Chapter 175: The Agony of Ten Thousand Arrows Piercing the Heart; She Had Made Him Suffer It Several Times

Chapter 175: Chapter 175: The Agony of Ten Thousand Arrows Piercing the Heart; She Had Made Him Suffer It Several Times

The young woman in his arms had a dazed expression, a look that proved she wasn’t completely indifferent.

The heavy ache in Xie Jinbai’s chest eased somewhat, and the rage that had been swelling within him instantly vanished.

"Don’t let your mind wander," he said softly, pulling her closer into his arms. "I would never do that. I don’t want anyone but you."

Even at his most reckless, he had never considered touching another woman.

Much less now. It was absolutely out of the question.

Cui Lingyao remained perfectly still in his embrace, not saying a word.

’She still seemed worried about having an heir.’

Xie Jinbai gently stroked her hair and said coaxingly, "Listen to me. Let’s adopt a child. We’ll tell the world he’s our own flesh and blood. If we’re discreet, no one will ever know. There’ll be no risk of his lineage being questioned, and I’ll personally see to his education."

The security of the empire and its people was just as important to him.

He would do everything in his power to groom the next Emperor for Great Yue.

’As my heir, he must be adept in both civil and military affairs, excelling in every aspect. He won’t be some useless weakling who can’t even keep the Vassal Kings in check.’

His voice was resolute.

It was the kind of resolve that promised the sky wouldn’t fall—that no matter what happened, he would be there to handle it.

For a brief, uncontrollable moment, Cui Lingyao’s resolve wavered.

But she quickly remembered the system. It had exhausted its power to resurrect her and had gone dormant, waiting for her to complete its task before it could be reawakened.

The system had treated her well. Cui Lingyao couldn’t bring herself to think only of her own happiness and cast aside the system’s fate.

She shook her head, her voice strained. "That won’t work..."

"Why not?"

Seeing her so unyielding, Xie Jinbai’s eyes darkened. "If you’re worried about the Alien Clan causing chaos again and the nation falling to ruin, I swear to you, I will dedicate the rest of my life to preventing it. I will never allow the history you speak of to repeat itself."

"You can’t promise that,"

Cui Lingyao said, "you can’t make any guarantees about the future. The entity behind me has mysterious origins. After running countless simulations, it determined that only your own flesh and blood can break Great Yue from its future path to ruin."

’Break the path...’

Xie Jinbai mulled over her words and found the reason utterly ridiculous.

He sneered, his eyes turning cold. "Is this really about saving Great Yue from ruin, or is it about completing the task it gave you?"

The words were brutally blunt.

He had just mercilessly torn through the last fragile paper screen of peace between them.

So much for trust.

In that moment, it vanished without a trace.

"I don’t know what this thing behind you is, but I have countless ways to avert Great Yue’s downfall. Do you want to hear them?"

Xie Jinbai said, "As long as you stay quietly by my side and stop tormenting me, I can eliminate those Alien Clans one by one within my lifetime!"

Annihilating an entire clan was something he was fully capable of.

His position was high enough and his power great enough that even before ascending the throne, he already had a firm grasp on the court’s affairs.

In terms of cunning and strategy, problems that seemed unsolvable to ordinary people were, for him, merely a matter of a little extra effort.

The "history" Cui Lingyao spoke of was indeed tragic, but in Xie Jinbai’s view, there were far too many ways to avert their "path to ruin."

"If you still feel that’s not secure enough, if you’re afraid that the regime will be unstable when the new Emperor takes the throne and Great Yue will descend into civil war... then, Yaoyao..."

Xie Jinbai looked at the woman in his arms and said softly, "What if I abdicate early and personally ensure he is secure on the throne?"

’Power was a fine thing, but if abdicating early to support the new monarch was what it took to set her mind at ease, he could do that too.’

’He could do anything!’

’As long as she was truly devoted to him, as she claimed, and had no intention of leaving.’

...

Inside the tent, Cui Lingyao was stunned into a long silence.

She was speechless.

The truth was, the man had just laid out a whole series of ways to "avert their path to ruin."

Every single one was more convincing than the "heir of his own blood" solution that she and the system had proposed.

It left her clumsy reasoning with no leg to stand on.

Her expression remained dazed. She didn’t look happy, like someone whose problem had just been solved.

Xie Jinbai’s expression darkened. "So even this isn’t enough? You’re still going to insist that I must have a child of my own blood, is that it?"

’What reason could possibly make her so insistent?’

"Don’t tell me it’s because the task from that thing behind you is for me to have my own child. Are you so afraid of failing the task and never returning to your own world that you..."

"No! Of course not!"

How could Cui Lingyao admit to that? She retorted quickly, "I just think that since so many lives are at stake, we have to be absolutely certain. We can’t allow for even the slightest possibility of an unexpected accident..."

’An heir who wasn’t his biological son ascending the throne—that was the potential "accident."’

’The risk might be minuscule, but... what if?’

Even Cui Lingyao herself knew her explanation sounded forced, to say nothing of Xie Jinbai.

He said nothing, only watched her with a smirk that wasn’t a smile.

His expression seemed to say: ’Do you even believe that yourself?’

"..."

Cui Lingyao’s voice trailed off.

She lowered her head in frustration but forced a stubborn tone as she argued, "Believe me or not, I have no intention of ’going back.’ I just trust the system’s calculations and am sticking to its conclusion."

’Her so-called ’conclusion’ was for him to go and have a child with another woman.’

Xie Jinbai’s eyes narrowed as he asked flatly, "So, you still want me to go sleep with other women?"

"...Yes," Cui Lingyao said, nodding emphatically. "I’ve thought it over. Your household already has one concubine. It wouldn’t be a big deal to select a few more."

Taking that concubine was the greatest folly Xie Jinbai had ever committed.

He had been tormented by it, living like a madman for three long years.

It was his greatest trigger.

Now, she had just prodded that raw nerve without a second thought, and a wave of pain crashed over him.

Xie Jinbai’s face twisted for a moment. ’How could she be so cruel to him!’

His expression was so awful that Cui Lingyao couldn’t help but frown. "It’s just taking a few concubines. Why are you acting like some virtuous martyr? Just think of it as a sacrifice for the dynasty. It’s not like I’ll despise you for it."

"..." Xie Jinbai laughed, a sound devoid of humor, and stared at her intently. "And what if I refuse?"

’She wanted to play the part of the virtuous wife.’

’Pushing him onto other women.’

’What if he had no desire to have a woman on each arm?’

Of course, Cui Lingyao had considered this possibility.

She said nonchalantly, "If you refuse, there’s naturally nothing I can do to force you."

’In all the world, who could possibly force him to do something he didn’t want to do?’

’Especially not matters of passion.’

Xie Jinbai had been tormented by her enough to know better. Her words brought him no relief whatsoever.

’This delicate, gentle-looking young woman had countless ways to torment him.’

’She had already made him suffer the agony of a thousand piercing arrows on several occasions.’

Sure enough, her next words were, "I don’t want to make things difficult for you, so I can only go and face death."

Xie Jinbai’s body went rigid. He slowly lowered his head, bringing his face closer to hers. "What did you say?"

"Have you forgotten?" Cui Lingyao looked up at him, her voice gentle. "I told you. If this task isn’t completed, I’ll die."