Chapter 325: Bargaining (Second Update)

Thud!

A sharp dagger flew narrowly past Rong Zhen's head! It then plunged violently into the ground beside her!

A strand of black hair drifted down before her eyes.

Rong Zhen felt as if her heart were being gripped tightly by something.

A moment later, she truly would have died here today!

Chu Liuyue watched Rong Zhen's pale, shaken expression for a while before asking slowly

"There is no longer any relationship between me and Rong Jin, and any secrets regarding him have nothing to do with me. On what basis do you think you can exchange such a secret for your own life?"

"I can! I can! I definitely can! I guarantee you will be interested in this matter!"

Fearing that Chu Liuyue would regret her decision, Rong Zhen spoke at an extremely rapid pace.

Chu Liuyue raised an eyebrow with interest.

"Oh?"

Panic flickered in the depths of Rong Zhen's eyes, yet when she spoke to Chu Liuyue, she maintained an air of absolute certainty.

"Really! Even if you don't care after I've said it, it won't be too late to kill me! Anyway, my life and death are currently at your whim, aren't they?"

Chu Liuyue tilted her chin up.

"Let's hear it."

Rong Zhen took a deep breath, forcing back the thick blood welling up in her throat.

The taste made her nauseous, but at this moment, she absolutely did not dare to make any inappropriate movements in front of Chu Liuyue.

"...Do you know that His Majesty the Emperor and the King of Xingluo want to arrange a marriage between Situ Xingchen and Rong Jin?"

Hearing Situ Xingchen's name, a dark light flashed in Chu Liuyue's eyes.

"There hasn't been even a single rumor about this news before. How do you know?"

Seeing that Chu Liuyue seemed somewhat interested, Rong Zhen felt a secret sense of relief and continued

"Because I overheard it from Mother by accident. But neither she nor Rong Jin knows that I know about this."

Chu Liuyue nodded understandingly.

In that case, it wasn't impossible.

Rong Zhen was, after all, the Empress's biological daughter, and she had always been in close contact with Rong Jin; it wasn't strange for her to hear such things.

"A graceful lady is a gentleman's ideal pursuit. To be able to marry Situ Xingchen is Rong Jin's good fortune," Chu Liuyue said calmly.

She meant this sincerely.

Although Situ Xingchen did not give her a very good impression, in other aspects, Situ Xingchen was indeed quite outstanding.

Whether in terms of appearance or talent, she was one in ten thousand.

Even her status was more noble and stable than Rong Jin's.

Although Rong Jin had been the Crown Prince since birth, after the series of setbacks he had experienced recently, his position had long been precarious.

Emperor Jiawen's patience was likely nearing its end, and the other princes were also quite outstanding, capable of replacing him at any time.

For example, the Third Prince, Rong Jiu.

That man had always been Rong Jin's formidable rival, even though he had been living in seclusion and remained very quiet lately.

However, Chu Liuyue did not believe that a man who had fought on the battlefield and achieved great military merits in his teens would surrender so easily.

He was merely waiting for an appropriate opportunity.

The fact that Rong Jin was suddenly placed under house arrest and stripped of many rights a while ago seemed to be related to this Third Prince.

In contrast, Situ Xingchen, as a Grand Princess, did not need to fight for the throne, yet she held extremely high prestige and status in the Xingluo Kingdom, even surpassing those princes.

A marriage between the two would be entirely beneficial to Rong Jin.

"It wasn't Rong Jin who requested to marry Situ Xingchen. This marriage was proactively proposed by the Xingluo side!"

Rong Zhen emphasized her tone, speaking word by word.

This truly took Chu Liuyue by surprise.

"Why?"

"That is the secret I want to tell you!"

Rong Zhen looked at Chu Liuyue nervously.

"Do you want to hear this secret now? If you want to know, then... you must swear that you will not kill me! Nor will you use other means to torture me!"

The corners of Chu Liuyue's mouth curled slightly.

"Are you negotiating with me? Do you have that qualification?"

Rong Zhen choked on her words, then said through gritted teeth

"I know I don't! But if you refuse to agree, then without you having to lift a finger, I will end myself!"

Chu Liuyue looked at her indifferently.

"The dagger is right beside you."

Rong Zhen seemed not to have expected such a blunt answer from Chu Liuyue and couldn't help but freeze.

"You... you don't want to know the reason behind this!? This involves a massive secret!"

Chu Liuyue nodded candidly

"Of course I want to know. However—I hate it even more when people haggle with me, especially someone like you."

As she spoke, she glanced at the sky.

"If you really want to make a move, you'd better hurry; it's almost evening. I still have to go back and have dinner with my father."

A mouthful of blood blocked Rong Zhen's throat, and her face flushed bright red.

"You!"

In anger, she pulled out the dagger and pressed it against her own neck.

"Chu Liuyue! I'm telling you! If you don't listen to this secret, you will definitely regret it!"

Chu Liuyue acted as if she hadn't heard

"Oh, by the way, although that dagger is sharp, if you cut in the wrong place, I'm afraid it will take a long time to bleed out and die. The place you're holding it now is a bit low; move it up a little."

Rong Zhen felt her vision go dark with rage.

She was already injured, and every inch of her body was in pain; hearing Chu Liuyue's words now, she was truly on the verge of a complete breakdown!

She clenched her teeth, her hands trembling, as the scene of her confrontation with her mother a few days ago suddenly surfaced in her mind.

Those piercing words still felt like sharp knives, stabbing cruelly into her heart!

A flash of despair crossed Rong Zhen's eyes.

In the past, she had been exceptionally talented and showered with affection, but in a single night, she had become a useless person and lost everything!

Just because she could no longer do anything to help Rong Jin, in her mother's eyes, she had become trash! An eyesore!

Even if she died here today, no one would likely care...

Thinking of this, she slowly closed her eyes, a tear tracing down the corner of her eye, and then she swung her wrist!

*Pfft!*

Just as the dagger was about to sever her artery, a pebble suddenly flew from Chu Liuyue's hand and struck Rong Zhen's wrist!

Her hand suddenly went numb, causing the dagger to veer from its original path and fall.

*Ssh!*

A bloody scratch was left on Rong Zhen's neck, but fortunately, it was very shallow and would not be life-threatening.

She looked at Chu Liuyue with dejection and despair

"What exactly do you want to do!?"

Chu Liuyue looked at her with interest.

It had to be said that although Rong Zhen had committed many evils and was arrogant and domineering, she had much more courage than Rong Jin.

If Rong Jin were facing this situation, he wouldn't even have the courage to hold a dagger.

In this regard, Rong Zhen was slightly more outstanding than Rong Jin.

"You can tell me that secret you mentioned now."

Rong Zhen was stunned, her eyes full of suspicion

"Really? You... are you sure you won't kill me!?"

Chu Liuyue nodded.

"Of course."