271: Special bribes

She leaned in close to Chen Yu's ear, her gaze flickering toward Chen Yu's "flat as a pancake" chest.

"Reshaping the figure, making the peaks plump and firm... I think you would like that, A-Yu?"

Chen Yu only felt the jade jar in her hand become scalding hot, and a wave of heat "whooshed" up, flushing her cheeks and the tips of her ears red.

Her entire face, and even her neck, turned completely red!

"You..."

In her shame and annoyance, she tried to pull her hand back, but the jar's opening seemed stuck to her palm. Ling Xi's occasional pitying glances at her chest flashed through her mind.

And just now, Her Majesty had tapped her chest; it had felt completely flat.

"How could I possibly accept this..." Chen Yu stammered her rejection, but the hand clutching the jade jar quickly retracted into her sleeve, fearing Feng Xi might regret it and snatch it back.

Watching the Prefecture City God's transparent attempt to hide her feelings, Feng Xi's grin widened, her face full of an "I understand, I totally get it" expression.

"Rest assured, rest assured. Regarding the Grass Spirit Dog Clan's migration to the Netherworld, within a month, I will personally ensure all the procedures are handled perfectly."

Feng Xi smiled so broadly her eyes disappeared: "I'll have to trouble A-Yu to take care of things."

...Inside Jiaotai Palace, the agarwood incense burned quietly.

Shang Wan Ning had already changed back into her black phoenix robe and was sitting upright behind her desk, her fingertips unconsciously tapping the tabletop.

"Your Majesty, the Secretary-General has arrived," a maid reported softly.

"Enter."

The brocade curtain was lifted, and Ling Qi walked in carrying a stack of jade slips that almost obscured her face.

"A Ning, you were in a hurry to find me. Is something wrong?" Her tone was gentle as her spiritual sense swept over Shang Wan Ning's slightly solemn face.

Shang Wan Ning waved her hand to dismiss the maids on both sides.

Once the palace doors closed silently, she quickly and clearly recounted what she had seen in the Demon realm—the annihilation of the Gray-Backed Wolf Clan, the strange silence of the Demon high-level officials after Meng Jiang's descent, the situation of the Grass Spirit Dog Clan... along with the chain of "coincidences" Chen Yu had connected, and her own arrangement to "beat them at their own game."

Ling Qi listened quietly, her eyes behind her gold-rimmed glasses as calm as water.

When Shang Wan Ning finished, she didn't rush to respond. Carrying the heavy jade slips, she stepped up the imperial dais one step at a time.

Her leather skirt brushed against the smooth floor tiles as she walked straight to the large phoenix chair and sat directly on Shang Wan Ning's lap, the movement so fluid it seemed practiced a thousand times.

Shang Wan Ning's body stiffened slightly, but in the end, she didn't push away the Secretary-General who had delivered herself to her lap.

Ling Qi wrapped one arm around her shoulder to steady herself, and with the other, she slapped the jade slips onto the armrest of the phoenix chair with a dull thud.

She leaned in closer, her lips—scented with ink—falling on the corner of Shang Wan Ning's tightly shut eyes, pecking them a few times: "Your Majesty, don't always be frowning."

"During these past few years while you were in seclusion, I often went deep into the Forbidden Book Pavilion to flip through those dusty old records of the Demon race."

She pulled her upper body back slightly and fished through the pile of jade slips, pulling out a dark, old scroll.

The scroll unfurled in her palm, showing a totem that had been scorched by fire, along with several lines of crooked ancient Demon script.

"There is a name recorded inside that sounds like the 'Chess Player' you mentioned."

Ling Qi's fingertip lightly touched the dragon-shaped mark in the center of the totem that looked like it was twisted from candle flames: "Zhu Yan. The third younger brother of the Torch Dragon."

Shang Wan Ning's gaze instantly became sharp as she leaned forward: "Zhu Yan?"

"Yes." Ling Qi nodded.

She slid her fingers across the small annotated characters next to it: "Born with heterochromia, he uses candlelight to reflect heavenly secrets. He is most adept at deducing long-term destiny, weaving schemes like a web that often only show results thousands of years later."

"He is an extremely patient conspirator."

She paused for a moment, her voice tinged with a layer of coldness. "Later, due to the struggle for the 'xuan pin gate' fragments, he had a complete falling out with the Torch Dragon and was expelled from the core of the Dragon Clan. He has been missing for a long time."

Ling Qi raised an eyebrow, her gaze behind her glasses meeting Shang Wan Ning's eyes directly: "I suspect that among the high-level officials in the Demon realm who are playing deaf and mute and acting abnormally, some must be under his influence."

"Zhu Yan has spent years in silence setting up this game. His goal is likely not as simple as dumping the Grass Spirit Dogs on the Underworld; perhaps the position of a Yin Deity is the key."

Shang Wan Ning remained silent for a long time, digesting this information.

Zhu Yan... Fragments of the xuan pin gate... The position of a Yin Deity. This chessboard was larger and more ancient than she had anticipated.

She suddenly reached out to wrap her arm around Ling Qi's waist, pulling her closer into her embrace, resting her chin on her shoulder and inhaling the cool scent of ink from her hair.

It was a rare moment where Shang the Skin Flayer showed exhaustion and a clingy side, seeking something to lean on.

"Qi~ Qi~"

Shang Wan Ning mumbled against her neck, "Do you think his ultimate plot might be the Underworld itself? Or to take my place?"

"Unfortunately, no matter how he calculates, he can't match my 'cheating.' In just ten years, I've already reached the early stage of the Eighth Rank."

She scoffed, "No matter how deep the conspiracies are, in the face of absolute strength, they are nothing more than paper tigers."

Ling Qi didn't respond immediately, only reaching back to lightly pat Shang Wan Ning's back, as if coaxing a temperamental big cat.

"Whatever his goal, since he has actively sent a chess piece onto our board,"

Ling Qi pushed up her glasses, a cold light flashing across the lenses.

"Then we shall use this piece well. I will personally oversee the migration of the Grass Spirit Dog Clan to the Underworld to ensure nothing goes wrong."

"At the same time, on the banks of the River of Forgetfulness, I will set a net large enough for this 'Lord Zhu Yan.'"

She turned her head, her lips almost brushing against Shang Wan Ning's earlobe, her voice as light as a sigh yet carrying a ruthless edge.

"A Ning, fishing requires patience. We've already swallowed the bait; let's just wait and see how big of a dragon we can catch!"

Listening to Ling Qi's plan, Shang Wan Ning's furrowed brows relaxed quite a bit, and a genuine smile played on her lips.

She tightened her arm around Ling Qi's waist and nuzzled her chin against the ink-scented hollow of her neck, laughing softly, "'Those who know me say my heart is troubled; those who do not, ask what I seek.'" She looked up into Ling Qi's eyes behind the glasses, her own eyes rippling with a rare sense of pride.

"Hahaha, having the Secretary-General alone is worth ten thousand troops. My foresight back then was truly excellent."

Ling Qi expressionlessly pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses, a cold light flashing across the lenses as she interrupted the Empress's flattery.

"A Ning, after resolving this mess in the Demon realm, the first thing is to help me find my surviving clansmen."

"Naturally," Shang Wan Ning replied decisively, her imperial majesty returning instantly.

"An Emperor's promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold."

She suddenly shifted the topic, poking Ling Qi's waist tentatively, and said, "However, does AQi really not need to go to the Demon realm personally? To personally experience 'Lord Zhu Yan's' layout?"

Shang Wan Ning hadn't forgotten Ling Qi's innate desire for control and her interest in complex chess games.

The Secretary-General leaned back slightly, finding a more comfortable position in Shang Wan Ning's arms, not even lifting her eyelids.

"I had originally intended to."

"But right now, isn't there that ready-made 'laborer,' the Prefecture City God, acting as a figurehead in the Demon realm?"

She drew circles on Shang Wan Ning's soft chest, as if finalizing a profitable deal.

"Let the White-Haired Loli dangle at the front under the guise of 'gladly accepting their surrender' to draw away the gazes from the shadows. I only need to coordinate from the rear, set the net at the River of Forgetfulness, and wait to pull it in."

Shang Wan Ning: "..."

[How is it that after not being close for a few years, she's become so thoroughly steeped in the smell of a capitalist.]