sovbooks Chapter 215 What I want is for you to willingly offer everything.
Chapter 215 What I want is for you to willingly offer everything.
Sister Hong felt a surge of excitement, but her face hardened.
She put down the wine pot, walked up to Zhao Qingxue, and looked her up and down.
"What are you doing standing here?"
Sister Hong spoke up, her voice deliberately sarcastic, "Didn't you see His Majesty is drinking? Don't you know how to serve him food?"
Zhao Qingxue did not move.
She remained standing there, her head slightly bowed, her long hair cascading down, obscuring most of her face.
Sister Hong frowned.
"I'm talking to you, are you deaf?"
Zhao Qingxue remained motionless.
Sister Hong's face darkened.
She stepped forward and nudged Zhao Qingxue's shoulder.
The force was neither too strong nor too weak, but it was enough to make the unsuspecting Zhao Qingxue stagger half a step.
"I told you to serve the food, didn't you hear me?"
Zhao Qingxue finally raised her head.
Those deep purple phoenix eyes calmly fell on Sister Hong's face.
That gaze was so deep, as deep as an ancient well that has stood for a thousand years, its bottom unseen.
Hongjie's heart skipped a beat when she saw that gaze, and a chill ran down her spine.
But then she remembered that her powerful backer was sitting right next to her, and her courage returned.
What are you afraid of?
She has His Majesty's backing!
"What are you looking at?"
Hongjie's voice became even shriller, "Did I say something wrong? You're a prisoner, it's an honor to be made to serve His Majesty! Who are you trying to impress with that sour face?"
She got more and more excited as she talked, and her voice got louder and louder.
"Do you know how I used to discipline those disobedient girls?"
Sister Hong leaned closer, a sinister glint in her eyes. "Strip them naked, hang them up, and beat them. After you're done, rub salt on their wounds. Cry? What's the use of crying? Crying will only make things worse for them."
She reached out and poked Zhao Qingxue's shoulder with her fingertips.
"If you don't know what's good for you, I won't mind letting you experience that feeling too."
Zhao Qingxue continued to look at her.
In those deep purple eyes, there was no fear, no anger, only a calm that was almost empty... silence.
Hongjie was enraged by her appearance.
She grabbed Zhao Qingxue's wrist, pulled her forcefully to the table, and forced her to kneel down.
"Kneel down!" Sister Hong shouted sternly. "Serving His Majesty on your knees! This is a favor bestowed upon you!"
Zhao Qingxue knelt on the ground.
The sound of a knee hitting the ground was dull and clear.
The moon-white skirt spread out around her, like a flower that had suddenly withered.
She looked up.
His gaze passed over Sister Hong and landed on Qin Mu's face.
Qin Mu leaned back in his chair, one hand supporting his chin, his posture languid as if he were watching a play that had nothing to do with him.
A smile played in those deep eyes.
A meaningful smile.
Zhao Qingxue looked at him.
Looked for a long time.
After a while, Sister Hong started to get impatient again and was about to scold her once more.
Then, Zhao Qingxue spoke.
"Qin Mu".
Her voice was soft and calm, yet exceptionally clear in the quiet private room.
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow slightly.
He didn't speak, but just looked at her quietly, waiting for her to continue.
Zhao Qingxue continued, each word seeming to be squeezed out from the deepest part of her heart:
"If I show submission—"
She paused, took a deep breath, and then spoke slowly and deliberately:
"Can you let me kill her?"
The moment the words left his mouth, the air in the private room seemed to freeze.
Sister Hong was stunned.
She stood there, her expression shifting from smugness to bewilderment to disbelief in the blink of an eye.
She stared wide-eyed at Zhao Qingxue, then at Qin Mu.
Zhao Qingxue remained kneeling on the ground, her head tilted back, her deep purple phoenix eyes as calm as a frozen lake.
Qin Mu leaned back in his chair, the smile on his lips deepening.
Hongjie's mind went completely blank for a moment.
Surrender?
Kill her?
The two words collided wildly in her mind, sparking dazzling flames.
Then, a thought flashed through her mind like lightning—
If Zhao Qingxue truly submits...
If Empress Liyang really bowed down to the Emperor of Qin...
Then what is Sister Hong?
A tool.
A tool used to humiliate Empress Li Yang.
A tool that can be discarded after use.
She was just smug, arrogant, and humiliating this woman in the most vicious way.
But she forgot—
No matter how down on her luck this woman is, she is still the Empress of Liyang.
It's a being that can shake the entire Eastern Continent with a single stomp of its foot.
As long as she is willing to set aside all her dignity and bow down to Qin Mu, then her life, Sister Hong's life, is just a matter of a word.
Hongjie's face turned deathly pale in that instant.
Her legs began to weaken, her jaw started to chatter, and cold sweat seeped from her forehead and slid down her cheeks.
She turned her head sharply and looked at Qin Mu.
Those eyes were filled with terror and pleading.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
Her voice trembled violently, each word sounding like it was being forced out of her throat:
"Your Majesty...you...you won't agree to this, will you...I'm your woman...I've always served you well..."
As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.
"Your Majesty! I beg you! I don't want to die! I really don't want to die!"
She knelt down with a thud, crawled to Qin Mu's feet, hugged his leg tightly, and burst into tears.
"Your Majesty! I am utterly loyal to you! I will do whatever you ask! I will discipline her if you tell me to! I have always been obedient! Always obedient!"
She cried uncontrollably, her whole body trembling like a leaf.
But she knew in her heart—
If Zhao Qingxue truly submits, then she means nothing to Qin Mu.
A shady shop owner, a desperate criminal who makes a living by murder and robbery, a woman who was dreaming of marrying into wealth just yesterday...
Compared to Empress Li Yang, she is not even worth a speck of dust.
This realization filled her with endless despair.
She could only cling tightly to Qin Mu's leg, pleading for a sliver of hope in the most humble of postures.
Qin Mu looked down at her.
His gaze was indifferent, as indifferent as if he were looking at an ant.
He didn't speak, but simply looked away and turned his gaze back to Zhao Qingxue.
Then, he smiled.
"The surrender you speak of," he said slowly, his voice languid yet clear, "what kind of surrender are you referring to?"
Zhao Qingxue knelt on the ground, looking up at him.
Something was trembling slightly in those deep purple phoenix eyes.
But she did not back down.
She took a deep breath and said, word by word:
"I can forge an alliance between the Li Yang Dynasty and the Great Qin Dynasty, one that will never betray each other, and—"
She paused:
"Paying tribute every year."
Silence fell once again in the private room.
Hongjie, holding Qin Mu's leg, froze in shock.
Tribute?
The Li Yang Dynasty is paying tribute to the Great Qin Dynasty?
That is the overlord of the Eastern Continent, a behemoth that can rival the Great Qin!
If Li Yang were to truly pay tribute to the Qin Dynasty, the entire landscape of China would be completely altered!
She stared blankly at Zhao Qingxue, at that pale yet unusually calm face.
This woman was willing to pay such a price to kill her?
No.
wrong.
Hongjie suddenly realized that she had overestimated herself.
How could Zhao Qingxue possibly pay the price of tribute just to kill her?
She doesn't deserve it at all.
Zhao Qingxue's words were clearly a statement to Qin Mu—
She gave up.
She acknowledged the power of the Qin Dynasty, admitted her defeat, and was willing to bow down to Qin Mu in the most formal and humiliating way.
And Sister Hong was just a bonus.
An incidental, insignificant addition.
This realization stirred up a complex and indescribable emotion within Sister Hong.
It turns out she didn't even qualify to be specifically targeted by Empress Li Yang.
She looked at Qin Mu again, her eyes almost overflowing with pleading.
Qin Mu leaned back in his chair and chuckled softly after listening to Zhao Qingxue's words.
The laughter was soft, yet exceptionally clear in the quiet private room.
"Your Majesty," he spoke slowly, his tone carrying a hint of sincere emotion, "the price you paid was indeed considerable."
He paused, his gaze falling on Zhao Qingxue's face:
"Just to kill this one woman?"
He reached out and pointed to Sister Hong, who was kneeling at his feet, trembling all over.
Zhao Qingxue looked at him.
A complex emotion flashed in those deep purple phoenix eyes.
"She is of course not worthy," she said calmly.
"only--"
She paused, took a deep breath, as if making an extremely difficult decision:
"I've thought things through during this time."
Her gaze passed over Qin Mu and went out the window.
The afternoon sun shone on her face, making her stunning beauty appear almost translucent.
"The power of the Qin Dynasty is unparalleled."
Her voice was very soft, so soft it was as if she were talking to herself:
"I lost to you—"
She withdrew her gaze and looked back at Qin Mu, speaking slowly and deliberately:
"It's not shameful."
"As for her—"
Zhao Qingxue's gaze swept over Sister Hong, her eyes as cold as a thousand-year-old glacier:
"It's just a freebie."
When Hongjie was swept by that gaze, she felt as if she had been thrown into an ice cellar.
She clung tightly to Qin Mu's leg, her whole body trembling even more violently.
Qin Mu remained silent for a moment.
Then he nodded.
The movement was very light and casual.
Hongjie's heart sank to the bottom in that instant.
It’s over.
It's over. It's over.
She closed her eyes in despair, awaiting the impending verdict.
But at that moment, Qin Mu spoke up.
"Your Majesty," he said, a hint of a smile in his voice, "this is not enough."
Zhao Qingxue's eyes flickered slightly.
Qin Mu continued, his gaze fixed on her face, deep and unfathomable:
"What you've said—"
He paused, a meaningful smile curving his lips:
"I can obtain it through my own efforts."
Zhao Qingxue's pupils contracted slightly.
Qin Mu looked at her and said, slowly and deliberately:
"What I desire most is—"
"you."
This single word was like a boulder, crashing into the lifeless lake in Zhao Qingxue's heart.
It stirred up a storm.
She stared blankly at Qin Mu, at his smiling, resolute face.
Countless thoughts surged wildly in my mind.
She had considered that Qin Mu might refuse, try to negotiate, or propose even more demanding conditions.
But she never imagined—
What he wanted was her.
It was not tribute from Liyang, nor an alliance between the two countries, nor any bargaining chips that could change the landscape of China.
It was her.
She is Zhao Qingxue.
this person.
The thought filled her with an indescribable sense of absurdity.
Then, she suddenly remembered someone.
Xu Longxiang.
The Northern Prince who looked at her with such burning eyes outside the east gate of the imperial city.
She felt uncomfortable with that gaze, and it sent chills down her spine.
But only now did she realize—
She was wrong.
That's completely wrong.
Xu Longxiang's feelings for her were nothing more than a man's lust for a woman.
And the man before me—
Qin Mu's obsession with her was far deeper than Xu Longxiang's.
He went so far as to kidnap her, humiliate her, and use every means at his disposal.
It was so profound that even the offer of tribute from Liyang could not satisfy him.
What he wanted was for her to willingly offer him everything.
This realization made Zhao Qingxue's heart skip a beat.
"Qin Mu," she began, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "if you wanted it, wouldn't you have already gotten it?"
These words were spoken in a veiled manner, yet they were enough for everyone present to understand.
She had been abducted, imprisoned, and humiliated by him.
He could have done whatever he wanted to her a long time ago.
Qin Mu looked at her, at the mockery and disdain in her deep purple phoenix eyes.
He smiled.
"Your Majesty," he began slowly, emphasizing each word, "what I desire is for you to do it willingly—"
He paused, his gaze sharp:
"Give me everything I have."