novelraw Chapter 722 - 702: Grand Drama
Chapter 722 - 702: Grand Drama
Xie Jue remained calm, his eyebrows and face composed under the raging snowstorm. Snowflakes fell on his shoulders, leaving wet traces, and he tranquilly brushed the snow off his clothing. Upon hearing Lan Ningzhen say it was intentional, Xie Jue’s mood showed little change.
A royal marriage decree?
Calling him to the Imperial Court today was for a marriage decree?
Then his life would most likely be in grave danger!
"A royal decree for marriage? Are you mad?" Lan Ningzhen frowned. "I make decisions about my own marriage! The King had long agreed with my father on this—what does forcing it mean?"
"If you refuse to agree, Helian Feng won’t leave the Imperial Court alive," Dugu Jing said coldly. "You don’t want to marry, but I insist on marrying you. And you, Helian Feng, demanding me to pursue Lan Ningzhen so she willingly accepts! You know very well she likes you; you’re just deliberately enjoying my humiliation, aren’t you? One of you is playing me for a fool, and the other is watching me suffer! In Fox City, I was laughed at—everyone saying I’m no match for Helian Feng. Fine then! If I won’t have it easy, none of you can expect to have it easy either! Forget willing acceptance; I want to seize by force and dominance! Let’s see what you can do against me!"
"Truly shameless, aren’t you!" Lan Ningzhen exchanged a glance with Xie Jue and impatiently tugged at the white foxfur collar around her neck, her eyes already filled with a murderous glint.
The moment she entered the Imperial Court tonight, she knew Xie Jue would face a calamity. Even though the affair between her, Xie Jue, and Dugu Jing had caused quite a stir, in truth, it didn’t amount to much—merely the entanglements of three young people’s love and hatred. The Beiman King wouldn’t care about the romantic drama of youth; to him, it was just a source of amusement.
Dugu Jing was too young, ranking ninth—not someone the Beiman King favored as his successor. Thus, if the Goddess could marry Dugu Jing, it would be ideal; if not, it wouldn’t matter. Besides, the Beiman King valued sentimentality and wouldn’t break his promise to General Lan. Lan Ningzhen understood that no matter what happened, the Beiman King wouldn’t let blood spill between them.
Who would have thought, however, that the Beiman King had deliberately summoned Xie Jue to the Imperial Court at Dugu Jing’s instigation? A marriage decree that, if she refused, would result in Xie Jue’s death. To the Beiman King, while he wouldn’t touch the Lan Family, Xie Jue’s life was like that of an insect—utterly insignificant.
Lan Ningzhen’s eyes were as dark as ink, so chilling that even Dugu Jing found her expression intimidating. Yet he remained arrogant and fearless. Wild gusts of wind swept through, lifting her long hair into the air. A warm breath swept across her neck, making Lan Ningzhen realize she had inadvertently removed her foxfur collar. Xie Jue had already drawn close to her, and when she glanced sideways, she was met with his intense gaze that shook her very soul.
Xie Jue stared deeply at her, his fingers trembling faintly. Suddenly, he smiled at her—a gentle smile he had never shown her before, one as dazzling as flowers blooming in March. "Do you want to kill him?"
"I do!" Lan Ningzhen answered crisply, her tone decisive. Dugu Jing, oh, Dugu Jing—you have no clue whom you’re trying to scheme against. "Tell me how."
In the banquet hall, the Beiman King and others were boisterously drinking and reveling, when the young son of the Second Prince dashed in in a panic, shouting, "Grandfather, Father... Something terrible has happened! Ninth Uncle and Aunt are fighting!"
The news did not stir much commotion. After all, Dugu Jing and Lan Ningzhen fighting was not new. Both were mindful enough to limit their actions. Though hot-tempered youths, they were clear-headed and had never caused any major incidents.
"Young people have boundless energy. Let them burn it off in the snow; it’s not an issue," the Beiman King said dismissively. Everyone at the banquet had seen the storm brewing between Dugu Jing, Lan Ningzhen, and Xie Jue, and they tacitly accepted that a scuffle had likely ensued once they left the hall. Xie Jue couldn’t fight—naturally leaving Lan Ningzhen to argue until blows were exchanged. This time, however, their audacity was greater than ever—they dared to openly fight in the Imperial Court, showing no respect for the Beiman King.
The Sixth Prince frowned slightly, only for the Second Prince’s eldest son to exclaim nervously, "No, no—it’s different this time! Ninth Uncle said he’d kill Aunt! He’s completely merciless; Aunt’s already been stabbed!"
The room fell into stunned silence. General Lan leapt to his feet in alarm, his face pale. Limping heavily, he rushed outside, terrified that something had happened to Lan Ningzhen. The Beiman King, realizing he could no longer ignore the situation, cursed Dugu Jing before following. When the group reached the palace pathway, they found Xie Jue lying in the snow, his expression filled with agony. Lan Ningzhen and Dugu Jing were locked in a vicious fight. Dugu Jing, crazed with rage, stabbed his longsword into Lan Ningzhen’s shoulder in full view of everyone.
Xie Jue’s gaze went cold, his fist gripping the snow beneath him tightly. He shouted her name with a hoarse cry, "Anning!"
Lan Ningzhen froze and glanced at Xie Jue. In that instant of distraction, she let her guard down. The longsword pierced further into her chest. She gasped in pain and kicked Dugu Jing away with full force. The sword was wrenched from her body, splattering blood onto the snow. Clutching her wound, she sank to one knee in torment. Before her knee hit the snow, Xie Jue had already sprung to his feet and rushed to her side, wrapping her tightly in his arms. His anxious voice pressed against her ear, "Anning, is it a fatal wound?"
"No, just a flesh wound. Don’t worry." Lan Ningzhen pressed a hand on his arm, widening her eyes as she noticed the Beiman King, General Lan, and others arriving. Without hesitation, she went limp and collapsed into Helian Feng’s embrace.
"Anning..." General Lan was horrified at the sight. Disregarding the injury to his leg, he staggered through the snow to reach her. Upon seeing the blood staining her chest, his vision darkened, and he almost lost balance. The sound of his desperate cries echoed loudly, "Anning, don’t die! If you die, what will I do? Anning, Anning..."
"Someone, call the doctor!" The Beiman King immediately ordered his men to summon a physician.
Dugu Jing, realizing he had made a catastrophic error, was wide-eyed with regret. "No... no, it wasn’t me. They deliberately provoked me. It was them..."
He had been schemed against!
Dugu Jing pointed at Lan Ningzhen furiously, shouting, "You venomous woman—you schemed against me!"
It would have been better if he hadn’t spoken, for his words only worsened matters. Seeing the situation escalate, the Sixth Prince cursed sharply, "Xiao Jiu, shut up!"
Dugu Jing looked pitiably towards his elder brother, seeking support.
Lan Ningzhen, meanwhile, feebly pressed against her wound and knelt in the snow with a fragile demeanor. "Your Majesty, this was all Anning’s fault. I spoke rashly and offended the Ninth Prince. He punished me out of anger, and rightly so—this was my deserving consequence. Please do not blame him. If blame is due, blame me instead!"
She coughed weakly as she spoke, fresh blood continuously flowing from her chest. Her pitiable appearance as she pleaded for Dugu Jing sharply contrasted his ferocious, murderous demeanor. Even the Sixth Prince was left thinking his younger brother was hopelessly wicked.
All eyes bore harsh judgment upon Dugu Jing. No matter how one looked at it, this situation was clearly Dugu Jing’s attempt to forcefully seize Lan Ningzhen, only to lash out of humiliation in the end.
"Dugu Jing, you bastard!" The Beiman King roared as he delivered a ferocious slap to Dugu Jing’s face, sending him sprawling in the snow with dizziness and bright spots flashing before his eyes. "How did I end up with such a disgraceful son!"