Yin Lei said, “You are not going to eat?”


  “No,” Jun Yexuan said without turning his head, “We’ve eaten.”


  He didn’t even acknowledge his grandpa by his title.

  As the group went upstairs, the butler Xu Mian said, “Go send a message to the man in the secret chamber. Ask him to start the manipulation late at night tonight.”


  Xu Mian hesitated before he asked, “Emperor Yin, are you sure you want to do this?”


  “Do I have a choice?” Yin Lei said, “To make sure the country is at peace, we need the support of the Xia family. To sacrifice my grandson for the safety of the country is a good deal.”


  Xu Mian’s heart felt cold. He felt like he’s a servant who had to serve a tiger all his life.

  “But, Emperor Yin, the only reason you’re so devoted to the Xia family is because of the weaponry they are able to provide. Why don’t we spend our energy looking for the God of Gun? His power alone would surpass the entire Xia family. If we can cooperate with him, you wouldn’t need to be so manipulated by the Xia family.”


  “It’s not that easy,” Yin Lei said, “All these years, no country leader succeeded in coercing the God of Gun to work with them. How do I achieve something nobody else has?”


  “Right now, I don’t even know who that person is. With a sea of people, how do I negotiate with that particular individual? Plus, even if I did find him, how do I make sure he wants to work with me?”


  “I cannot chase after that unrealistic thought. I have to work with who I can see right in front of me – which is the family of weaponry. Do you understand? If the Xia family and the royal family go separate ways, even without the God of Gun, Country Ruan would attack us.”


  Xu Mian said, “But, must we rush this? Aren’t you worried that the young master would hate you?”


  “Xia Houshang isn’t giving me the time.” Yin Lei said, “Can’t you see how impatient she’s being? Whatever… if he wants to hate me, he can hate me. I have been in this seat for so long because I’ve used people close to me… he’s merely my grandson.”


  Xu Mian stopped talking at once.

  He bowed, “Then, I will go put things in order.”


  Yin Lei had no idea what price he would have to pay for his actions today. By the time he learned of Qiao Qing’s multiple identities, he would come to grieve his past actions.

  In the middle of the night.

  Jun Yexuan was in deep sleep when pain exploded throughout his chest. His handsome brows furrowed as he slowly opened his eyes.

  He thought he was hallucinating at first. However, the agony in his chest grew stronger and stronger by the second. His face turned white at once.

  He kicked off the blanket and tried to get out of bed. However, the pain attacked him and made him collapse onto the ground.

  He felt like he was being chewed up by thousands of ants. It was his personal hell.

  At once, his sweat soaked through his shirt and he failed to even cry out.

  Despite this, he still had some awareness.

  He knew his illness was back. This time, it was worse than all those previous times.

  Just then, he heard the sound of his lock being picked at.

  Then, the door opened.

  A ray of light peeked through.

  As the sound of footsteps approached, the shadow of the intruder elongated.

  Jun Yexuan couldn’t see clearly at night. Only by the time the shadow was right next to him, did he recognize the person to be Yin Lei.

  This wasn’t at all unexpected. But when his guess was finally confirmed, he wanted to laugh at himself.

  He opened his mouth but found himself to be without a voice.

  It wasn’t that the pain took away his voice, it was that his voice was lost due to the illness.

  “Don’t bother.” Yin Lei patted his head in an almost loving manner, “You cannot speak right now. Also, your people – that girl, and young master Qi… none of them can save you.”