Chapter 145: Confession and Negotiation

The atmosphere between the lord and his consorts shifted slightly the moment they stepped into the carriage, prompting Nongyu to forgo returning to the first floor and instead seek the company of the mother and concubine.

"Great King, is our Yan'er about to gain another mother?" Having just welcomed Nongyu, Consort Yan found herself unable to remain silent now that yet another little vixen had appeared.

As Lin Shu pondered how to respond, Shaoshao awoke from her meditative trance.

[Shaoshao, the Great King has brought back another woman.] Naturally, Xinying could not fail to report such a momentous event.

"Ah! Another one arrives! Hmph, I shall go and see what she looks like!"

Recalling Flame Lingji's murderous glare, Lin Shu thought it best to be direct.

"The last time she was locked in the water prison, her clothes somehow ended up torn to pieces, and I couldn't help but embrace her!"

Consort Yan frowned and shook her head. "Just an embrace?"

She certainly did not believe that!

Lin Shu offered a wry smile and nodded. "I will go speak with her and then send her on her way. I have no desire to keep such a temperamental woman around."

"Very well! But I am coming with you!" Consort Yan refused to leave her husband alone with a temptress.

Having been zapped by Xinying several times to temper her fiery disposition, Flame Lingji was now behaving herself.

"What kind of ghost place is this?" Though the room was lavish and spacious, Flame Lingji was in no mood to appreciate it.

She dared not even channel her inner energy, lest it be drained away by the carriage once again.

"Hmph! Quite the alluring creature indeed!" Shaoshao felt a twinge of nervousness; this newcomer was astonishingly seductive!

As Flame Lingji turned around, the locked door sprang open, though the person entering was not the one she wished to see.

"And who are you? One of that scoundrel's wives?"

With a slight shake of her head, Shaoshao nodded. "And who might you be? Are you intending to stay with him as well? Do you know that he already has four wives, with another one practically in waiting?"

Judging by Nongyu's attitude and gaze toward her husband, Shaoshao reckoned they would not be far behind!

"Hmph! I am not as blind as the lot of you. I would rather be killed than stay with him!" To think this scoundrel's wives were all so breathtakingly beautiful and powerful! Flame Lingji truly felt the heavens were blind.

Shaoshao rather appreciated Flame Lingji's defiant attitude.

"He is indeed utterly detestable. If you dislike him, I will have him release you shortly."

Release me? Flame Lingji was somewhat reluctant! She had yet to exact her revenge, even though she knew full well she was no match for this entire household.

With the door wide open, Lin Shu walked in and looked around with genuine surprise.

"Shaoshao, you're here too."

"Yes, Husband." Seeing that Consort Yan had also arrived, Shaoshao stepped back to stand beside him.

Beholding the two powerful experts embracing the scoundrel, Flame Lingji's pent-up fury instantly erupted.

"If you're going to kill me, just do it! Don't even think about keeping me locked up! You will never have me!"

Heh~ Lin Shu could not help but chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?" Had she not been watched by the two consorts, Flame Lingji would have genuinely rushed forward to beat him to death!

Lin Shu shook his head faintly. He was not laughing at anything in particular; rather, hearing such a familiar line had simply tickled his funny bone—Flame Lingji had once said the exact same thing to Bai Yifei.

"Considering I saved your life last time, I expect no reward. Just put the matter behind you from now on. If you wish, I will send you out of the city right this instant."

A reward! That pushed her fury over the edge.

"You still have the audacity to ask for a reward! You truly are shameless!" Flame Lingji fought hard to suppress her anger, knowing that anger alone would not allow her to defeat any of them.

Very well! Lin Shu decided to cut straight to the point.

"It was my fault for inadvertently running into you under those circumstances last time, but after all, I did save your life. Surely that cancels things out?"

Her hands clenching into fists once more out of sheer rage, Flame Lingji retorted, "I would rather die than need your saving!"

Ah! Lin Shu sighed; this was becoming no fun at all!

"Then what will it take to call it even?"

Without missing a beat, Flame Lingji declared, "Chop off both your hands, and we'll call it even."

"Hmph! Don't be ungrateful!" Consort Yan sneered. So he had merely touched her! To harbor such bitter ingratitude over that was absurd!

Shaoshao remained quietly deep in thought, consumed by intense curiosity.

[Shaoshao, the Commander saved this woman last time, but since she was in the water prison, her clothes were torn, so the Great King accidentally touched her! Afterward, he left the twins behind to look after her.] Xinying secretly transmitted this message to her close friend, though fortunately, she omitted the more intimate details.

Ah, so that was it! Shaoshao finally understood! It was hardly a grave offense, after all—men would be men!

"Then how about you chop off your right hand? Otherwise, just kill me right now!" Flame Lingji felt a mixture of hatred and fear; none of these three were good people.

Lin Shu shook his head. "That is out of the question. I will neither harm myself nor do I wish to hurt you!"

"On top of the last time, I have now saved you twice. Allow me to offer you thirty thousand taels of gold, and let us consider the matter settled, shall we?"

Thirty thousand taels of gold! Flame Lingji was momentarily stunned; this scoundrel certainly threw his wealth around lavishly!

"What good is any amount of gold to me! I never asked you to save me! Nor did I ask you to bully me!" The memory of that passionate kiss and the subsequent events only made her grievance grow heavier.

The little vixen's eyes turned red, instantly filling Lin Shu with genuine guilt.

"It was indeed this lord's fault. Let me offer my formal apology to you now!" With that, Lin Shu bowed deeply and sincerely three times.

Hmph! Flame Lingji sneered, yet the grievance in her heart subsided somewhat.

"How about this? I will go and retrieve the Gu-mother that Bai Yifei used to control Tianze and give it to you, on the condition that you leave him afterward. Tianze is no benevolent soul!" Though Lin Shu did not expect to keep this little vixen by his side, he had no desire to watch her throw her life away following him.

Does he care about me? Flame Lingji lowered her gaze in silence. She was tempted, as she genuinely wished to repay Tianze's kindness.

"Could it be that you are simply reluctant to leave him?" Lin Shu frowned, wondering how many shared histories they truly had.

"Heh! Reluctant? Where else could we even go? Baiyue is gone, and countless of our people are scattered to the winds, their fates unknown!" Flame Lingji truly had no other refuge; otherwise, she would have preferred to have nothing more to do with someone as venomous as Tianze.

Lin Shu was genuinely surprised!

"I never took you for such a sentimental soul! But Tianze can never restore the state! Behind the state of Chu lies Qin, and behind Qin lies the Yan-Huang Empire! Baiyue has already become a thing of the past. Would it not be better for the people of Baiyue to integrate with the Central Plains?"

Flame Lingji closed her eyes and lowered her head, then raised her gaze to look calmly at Lin Shu.

This man was roughly her height, neither overly sturdy nor slender, with features that were not exceptionally handsome yet pleasing and imbued with an inherent cheerfulness. Only that wretched, mischievous smile made one yearn to beat him ten thousand times over!

"Through a thousand years of existence, can you truly expect millions of Yue people to simply forget their national enmity and family hatred at the mere mention of 'integration'?"

At the very least, Flame Lingji could never forget! Her home and everything she held dear had been reduced to ashes by the flames of war! Countless Yue people had perished in these decades and centuries of conflict!

Shaoshao lowered her gaze with a soft sigh. In this world, life was easy for no one!

Consort Yan's cold expression softened as well; this woman had endured far too much!

Hah! Lin Shu finally understood.

Though the grand currents of the world could not be altered, there would always be those willing to perish alongside their fallen homeland.

"Have you ever heard of the Northern Alliance Treaty, the pact concerning the establishment of overseas vassal states by the six kingdoms?"

By now, the news had begun to spread, and Flame Lingji happened to know a little about it.

"And what of it? The state of Yue no longer exists! Even if it did, would the Northern Kingdom ever permit us to join the alliance?"

It was a long story, and Lin Shu walked over to sit on the sofa.

Watching this scoundrel flanked by his beauties, Flame Lingji irritably took a seat as well.

"If you are willing to become the new Queen of Yue, this lord shall found a nation for the people of Yue."

Flame Lingji's attitude had reminded Lin Shu of the state of Yue—a land with a heritage spanning at least several centuries! The predecessor of Baiyue had even directly conquered the powerful state of Wu.

At its zenith, the state of Wu had very nearly annihilated the state of Chu.