji tugged at his clothes.

Xiao Xingyue snapped out of his daze, adopting the arrogant expression of a tiger of the Major Crimes Unit: "I already found out about this, did you need to tell me?"

Jin Yueji was somewhat embarrassed:

"This is all I know. Gou Li was kept in the dark about everything else. Many things were being followed up by some senior officials."

Xiao Xingyue remained silent for a long time.

Jin Yueji suddenly raised her hand and untied the sash of her outer robe.

Xiao Xingyue snapped out of his daze: "What's wrong with the King?"

Princess Jin Yue approaches:

"I am leaving the capital tomorrow, and I will return the favor with a gift tonight."

Jin Yueji clapped her hands, and Chiba Rizhao opened the door and walked in. She had even changed into a sexy ancient-style nightgown, and even put on black stockings for her long legs.

These tiny countries really know how to play the game... Xiao Xingyue made a desperate move, like Tang Sanzang saying, "Female benefactor, isn't this inappropriate?"

Jin Yueji sneered:

"When you hugged me just now, you didn't say it was inappropriate."

She swept the lamp out with a wave of her sleeve, and the room went dark.

Only a sliver of moonlight remained outside the window, falling onto the ground.

In the latter half of the night, when the panting stopped and the wind died down, Xiao Xingyue leaned against the edge of the bed, rubbing her slender waist on both sides.

Kim Wol-hee kept calling him "Oppa".

Chiba Rizhao eats peaches and mulberries one after another.

It was really tough on him.

"What if we have a child?"

Jin Yueji smiled and said, "If I become pregnant, I will make him the ruler of Gou Li Kingdom."

Xiao Xingyue felt a surge of satisfaction.

Good heavens, he hasn't even become the Supreme Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty yet, but he's already become the Supreme Emperor of Gou Li?