“Do you know that if I speak, you have nowhere to escape?” the Prince of An said coldly.
“You can try. Will your mouth be faster, or my sword?”
The Prince of An chuckled softly, “Is that so?”
Xue Zi Ning’s sword was pressed against the Prince of An’s neck. If she applied any pressure, his neck would bleed.
The Prince of An stiffened. Xue Zi Ning sneered, “Weren’t you being so brave just now? Are you scared now?”
“Xue Zi Ning, no, Little A Ning…”
Xue Zi Ning paused slightly. Seeing this, the Prince of An quickly said, “Little A Ning, even though you are no longer An Ning, in my heart, you have always carried the presence of An Ning. I cannot bring myself to harm you, and you can feel that.”
“Your Majesty, do not listen to him. If he truly cared for Princess An Ning, he would not have trapped you in the palace,” Yun Wei Shu said.
“Little A Ning, Father misses you dearly…”
The Prince of An suddenly choked up, his eyes filling with tears.
A voice suddenly echoed in her mind, “Don’t kill him, don’t kill him…”
She tried to drive the voice away, but found she couldn’t.
Yun Wei Shu also noticed her abnormality and anxiously asked, “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head, “Nothing.”
She used the sword in her hand to slash the Prince of An’s neck. Blood flowed out, and she said coldly, “Speak. What are you and Han Xi Chen planning?”
“You are truly no longer my Little A Ning. Little A Ning would never hurt her father,” the Prince of An sighed, lowering his head.
“I am not An Ning, I am Xue Zi Ning,” she said loudly, not just for the Prince of An to hear, but for herself as well.
She was Xue Zi Ning, the Empress of Chang Jiu.
“But your rebirth was granted by An Ning…”
Xue Zi Ning trembled. The Prince of An continued, “The treasure I raised for so many years has been taken over by you. Did I say anything? And now you want to harm me? How is your conscience?”
“Your Majesty, don’t listen to his nonsense. I’ve heard the rumors. Princess An Ning and Your Majesty shared one body. I believe Princess An Ning has already prepared to disappear herself. You must not believe his words and waste Princess An Ning’s good intentions for nothing,” Yun Wei Shu said urgently.
Xue Zi Ning looked at the Prince of An and said faintly, “Tell me, what exactly are you planning?”
“Instead of asking him, Xue Zi Ning, you might as well ask me.”
A voice sounded from the darkness. Xue Zi Ning looked up and saw a man in dark robes slowly emerge from the shadows.
With a handsome, wicked charm on his face, his eyes held a chilling coldness. Who else could it be but Han Xi Chen?
“Han Xi Chen,” Xue Zi Ning said coldly.
Han Xi Chen looked up at her, then glanced at her belly and sighed twice, “I didn’t expect it to be so big already.”
Xue Zi Ning covered her belly with her hand and said coldly, “Han Xi Chen, what exactly do you want to do?”
Han Xi Chen approached step by step, and she retreated step by step. Only when she could retreat no further did she raise her head to look at him. His gaze was cold and biting, sending chills to the bone.
He chuckled softly and said, “Your Majesty, you are afraid of me.”
Xue Zi Ning bit her lower lip. She hadn’t been afraid before; even in the most difficult situations, she wouldn’t have furrowed her brow. But now it was different. She carried Yan Zhao’s child within her, and she had to think of the child.
Her pregnancy was already difficult, and after this child, she couldn’t be sure if Yan Zhao would allow her to have more. She desired someone who shared Yan Zhao’s bloodline.
“Why should I fear you? I am the Empress of Chang Jiu, the ruler of this land. Han Xi Chen, do you know that if you harm me, Xue Jing Yun will not let you off?” she said coldly.
Han Xi Chen shook his head, “A Ning, you are thinking too simply, and you trust people too much. Even if he loves you to death right now, who knows what it will be like in a few years, or even decades? People change.”
“Yes, people change, but he will not.”
“A Ning, you are blindly confident.”
“Yes, I am blindly confident in him.”
Han Xi Chen smiled, and a trace of tenderness flashed in his chilling gaze, “You are very much like her.”
“Who?” Xue Zi Ning asked.
Han Xi Chen raised his eyelids, “Don’t you already know?”
“So, from beginning to end, you wanted to revive An Ning?” Xue Zi Ning asked.
She saw Han Xi Chen looking at her, his lips curving upwards slightly, “Yes and no.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I want to revive An Ning, that is undeniable. But now is not the time.”
Xue Zi Ning frowned, “The Empress An?”
Han Xi Chen froze, his gaze suddenly deepening.
Xue Zi Ning smiled coldly, “I used to wonder what you were trying to achieve. But no matter how much I tested you, all I got was that you wanted to revive someone. But who this person was, I didn’t know.
It wasn’t until I arrived at An City that I had a clue. Then I heard about Princess An Ning’s mother, and I had a feeling. You want to revive Empress An, the one who died in childbirth while giving birth to Princess An Ning.”
“Shut up,” Han Xi Chen said coldly.
“It seems I was right. Han Xi Chen, I know more. Your birth mother was of humble status. King Han, in his drunken state, favored your mother, and after one night, you were conceived. However, your birth did not bring King Han to care more for you and your mother. Instead, you endured the humiliation of the Han royal family, until…”
“Shut up, I told you to shut up…” Han Xi Chen was furious and suddenly grabbed her by the neck.
“Enraged? Is it because I spoke the truth?” she said word by word.
“Han Xi Chen, don’t hurt her. If something happens to her, Ah Zhan will truly not be able to be resurrected.”
Han Xi Chen suppressed his rage and let go, saying coldly, “Xue Zi Ning, I advise you not to test my patience. My patience is limited.”
“Hahaha…” Xue Zi Ning sneered, her clear and beautiful face holding an unusually cold gaze, “I am very curious how you plan to revive Ming Zhan Zhu. Do you even know the method of resurrection?”
Han Xi Chen’s gaze deepened slightly. The Prince of An, however, asked, “How do you know?”
Xue Zi Ning sneered, “Because I was the one who told him this method.”
The Prince of An frowned and asked, “Han Xi Chen, is what she says credible?”
Han Xi Chen replied, “Haven’t you seen the result?”
“Prince of An, are you sure you saw a living person?”
The Prince of An was taken aback, “What do you mean?”
“Perhaps a living dead person.”
Xue Zi Ning’s words made the Prince of An tremble. He looked at Han Xi Chen and asked, “Is what she says true or false?”
“Prince of An, are you sure you believe her words? You clearly saw that person come alive.”
“Prince of An, did Han Xi Chen only let you see that living person during the day? And not at night?”
The Prince of An was stunned, his expression darkening, “Han Xi Chen, you lied to me…”