Chapter 250 A Giant with Vibrant Veins Over Ten Feet Tall

Li Che couldn't help but sigh with emotion:

"The Yuwen Clan truly lives up to its reputation as a millennium-old noble family. Even a mere villa like this is no less impressive than my own prince's mansion."

Duan Yunkou frowned deeply and said:

"Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has even given up the villa she once lived in for Yan Chu to stay in. Doesn't that mean the Third Prince has a greater chance of winning Yan Chu over?"

A cold sneer appeared on Li Che's handsome face as he said disdainfully:

"My third brother hasn't made any moves so far. Does he think the reputation of the Yuwen Family alone is enough to secure a Celestial Being Expert?"

"Celestial Being Experts always act as they please. Yan Chu will only owe gratitude to the Empress Dowager for her kindness. It has nothing to do with the Yuwen Family or the Third Prince!"

Having said this, Li Che turned to the woman wearing a veil hat beside him and said softly:

"Qinxue, whether we can gain Great Hero Yan's support depends entirely on you now!"

The woman wearing the veil hat was none other than Princess Consort Qing, Zhu Qinxue.

Hearing the words of the Fourth Prince, Li Che, her slender, delicate shoulders trembled slightly. Beneath the veil, her elegant and refined face turned deathly pale. She bit her lip tightly and gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Her nature was gentle, virtuous, and well-mannered. Her father was a great Confucian scholar from White Deer Academy. From a young age, the books she read were all about women's precepts and domestic training. The education she received emphasized the 'Three Obediences and Four Virtues': obeying her father at home, obeying her husband after marriage.

Even though martial arts flourished in this world, and she had learned some martial skills,

she had only reached the Grandmaster Realm through the piling up of resources and her own natural Aptitude. Since childhood, she had almost never fought with anyone. Every inch of her skin was fair, soft, and tender, without a trace of the marks that cultivation might cause.

After marrying Prince Qing, Li Che, she had resided deep within the palace for a long time, rarely seeing any men besides servants and stewards.

Having experienced little of the world, she harbored no great ambitions nor cunning schemes. She only wished to peacefully serve as the Princess Consort of Qing, taking care of the Fourth Prince's daily life.

Even when the Fourth Prince kept hundreds of beautiful concubines in his mansion and, over the past few years, had rarely entered her chamber, often lingering in the rooms of different beauties, Zhu Qinxue seldom competed for his favor.

It wasn't for any other reason; she simply didn't want to cause discord with the Fourth Prince and disrupt the peace of the household. Zhu Qinxue felt that enduring a little grievance herself was nothing.

She only needed to fulfill her duties.

But the night before last, when Prince Qing, Li Che, came to her chamber, she happily adorned herself to welcome him, only to be met with news that struck her like a bolt from the blue.

Prince Qing actually wanted her to serve another man!

Such a thing, even peasant women toiling in the fields knew was unacceptable. Otherwise, they would be condemned and punished by drowning. How much more so for a well-read young lady from a respectable family like her?

Zhu Qinxue, of course, sternly refused him.

This refusal immediately angered Prince Qing, Li Che.

To the outside world, he always appeared open-minded, generous, and respectful towards talented individuals. But those familiar with him knew that Prince Qing most disliked anyone daring to defy him.

Let alone his own Princess Consort, who had always been meek, submissive, and lacking in her own opinions.

As Li Che's intimate partner, Zhu Qinxue was naturally very familiar with his personality traits.

But no matter how much she respected and adored Prince Qing, Zhu Qinxue could not possibly agree to such a thing.

Thus, over the next two days, she witnessed the consequences of defying Prince Qing.

First, gentle persuasion failed, then came verbal threats.

The affection of their former marriage vanished completely within those two short days, making Zhu Qinxue deeply realize that in Li Che's eyes, she, this Princess Consort, was no different from the hundreds of ordinary concubines.

The only difference, perhaps, was that her father was the current Minister of Revenue, whose cultivation and connections were not insignificant.

But compared to Yan Chu, a Celestial Being Expert, the Minister of Revenue meant little in Li Che's eyes.

Seeing that threats were ineffective, and growing anxious that Yan Chu would leave in a few days, fearing to miss this opportunity, Li Che directly resorted to ruthless measures. He placed the personal belongings of Zhu Qinxue's mother and younger brother by her bedside.

And Li Che appeared in person to tell her directly that this time it was personal belongings; next time, it might be a part of their bodies.

How could Zhu Qinxue have ever experienced such a thing?

With her lovely face deathly pale, to protect her mother and brother, she immediately agreed to Li Che's demand and followed him to this Red Leaf Villa.

She had already learned from Li Che that the man she was to offer herself to this time was none other than Yan Chu, known in the Jianghu as the Blade Devil.

She had heard the servants in the prince's mansion mention this Yan Chu.

Rumors said he was born different from ordinary people, possessing a special Physique. If he did not couple with a woman for even a day, his Qi and blood would reverse flow, his Meridians would burst, and he would transform into a towering giant covered in bulging veins, becoming violent and bloodthirsty.

Moreover, every woman who had relations with him was either tortured to death or kept as a slave, suffering daily torment.

Hearing this, Zhu Qinxue felt chills run down her spine.

Therefore, coming to Red Leaf Villa this time, she came with a heart prepared for certain death.

She bit her red lips tightly, tears uncontrollably dripping from her almond-shaped eyes, sliding down her tender, fair cheeks and into the collar of her clothes.

Zhu Qinxue said, her voice choked with sobs:

"Your Highness, rest assured. This concubine will definitely do what she promised you!"

"I hope Your Highness will also keep his word and spare my mother and younger brother!"

She was not a fool. If someone else threatened her mother and brother, she naturally wouldn't believe it, given her father's high position and not-low cultivation.

But if Li Che took action, her father probably couldn't protect the family.

Duan Yunkou glanced at Zhu Qinxue's delicate, seemingly boneless shoulders and felt great admiration for Prince Qing inwardly, sighing that he was indeed a man capable of great deeds.

But this also confirmed that his own choice was correct; he hadn't followed the wrong person.

For the sake of the throne, what was one woman?

Not to mention a principal consort; even if it meant offering up one's own mother, it would be done without hesitation!

Look at the Eldest Prince, Li Shu. His woman was taken, and he made such a formidable enemy. If he had been as sensible as the Fourth Prince earlier, would things have come to this today?

Perhaps it would even have become a beautiful story passed down...

It's just a bit regrettable that I cannot compare to Yan Chu, not worth such a great price for Prince Qing to pay...

Prince Qing, Li Che, was actually feeling somewhat irritable at this moment. No matter how deep his scheming mind was, it was impossible to remain unmoved when such a thing happened to him personally.

But he kept reminding himself inwardly: everything for the great cause!

He forcibly calmed his emotions and comforted her in a gentle voice:

"Don't worry. As long as you can persuade Great Hero Yan to support me, your parents will be like my parents, your younger brother like my brother, and you will still be the Princess Consort of my Qing Prince Mansion."

"If, in the future, I ascend the throne, you will be the Empress, second only to one person, above tens of thousands!"

"Mmm."

Zhu Qinxue responded softly, her voice betraying no emotion.

She took a deep breath, ready to face her fate.

So what if he was a towering giant covered in bulging veins? So what if he was a Devil Head that struck fear into the hearts of the Jianghu? In the end, it was just those matters. Hadn't she experienced them before?

At worst, it meant death!

Even if she died at the hands of the Blade Devil, as long as her family could survive, her death would still have value.