“Elder Brother, is war the only thing you can see?”
Can’t you see the common people of this era, who live with more dignity than those in the Great Liang?
“No,” Yun Xuan denied, shaking his head. At the same time, he reiterated, “I just want revenge. War is simply the best and fastest means to achieve it right now.”
“After all,” he said, frowning in annoyance, “the people of this era breed faster than rabbits.”
“The Howard family has already turned against the Empire, haven’t they? If your goal is war, then only the Howard family, with their bloodline and capabilities, can start it.”
“Igniting their ambition and then making them do what you want—that’s your specialty, Elder Brother. That loathsome Young Master Xie, who preyed on his hometown, was led into the abyss by you in the very same way.”
The conversation was straying further and further. By now, Yun Xuan couldn’t figure out why Yun Chuji had come to see him.
If she wanted to stop him, why had she been spouting useless platitudes from the very beginning? No matter how naive Yun Chuji was, she couldn’t possibly believe he would be so moved by a few words that he would instantly renounce his ways and find salvation.
If it was something else, then what could it be?
Yun Xuan found that his younger sister had grown to a point that vexed him.
“Yun Chuji, there’s no need for this nonsense. You and I both know it’s meaningless. If you want to negotiate, name your price. If you’ve come to beg for mercy, you might as well kneel now.”
“Instead of wasting time like this, beating around the bush.”
“Wasting time?” Yun Chuji murmured.
But this was, after all, the last chance for them, as brother and sister, to have a proper conversation.
Right now, the hatred and resentment between them were not yet profound.
But after today, they would be.
Yun Chuji picked up the long-forgotten teapot, poured a cup for herself, and then one for Yun Xuan. Before drinking, she said with a hint of self-deprecation, “To be honest, at first, I thought you might poison me, Elder Brother.”
After all, judging by his demeanor, he probably didn’t intend to live on after his revenge. Dragging her down with him seemed like something he would do.
To this, Yun Xuan let out a cold snort. “Tea isn’t for such dirty business. I won’t kill you, Xiao Ji. I just want you to experience the same despair I have. When that time comes, I want to see if you can still maintain this righteous and honorable facade.”
Yun Chuji set down her teacup and replied calmly, “Elder Brother, have I ever told you how I died? We’ve talked about many things, but they’ve mostly been about you. Perhaps now you should learn a little more about me.”
“On my way back to Qingling County, I was abducted by bandits. They raped Qingye and Liu Yu. The only reason they didn’t rape me on the road was that the chieftain had taken a fancy to my status as a young lady of the Yun family and wanted to make me his wife.”
“Unwilling to bring shame upon the Yun family name, I killed myself by smashing my head against a pillar.”
“Elder Brother, you see, this is the despair you spoke of.”
“But I never hated the Great Liang. Had Qingye and Liu Yu been fortunate enough to survive, I doubt they would have hated the Great Liang either. Even if they had to live with rumors and illness, never able to escape that nightmare for the rest of their lives, they still wouldn’t have hated the Great Liang. It’s even possible they wouldn’t have hated the bandits, but only their own bitter fate.”
Yun Chuji poured another cup of tea, but this time, she didn’t pour one for Yun Xuan.
After finishing her tea, she continued to sit upright, silent, patiently waiting for what Yun Xuan would say.
Yun Xuan clutched the corner of his clothes. He knew now that Yun Chuji was trying to stall for time.
And she was doing it in a way he couldn’t refuse.
She was devaluing his pain, rendering it worthless.
At the same time, she had proof that his inability to move past this pain was his problem alone. He had lived a life of such privilege that he took all his rights and good fortune for granted.
Was that really the case?
Of course, it wasn’t that simple.
“You people never had dignity or ambition. You were just playthings in a man’s courtyard. The most you could give up was your life and reputation, but even those were worthless, so you could cast them aside at will.”
“But I am different. When I had to endure this monstrous body, and then was controlled by that damned monster, what was destroyed for me was something more. Something a woman could never possess.”
Yun Chuji cut off his crazed muttering. “But Elder Brother, doesn’t our current situation prove that the very concept of yin and yang is utterly absurd?!”
Yun Xuan’s eyes reddened as he glared at her. “Why are you doing this?!”
“I want to save you.”
“Ha!” Yun Xuan let out a sarcastic, cold laugh. His beautiful omega features, like poisonous mushrooms on a rainy day, exuded a captivating aura. “We’re all going to die. No matter how we died before, now, we will all die as equals.”
This cup of tea had taken nearly an hour to drink, enough time for Yun Chuji to break down Yun Xuan’s psychological defenses.
It was also enough time for Yun Chuji to release what was in her pocket and, simultaneously, to release the secret hidden within this house.
On the way to the Imperial Palace.
Tang Jianxi’s comm chimed.
She opened the file automatically sent by Yun Chuji and drew in a breath.
Then she saved it, uploaded it, and backed it up as many times as she could.
Then, she walked into the Imperial Palace.
The AI recognition system identified her, but no one stopped her.
The Empress had permitted her entry.
So Tang Jianxi went inside.
As expected, shortly after she entered, Emile was reporting to the Empress on his week-long internship experience under the S-District administrator. Listening from the side, Tang Jianxi found it unremarkable—nothing stunning, but also nothing wrong.
Just like Emile himself.
The Empress maintained her inscrutable expression, the same one she wore during her public speeches, giving her an air of carrying an invisible scepter.
This was true even though she was only wearing a loose silk shirt.
After Emile finished his long debriefing, which was tinged with pride and ambition, the Empress spoke before he could introduce Tang Jianxi. “That will be all, Emile. You may leave. I believe Miss Tang wishes to speak with me alone.”
Emile’s eyes widened slightly, a flicker of discomposure showing. However, his royal upbringing allowed him to recover quickly. He murmured his assent and swiftly exited the study.
“Please, sit, Miss Tang,” the Empress said, gesturing to a small sofa not far from her.
Tang Jianxi didn’t refuse. It was easier to hide one’s nervousness while sitting.
Once seated, Tang Jianxi said, “Your Majesty, I hope you can see the war that is on our doorstep.”
A faint glimmer flashed in the Empress’s eyes before vanishing as if it had never been there. “Oh? Do tell.”
Chu Meng had deliberately interrupted the starship handover process multiple times. By now, the entire transfer was in a state of taking two steps forward and three steps back—a clear sign of faltering progress.
But there had been no word from the omega military, as if Chu Meng’s actions were merely a result of her own emotional whims.
But how could someone like Chu Meng be emotional? She was so rational that she sometimes didn’t seem like an omega at all.
The Empress had assumed Tang Jianxi had received news from the military, but the news Tang Jianxi brought was far worse. “I have no proof,” she said first.
“But I hope Your Majesty will halt the starship handover. Whatever method you use, I’m sure you have a way.”
“Of course, I’m not saying this out of some personal delusion or audacity. While I have no proof that war is coming, the probability of war will increase dramatically once the handover is complete, even in the best-case scenario. So, I intend to threaten you—even without proof.”
“Oh?” The Empress was unconcerned. She tapped her fingers on the desk and asked with a smile, “Miss Tang, what do you intend to threaten me with? To my knowledge, I have no leverage in your hands.”
Tang Jianxi took a deep breath. In the 26-degree room, beads of sweat trickled down her forehead. She wiped them away with the handkerchief Yun Chuji had embroidered for her, then said solemnly, “I will threaten you with the reputation of the Hall family.”
Her words came out in a rush, as if she feared she would lose her courage if she spoke any slower. “I have proof that Lucia formed and participated in Glory’s omega trafficking activities. I also have proof of the blood ties between the Howard family and the imperial family.”
“I believe these two items should be enough to drag the imperial family’s reputation through the mud.”
The Empress stopped tapping her fingers. She raised her eyes and studied the young omega carefully. How time flew. To think Chu Meng had a granddaughter this old.
She was the spitting image of her grandmother in her youth.
The Empress didn’t waste her energy asking how she had obtained these things. The truth was sometimes the most worthless commodity, as it often only revealed itself in full after everything was over.
“Miss Tang, I must remind you, as you know, the Howard family is under the imperial family’s control. But you must understand that the betas are not controlled by a single Howard. In fact, in this handover, due to your grandmother’s deliberate obstruction, the Howard family failed to even secure a leading role.”
“If I were to use an imperial decree to halt the handover, I believe war would come much sooner than you imagine.”
“Regardless of what purpose I intend to use the Howard family for, I should honestly tell you that using the starships to appease years of beta discontent is a necessary measure at this time. Reneging on the deal would only be like piling more explosives onto a bomb that’s already set to detonate.”
The Empress’s reasoning was sound. She seemed to be threatened, yet at the same time, she didn’t. Her expression remained relaxed as she gazed quietly at Tang Jianxi, without a hint of pressure.
It was as if she held the truth in her hands.
Tang Jianxi’s forehead began to sweat again. She thought to herself that she really wasn’t suited for this kind of thing. She should have dragged Tang Jianshen here instead.
But bringing him along would likely only cause the Tang family to offend the imperial family even more deeply.
“That is your problem. You chose to use the starships to satisfy the betas’ appetite, returning the rights you took from the omegas back to them, but at the same time, you’re taking away the very thing we rely on for protection. In this process, what have the alphas lost?”
“Your Majesty, you should think of another way to make the betas feel respected.”
