Shu Yue’s heart gave a jolt.
She lowered her gaze, not daring to meet Mrs. Mei Er’s eyes.
But even without facing those eyes, that gaze still burned Shu Yue with an indescribable ache.
“A-Aunt, I don’t understand what you mean…”
People always think they can get lucky.
Shu Yue pressed her thin lips together, explaining what she had said at the dinner table earlier.
“What I said did have some artistic embellishment, but I can guarantee seventy to eighty percent of it was true.”
“Enough.”
Mrs. Mei Er snapped, silencing Shu Yue.
She didn’t want to hear an explanation riddled with lies.
There was no point to it whatsoever—purely a waste of time.
She stepped toward Shu Yue.
Tap…
Her high heels struck the stone floor with a crisp sound.
Mrs. Mei Er’s strides were elegant and composed, not particularly fast.
Yet with every heel fall, it was as if she were striking Shu Yue’s tiny heart.
The frequency of her heartbeat actually matched the approaching footsteps.
This ingenious concerto made it feel as if Shu Yue’s heart were pumping right by her ear, one beat after another.
She instinctively retreated half a step, but Mrs. Mei Er continued to close in until she stood before her.
That distance of two or three meters had taken only two or three seconds, yet it felt to Shu Yue like twenty or thirty minutes.
Even Shu Yue’s breath began to tremble.
The pressure radiating from Mrs. Mei Er was simply too overwhelming.
Mrs. Mei Er’s gaze landed on the gemstone at Shu Yue’s chest.
She said coolly:
“This isn’t a Magic Artifact, because I can’t see through it. If I’m not mistaken, this is a Dharma Artifact. Since it’s a Dharma Artifact, it can’t possibly only possess the ability to conceal one’s realm.”
Shu Yue had been keeping her head low, able to see only the hem of Mrs. Mei Er’s purple gown.
Before Mrs. Mei Er, escape was impossible.
Mere pressure alone was enough to pin Shu Yue in place, leaving her at the woman’s mercy.
This was the absolute suppression of a higher rank over a lower one.
She had only to release a wisp of her aura for Shu Yue to feel that defeating her was impossible, that going against her will was out of the question.
As expected of the Queen of the Northern Frontier…
Shu Yue swallowed hard, already thinking about what to do.
If it really came down to it, she’d just confess and save herself another beating.
Her heart was set on surrender, yet her hand still clutched that purple cross-star gemstone pendant, unwilling to give it up.
“It… it does… have other abilities… It can block five fatal injuries.”
This was Shu Yue’s last-ditch struggle.
Mrs. Mei Er silently watched her, and the two fell into a stalemate once again.
Shu Yue strained to suppress the restless Bloodline Power within her, until her body began to tremble.
Now she didn’t even dare breathe too deeply, afraid that the slightest effort would make her Bloodline Power leak out and treat Mrs. Mei Er to an impromptu Dragon Maiden transformation.
Whether Mrs. Mei Er would be frightened, Shu Yue had no idea.
But Shu Yue knew that if it really leaked, she was done for.
So she clamped her legs together and held it in with all her might, hoping Mrs. Mei Er’s lecture would end quickly and give her Bloodline Power a chance to be released.
Mrs. Mei Er turned aside, gazing into the distance.
“You aren’t the real Liya White. Don’t rush to deny it. I know he’s already dead.”
Shu Yue’s heart gave a violent leap—she was genuinely frightened.
Mrs. Mei Er seemed determined to shock with every word.
She went on to share a deeply buried secret with Shu Yue.
“He wasn’t the real Liya either. He was a stand-in, merely a replacement used after the real one died.”
“If Luolan ever learned that the real Liya died on the road to the town, it would be very troublesome. So this Liya stand-in proved useful.”
A chill ran through Shu Yue’s heart.
Secrets like this were only ever spoken to someone about to die.
She had five lives, but that still wouldn’t be enough to save her from Mrs. Mei Er.
Mrs. Mei Er said in a low, ominous voice:
“If you were trash, I wouldn’t care about you. The Isolde Family can afford to keep a parasite. You could enjoy wealth and glory to your heart’s content.
“Even if you sought other women, it wouldn’t matter. All you’d need to do is complete the marriage contract with Luolan.”
“Because your value lies precisely in completing this marriage contract that should never have existed.”
“But the one thing you absolutely shouldn’t have done was reveal your extraordinariness.”
Shu Yue’s body trembled involuntarily.
She bit her lower lip lightly and asked in a cautious murmur:
“Do you intend to kill me?”
She had caught the implication beneath Mrs. Mei Er’s words.
A useless young master could easily be contented with money and women.
If that useless young master didn’t know his place and reached for a Luolan he had no right to touch—well, once the marriage contract was complete, he would have lost his value and died a gruesome death.
The original stand-in Liya had been positioned exactly like that—a tool, a consumable.
Shu Yue was different.
She had displayed astonishing talent, enough to win over the subordinates who had originally belonged to White Knight Wu De.
Her desires were inscrutable, uncontrollable—something Mrs. Mei Er was unwilling to accept.
Mrs. Mei Er turned her head and looked down at Shu Yue from on high, coldly answering her question.
“You are Luolan’s property. The right to dispose of you rests in her hands.”
“Your true identity, I don’t wish to know.”
“Since you’ve taken over Liya’s identity, keep playing the part.”
“But… remember this. Your only purpose is to let Luolan complete her marriage contract.”
“I won’t kill you, and I won’t investigate your true identity.”
“Do not entertain even a single thought of overstepping.”
Shu Yue’s voice lost all emotional fluctuation.
“I understand.”
She lowered her head, accepting Mrs. Mei Er’s command.
Mrs. Mei Er reached out and pressed a finger to Shu Yue’s forehead.
The stinging pain nearly made Shu Yue lose hold of her Bloodline Power.
Shu Yue’s face flushed crimson in an instant, her body going rigid.
Mrs. Mei Er withdrew her finger and said:
“Don’t try to leave the bounds of Frost City. Even with your five-lives Dharma Artifact, it will be useless.”
“If you don’t believe me, feel free to try.”
“I believe you. I believe you have such power, Madam.”
“Rest assured, I will complete the mission Liya was supposed to complete. I absolutely wouldn’t dare set my sights on Miss Luolan, or Miss Lin either!”
Shu Yue clutched her forehead, pledging her resolve to Mrs. Mei Er.
Seeing her docile demeanor, Mrs. Mei Er gave a slight nod.
“If you need any Transcendence resources, just tell the maids. As long as they’re within the allowed scope.”
“Thank you…”
Shu Yue kept her eyes meekly lowered, her head bent toward the floor.
The purple gown in her peripheral vision had vanished. Mrs. Mei Er was gone.
Shu Yue still stood there in a daze.
She bit her lower lip, forcing back the tears gathering in her eyes.
‘I don’t need anyone to like me.’
‘Didn’t I choose to come here for those Transcendence resources?’
‘What’s there to feel wronged about?’
‘I should be happy instead…’
‘Hmph, just you wait and see!’
At this moment, Shu Yue rather felt like a substitute bride who, the moment she entered the house, was seized and lectured by her wicked mother-in-law, told that she held the lowest status in the household, was nothing but a tool for bearing offspring, and should settle contentedly into her mission—without fantasizing that anyone would ever love her.
‘No, wait.’
‘Why did I say “married”?’
‘I’m not some aggrieved little bride!’
Shu Yue tilted her head back and glanced at the sky.
She was startled by the nearly full moon.
It would have been better not to look—but once she did…