Chapter 67

In the Duke's residence of the capital city.

At this moment, there was only one and a half days left until the final graduation exam.

Soning Bing had not slept for three full days, sitting behind the door of the Duke's residence, waiting for Lanling to return, so she could see him with her first glance.

Her body was originally very delicate, and now she was even thinner than a yellow flower, looking so frail that a gust of wind could knock her down.

The servants of the Duke's residence had tried to persuade her countless times, but she refused to go back. Whenever food was brought to her, she only drank a few sips of porridge.

Every time the sound of hooves rang out at the front gate, she would jump up in surprise, but each time it ended in disappointment.

Her heart grew increasingly fearful and anxious, and she constantly prayed to the heavens for Lanling's safety.

Another day passed, and there was now less than a day left until the final graduation exam.

At this point, Soning Bing's entire body was completely cold, with almost no warmth left.

She was not worried that Lanling would miss the graduation exam, but rather that he might never return. Her mind was filled with images of Lanling being killed by monsters or villains in the Southern Barbarian border.

Then, she felt an overwhelming regret for agreeing to let Lanling go to the Southern border.

Just at that moment, the sound of hooves rang out outside.

Soning Bing was filled with joy and excitement, jumping up quickly. Despite her frailty, she moved with incredible speed and rushed to open the door.

At the door was a snow-white carriage, both luxurious and understated.

Then, the person who stepped down from it was none other than the Princess Zining, whom she feared and hated the most.

"Princess, you are not welcome here," Soning Bing said in a rare tone.

"Are you waiting for Solon to return?" Princess Zining asked with a smile.

"It's none of your business," Soning Bing replied, but her gentleness made even her displeasure seem harmless.

Without permission, Princess Zining walked directly into the Duke's residence. In a strict sense, any place within the capital city belonged to the royal family, and the Duke's residence was no exception.

The territory of Tianshui City belonged to the Suo family, but the Duke's residence was granted by the royal family.

After entering the Duke's residence, Zining gently pulled her cloak and said, "There's no need to wait; Solon won't be coming back."

Upon hearing these words, Soning Bing's delicate body trembled violently, and she said, "You, you... are lying."

"Solon is already dead," Zining said calmly.

Soning Bing swayed, her mind buzzing, and she almost fell to the ground.

"No, no, you're lying, you're lying..." Soning Bing felt as if her eyes could see nothing but darkness, and it took a long time for her vision to gradually recover.

Zining did not respond, only looking at Soning Bing with a pitiful gaze.

This silent response made Soning Bing even more desperate, and she slowly said, "Was it you, did you kill Solon?"

Zining shook her head and said, "Of course not. Have you heard of the Black Widow from the Poison Snake Tribe? She loves to torture handsome men. Solon fell into her hands, and she drained his blood, chopped him into pieces, and made him into meat pies for the barbarians to eat."

Then, Zining took out a sachet embroidered with a cute cat, the embroidery was exquisite, and it was stained with dark red blood.

This sachet was handmade by Soning Bing, containing a charm she had prayed for. On the night before Solon left, she had hung it around his neck with her own hands.

"This is Solon's, right? The Black Widow sent it. They didn't send his head because it was already chopped up, so they only sent this," Zining said.

Staring blankly at the blood-stained sachet, Soning Bing felt completely hopeless. She could no longer support herself, and her eyes, which had just regained some light, turned completely dark.

Her frail body fell to the ground, and she fainted, losing consciousness.

...

An hour later, a female physician revived Soning Bing with acupuncture.

Her eyes were filled with bloodshot, and she could only see blurry shadows. Seeing that Zining was still there, she said angrily, "Why haven't you left? You are not welcome here."

Zining said, "Soning Bing, you must accept the reality. Solon is dead, and your last hope is gone. If you want the Suo family to continue, you can only rely on yourself."

Soning Bing seemed not to hear, only looking up at the ceiling, thinking of Lanling's face, his smile, and the way he secretly looked at her chest.

Zining continued, "Become the consort of Prince Zili, and your son will become the new Duke of Tianshui City in twenty years. This is the only chance for your Suo family."

Soning Bing still ignored her.

Zining said, "You are very beautiful, but what Prince Zili values is not your beauty, but your wisdom. The women he values are the luckiest in the world."

"Get out..." Soning Bing said coldly.

"You will submit," Zining said with a smile, "Women have a name called weakness. I will wait for the day you kneel to serve Prince Zili. When that day comes, I will not mock you."

With that, Princess Zining left gracefully.

Then, the room fell silent, and Soning Bing lay quietly on the bed.

"Miss, please drink a bowl of ginseng soup," a servant said worriedly. When Zining announced Solon's death, the servants had to stay far away, so they did not hear it. Otherwise, they would have cried their hearts out.

The servants in the residence all knew that Young Master Solon was not very capable, but they all liked him because any beautiful servant had been intimate with him.

Soning Bing opened her small mouth and drank the ginseng soup bit by bit.

"I'm tired, please leave. I want to sleep well," Soning Bing said softly, then curled up and缩在床角。

"好的。" 侍女说："小姐，我们就睡在外面，有什么事情您立刻喊我们。"

两个侍女来到自己的床上，没过一会儿就沉沉睡去，因为这几天她们实在累坏了。小姐没有睡，她们也就不能安睡。

等到外面侍女睡熟之后，Soning Bing quietly got out of bed and walked to the corner of the room, where a jade bottle lay in a box.

The jade bottle contained poison, which she had prepared for a long time. If Lanling had not appeared, she might have already taken it.

This poison, when taken, would cause no pain, like falling asleep, and then one would die directly.

Taking a deep breath, she truly felt there was nothing left to live for.

Her father, whom she had cared for for many years, was gone, and then, unexpectedly, her younger brother Solon was also gone.

At that moment, she could no longer bear it. Later, a cute boy entered her life, filling the void in her heart.

Perhaps it was fate, or perhaps in a past life, they were truly sister and lover. There was almost no barrier between them, and they became the closest of people.

This boy became all her hope, all the hope of the family. He was so adorable, so outstanding, and so good to her.

Now he was gone too, and all her hopes were gone. She no longer had a reason to live in this world.

"Xiao Ling, don't be afraid, your sister is coming to keep you company," Soning Bing said softly, then opened the jade bottle and slowly poured the poison into her mouth.

...

The Southern border was over three thousand miles from the capital city. Lanling and Ye Jingyu traveled day and night without rest, changing horses every two hundred miles to keep the horses in a state of constant galloping.

They covered a distance of over three thousand seven hundred miles in just three days. By midnight, they finally reached the city gates of Zidu.

"Finally, finally back," Lanling sighed deeply.

But the grand and magnificent city gates were tightly closed. At this time, unless it was an emergency military situation or one had a royal command, no one was allowed to enter or leave the capital city.

Of course, the city walls of Zidu were very high, over ten meters. But they could not stop experts like Ye Jingyu, who could climb them using tools.

However, every few hundred meters along the city wall, there was a mental warrior. Anyone who climbed the wall would be immediately detected.

Sneaking into the city at night was a serious offense.

"Let's go to the southeast gate," Lanling said.

Then, the two galloped toward the southeast gate. As they rode, Lanling prayed that Ye Feidie would be on duty at the gate.

Ye Feidie was one of Solon's old lovers, the daughter of a viscount, and a skilled archery teacher.

She had been Solon's first archery teacher and dated him for a few months. However, she only stayed at the capital city academy for half a year, finding the life there too boring, so she transferred to the military and became a centurion in the city guard.

They quickly arrived at the southeast gate, and Lanling called out softly, "Teacher Ye, Teacher Ye..."

After a moment, a face appeared from the top of the wall. It was Ye Feidie, a beautiful woman with shoulder-length hair and extraordinary beauty.

Seeing the familiar and beautiful face, Ye Feidie's heart trembled, and she asked, "What is it?"

"I have an urgent matter and need to enter the city at night," Lanling said.

"Do you have a royal command? Is it an emergency military situation?" Ye Feidie asked.

"No," Lanling replied.

"No, no one is allowed to enter the city," Ye Feidie said sternly, but she winked at Lanling, who was alert enough to notice.

After a moment, Ye Feidie descended from the wall and brought a pot of wine to the mental warrior, saying, "Come, have a drink to warm yourself up."

The mental warrior had been pursuing Ye Feidie, but she had never shown him any favor. Now, she was offering him wine, and he was overjoyed, quickly taking the pot and drinking deeply, lowering his mental focus and stopping his surveillance of the wall.

"The mental lock is off, let's go into the city," Ye Jingyu said.

Then, she took out climbing claws and put them on her hands and feet, telling Lanling, "Climb on my back."

Lanling approached and climbed onto her strong and sexy body.

Using the sharp climbing claws, Ye Jingyu climbed the ten-meter-high wall in less than a minute, entering the city silently.

After entering the city, Lanling immediately ran toward the Duke's residence.

However, he directly collided with a woman's firm chest.

"Deadbeat, how many times did you look for me after I left the academy?" Ye Feidie grabbed Lanling's ear, opened her mouth, and kissed him fiercely, then extended her tongue for a wild kiss.

This beautiful short-haired woman was really wild.

"I'm not forcing you to marry me, what are you afraid of?" After the kiss, Ye Feidie whispered in Lanling's ear, "After failing the graduation exam, come find me immediately. I'm transferring to the border army and haven't done that thing for over a year. This time, I'm going to drain you dry."

These wild words made Lanling's heart almost jump out of his chest.

At that moment, Lanling suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart, and his entire body turned cold, as if something very terrible had happened.

"I have an urgent matter to attend to, I'm going home. Goodbye," Lanling said, then ran toward the Duke's residence.

Ye Feidie said angrily, "Solon, remember, four days from now, at the Fragrant Wind Tower, Jinzi Room. I'll be waiting for you there. If you don't come, just try it."

Lanling heard nothing, almost madly running toward the Duke's residence.

...