Chapter 233: Chapter 233: She Also Needs to Uphold Mo Yinhe’s Dignity! 2
"You’ve offended Qu Gaoyang, the Crown Prince of Gendaya. Under what circumstances do you think Qu Gaoyang would let you off the hook?" Si Mingjing asked in return, not directly answering.
"Only if I were dead." Yang Wanling’s face was haggard, her voice even more defeated.
Because of this incident, Qu Gaoyang signed a zero-tariff contract. In Gendaya, the people all cursed him for it, calling it a national disgrace that surrendered sovereign rights! Qu Gaoyang will never let me go in this lifetime. One day, he’ll crush me like an ant! It’s just that the incident only just passed, so it’s not convenient for Qu Gaoyang to crush me yet. That’s why he torments me psychologically every day, making me wish I were dead!
"You’re wrong. There’s another possibility."
Si Mingjing leisurely sipped her tea.
Yang Wanling’s haggard eyes suddenly brightened. "How could that be possible? Unless I die, my brother will *never* let me go! Just yesterday, I received a courier package. Inside was a bloody, fake severed head. It was particularly terrifying, and that fake head could even emit a heart-wrenching scream."
Yesterday, Yang Wanling had been frightened out of her wits again.
But now, hope was filling her heart because the look in Si Mingjing’s eyes was so certain. She saw a glimmer of life in the depths of Si Mingjing’s gaze.
"Miss Si, please tell me."
Si Mingjing glanced at her, a flicker of amusement in her phoenix eyes. "Do you really want to know?"
Yang Wanling nodded vigorously. "I can’t think of any other possibility."
Si Mingjing said leisurely, "There’s a saying: ’It’s either your death or my survival.’"
Yang Wanling’s eyes widened. "Are you going to help me kill him?"
She shook her head vigorously. "That’s impossible! He is the Crown Prince of a nation, surrounded by countless guards. Forget about killing him; even getting close to him is difficult. Compared to him, he’s an elephant and you’re an ant. How can an ant shake an elephant?"
DING. Si Mingjing set her teacup down on the table, her invisible aura commanding and intimidating.
Si Mingjing said, "Pull him down from the position of Crown Prince, strip him of his power and influence, make him a dog that’s lost its home! Only then will you have a chance at survival. Otherwise, you will always be the ant, and he will always be the elephant. He could crush you anytime he wishes, while you’ll have to live every day in fear and torment, a life worse than death. Which do you choose?"
Yang Wanling was stunned for a moment, then said, "Miss Si, that’s a fantasy! Even my other brother, Qu Liushang, can’t defeat Qu Gaoyang, let alone you, a girl from Prison Star. Even if you’re now relying on Mo Yinhe’s support, that’s still impossible! Mo Yinhe himself faces threats from all sides. The policies he implemented in Atlantis have made him unwelcome in the three other Undersea countries. Even if this quad-country summit allowed him to turn danger into safety, it doesn’t change the fact that the other three countries don’t welcome him.
"Moreover, winning so brilliantly at the quad-country summit is not necessarily a good thing for Mo Yinhe. Given my brother Qu Gaoyang’s personality, after losing face so badly at the summit, he will definitely try everything to regain his dignity. Humiliated and enraged, he will only retaliate against Mo Yinhe more fiercely. And with the support of the other two nations, even if Mo Yinhe won this round, it doesn’t change his predicament of being targeted by the other three."
Si Mingjing looked at Yang Wanling, her gaze deepening.
I didn’t expect her to be so astute and sharp in her observations. Indeed, the more brilliantly Mo Yinhe triumphed at the quad-country summit, the more intense the hostility he would face from the other three nations in the future. Even if only to save face, the other three nations would suppress him fiercely. My near-death experience this time was a clear example of Qu Gaoyang’s fierce retaliation. If Mo Yinhe, in a moment of imperial wrath, acts for my sake—for a ’beauty’—then he’ll fall right into their trap! Once Mo Yinhe truly declares war, the other two countries will definitely send troops to help Gendaya, forming a pincer attack to encircle and annihilate him. I don’t want Mo Yinhe to wage a major war because of me. However, since Mo Yinhe has already laid down the gauntlet, I *must* make Qu Gaoyang sever his own arm! Mo Yinhe is standing up for me, so I must uphold his dignity! Mo Yinhe has laid down the challenge. If Qu Gaoyang doesn’t end up severing an arm, wouldn’t Mo Yinhe lose a tremendous amount of face? I don’t want Mo Yinhe to lose face! I must find a way to force Qu Gaoyang to sever his own arm, and for that, Yang Wanling is key.
Si Mingjing looked at Yang Wanling. "I’m not saying *I’m* going to pull Qu Gaoyang down from his position as Crown Prince. I’m saying *you* will."
"What?"
This Miss Si must be mad, Yang Wanling thought.
"How could I possibly have that ability?"
"With me here, you do."
"Miss Si, you’re talking like a delusional dreamer. In my eyes, it’s delusional for *you* to even think about pulling my brother down from his position as Crown Prince, let alone me! I’m just an illegitimate daughter who isn’t even recognized as a Princess. How could I possibly overthrow my Crown Prince brother? If my Crown Prince brother is an elephant and you’re an ant, then I’m less than an ant—I’m a single-celled paramecium! Even an ant can’t shake an elephant, so how could a single-celled paramecium?"
Si Mingjing smiled. "Yang Wanling, you are now a princess of Gendaya Country."
"No, I’ve never been recognized."
Yang Wanling dreamed of becoming a princess of Gendaya Country, but sadly, her mother was a land-dweller.
"At the Four Nations Summit, Qu Gaoyang himself declared you a princess of Gendaya Country. He even said he would seek justice for you, as you had been unbearably humiliated. Everyone in the Undersea World now knows you are a princess of Gendaya Country—it’s been officially acknowledged! If you weren’t recognized, on what grounds would they use you to challenge Mo Yinhe?"
Yang Wanling thought about it, and it seemed true.
"But," she said, "so what? Back then, they recognized me only to use me as a tool. Now that my Crown Prince brother has signed the zero-tariff contract because of me, why would they continue to recognize me?"
"That’s a different matter. Since it’s been officially announced, from now on, you are a princess of Gendaya Country.
"But that’s just the first step.
"If you want to be formally accepted by them, you must possess a value that makes you irreplaceable to your Emperor father.
"And what I’m going to do is help you achieve that comeback, making your father realize the unique value you possess, turning you into his most beloved daughter, his pearl in the palm."
For some reason, although Si Mingjing’s words sounded like fairy tales, the intelligence in her eyes, the arrogance in her tone, and that determined demeanor somehow managed to infect Yang Wanling, stirring her heart and making her blood boil with excitement.
In her whole life, she never dared to imagine becoming her father’s pearl in the palm; she hadn’t even dared to dream it. Yet Si Mingjing dared to speak of it, and with such certainty!
Yang Wanling, who had been dejected, suddenly sat up straight.
"Miss Si, can you really help me make that comeback?"
"Otherwise, why would I ask you to come here? Do I look like I have nothing better to do?"
You’re sitting here so leisurely in the Sunlight Room, sipping floral tea and basking in the sun—isn’t that the very definition of idle? Yang Wanling thought.
She didn’t dare to voice her thoughts; she was already in a desperate situation and wanted to grasp at any sliver of hope.
Even if it means fighting a losing battle! Because Qu Gaoyang has already backed me into a corner with no way out!
"Miss Si, help me! As long as you help me become my father’s pearl in the palm, I will definitely cooperate with you to overthrow my ruthless Crown Prince brother!"