Chapter 433: Chapter 262: Sui Yuqing’s Secret, Buddhist Karmic Force, Demonic Thoughts, Myriad Entanglements
"Furthermore, keep a close watch on the Golden Crow Country. Provide Princess Luo Qiufu with appropriate assistance. The Holy Emperor’s first target is the Golden Crow Country."
"Yes!"
Luo Ying’s key subordinates were also quite shocked to learn this important news.
They hadn’t expected the Holy Emperor to make a move against the Six Kingdoms so soon.
Although he hadn’t explicitly dispatched troops, targeting the Eldest Princess was the same as targeting the Golden Crow Country.
The best tactic is to strike at strategy; the worst is to lay siege to cities.
This was the very logic at play.
Her subordinate immediately went to make the arrangements, while Luo Ying vanished from the restaurant.
She reappeared in a pleasure house within the brothel district. She had removed her black veil, revealing a sharp, black martial uniform. Her dark hair was tied back in a straight, high ponytail, and she had procured a jug of wine from somewhere.
Leaning alone against the building’s railing, she listened to the top Courtesan’s zither music while drinking morosely.
Her sharp features softened as she stared into the wine, clear as water. It reflected her own cold, severe face, now tinged with confusion.
’Yang Erlang... is the Holy Emperor...’
From Lu Mingyuan, she had pieced together who Yang Jian was.
Although His Majesty hadn’t said so explicitly, she had already guessed most of the truth.
She had long been deeply suspicious of Yang Erlang’s identity, of why he had betrayed her and why he had joined the Eastern Palace Mansion.
She had been investigating in secret for a long time.
It wasn’t until she had spent more time with Lu Mingyuan that she discovered the Crown Prince bore a striking resemblance to Yang Erlang in many ways.
If their faces were covered, they were practically the same person.
It wasn’t just her imagination; it was a tangible feeling.
That was why, today, Luo Ying had chosen to ask Lu Mingyuan about it.
Who exactly was Yang Erlang?
’Why?’
’Is everything just a game? Even after escaping Prince Jin’s Mansion, am I still just someone else’s pawn?’
The thought filled Luo Ying with bitter resentment.
Or perhaps, it was more a feeling of helplessness. Of utter powerlessness.
Now that she knew the truth, what was she to do? Should she continue her revenge and flaunt her power over her worthless sister? Or should she leave the Imperial Palace, abandon the position of Infinite Faction Leader she had fought so hard to obtain, and pursue the Ascension Dao alone?
Either path was a goal she had once poured her heart and soul into achieving.
Yet now, both seemed easily within her grasp.
And it was all because of that man, Lu Mingyuan.
He was behind the curtain, manipulating everything.
She felt that it had all become so meaningless.
No matter how hard she struggled, she was always just someone else’s pawn. She had never once lived for herself.
Just as Luo Ying was lost in her bewilderment, a familiar, aged voice echoed from within the ornately decorated room.
"Luo Ying’Er, you look just as lost as you did seven years ago."
Hearing the voice, Luo Ying’s face filled with disbelief. She whipped her head around.
There, she saw an elderly man in a white Confucian shirt. His eyes were profound, as if they could pierce the human heart, and a subtle, barely-there smile touched his lips.
His figure was somewhat incorporeal. It seemed this was not his true body, but a projection.
Even if it was just a projected incarnation, she reacted as if facing a great enemy.
After all, this was a being on par with a Saint.
"Lord State Preceptor... No, Mr. Xun."
Luo Ying’s expression turned serious, but she was still puzzled.
"Weren’t you already dead?"
"It seems every one of you thought I was dead, killed by the Military Saint, and so you threw yourselves into the new emperor’s arms? All of you, driven purely by self-interest. You are indeed worthy of the candidates I originally chose."
Xun Yu shook his head, his tone laced with emotion. Even after learning that his subordinates had pledged allegiance to the new emperor, he showed no sign of anger. Instead, he seemed quite pleased.
And yet, this was Xun Yu.
The Saint who had pioneered the Dragon Slaying Skill, established the Infinite Faction to oppose the Three Religions, lurked behind the scenes as a master of manipulation, and had, by his power alone, evaded the Confucian Temple’s pursuit for hundreds of years.
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