Her Scheme
Why had the Demon Emperor come to fetch her so late? Could it be that he intended for her to spend the night with him?
Lin Qianshuang was cautious. Though she was gravely injured and had yet to recover, she still had the Illusionary Love Pill in her possession. However, she was, after all, about to enter the Demon Emperor’s territory, and it would be difficult to escape should she attempt to do so.
Noticing that Lin Qianshuang had not moved for some time, Su Qing gestured and urged her to make way, saying, “Left Protector, please.”
Not wishing to embarrass Su Qing, Lin Qianshuang could only lift the sedan curtain and enter.
The sedan chair moved steadily forward. Seated within, Lin Qianshuang was gently rocked to and fro. Her eyelids gradually grew heavy, and she leaned against the corner of the sedan to take a nap.
A loud announcement echoed, startling her awake. Lifting the curtain, she peered outside and realized she had arrived at the Demon Palace.
Under the moonlight’s embrace, the Demon Emperor sat alone in the pavilion by the pond, savoring fine wine and admiring the spectacle of fish leaping amidst the lotus blooms.
Lin Qianshuang gracefully traversed the winding stone bridge towards the pavilion, coming to a halt fifty steps before it.
The Demon Emperor, alerted by her footsteps, turned his gaze upon Lin Qianshuang. His eyes lingered on her unadorned face for a moment before he uttered, “Shuang’er, take a seat across from me.”
As Lin Qianshuang settled herself, the Demon Emperor summoned a maid to present a bowl of Ink Lotus soup, which he offered to her.
“This lotus seed soup is a delicacy I have specially prepared for you. Do indulge yourself.”
The Demon Emperor filled a spoon with lotus seed soup and extended it towards Lin Qianshuang’s lips. His usual dignified demeanor melted away, replaced by an approachable expression.
Lin Qianshuang studied the Demon Emperor’s expression, sensing an incongruity in his emotions. Logically, the Holy Maiden of the Demon Palace had been his most trusted ally, and Han Shengyao’s departure should have deeply affected him. Moreover, the relationship between Lin Qianshuang and the Holy Maiden was ambiguous, and the latter had left the Demon Palace for her sake. When confronted with Lin Qianshuang again, the Demon Emperor should have been furious or at least sullen. Yet, the soup in the spoon was steaming gently towards her face. Lin Qianshuang couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something amiss with it. She was contemplating an excuse to decline when the Demon Emperor spoke in a hushed tone:
“Shuang’er, why won’t you drink it? Do you suspect I have tampered with it?”
The Demon Emperor took a sip from the soup and offered another spoonful to Lin Qianshuang’s lips. His piercing, eagle-like eyes followed her every movement, leaving her no choice but to accept.
Given the situation, Lin Qianshuang decided to go with the flow and forced herself to drink the soup.
The Demon Emperor offered her another spoonful of lotus soup and brought it to her lips.
“Your Majesty, I’ll do it myself.”
Lin Qianshuang spoke respectfully, swiftly taking the bowl from the Demon Emperor’s hand and draining it in one gulp.
The sensation of being fed was truly uncomfortable. If she continued to be spoon-fed the soup, she felt she might die of discomfort.
The Demon Emperor watched as Lin Qianshuang finished the soup and instructed someone to remove the bowl.
A servant came over and placed a large jar of fine wine on the table.
“This wine is called Dream Return. When I was young, the late Demon Emperor would often bury a few jars under the thousand-year-old sycamore tree. Your master’s favorite at that time was this wine. I secretly had a crush on your master at that time, always thinking of digging up a jar to make her laugh, but all failed, and I was scolded by the late Demon Emperor.”
With a hint of nostalgia on his face, the Demon Emperor swirled his glass and looked at Lin Qianshuang with a smile. “Shuang’er, you can also have a drink and see if it suits your taste.”
Lin Qianshuang could not guess what the Demon Emperor’s intentions were when she saw him pouring wine for her personally.
A bowl of lotus seed soup had been enough to choke her, and now a jar of wine…
Please, spare her.
Thinking of this, Lin Qianshuang abruptly rose from her seat and knelt down, lowering her head humbly as she spoke, “Your Majesty the Demon Emperor, why have you come so late at night? If it’s just for a drink and a heart-to-heart conversation, could we perhaps reschedule? Your Majesty, I haven’t fully recovered from my serious injury. Please forgive me.”
“Indeed, it was my fault. I didn’t expect to engage in a major battle with the Holy Maiden, and I accidentally injured you.”
The Demon Emperor rose from his seat and approached Lin Qianshuang, saying, “Last night and tonight, we have become quite estranged from each other. Please call me husband again.”
Lin Qianshuang’s eyes narrowed slightly for a moment, then she raised her face with a calm expression, erasing the pain from her gaze. She looked at the Demon Emperor with jealousy in her eyes and said, “I disappoint His Majesty the Demon Emperor. I am only happy with Master. If it weren’t for Master, how could I have been willing to act on the occasion and accept Master’s request to be sent to His Majesty’s side?”
The Demon Emperor’s face darkened. He had caught Lin Qianshuang’s flash of jealousy and said, “Shuang’er, you said you like the Saint, is that true?”
“So what if it’s true, so what if it’s not?”
Lin Qianshuang hung her head and looked at the ground, saying clearly sentence by sentence, “Your Majesty, have you forgotten that for a century, the Demon Emperor has had someone who has been advancing and retreating with you every step of the way?
Who, in your most critical moment, can truly shield you from the storm, sacrificing their life to face those who shoot arrows and wield swords?”
At this moment, Lin Qianshuang suddenly stood up and stared at the Demon Emperor, accusing him fiercely with fluctuating emotions.
“Your Majesty, how can a licentious and heartless person like you be worthy of my master’s favor? She waited for you for so long and once gave you her whole heart, and you, what have you done for her? Sometimes I’m especially jealous of you, why wasn’t it me that she met first, why would she push me to your side without any pity, when clearly the one who loves her the most is me!”
Looking at the Demon Emperor’s darkening face, Lin Qianshuang pretended to be overcome with jealousy and shed tears, gritting her teeth and pointing at the tip of his nose, she said, “Ye Heng, you bastard, it wasn’t easy for me to get my master to fall in love with me, but you forced her away again, and now, you still want me to call you husband? What a fanciful idea!”
The system watched from the sidelines, observing the Demon Emperor’s face turning an unflattering shade of liver. It couldn’t resist whispering a warning to Lin Qianshuang.
“Host, are you sure you’re not courting death? The Demon Emperor might just rip you to shreds for saying such things.”
“Pay attention to the Demon Emperor’s current behavior. He started the conversation by mentioning the Dream Return Wine and my master, drawing me closer. Then, he offered me lotus seed soup and tasted it himself to allay my suspicions. He’s been carefully watching my reactions. Clearly, he values me and has shown some sincerity. I doubt he intends to harm me.”
Lin Qianshuang continued her analysis, “The Demon Emperor has encountered countless beautiful women of all types. His current favoritism is because I’m a type he hasn’t experienced before. However, his infatuation will eventually fade. I’ve already lost my status in the Demon Realm, so if I give up my position as Left Protector, I’ll become even more vulnerable.”
“True, but by openly declaring your love for the Saint and repeatedly rebuking the Demon Emperor, you’re challenging his authority.”
Lin Qianshuang rolled her eyes and retorted, “Men are naturally stubborn. They only value what they can’t have. Think about it. A woman who embodies the feminine ideal, is desired by the Demon Emperor but unattainable, and who also despises and harbors animosity towards him.”
From the Demon Emperor’s perspective, if he conquered this defiant woman and made her fall hopelessly in love with him, would he not feel a sense of fulfillment?
“A brilliant strategy, host. If you truly leave the Demon Emperor in suspense like this, not only will he refrain from harming you, but he will also place even greater value on you.”
As Lin Qianshuang listened to the system’s excited cries within her mind, she was about to dismiss its praise as excessive when she suddenly stumbled backward into a stone table, sending the wine jar crashing to the ground in pieces. Clear wine spilled onto the floor, while the small porcelain cup shattered and spun on the surface.
The Demon Emperor swiftly pinned Lin Qianshuang against the rough stone tabletop, covering her with his body. He gazed into her clear, resentful eyes, his breathing growing ragged. “I care not for who you have loved in the past or who you may be thinking of now,” he growled.
Lin Qianshuang’s chin was lifted forcefully. The Demon Emperor stared at her captivating face and declared, “You are mine. Regardless of your desires, you belong to me alone!”
With a violent tug, her belt snapped in two and fell to the ground. Thick hands encircled her waist, attempting to unfasten her robes.
Lin Qianshuang desperately clutched her garments, fiercely struggling with the Demon Emperor. Suddenly, she recalled that her Illusionary Love Pill remained in a pouch at her waist.
As she reached for it, she realized that her waist was already exposed, and the pouch must have fallen with her belt.
“Damn it, this is bad, what should I do?”
The Demon Emperor was already so anxious that he was leaning against her hair. Seeing her expression of anxiety and confusion, with a hint of a narrow smile, he said, “Didn’t we just do it last night? Why are you acting so shy today? Did I hurt you last night?”
Lin Qianshuang’s eyes caught a glimpse of the shattered pieces of the wine jar on the ground, and she considered drawing the demonic energy from her palm to suck the fragments into her hand, in a last desperate attempt to resist.
Suddenly, a rapid sound of footsteps approached.
A servant rushed into the pavilion, exclaiming, “Your Majesty the Demon Emperor, it’s terrible! Yanbo Hall is ablaze, and Miss Bai Wan is trapped inside.”
The Demon Emperor’s expression instantly hardened, and he rose to his feet. Quickly donning his clothes, he departed with his attendants in tow.
Lin Qianshuang exhaled in relief, grateful for Bai Wan’s timely intervention.
She stood up from the stone table, rubbing her sore waist. Glancing down at her torn garments, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of bewilderment.
With the strong wind tonight, going back now would risk her clothes being blown away, leading to a potentially embarrassing situation.
Her vision blurred momentarily as a pair of warm hands gently enveloped her head from behind, covering her eyes.
After a brief moment of surprise, Lin Qianshuang heard a faint chuckle from behind her. Recognizing the voice, she exclaimed, “Bai Wan, aren’t you supposed to be in Yanbo Hall? Why are you here?”
“I left a decoy in Yanbo Hall, a human form lying on the bed. When the Demon Emperor arrived and saw that the palace was intact and me sleeping soundly, he would assume it was just a petty quarrel between his concubines and leave.”
Bai Wan withdrew her hand from Lin Qianshuang’s face, her voice laced with a hint of disappointment. “Talking to you is rather dull, Shuangshuang. I can always tell that you understand everything from your expression.”
“Do you have any spare clothes? Could you give me one?”
As soon as Lin Qianshuang uttered these words, her body began to shrink. Enveloped in a magical light, she transformed into a magnificent little beast resembling a silver lion.
Lin Qianshuang was momentarily stunned. It seemed that her magical energy had been depleted too rapidly to sustain her human form, causing her to revert to her original state.
Bai Wan’s gaze remained fixed on Lin Qianshuang’s majestic beast form, as she herself transformed back into a beautiful white fox with shimmering silver fur. However, the single tail she had before now became two.
Lin Qianshuang stared in confusion at the white fox, which was now twice her size and lay quietly beside her, its eyes pleading.
Sensing that Lin Qianshuang did not comprehend her intentions, the white fox wrapped its furry tail around her animal body and placed her securely on its back.
“Shuangshuang, tonight is the Qixi Festival in the human world. Why don’t we go and experience it together? Since you don’t have any clothes to wear, we can steal some. The attire in the human world is far more exquisite than that in our Demon Realm.”
Lin Qianshuang abruptly recalled a segment from the original plot. During the Qixi Festival, Xiao Lanle confesses her love to Liang Jingxuan beneath the lanterns in the main city of the human world, and the two become engaged.
In the main city of the human world, there is a Treasure Battle Tournament. Xiao Lanle is troubled by the bottleneck in her cultivation and her inability to advance.
To please Xiao Lanle, Liang Jingxuan defeats all her opponents at the Treasure Battle Tournament and seizes the Marrow Cleansing Pill. That night, Xiao Lanle surrenders completely to Liang Jingxuan’s tender affection and gives herself to him for the first time.
The Marrow Cleansing Pill is a priceless treasure.
Lin Qianshuang’s heart yearned for the Pill. If she acquired it, her cultivation would advance swiftly.
Regarding the plot involving Xiao Lanle that she sought to prevent, Lin Qianshuang pondered it for an extended period but could not devise a solution. Thus, she resolved to address it one step at a time.
Lin Qianshuang’s lips twitched. She would not allow her lively and adorable junior sister to be ruined. Even if she could not prevent Xiao Lanle from falling in love with Liang Jingxuan, she would thoroughly destroy their budding romance.
Otherwise, once this plot unfolded, it would spell disaster for her mission.