Yi Wenjun 3
Back when Yi Wenjun was in the Kunlun Sect, she had been a world-renowned master of alchemy. After she was sealed away, whenever she had nothing to do, she had repeatedly studied the texts she had once read in her mind. Her skills in alchemy and poison had long since become unmatched.
After becoming Yi Wenjun, she also had a wealth of basic herbal knowledge, as Yi Wenjun was, after all, the daughter of the Shadow Sect's leader. Thus, before returning to the Shadow Sect, Yi Wenjun had already devised a poison formula based on her previous memories.
Now that she had returned to the Shadow Sect, although she was watched everywhere she went, the Chaos Pearl made it easy to secretly take some herbs.
Thus, five days before the wedding, Yi Wenjun pretended to wander around and encountered Yi Bu once again. Father and daughter truly had nothing to say to each other now, and after a moment of silence, they parted ways.
The next day, word spread that Yi Bu was gravely ill and unable to get out of bed. As his daughter, Yi Wenjun naturally had to visit him. After she left, Yi Bu seemed to improve somewhat, but by that evening, even with the Shadow Sect's many physicians, they could only watch helplessly as Yi Bu died in agony.
Thus, three days before Yi Wenjun was due to marry Prince Jingyu, her father Yi Bu died suddenly, leaving the Shadow Sect a dragon without a head.
Of course, even without a leader, no one would nominate Yi Wenjun. She was merely an object to be used in a marriage alliance, with nothing particularly praiseworthy about her. Besides, Yi Wenjun had arrived only recently and had yet to break through the first level of the Heavenly Devil Instruction.
Thus, her senior brother Luo Qingyang became the leader of the Shadow Sect. Yi Wenjun also submitted a formal petition to the emperor, asking to mourn her father for three years. Her marriage to Prince Jingyu could only be postponed for three years.
Both the emperor and Prince Jingyu, Xiao Ruojin, had been caught off guard by Yi Bu's sudden death. When they received Yi Wenjun's petition, they readily agreed. Emperor Tai'an needed time to determine the direction the Shadow Sect would take, while Prince Jingyu also needed time to determine whether their previous cooperation would remain valid with a new Shadow Sect leader in power.
Yi Wenjun also used these three years to cultivate the Heavenly Devil Instruction and gather medicinal ingredients to refine various poisons.
To be honest, after Luo Qingyang became the Shadow Sect's leader, Yi Wenjun's life became much more convenient. Her father had truly died at just the right time. He had used her for so long, and in the end, his life had finally helped his daughter for once.
A loving father and a dutiful daughter-how touching!
Perhaps Luo Qingyang had noticed that something was amiss with Yi Wenjun, but their master was already dead, and he could not continue hurting his poor junior sister. Thus, he treated all the anomalies as though he had never noticed them.
Three years passed in the blink of an eye, and Yi Wenjun finally cultivated the Heavenly Devil Instruction to the perfection of its second level. But during those three years, she recalled that there was also Li Changsheng, the greatest under heaven. In her judgment, Li Changsheng's realm was not far below the Golden Core Stage.
Although Li Changsheng was not in Heavenly Revelations at present, the man she was plotting against was his disciple. Someone in the Divine Wandering Realm could travel a thousand miles in an instant, so Yi Wenjun still could not go too far and expose the Devil Cultivation Method she practiced.
Thus, Yi Wenjun did not reveal her Heavenly Devil Instruction. She did not want to attract the attention of those righteous people. Until she reached the perfection of the third level of the Heavenly Devil Instruction, she could not act too brazenly.
Thus, as her mourning period was about to end, Yi Wenjun sent Xiao Ruofeng a letter, earnestly asking to meet him and requesting his help in resolving her marriage to Xiao Ruojin.
Xiao Ruofeng saw that Yi Wenjun was unwilling and agreed to meet her. Perhaps, as someone obsessed with his brother, he also wanted to help persuade his future sister-in-law on his brother's behalf.
One thing that must be mentioned was that Yi Wenjun's former fiancé, Ye Yun, had once ventured to Heavenly Revelations, hoping to take her away, only to be stopped by Xiao Ruofeng.
And in Xiao Ruofeng's presence, Yi Wenjun had severed ties with Ye Yun, her former fiancé, who had since changed his name to Ye Dingzhi.
"Brother Yun, if I hadn't kept thinking of you and resenting this marriage, Father wouldn't have schemed so desperately and died without a clear explanation. Now that Father is dead, I can't be unfilial any longer. Please don't come looking for me again."
Perhaps Yi Wenjun knew how easily hearts could change and did not want this rare, genuine love to turn sour in the end. In any case, the Yi Wenjun whom Ye Dingzhi truly loved had already vanished. Why let him wade into these muddy waters? It was better to push him farther away, so he would not interfere with her plans.
Because of this past affair, Xiao Ruofeng had always felt guilty toward Yi Wenjun. Now that she had asked to meet, he came alone, without bringing many people with him, even though her reason for the meeting was riddled with holes.
But once Xiao Ruofeng came, what happened afterward was no longer up to him. During the three years of mourning, Yi Wenjun had been taking medicine to increase her chances of conceiving, all so she could achieve her goal today-marrying Xiao Ruofeng.
Thus, when Xiao Ruojin, Prince Qing, Luo Qingyang, and the others received a secret letter saying that Xiao Ruofeng and Yi Wenjun were having an affair and went to find them, they saw Yi Wenjun and Xiao Ruofeng, who had already slept together for a night.
As for where the secret letter had come from, over these three years, Yi Wenjun could always have won over a group of loyal subordinates, even if she had to use poison to control them.
When Yi Wenjun saw the newcomers, she cried out, then merely lowered her head and wept.
The frantic Xiao Ruofeng drove them out of the room while helplessly explaining to Xiao Ruojin that they had been drugged the previous day and had not been in control of themselves.
Luo Qingyang remained silent, finally saying only, "Now that things have come to this, Prince Langya must take responsibility, no matter what. My Shadow Sect is not so easily bullied."
Prince Qing also said with glee, "Ninth brother, rest assured. I'll put in a good word for you with Father Emperor."
Prince Qing was naturally delighted. Yi Bu was no longer the leader of the Shadow Sect, so even if Yi Wenjun married Xiao Ruofeng, the Shadow Sect would not become his ally. And after this incident, the brothers Prince Jingyu and Prince Langya were bound to turn against each other. From his perspective, it was a matter of a hundred benefits and not a single harm.
After everyone else had left, Xiao Ruofeng entered the room with a grave expression. Looking at Yi Wenjun, who was already fully dressed, he said, "You were the one who administered the drug."
Only with Yi Wenjun, to whom he felt indebted, could he have been drugged so easily.
Yi Wenjun still looked gentle and tender, the very picture of someone who inspired pity. "Prince Langya is always urging me to consider the greater good. Since Prince Langya won't listen to what I want, I can only let you experience what it feels like to be forced into a marriage."
Seeing Xiao Ruofeng's expression change, a rare sight, as he smashed the table beside him with a slap, Yi Wenjun continued to stroke her belly without the slightest change in expression. "During my three years of mourning, I took excellent care of my health. Perhaps the future Prince Langya is already in my belly."
Xiao Ruofeng wanted to curse her, but he had no real standing to do so. Wasn't this the same thing he and his brother had done before? He simply had not expected Yi Wenjun, who had been all but confined to her home, to be more ruthless and more full of hatred than they were.
Now he no longer dared let Yi Wenjun marry his brother. Leaving aside whether his brother would accept it, who knew what Yi Wenjun might do afterward if they forced her again?
Thinking back now, Yi Bu had died at such an opportune time. The more Xiao Ruofeng thought about it, the more terrifying it became.
But he could not kill Yi Wenjun either. After all, in this matter, it was the woman who had suffered the greater harm.
So, when someone cared about nothing and was crazier and more ruthless than everyone else, even those who loved preaching lofty principles could only shut up.