General, your wife has gone to deliver another calf for your horse.

Chapter 667 She just disappeared like that?

Jiang Nuanzhi clenched her fists tightly under her sleeves, her flawless face remaining expressionless, even appearing aloof and somewhat unapproachable at this moment.

"Your Highness, we are both intelligent people. I thought you wouldn't use such a childish method. Between these two, do I really need to choose?"

Her voice was cold, and she never once looked at Li Junping.

Xiao Yuanshan raised his eyebrows, his dark tiger eyes fixed on Jiang Nuanzhi's eyes: "Is that so? I just saved you, and you really won't even glance at me?"

As he spoke, he grabbed Ping'er's neck with one hand. His hand slowly tightened, and seeing Ping'er's pained expression, a strange emotion flashed in Xiao Yuanshan's eyes that no one else could understand, and his face showed a strange state of excitement.

“Child, don’t blame me.” Jiang Nuanzhi took a few steps closer and sighed, “Your Highness, this child is not my own, you must know that, right? Xuan Ting is the future emperor, and I will never let you harm him in the slightest. Now, if he dies at your hands, it will be a worthy death. I will definitely tell the general everything. Even if the general and I have children in the future, there will still be a place for this child in the general’s mansion.”

Xiao Yuanshan laughed in a daze, his chest heaving: "Is that so? What a pity. If it weren't for this child, you and Xuan Ting would have been crushed to death by me. And now you actually disregard him."

"Did you hear that, Li Junping? This is the person you risked your life to save. Open your eyes and take a good look at your good mother and your good brother. Tsk tsk, this scene is exactly the same as when I was young. I even feel a little sorry for you now."

As he spoke, he suddenly leaned closer, and the next second, a dagger suddenly came flying at him. Xiao Yuanshan's lips curled into a cold smile, and the next second, he disarmed Ping'er's wrist, and the dagger slowly slipped from her hand.

"Heh, so it really is Li Sheng's child. You really do look like her."

As she spoke, she grabbed Ping'er's hair, squatted down to meet his eyes, and forced him to look at her: "Especially those eyes. They seem to never admit defeat, they're really... annoying."

Ping'er suddenly breathed in fresh air, gasping for breath with her mouth wide open, tears and snot streaming down her face. But because he was pulling her, she couldn't get any rest.

Jiang Nuanzhi pursed her lips. Xiao Yuanshan was extremely cunning. They had an absolute numerical advantage, but when they tried to negotiate with him, they were still completely outmaneuvered.

It took a whole day to finally trap them in the palace, and they suffered heavy losses. Now they've fallen into his trap again.

If Ping'er hadn't been worried about herself and followed them into the palace, and hadn't noticed something amiss from afar, pushed them away, and dodged Xiao Yuanshan's hidden arrow, she and Xuan Ting would probably already be dead at Xiao Yuanshan's hands.

"It seems your stepmother truly dislikes you. I have no choice but to send you to see Li Sheng. Don't be afraid, because it won't be long before Li Rong meets you again in the underworld!"

"Don't you dare curse my father!" Ping'er was completely restrained, but she struggled and held onto Xiao Yuanshan's wrist tightly. Several streaks of blood had already appeared on Xiao Yuanshan's wrist from Ping'er's grip.

Jiang Nuanzhi found these words very strange and felt inexplicably uneasy, staring intently at Xiao Yuanshan's face in front of her.

"Xiao Yuanshan, how dare you!" Xuan Ting stared intently at Xiao Yuanshan, his eyes bloodshot. "If you dare touch him, I will kill your entire clan!"

Xiao Yuanshan turned around with a smile, but the smile immediately vanished: "This is really boring. It seems you value him a lot? Why don't you die in his place now?"

"Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its debtor. Take your grudges against me!"

"Your Highness, you mustn't!" An Dehai grabbed Xuan Ting tightly after hearing only half of what he said. "Since you can't make the decision, then be a coward." Xiao Yuanshan glanced coldly at Xuan Ting, then tightened his grip on his wrist and stared intently at Jiang Nuanzhi opposite him.

"Jiang Nuanzhi, do you really think I still don't know you well enough? Your tricks aren't working anymore." Xiao Yuanshan smiled knowingly. "You probably don't even realize that the more you care, the more you have to act like you don't care. I didn't know your methods before, but now it seems that if this child dies, it will make you feel like you'd rather be dead, right? I'm really looking forward to it."

"Xiao Yuanshan! You've won." Jiang Nuanzhi's voice trembled slightly, though she herself couldn't quite manage it. She couldn't help but look at Xiao Yuanshan's hand gripping the child's neck.

She knew how easy it was for Xiao Yuanshan to snap someone's neck.

Despite being a doctor, Jiang Nuanzhi thought she would probably never learn how to say goodbye in her lifetime.

Especially the pain of separation by life and death, the empathy she felt was perhaps the greatest sorrow for her as a doctor, whether she was treating animals or humans.

Xiao Yuanshan was right when he said that she did pretend not to care a lot of the time, and she could even fool herself sometimes.

Seeing Xiao Yuanshan release his hand from Ping'er's neck, she finally let out a slow breath, composed herself, and slowly raised her head: "If I remember correctly, I posed no threat to Your Highness. I even helped Your Highness treat the Princess and the Crown Prince's illnesses. Why are you targeting me like this? Using the lives of innocent children to punish me."

Xiao Yuanshan was stunned for a moment: "Yes? You are indeed nothing, but I feel very uncomfortable seeing you like this now."

As he said this, his gaze couldn't help but drift towards the jade pendant hanging on Jiang Nuanzhi's body.

Jiang Nuanzhi followed his gaze, took off the Qilin pendant from the Imperial Preceptor's residence, and casually tossed it far away.

With a thud, the Qilin pendant landed far away.

Jiang Nuanzhi didn't even glance at it: "If it's because of this, I don't want it anymore. If you want it, you can take it anytime, just give me back the child."

Li Junping, his face flushed, was being lifted up by Xiao Yuanshan. His previously tense face suddenly froze, and then his eyes slowly reddened. Tears fell unexpectedly.

He knew that his mother choosing Xuan Ting was the only answer, and only by choosing this way could everyone have a chance to live. This was understandable; after all, it was a test Xiao Yuanshan had used to make things difficult for his mother, and anyone could answer it.

He felt that he could hold on, no matter what his mother decided.

But at this moment, when he met his mother's tender eyes, he couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat.

"You just threw it away like that." Xiao Yuanshan's gaze followed the Qilin pendant down, and for a moment, his body even moved slightly.

Jiang Nuanzhi discarded the coveted Qilin Pendant as if it were a mere stone.
Xiao Yuanshan turned to look at Jiang Nuanzhi: "Do you know what this thing means?"

(End of this chapter)