Chapter 160: Xiu Ying’s greed

AN: I am so sorry for my absence. I reached a creative impasse. This project is about to end, and I am continuing with other one, so see you there. ;)

Li Jun, who had shut himself out for the past few days, finally dusted himself off and composed himself. He could grieve later. For now, he had a score to settle with Xiu Ying. He turned on his phone, intending to call his family to set up a meeting. But the first thing he received was urgent notifications from StarNet.

He rubbed his swollen eyes from all that crying, thinking that he was hallucinating. Had Xiu Ying lost her mind? Had she gone insane? While he was trying to process what had just happened, the door that had remained closed for days slid open.

Li Jun met Damian’s worried gaze. Damian had called him and sent him messages, but they all went undelivered. He wanted to comfort him and let him know that everything would be okay. He had come up with words of comfort to tell him once Li Jun was ready to see him, but when he met that gaze, all the words he could say vanished.

"Did that bitch actually arrest him?" The ’him’ Li Jun was referring to didn’t need to be named. Damian felt his nerves pulled taut, the hair at his nape bristling as a chill shot down his spine. He had no reason to fear Li Jun, yet in that moment it was as if he stood before an enraged beast, one poised to unleash a calamity too vast to escape.

"She arrested him. We are hours away from the imperial capital," he replied before pursing his lips. He had to admit, when Li Jun was angry, which rarely happened, he gave off the same feeling as his sister. The calmer he was, the more terror he would unleash.

Li Jun’s lip curled, his smirk eerie. That smile had Damian subconsciously taking a step back as though to flee. Li Jun’s playful personality was undoubtedly from Li Mingze, but this, this was all Haku Ume’s doing. When his sister was mad, it was best to stay clear; otherwise, he would be caught in the storm.

"Since she already made her first move, then we shouldn’t disappoint her," he said, his voice dripping with venom. He walked past Damian, each step heavy with dominance, subtle but suffocating, as if the floor itself bent to his will. "Are you coming?" He suddenly asked without turning back.

Damian, who was in a daze, snapped out of it. "Com-," he said, but when he realised his voice was hoarse, he abruptly stopped speaking and cleared his throat. "I am coming," he continued as he followed after him. As they walked, he couldn’t help but warn the others to be on their best behavior.

Li Jun was like a landmine buried in the desert sand. If anyone dared to step on it, they would immediately meet their end. Turns out his warning was unnecessary because the moment Li Jun walked in, the already tense atmosphere dropped to below freezing point. None of them dared to breathe too loudly lest the chill freeze their lungs.

Just then Draco’s enlarged face appeared on the floating screen. His expression alone told them what time he was on. His gaze swept the room before settling on Li Jun. The guilt he had carried with him for years surged forth. He had failed to protect his daughter and son-in-law. He had so much power, but he still failed to see the small yet venomous snake slithering in the grass and striking in the shadows.

He truly blamed himself. His gaze filled with guilt, he asked, "Little Jun, are you okay?"

Li Jun was very honest. He sat down in the swivel chair and crossed his legs, one over the other, as he said, "I am not." Xiu Ying had taken so much from him, and still, she wasn’t satisfied. She still wanted to take his beloved. She was either going to hand him over willingly, or he would burn the imperial palace with her and her daughter in it.

Draco pursed his lips, the pain in his chest unbearable. No words of comfort could ease the pain Li Jun was feeling in his heart. Only revenge could give him a sense of relief. Knowing that, Draco chose to say, "Let’s get revenge first, and the rest will follow."

"What’s the plan?"

***

Yu Wen had honestly expected Xiu Ying to throw him in the imperial prison and make things difficult for him. Instead, she had locked him up in the imperial palace with a lot of guards patrolling outside. She didn’t skimp on anything. They made sure he was comfortable. The only thing he couldn’t have was his phone, and there was a collar ring around his neck to suppress him.

Other than that, he had everything and anything he wanted. It was as though she was trying to appease Li Jun when he finally made his appearance. She must know his value to him, so she didn’t dare lay a finger on him.

She couldn’t risk further upsetting the man. Well, at least that’s what she thought. If only she knew what was coming, she would have been packing her things and made a run for it.

Xiu Ying hadn’t yet decided what she was going to do with Li Jun. The system had told her to kill him, but she hadn’t heard from it since. No matter how many times she summoned it, it never showed its face. Just like last time, she had been ghosted again.

She could do what the system wanted, but she was contemplating locking him up and using him as a bargaining chip. These were her options, but she hadn’t realised there could be a third. The third option was going to war.

As she lay in a crystal mud bath with an attendant on either side manicuring her nails, urgent news came from the generals of the imperial army. A woman walked over and knelt before her while holding out a phone.

With a slight tremor in her voice, she said, "Your Majesty, it’s the generals. They said it’s urgent."

Xiu Ying was expecting to hear that Li Jun had finally made contact and wanted to negotiate. She smirked, thinking he didn’t have to contact her through the generals. He could just call her directly. "Put him on speaker," she said, and the young woman tapped the screen, her fingers trembling slightly.

Just like the others serving Xiu Ying, she was afraid. Xiu Ying had been lashing out at all of her attendants lately, which was why they had to be rotated constantly. The last time she heard news that displeased her, she threw an entire teapot at one of them.