World-Ending Demon Emperor-Chapter 38 - 36 Murder Zhi Ning arranges to meet Lanling!
38: Chapter 36: Murder, Zhi Ning arranges to meet Lanling!
38 -36: Murder, Zhi Ning arranges to meet Lanling!
“Ah…”
“Ah…”
“Suo Lun, I will dismember you into ten thousand pieces.”
“I shall have someone ravish your sister before killing her!”
“I will exterminate your entire family!”
Alone in the secret chamber, Princess Zhining seemed like a completely different person.
All prior elegance, all nobility had vanished.
Her gaze became outrageously wild, and her voice excessively shrill.
However, after venting for less than half a minute, she immediately quieted down.
Like the surface of a lake, from stormy waves to calm mirrors, it was a matter of mere moments.
Then, she faced the mirror to touch up her makeup, to straighten her slightly displaced collar, and to adjust her hair.
She gently patted her breathtakingly beautiful cheek, then gracefully left the secret chamber.
…
When Princess Zhining reemerged, she looked at the Shopkeeper of Jin and the casino owner, a rare enchanting smile appearing on her beautiful face.
“Do you know what Suo Lun wrote in the letter?”
The Shopkeeper of Jin said, “Roughly some ignorant and foolish words, I suppose.”
“He asked me to kill you,” said Zhining.
“What a joke.
Not only are the two of you my close confidants, but you are also Zhi Li His Highness’s trusty aides.
We rely greatly on you, asking me to kill you would be like cutting off my own limbs, wouldn’t it?”
“We dare not, we dare not,” the Shopkeeper said.
“We’ll go warn that wastrel with our special methods.
Should we castrate him, or deal with his sister instead?”
“Just handle it as you see fit,” Zhining said.
“Alright, I’m tired.
You may leave now.”
“Yes!” The two bowed and backed away step by step, not daring to turn around until they were out of Zhining’s sight.
At that moment, Zhining glanced at the eunuch beside her and then drew her jade hand across her own neck.
“Yes,” the eunuch nodded, following her silently and stealthily.
“Swoosh…”
A soft flash of white light darted by.
Two heads immediately rolled off.
The Shopkeeper of Jin and the casino owner, these so-called emperors of Tianshui City’s underground, remained respectful even in death, their faces frozen with deference.
Because everything happened so abruptly, they didn’t even have the chance to show fear or horror before they were decapitated.
Because they would never believe to their dying breath that Zhining would kill them.
They were so useful, so indispensable.
One controlled the purse strings, the other wielded the underground power.
And the eunuch’s weapon, from its reveal to the killing and then its disappearance back into the sleeve, took no more than half a second from start to finish.
Straight thereafter, two more ghost-like eunuchs swiftly appeared, caught the falling heads, then dragged the two bodies away to where they disappeared without a trace.
The bodies must not go to waste; Zhining needed the blood for the anti-forgery mark on the banknotes, the bones and flesh would be minced and used as fertilizer for flowers.
“Go and kill their whole family,” Zhining commanded next.
“Yes,” that eunuch, like a specter, instantly drifted away.
Afterwards, Princess Zhining casually said, “Serve me as I change, I must go to the palace to see His Majesty.
This farce should end.”
“Yes,” several maids tiptoed over, daring not to make the slightest sound as they walked.
Zhining gave a slight shake, and her clothes, thin as cicada wings, fell to the floor, revealing her incomparable heavenly body fully to the air.
Then, just like that, resembling a bloodthirsty, exquisitely beautiful elf, she gracefully entered her dressing room.
…
Inside the Duke’s mansion.
Duke Zhi Ting sighed, “Brace yourself, your Suo Family is likely to lose Tianshui City Territory.
After all, a kingdom’s new strategy always requires some sacrifices.
It’s bad luck for the Suo Family, your territory just happens to be situated to the north of Barbaric Gorge, blocking the kingdom’s route south.”
Lanling was filled with immense sorrow and anger.
Why should the Suo Family be the cannon fodder?
But he did not utter a word out loud.
Duke Zhi Ting continued, “I never return bribes I’ve accepted.
But since you have pledged loyalty to me once before…
after losing your territory and titles, I shall spare your family’s lives.
That is the least I can do.”
Lanling bowed deeply and said, “Thank you, my lord Duke.”
“Go now, await His Majesty’s decree,” said Zhi Ting.
“It should come within the next two or three days.”
Lanling left the Duke’s mansion.
…
The next day, Lanling was in a classroom at the Royal City Academy.
He was currently attending an art class.
Suddenly, the bell rang out, and it was the most solemn and magnificent twelve chimes, signifying the arrival of the King, or perhaps a royal decree.
This meant that all students were to proceed to the academy square to hear His Majesty’s royal instructions.
“It’s finally come,” Lanling sighed inwardly, following the other students from the Noble Academy to the academy square.
A quarter of an hour later, tens of thousands of people stood neatly arranged in the entire square.
Above were the noble students, and below, the commoner students, distinctly separated.
“The King decrees, kneel!” With the eunuch’s loud shout, all the students neatly knelt down.
Then, the eunuch’s shrill voice echoed throughout the academy square.
Strangely enough, although his voice was not loud, it clearly penetrated everyone’s ears, unmistakably the work of a master from within the palace.
“The Rage Wave Kingdom was founded on martial prowess, with the royal family and nobility sharing the realm.
Since the founding of the kingdom, the noble class has been the backbone of our nation.
However, over the past decades, the nobility’s progeny have become increasingly indulgent in comfort and playfulness in both literature and martial skills, deteriorating with each generation.
Such a state has caused Us great agony, and if this continues, the nation will no longer be a nation.”
That was a rebuke directed at the noble progeny, but indeed, it reflected the truth that the noble students of the Royal City Academy were far behind the commoner students in both literary and martial skills.
However, this was exactly what the royal family wanted, to allow a plethora of commoner elites to replace the hereditary noble classes as the new pillars of the kingdom’s ruling strata.
After reading this portion of the decree, the eunuch paused and swept his icy gaze over the kneeling nobles.
This look, in place of His Majesty, had all the noble students bowing their heads in guilty acknowledgment.
“Therefore, We have decided to reinstate an ancestral policy; effective immediately, any who seek to inherit a dukedom must first receive the Noble Samurai Medal issued by the royal family.
Without it, they shall not inherit the dukedom, nor the lands thereof, so decreed!”
After the decree was read, the noble progeny wailed in despair.
Lanling’s heart suddenly turned cold, sinking ever lower.
He had suspected that His Majesty’s decree might bear ill news, but this was worse than he imagined.
Before, merely passing the graduation exam was enough to inherit a noble title, meaning an average score of sixty would suffice.
Now, however, they needed to obtain the Noble Samurai Medal, which meant what?
It meant they had to rank in the top ten of the graduation exams, which in turn meant they had to score above eighty or ninety percent in every subject.
Keep in mind that whether in the literary or martial arts disciplines, Lanling had less than five months of study, and just passing would already be defying the heavens; now, he was expected to enter the top ten?
Bear in mind, there were more than two hundred noble youths taking the graduation exam, and to be in the top ten out of over two hundred!
Previously, Suo Lun was consistently at the very bottom.
Now, to have Lanling enter the top ten was more difficult than ascending to the heavens.
Especially in the martial arts archery subject, previously an 180 catty bow within a distance of several dozen meters with a hit rate of around sixty percent would suffice to pass.
Now, it would require at least a 250 catty bow to hit a target over a hundred meters away with an accuracy of over eighty percent.
And the time left for Lanling was at most around three months, indeed more difficult than scaling the skies.
In the struggle between Zhi Ting and Zhi Li, the King had watched without voicing any opinion.
But after Princess Zhining visited the King in the palace, and by the next day, King Zhi Bian’s decree was issued.
One could only wonder what Princess Zhining had said to the King—was her position in the King’s heart really so high?
No doubt, this decree was aimed at Suo Lun, meant to prevent Suo Lun from inheriting his title and taking over Tianshui City Territory.
With such a resolute stance, King Zhi Bian signaled his support for Zhi Li.
This also made it clear to the kingdom’s elite that Prince Zili, although not the King’s biological son, was still his beloved nephew and adoptive son, with a position as secure as a mountain.
Lanling was certain that once Zhi Li had complete control of Tianshui City, the King would likely show mercy next year at the Royal City Academy’s graduation exam, canceling this decree and allowing the noble progeny to easily inherit their titles.
After all, the royal family would be only too pleased if the nobles’ heirs were more incompetent with each generation.
The noble students present were undoubtedly sharp, and after their initial shock and tension subsided, they soon relaxed.
Then, their eyes, filled with sympathy and schadenfreude, all turned towards Lanling.
The Suo Family was destined to fall—after all, who had they been to block the path of the future Crown Prince?
The girls who had dated Suo Lun, looking at him kneeling motionless there (Lanling), were also filled with sympathy and a touch of heartache.
Even a night’s marriage owed a hundred days of grace.
Although Suo Lun was a womanizing scoundrel, changing girlfriends as easily as clothing, being with him was truly joyful; he indeed had a knack for making girls happy.
Although these girls outwardly appeared indignant towards Suo Lun, deep down, they missed the time spent with him dearly.
He was so bad, yet so incredibly charming.
The sight of him like this truly tugged at one’s heartstrings.
The declaration of the decree concluded, and everyone returned to their classes.
Lanling, however, headed to the principal’s office to meet with Principal Jian Yong and request an extended leave of absence, as he would not be able to attend classes for the coming months.
In front of the stone office building, an eunuch blocked his path, stating lightly, “Commandery Princess Zhining wishes to see you.”
Lanling glanced towards the roadside and immediately saw a low-key yet extraordinarily luxurious carriage, from afar, the scent of its profound fragrance wafting through the air.
Inside that carriage was none other than Commandery Princess Zhining.
Lanling’s heart skipped a beat: “Is it finally time to meet?”
…
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