“Oh? You’re saying that Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan risked their lives in the North Qiu’s Royal Palace to get those secret documents for us because they had nothing better to do?”

Why else would their plan be discovered so quickly?

The envoy from the Yunlan Kingdom thought as Mei Ying spoke, yet he could not voice this out. He could only laugh embarrassedly, “That’s not what I meant. We are indeed grateful that His Highness risked his life to get the documents for us, but the Crown Prince of the North Qiu Kingdom isn’t wrong either. If Pan Wuyang was the sole mastermind behind all of this and we keep pursuing this matter, it would be unfair to the civilians. If we started a war, there would be an unthinkable amount of deaths…”

“Exactly. The North Qiu Kingdom has also thought of this, which is why they sent me here to explain our stance on this matter. I hope that everyone can take this matter into serious consideration. We do not want to see innocent lives being lost!”

The envoy from the Yunlan Kingdom and Pan Wen were quick to agree with one another. In an instant, the North Qiu Kingdom had suddenly become the good guys. If anyone dared to disagree with them, they would automatically become the ones that were ruthless. The alliances that had just formed immediately broke down, their previous convictions now shaken and unsure what to do next.

Upon hearing the ‘sincerity’ in Pan Wen’s voice, the envoy from Luosang Kingdom, who had just formed an alliance with the Xia Kingdom two days ago, spoke out against Rong Yuan. “Your Highness, why don’t you…cancel your marriage? Official matters like these are more important. When this is dealt with, it wouldn’t be too late for you to deal with such trivial matters either.”

Rong Yuan merely laughed in response, “Perhaps marriage is a trivial matter to you; but to me, it is the most important thing in my life. If the Luosang Kingdom thinks that what the North Qiu Kingdom says is reliable, then you can join them. Just don’t blame us for not helping you when your Kingdom is being annexed by them.”

“You…” the envoy from the Luosang Kingdom reddened from Rong Yuan’s mockery. Angrily, he returned back to the crowd without saying anything else.

Pan Wen took the opportunity to look at the crowd and revealed a graceful smile. “I would like to thank all of you for your trust in us, if only the others were as clever and wise as all of you.”

The envoy from the Sangyuan Kingdom looked at Rong Yuan with increasing dissatisfaction. 

Isn’t he just a prince? How dare he disrespect everyone just because of his reputation of being the Martial Artist that’s most likely to become a True God? Even after getting his hands on the North Qiu Kingdom’s secret documents, he still wouldn’t reveal it to everyone. When the North Qiu Kingdom clears its name, he’ll see if Rong Yuan would still dare to disrespect everyone!

Gu Rong, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke up at this moment, “Lingzhi, let’s go. Haven’t you forgotten that when we were in the North Qiu Kingdom, you promised me to cancel your marriage with the Third Prince? You can’t change your mind so easily just because the Second Prince has passed away. The King of the North Qiu Kingdom has already said that as long as you are willing to change, he does not mind that you had once tried to betray Pan En. He’s even willing to let you marry the First Prince. When he eventually inherits the throne and becomes the Emperor, you’ll be the Empress!”

Gu Rong was strategic with the timing of his words, as well as the way he said them. He made use of the opportunity when everyone had been unsure of what decision to make. It was natural for everyone to believe what Gu Rong was saying, because which father in this world would take his daughter’s marriage as a joke? Even if he did not particularly dote on Gu Lingzhi, he would not trivialize her marriage to such an extent.

Gu Rong’s words had insinuated that Gu Lingzhi was indecisive when it came to men – after failing to seduce Pan En when she was in the North Qiu Kingdom, she came back to marry Rong Yuan.

Right after, the majority of the crowd believed most of Gu Rong’s words. 

After all, Gu Lingzhi was just another weak lady, how was it possible for her to get such important documents from the North Qiu Kingdom’s Royal Palace? People who had returned from the Secret Territory had also said that Gu Lingzhi had tried to get into Pan En’s good books in order to obtain those documents. 

After hearing about how the King of the North Qiu Kingdom was willing to forgive Gu Lingzhi’s betrayal, the people in the crowd looked at Rong Yuan with sympathy.

“Nonsense! Lingzhi isn’t like that, don’t think that you can say whatever you want about her just because you are her father!” Yan Liang voiced out in fury.

Previously, he had not said anything when Pan Wen had spoken ill of Rong Yuan because he wanted to see how Rong Yuan would react to such words. However, now that Gu Rong had dragged Gu Lingzhi into this matter, he could not stay silent anymore.

Gu Rong was Gu Lingzhi’s father! How could he say such cruel words at her wedding ceremony? He was making it hard for her to stay in the Xia Kingdom in the future!

“I’m saying whatever I want?” Gu Rong looked at Yan Liang, before retorting, “I swear to the heavens that Lingzhi had indeed told me that she wanted to cancel her marriage with Rong Yuan after we returned back to the Xia Kingdom and even confessed her love for the Second Prince of the North Qiu Kingdom. If whatever I’ve said are lies, I will suffer a painful death!”

The crowd erupted in boisterous conversation and no one dared to suspect his words any longer. If he had sworn upon the heavens, he could be punished by the heavens instantly! However, nothing had happened to him, which meant that Gu Lingzhi had indeed done whatever Gu Rong had said she did. Those that originally did not believe Gu Rong’s words were also looking at Rong Yuan with sympathy now. They all thought that it was such a pity that he had fallen head over heels for Gu Lingzhi, yet she turned out to be such an unfaithful woman.

Even Rong Han and Consort Rong were looking at their son with a funny look on their faces.

After seeing that his words had such a huge effect, Gu Rong looked pleased with himself. He immediately pretended to be a wise and thoughtful father, “Lingzhi, I know that you’ve exposed many of the North Qiu Kingdom’s secrets and you’ll be punished by the King of the North Qiu Kingdom. Don’t you worry, I’ve already pleaded with him – as long as you go back with me, you’ll receive the same treatment in the North Qiu Kingdom’s Royal Palace as before. No one would blame you anymore.”

“But… I don’t feel like going,” Gu Lingzhi could no longer keep silent. Her voice cracked and tears streamed down her face. Rong Yuan’s heart ached as he looked at her.

“Father, please stop forcing me. When we were in the North Qiu Kingdom, you threatened to disown me if I did not try to seduce the Second Prince. I had no choice but to say those words. Today is the day of my marriage, why are you forcing me to do that again?”

Gu Lingzhi then covered her face and sobbed. Her tears caused her make-up to streak down her face, leaving two black marks on her cheeks.

Weren’t they just pretending who could put on a better show for others? As long as she wasn’t compared to Pan Yue, her acting skills were better than everyone else!

“Elder Gu, if you feel even a sliver of kinship towards Lingzhi, then you wouldn’t continue forcing her to do something she doesn’t want to do. When we were in the North Qiu Kingdom, you forced Gu Lingzhi to get into Pan En’s good books because he had promised you benefits. You’ve even pressured her to risk her life to accept the challenge so that she could enter the main palace. You did not leave anything for Lingzhi after you and Pan En took all of the benefits. Lingzhi has never complained because you were her father. Now that we’re back in the Xia Kingdom, you’re still latching onto her, even wanting her to marry into the North Qiu Kingdom’s Royal Family because they’re rich. You’re too cruel!”

After finishing his sentence, Rong Yuan pulled Gu Lingzhi into a hug. He hugged her as if she was the most important thing to him.

“You’re making things up!” Gu Rong was furious, “When did I force you to do anything? You were the one who obviously could not resist the Second Prince’s advances, so you agreed to cancel your marriage with the Rong Yuan. You accepted the challenge to get into the main hall of your own accord, when did I force you to do anything? Lies! You’re lying!”

“If that’s the case, then Father, do you dare to swear upon the heavens that it was not you and Mother who took turns to force me to say that I wanted to cancel my marriage with Rong Yuan? Why don’t you swear upon the heavens that you did not urge me to risk my life in the main palace at the Sacred Lands?”

“Of course, I dare to. I…” Gu Rong paused mid-sentence. He thought about how he had taken turns with Lin Yue-er to force Gu Lingzhi to say that she wanted to cancel her marriage with Rong Yuan. It was also true that he had been anxious to get his hands on the spiritual treasures in the main palace so he urged Gu Lingzhi to accept the challenge.

Seeing that Gu Rong had stumbled on his words, not daring to swear upon the heavens, everyone knew that Gu Lingzhi was telling the truth. If that was the case, then it was no wonder Gu Lingzhi had said that she no longer wanted to marry Rong Yuan. She was forced to do so.

Rong Han and Consort Rong also breathed a sigh of relief. On the contrary, they adored Gu Lingzhi even more now. She was such a wonderful lady, yet the heavens were unfair to give her a lousy father. They promised themselves that they would treat her better in the future so that she could understand what it felt like to have loving parents.

“I’ve never met someone as evil as you! Not only are you overly ambitious and willing to abandon your entire clan, you are even willing to use your daughter to your advantage to such an extent. You’re truly admirable!” Xin Yi belted out sarcastically.

“I just don’t know if Clan Leader Gu… oh, I’m sorry, you’re no longer the Clan Leader. I wonder whether you have a conscience after coming up with so many ways to force Gu Lingzhi to go to the North Qiu Kingdom so that she can become your youngest daughter’s puppet.” 

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