Being an emperor was no easy task, and Tantai Jin hadn't even ascended the throne yet, but matters were already piling up.
He had wasted nearly a day taking people down to the Mohe River. After washing up and hastily eating a meal, he began making deployments.
Nearly all the military officers in the city had died, and the civil officials had all submitted due to the "human flesh banquet."
Tantai Jin pressed his fingers against his forehead, massaging his temples as he suppressed his temper to discuss the attack on the Xia Kingdom with several officials.
By the time he finally finished, the sky had already turned completely dark.
He wasn’t in a hurry to rest and instead went to the courtyard where Su Su was detained. Tantai Jin asked the Night Shadow Guard, "What did she do inside today?"
The Night Shadow Guard replied, "Miss Ye first tried to break the window, then tried to pull the door open. When she realized she couldn’t get out, she fell silent."
A satisfied smile curved Tantai Jin’s lips.
"Did she eat?"
The Night Shadow Guard lowered his head, staring at Tantai Jin’s shadow as he answered, "No."
Tantai Jin’s expression instantly turned cold. "She still wants to run away, and now she’s refusing to eat?" he said icily.
The Night Shadow Guard was taken aback and replied truthfully, "Without Your Majesty’s orders, no one dared to bring Miss Ye any food."
Tantai Jin fell silent for a moment before instructing a eunuch, "Have someone prepare some food."
The eunuch, hearing this, timidly asked, "Your Majesty, how should we treat that lady?"
These eunuchs had all been brought by Tantai Minglang from the Zhou Kingdom’s imperial palace. Tantai Minglang enjoyed luxury and indulgence, bringing not only eunuchs and palace maids to serve him but also musicians and dancers.
Now, they all belonged to Tantai Jin.
The eunuch had only recently started serving Tantai Jin and didn’t understand the identity of the person inside. Preparing food could vary in quality.
Tantai Jin shot him a cold glare until the eunuch’s legs trembled, on the verge of kneeling. Only then did Tantai Jin slowly speak, "She’s a prisoner. What do you think?"
The eunuch hurriedly said, "This servant understands."
Before pushing the door open, a flicker of excitement flashed in Tantai Jin’s eyes. Remembering something, he cautiously instructed the Night Shadow Guard, "She’s cunning. All of you, stay alert. If she escapes..."
His tone was cold, but the Night Shadow Guard uniformly lowered their heads.
Previously, in Lord Yang Ji’s courtyard, this young lady had escaped with the fox demon, enraging His Majesty, who had executed many people as a result.
After hesitating for a long while, Tantai Jin cautiously pushed the door open.
His gaze, sharp as an eagle’s, immediately fell upon the young girl on the bed.
The candles in the room were lit, and she sat on the bed with her eyes closed, legs crossed.
Her slender fingers rested on her knees, and unlike the Night Shadow Guard’s description of her attempting to escape, she appeared remarkably calm.
Su Su’s hair was loose, her dark tresses flowing like water down her back.
A year had passed, and her youthful features had matured slightly, taking on the grace of a young woman—exquisitely beautiful.
She sat quietly alone, showing no trace of panic despite being a prisoner. Tantai Jin didn’t recognize the posture she was in, but it was unique and elegant.
His gloomy gaze settled on her.
The moment Su Su heard the door open, she immediately opened her eyes.
Tantai Jin instinctively shut the door tightly, staring coldly at her.
Su Su found it somewhat amusing. She wasn’t an immortal capable of magic, and in this situation, there was no way she could escape.
She got off the bed and walked toward him, saying, "You’ve finally come. Can you have someone find me a change of clothes?"
She lifted her sleeve to show him—her ceremonial robe had been torn by rocks in the river and was stained with mud.
"Stay there! Don’t come near me!" Tantai Jin snapped sharply.Su Su paused in her steps, then obediently stopped a distance away from him. "What about the clothes..."
Tantai Jin looked at her slightly disheveled ceremonial robe and said, "A prisoner should have the awareness of being a prisoner. Third Miss Ye, don't forget your status."
Su Su stared at him blankly—
What status do I have? Aren't I your nominal wife?
Tantai Jin paused briefly before adding, "As Ye Xiao's daughter, how long you live depends on how much value you have."
Understood. Just like Ye Chu Feng.
The thought of this made her angry. "I'm not like Second Brother, so I'm afraid I'll disappoint you. As Ye Xiao's daughter, I may not have much else, but I have a strong backbone. If you want to kill me, go ahead and try. Don't expect me to help you deal with my father or the Xia Kingdom."
Tantai Jin said, "Is it because you can't bear to part with your father, or because you can't bear to part with your beloved Prince Xuan?"
What does Xiao Lin have to do with this? She glared at Tantai Jin, who stared back coldly.
Exhausted and hungry, Su Su knew Tantai Jin wouldn't make things easy for her, so she simply ignored him. She sat back down on the bed and closed her eyes to rest.
A mortal body becomes unbearably hungry after missing just one meal, and she hadn't eaten for a full day and night. She had no energy to argue with this narrow-minded, inexplicable youth.
Seeing her remain silent, not even bothering to look at him, Tantai Jin reached up and touched the wound on his face.
He wished he could grab her by the throat like he did with others, to watch her fear and pleas for mercy. But he knew Su Su wouldn't react that way. Moreover, her agile skills made him quite wary, afraid that if he touched her again, she might capture him as a hostage.
He would absolutely not make that mistake a second time!
Su Su noticed he hadn't left yet and secretly cracked open her eyes just a slit, only to see Tantai Jin staring coldly at her.
It seemed he wanted to step forward and strangle her to please himself, yet he also wanted to slam the door and leave, putting as much distance between them as possible.
Torn between these conflicting impulses, he remained motionless, standing in place.
If he wasn't going to give her anything, why was he still standing there? Su Su was about to speak up and tell him to return to his own room when the door was knocked open.
A eunuch entered, leading a maid who carried a bowl of plain congee.
She opened her eyes and stared at that bare bowl of congee.
Well, not entirely bare—they had mercifully placed a small dish of dried vegetables beside it.
Tantai Jin also looked at the bowl of congee, his expression strange.
The eunuch thought anxiously, Isn't this appropriate for a prisoner? Some only get half a steamed bun.
Tantai Jin looked at Su Su and said condescendingly, "If you want to eat something else, you can, as long as you..."
Su Su interrupted him, running over to pick up the congee. "No need, I'll eat this."
She returned to the table and, ignoring them, began eating with a spoon.
Su Su carried the white Gu worm given to her by Xiao Shan and wasn't afraid of Tantai Jin poisoning her—she was currently in a state of immunity to all toxins.
The congee was fragrant and glutinous, though unfortunately there was more water than rice.
Su Su was very hungry. With the dish of dried vegetables, she ate contentedly.
The eunuch and maid had already withdrawn, leaving only her and Tantai Jin in the room again.
Seeing that she didn't complain at all, her eyes reflecting the candlelight with a very serene expression, a trace of doubt surfaced in his heart.
"Why aren't you angry?"
Su Su, her mouth full of rice, turned to look at him blankly.
She saw the little psycho looking at her with a puzzled expression. His tone was complicated as he said, "Why aren't you sad? When I treated Jing Lan'an this way, she was sad."
Don't all people in this world despise ingratitude?Su Su’s cheeks puffed slightly, the pearl in her arms still faintly warm. Her eyes suddenly brightened as she swallowed the food in her mouth. In a crisp voice, she explained, "Jing Lan’an is upset because she invested enough emotion in you and had expectations. So when your actions disappointed her, she felt hurt."
Tantai Jin said, "So you have no expectations of me and want nothing from me. No matter how I treat you, you don’t care."
Su Su smiled brightly. "How could that be? I do want something from you."
He was taken aback, the corners of his lips curling slightly as his tone grew more disdainful. "What do you want?"
Su Su propped her chin on her hand, smiling silently as she watched him.
Perhaps it was the warm, yellow candlelight softening the atmosphere, but her lips glistened, losing some of their usual coolness and taking on an indescribable charm.
He instinctively bit the soft flesh inside his cheek. Under her gaze, he felt uneasy all over.
Tantai Jin said, "If you don’t pledge allegiance to me, don’t even think about receiving any rewards from me!"
Su Su’s eyes curved into crescents, but she didn’t argue with him.
Tantai Jin’s breathing hitched for a moment before he turned away. Then, in a smug, malicious tone, he said, "Three days from now, at the hour of Zi, I’ll have people retrieve the Corpse Demon from the Mohe River. You’ll go then too."
Su Su’s heart sank, and she felt the urge to kill him again. "You can’t retrieve the Corpse Demon. It attacks indiscriminately. Even if you have the Evil-Warding Spirit Essence, you can’t distribute it to every soldier. Using the Corpse Demon against Xiao Lin—you’ll lose eight hundred troops for every thousand enemies you kill."
Tantai Jin replied indifferently, "So what?"
Wasn’t death in war normal? Dying at the hands of mortals or monsters—what difference did it make?
"Besides, who told you I’d use the army to retrieve the Corpse Demon?" His words carried a mocking tone.
Su Su’s expression shifted as she realized his plan. "You’re going to make the city’s commoners retrieve the Corpse Demon?"
Tantai Jin glanced at her.
Exactly. The people of Mohe River were once subjects of Great Xia. If they died retrieving the Corpse Demon, so be it. Moreover, killing a large number of Great Xia people before the battle would severely damage Xiao Lin’s morale.
All’s fair in war.
Tantai Jin also had ulterior motives for bringing Su Su along. She was indeed capable and knowledgeable. Her presence would be highly useful.
He knew her temperament. In her eyes, he was a tyrant, but the commoners were innocent. She might inadvertently find a way to subdue the Corpse Demon, making it easier for him to control.
Suddenly, Su Su gave him a beautiful smile and said softly, "If you’re determined to do this, I can’t stop you. But I have an idea to reduce the casualties. Come closer, and I’ll tell you."
She rarely spoke to him in such a gentle tone.
Tantai Jin was momentarily stunned, staring at her radiant smile. The girl’s white ceremonial robes had loosened, and he was reminded of the scene underwater—how she had emerged from the water, her skirt shimmering with a dazzling halo.
By the time he regained his senses, he had already moved closer to her.
Instinctively, he wanted to show a look of disgust. Her robes were unchanged, looking dirty and possibly even smelly.
But as he drew near, her eyelashes fluttered like tiny fans, blinking innocently.
That sacred girl had become harmless and gentle.
She didn’t smell at all… In fact, she still carried that somewhat unbearable… silk tree fragrance.
Pressing his lips together, he tried to keep his tone icy as he addressed the matter at hand. "What’s your idea? Speak.""The solution is..." Su Su's fingers tightened around the bowl as she whispered in his ear.
The next moment, she revealed an expression of disgust and swung the bowl backward to smash it against his head: "And here I was trying to help you think of a solution! Someone as wicked and vile as you—why hasn't heaven struck you down with lightning!"
Unexpectedly, Tantai Jin caught her wrist.
He was very close, gripping her slender hand and pinning it behind her head. He chuckled softly, "Did you think I'd fall for your tricks again?"
The young girl, her wrist captured by him, found that the Ruoshui rope not only sealed her ability to use Incantations but also left her weakened.
She had once been like a lively, feisty groundhog, but now she was a helpless little rabbit caught in his grasp.
Su Su said, "Let go of me!"
Tantai Jin gripped her chin and warned, "My patience is limited. If you act recklessly again..."
Before he could finish, Su Su raised her knee and struck him in the lower body.
No matter how cunning or formidable a man might be, they all feared this move—Tantai Jin was no exception. His handsome face visibly paled, and he instinctively moved to release her and cover himself.
Yet, with some unknown resolve, he did not let go of Su Su.
Though Su Su had lost her former strength, her agility remained. Seeing that he still refused to release her, she even swung her leg to block his.
Her clear, dark eyes glared coldly at him as she lunged forward, crashing her entire body against his.
Her head struck his chest.
Both of them groaned in pain.
Tantai Jin gritted his teeth and said, "Did you train in iron head kung fu?"
But when he looked down, the girl's eyes were dazed, as if she were about to faint from the impact, and she leaned weakly against his chest.
He felt pain all over—his chest ached, his lower body throbbed—the agony causing his already exquisite, beautiful eyes to take on a fragile, faint red hue.
Tantai Jin leaned against the cold wall, his expression furious.
Why did she always... always treat him like this!
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