555: Chapter 555 Utter Defeat

From the afternoon until sunset.

Princess Lanyi did not know what she had just experienced.

From the initial shame, resentment, and humiliation, it later turned into shock, disbelief, and something beyond words...

Although she was nearly thirty, she had never truly experienced such matters between men and women, let alone watched others do it.

As a woman of the Prince's manor, she had received a certain level of education.

But no one had ever told her that a woman's body had so many places that could be used to please a man!

This Xiao Qingxuan, the dignified Empress of the Xiao imperial clan, how could she be so shameless!?

[At this point, I hope the readers remember our domain, Taiwan Fiction Network. The library is complete, take your pick.]

Doesn't she find it filthy!?

At the same time, she couldn't help but wonder, did the peerless hero, the Prince of Zhenbei, actually like such "lowly" women!?

How was this any different from the women in brothels?!

Shouldn't men and women of such noble status use an elegant and pure manner to complete the ritual of continuing the family line!?

Princess Lanyi was in disarray; whether it was the Prince of Zhenbei or the Empress, they were completely different from what she had imagined!

In her daze, she didn't know when she had been thrown back into the dungeon.

In the middle of the night, her body gradually recovered, but she still shuddered from time to time.

Xiao Qingxuan's Profound Yin Cold Qi was truly too powerful; if it hadn't been restrained, she would have died hundreds of times over!

At that moment, the cell door opened.

Having bathed and changed into a red silk dress, Xiao Qingxuan walked in with graceful steps.

The woman looked radiant, her skin supple and delicate, with a trace of a satisfied smile lingering at the corners of her mouth.

With a dull complexion and a haggard appearance, Princess Lanyi looked as if she were twenty years older than Xiao Qingxuan.

"Princess Lanti, the Prince sent me to ask you something. Are you willing to admit that you followed Prince Wu, Liu Bing's arrangements to steal military secrets, intending to join forces with the deposed Crown Prince Li Chenghao to launch an attack on the Northern Borders?"

Xiao Qingxuan said leisurely, "If you agree to sign a confession and name the mastermind, the Prince will grant you a way to live and even help restore your reputation."

"Wishful thinking!"

Princess Lanyi gritted her teeth and said, "Even if I die, I will not provide such baseless false testimony!!"

Xiao Qingxuan wasn't surprised at all and smiled sweetly. "The Prince guessed you would be stubborn. It's fine, I just came to ask. Even if you don't admit it, the outcome won't be any different."

Seeing that Xiao Qingxuan was about to turn and leave, Princess Lanyi threw caution to the wind.

"Xiao Qingxuan! You are a disgrace to your Xiao ancestors!! You are unworthy of being an Empress! You are just a shameless enchantress!! A slut!!"

She knew she would likely die, so before she did, she had to vent her anger.

Xiao Qingxuan stopped in her tracks and turned around, her face showing no sign of anger.

"Yes, I indeed have failed my ancestors and am an unqualified emperor; I have never denied that."

"But it doesn't matter. Heaven allowed me to meet my husband, the most precious thing in my life. This is fate."

"As for... enchantress, slut..."

Xiao Qingxuan covered her mouth and chuckled. "This is the first time I've heard someone describe me like that. It's quite interesting."

"Interesting? Have you gone mad? You are an Empress, yet you use such lowly means to please a man. Do you feel no shame?!" Princess Lanyi questioned.

"Shame?"

Xiao Qingxuan looked at her as if she were a fool. "I serve my own husband and please my own man. What is there to be ashamed of?"

"Being the Empress wasn't my choice. If Western Shu had any other option, it wouldn't have fallen to a woman like me!"

"But my husband was someone I chose myself; we married because we loved each other."

"I love being my husband's enchantress and slut; I wish he would cherish and love me every single day!"

"As long as my husband is happy, I, Xiao Qingxuan, am willing to do anything for him! Listen well: anything!"

Princess Lanyi staggered back two steps, looking at the Empress who seemed like a madwoman, and suddenly felt a flicker of fear.

She suddenly realized that a woman willing to give up her empire for a man was far more terrifying than an Empress who would give up a man for her empire!

Princess Lanyi fully realized that she... had suffered a crushing defeat!!

Xiao Qingxuan seemed to realize she had said a bit too much. She smoothed her black hair and resumed her cold and noble demeanor.

"Alright, Princess Lanti, you just stay here for now."

"You have been struck by my Profound Yin True Qi, and your Meridians are extremely fragile. I advise you not to try and circulate your power, or you will die a miserable death."

Princess Lanyi shouted again, "Wait! Where is my Haitang, Haitang?!"

She noticed that Haitang hadn't been in the cell for the last two days and didn't know where she had been taken.

"Oh, that girl. I gave her a choice: stay in the cell and wait for death with you, or become a concubine for a soldier of the Zhenbei Army."

"She was quite clever; knowing she was still young, she married herself off," Xiao Qingxuan said.

"Impossible!" Princess Lanyi said, exasperated. "You must have forced her! You are despicable!"

Xiao Qingxuan said helplessly, "Princess Lanyi, you can't even see your own situation clearly. Do you really think you understand the people around you?"

"Perhaps you've spent too much time in the academy and are used to grand talk, but for most people in the secular world, dignity is worthless in the face of life and death."

Having said that, Xiao Qingxuan didn't bother to explain further, leaving behind the despondent Princess Lanyi and exiting the dungeon.

Returning to the Prince's manor, Xiao Qingxuan was about to report to Lin Xiao when she heard Hua Nongying's voice coming from a courtyard in the back.

Xiao Qingxuan then went to Leng Bingyan's courtyard and asked, "Nongying is back from Hanyang?"

Leng Bingyan was organizing the intelligence that had just arrived. She looked up and smiled. "Yes, I heard that Penicillin can basically be mass-produced and stored now. Husband is rewarding her."

"That is indeed a great achievement. Husband should give her more rewards."

The two women shared a knowing smile, and Xiao Qingxuan asked again, "What is the situation in the capital now? Has the Prince of Nanling made any moves?"

"According to the intelligence just received, because Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong is advanced in years, he had Minister Liu Zongfu and Official Xie Tong take people to invite the Prince of Nanling back to the capital to ascend the throne."

Leng Bingyan said with some confusion, "This Li Sixun... is he afraid that becoming the emperor will put him in Husband's sights, or does he truly have no interest in the throne?"

Xiao Qingxuan pondered for a moment and analyzed, "Thinking back on Li Sixun recently, he is truly extraordinary."

"Having managed Nanling for so many years, while it might not be the wealthiest region, it is the most stable."

"Actually, if you think about it, the land of Nanling is much more complex than the Eastern, Western, or Yan regions."

"To the west is the Sword Forest, in the center is the Blade Mountain, to the north is the Daoist Sect, and to the south is the Moon Worship Cult and the Sixteen Foreign Nations, yet he and the Nanling Army remain as steady as a rock."

"He even had the spare capacity to drive straight in and seize our Western Shu's Yandu while we were off guard."

"If it were Prince Bai or Li Siqing, would they really have the ability to govern this land well?"

"The key point is that as Li Sihong's own brother, he hardly received any funding from the imperial court..."

Leng Bingyan nodded. "Indeed, putting aside our positions, Li Sixun... can be considered the true pillar of the Imperial Dynasty's current generation."

"So... what exactly Li Sixun is planning would be difficult for us to guess out of thin air," Xiao Qingxuan sighed.

Just then, Lin Xiao, bare-chested, suddenly pushed the door open and entered.

"No need to guess. He simply doesn't want to be the emperor. He didn't want it then, and he wants it even less now."