Qian Renxue's Humiliation!

Even at the height of the war between the two nations, Qian Renxue, wearing the face of Xue Qinghe, could still secure an audience.

Furthermore, when it came to ceding territory and paying reparations, a full three billion was wiped away; from this, Qian Renxue could see just how extraordinary the relationship between Xue Qinghe and Xu Nian'an truly was.

One had to realize, this was a full three billion—it was unknown if the entire continent even possessed that many Gold Soul Coins combined.

Yet Xu Nian'an had waived it just like that.

Ever since that meaningful look last night, the other party's attitude toward her had changed drastically.

A night had passed since the assassination attempt.

Her guards had not returned all night, and these were two Titled Douluo.

They hadn't returned, nor had they reported back to her on whether the assassination had succeeded; the implication behind this was already painfully obvious.

Presumably, most likely...

"This General, please, I must trouble you to speak with His Majesty, the Emperor of Great Ming, once more."

"Just say..."

Qian Renxue's mind raced, desperately trying to think of what Xu Nian'an liked.

Unfortunately, the things Xu Nian'an had revealed he liked in front of her were limited.

She thought left and right, but she couldn't think of anything he favored.

Just as Qian Renxue was about to give up, a group of palace maids dressed in light gauze walked past her.

The attire of these maids was quite unique, especially their figures—all of them were curvaceous with pure and beautiful faces.

Wait, she felt as if she had seen this group somewhere before.

Before long, Qian Renxue searched her memory and found the image of these palace maids.

It was back when Xue Qinghe had gone to Great Ming to acknowledge his kinship with Xu Nian'an and they had bathed together; these maids had been waiting outside.

Thinking of this, Qian Renxue couldn't help but recall that Xu Nian'an had seemed to take a liking to her when she was disguised as a palace maid back then.

He had even wanted her.

A flash of inspiration struck her mind.

"Just say that there is news regarding the Xiao Xue he was looking for back then."

Upon hearing Qian Renxue's words, the Dragon Guard was completely bewildered.

What Xiao Xue?

But seeing her serious demeanor, he couldn't help but hesitate.

"General, please help me out."

Seeing the man's conflicted expression, Qian Renxue decisively pulled a pouch of Gold Soul Coins from her robes.

Ten minutes later.

This Dragon Guard arrived before Xu Nian'an, carrying the message Qian Renxue wanted to convey along with the Gold Soul Coins.

"Your Majesty, that is the situation."

Xu Nian'an glanced at the money pouch on the table.

"Keep the money as a reward."

"Bring her in."

After speaking, a smile tugged at the corners of Xu Nian'an's mouth.

Xiao Xue?

Was she selling information about herself?

Xu Nian'an couldn't help but become interested; he wanted to see what kind of scheme she was planning.

She must be panicking right now, right?

Thinking of the two people the Holy Spirit Cult had captured last night, Xu Nian'an couldn't help but let his smile widen.

Ten minutes later, Qian Renxue... oh no, she should be called Xue Qinghe now, was brought in.

"I wonder, what business does the First Prince of Tiandou have, coming to see me so early in the morning?"

Hearing Xu Nian'an's words, and seeing that cold, deliberately distant gaze, Qian Renxue's heart skipped a beat.

As expected, something had gone wrong after all.

One had to know, when their relationship had been intimate, they had addressed each other as cousins, and sometimes even used more casual terms.

But now, it was different.

He addressed her directly by her enemy nation's title; it was clear that Xu Nian'an truly wanted to distance himself and sever their relationship.

This couldn't help but send a wave of panic through Qian Renxue's heart.

No.

He was not like this before.

If this had happened in the past, Qian Renxue would have been overjoyed that Xu Nian'an wanted to draw a clear line between them.

Because that would have allowed her to avoid the risk of exposure.

But that was no longer the case.

Xu Nian'an seemed to know something. Furthermore, Pufferfish and Snake Lance Douluo, whom she had sent to assassinate Xu Nian'an last night, had yet to return.

If they were captured and revealed anything about her, then she, and the Spirit Hall behind her, would be in serious trouble.

"Heh... Cousin, why so distant? Regardless, there is blood between us, isn't there..."

Xu Nian'an did not respond to Qian Renxue's words, continuing to look at the documents in his hand without even lifting his head.

Feeling Xu Nian'an's coldness, Qian Renxue's body gradually grew cold.

But she could not lose face; she had to grit her teeth and keep the conversation going.

"I wonder if Cousin slept well last night. I came here today to ask, and also to mention that I have received the latest news regarding the palace maid Xiao Xue, whom you once liked..."

Before she could finish, Xu Nian'an looked up coldly.

"Whether I slept well last night... aren't you the one who knows that best?"

Hearing this, Qian Renxue stiffened.

Xu Nian'an ignored her and continued speaking to himself.

"Last night, the Holy Spirit Cult of my Great Ming Nation-Protecting Divine Sect caught two rats who wanted to assassinate me, and... using a special secret technique, we extracted some little things from their brains..."

Now, it wasn't just Qian Renxue's body that stiffened; the smile on her face froze as well.

Xu Nian'an stood up on his own.

He slowly walked to her side.

"Actually, I don't care about the Heaven Dou Empire, nor do I care about who will lead the Heaven Dou royal family in the future."

Xu Nian'an's voice seemed to possess a certain magic, slowly drifting into Qian Renxue's ears.

At some point, the entire imperial camp had become deserted, leaving only the two of them.

But Qian Renxue could clearly sense that countless eyes were fixed upon her from all around.

"My cousin and I are like brothers. I just want to ask, and you don't have to answer."

"Where has my cousin gone?"

Whoosh!

Qian Renxue's expression changed wildly. Finally, she could no longer hold it together and abruptly raised her hand.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"If you do this, then everything you have worked for will... vanish into smoke."

"I repeat: I do not care about the Heaven Dou Empire, nor do I care who rules it in the future."

What Xu Nian'an didn't say was that, regardless of the outcome, the entire continent would be his in the future.

The hand facing Xu Nian'an was finally lowered by Qian Renxue to her own face.

Whoosh!

A cascade of golden hair fell, revealing her stunningly beautiful face.

"That's... right!"

Xu Nian'an reached out, gripped her chin, and looked at her face. An unprecedented impulse surged within him.

"I will help you ascend to the position you desire. In the eyes of the world, you will remain the eldest prince of Heaven Dou, or even the Crown Prince, the heir, the Emperor of Heaven Dou!"

"But in front of me, you will be a good Xiao Xue!"

"I am very fired up right now."

"Clamp down."

After feeling the astonishing sensation of those perfect jade feet, Xu Nian'an reached out again, grasped her golden hair, and slowly pressed her down.

Qian Renxue's entire body turned red—not from shyness, but from anger. This was her humiliation.

She wanted to resist, but suddenly discovered that under a powerful pressure, she couldn't even mobilize her Soul Power. She knew what this meant.

She could only submit to preserve her bottom line, and Xu Nian'an never crossed that [final line].

Qian Renxue had experienced a humiliation unlike anything she had ever known since birth.

She wanted to fight back, but she feared Xu Nian'an.

She both hated and feared this man who was younger than herself.

Compared to what she had already lost, her mission was more important.

Compared to the humiliation she was enduring, she feared even more that... [that woman] would find out she had failed and look down on her.

She could not lose, and she certainly could not fail!

"Xu Nian'an, everything I have endured today, one day I will make you pay back a hundredfold, and I will trample you ruthlessly beneath my feet!!!"

Xu Nian'an did not rush to consume everything at once; after all, if things went south and the other side decided to go down in flames together, it was better to stop while he was ahead.

When the sun was high in the sky, Qian Renxue restored her appearance to that of Xue Qinghe and departed from the Daming Army encampment, accompanied by the two severely wounded Title Douluos.

"Young Mistress, how did you manage to make him release us..."

Before Pufferfish Douluo could finish his sentence, Qian Renxue snapped at him with a grim expression.

"Shut your mouth!!!"

Feeling the faint numbness in her legs and the swelling of her lips, a murderous rage ignited within Qian Renxue's heart.

Meanwhile, a refreshed Xu Nian'an set off once more on the road to continue negotiations.