"What?"
Zheng Wei whispered two words and slowly drew his sword.
Just as Bai Li Ziyun didn't understand what he intended to do, Zheng Wei's sword tip stopped at her neck.
"If you don't honor the agreement, you'll leave your father and mother's lives behind as well."
What Zheng Wei said was like the sword in his hand, sharp and piercing directly into people's most vulnerable spots, causing the greatest harm.
"Don't speak such big words." Princess Grand Elder Zande stopped her tears, handed Bai Li Hao to Jiang Hong, and slowly stood up.
She straightened her face, and her aura suddenly changed. She was no longer the fragile woman who had been crying. Now, she truly possessed the bearing of a princess of a nation.
"When the late emperor was alive, I was enfeoffed as Princess Grand Elder Zande, holding a golden tablet, allowing me to enter and exit the Forbidden City at will."
"The Grand Emperor was my full-blooded brother, and we shared a deep bond."
"The current Emperor is my nephew, and he treats me like a saintess."
"Although I don't reside in the imperial capital, the Grand Emperor and the Emperor constantly think of me."
"Although I am only a princess, I hold military power and am like the Grand Marshal."
"What right do the two of you, mere mortals, have to speak to me like this?"
"So what if Ziyun dug up the Zhen family's grave? Does she also want Ziyun to mourn for the Zhen family? Does she deserve it?"
"Currently, the Zhen family's corpse is not in the coffin. If she were, I would immediately have people dig her out and scatter her ashes to the wind."
By the final sentence, the Princess Grand Elder Zande's voice was filled with murderous intent.
It was as if the one she wanted to reduce to ashes was not the Zhen family, but Shen Xiao Yan, whom she was staring at intently.
"Clap, clap."
After hearing the Princess Grand Elder Zande's words, Shen Xiao Yan did not get angry. Instead, she applauded.
"Well said, your status is indeed noble. However..."
Shen Xiao Yan took a few steps forward, suddenly grabbed the Princess Grand Elder Zande by the neck, and let out a sneer.
"I don't fall for this. Do you think I'll be afraid just because of your words, and let your precious daughter go because of them?"
"You... dare... not!"
The Princess Grand Elder Zande, with Shen Xiao Yan's grip on her neck, spoke intermittently, but she still didn't believe Shen Xiao Yan would dare to kill her.
"Try it and you'll know."
Shen Xiao Yan disdained to explain further.
For someone so arrogant and blind to others, no amount of words would be useful.
The only thing to do was to get straight to the point.
For example, killing her.
Shen Xiao Yan's grip gradually tightened, and the Princess Grand Elder Zande's face turned redder and redder as a result.
Just as she was about to breathe her last, Bai Li Hao spoke from the side.
"I, agree."
Bai Li Hao's voice was tinged with bitterness and reluctance, but he still spoke.
"Father?"
Bai Li Ziyun's mouth flew open in shock. Did her father mean he wanted her to die? To guard an empty coffin for the Zhen family?
"Daddy, she doesn't dare. She doesn't dare to kill Mother."
Bai Li Ziyun, who was already kneeling to the side, crawled a few steps towards Bai Li Hao, grabbed his hand, and cried.
"Do you want to watch your mother die?"
Bai Li Hao closed his eyes, not looking at Bai Li Ziyun, and said weakly.
Bai Li Ziyun clutched Bai Li Hao's hand tightly, tears falling like broken strings, pouring down her face without restraint.
"Daddy, Father, can you bear to let your daughter die? Your daughter hasn't fulfilled her filial duty to you and Mother, hasn't brought glory to the Bai Li family, hasn't become the empress, how can she die like this?"
Shen Xiao Yan watched the father and daughter coldly and said with a hint of impatience, "Have you discussed it? Princess Grand Elder Zande doesn't seem to be able to hold on much longer."
Bai Li Hao suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the Princess Grand Elder Zande anxiously. Seeing that she was already struggling to breathe, he quickly said, "Let's do as we agreed before."
"Good."
Shen Xiao Yan smiled and agreed, loosening her grip. The Princess Grand Elder Zande slipped from her hand and fell directly to the ground.
"Cough..." The Princess Grand Elder Zande's cough was initially low, then grew louder, as if she were about to cough out her lungs.
Bai Li Ziyun let go of Bai Li Hao's hand, crawled back to the Princess Grand Elder Zande's side, and grabbed her hand.
"Mother, Mother, did you hear? Father wants me to die... Mother, Mother, please save me." Bai Li Ziyun cried, snot and tears streaming down her face.
The Princess Grand Elder Zande clutched her neck and gasped for breath, her head lowered, not looking at Bai Li Ziyun.
"Oh my, what a good daughter."
Shen Xiao Yan clicked her tongue, but her eyes held even more disdain.
She wondered what the Princess Grand Elder Zande was thinking at this moment. Her own daughter, whom she was so eager to save, was still thinking of herself when she was about to die.
"Mother?"
After waiting in vain for a response from the Princess Grand Elder Zande, Bai Li Ziyun stopped crying, her eyes hazy with tears as she looked at the Princess Grand Elder Zande.
"Ziyun, do you know that Mother was about to die just now?"
The Princess Grand Elder Zande finally recovered, her face no longer as red.
Her tone was exceptionally calm, as if the person who had almost died was not her.
"Mother, I..."
Bai Li Ziyun dared not meet the Princess Grand Elder Zande's eyes. She knew that the Princess Grand Elder Zande had indeed looked like she was about to die just now.
But, she was more afraid. She was still young, and she didn't want to die.
"Mother, Shen Xiao Yan was just scaring you, scaring you and Father, trying to make you comply and sow discord between us. Don't believe her."
"Mother, you are a princess, she wouldn't dare to do anything to you, otherwise, she and her three children wouldn't escape."
"Mother, save me! I really don't want to die."
Bai Li Ziyun said while crying, but she didn't dare to look at the Princess Grand Elder Zande's face.
"Why don't you dare to look up at me?" the Princess Grand Elder Zande asked calmly.
"I... I didn't!" Bai Li Ziyun shook her head and finally raised her face.
Bai Li Ziyun's gaze was somewhat evasive, but she kept shedding tears.
The Princess Grand Elder Zande sighed, "Never mind, let it be!"
"Mother, what do you mean?"
"Ziyun, although I am a princess, according to the ancient saying, a wife follows her husband. Since your father has already agreed, then I have nothing more to say." The Princess Grand Elder Zande spoke very calmly.
It was as if they were not discussing her daughter's life and death, but talking about a very ordinary matter.
"Bai Li Ziyun, I leave her to you. However, this does not mean that I, a princess, am willing to let this matter rest."
The Princess Grand Elder Zande stood up and looked into Shen Xiao Yan's eyes.
"Oh! What do you mean?" Shen Xiao Yan asked, surprised.
"If you kill her, I will naturally seek revenge for my daughter." The Princess Grand Elder Zande said matter-of-factly, leaving Shen Xiao Yan momentarily speechless and unsure how to react.
Were this family of three all aliens?
Where did these strange ideas and theories of theirs come from?
"Mother, I don't want you to avenge me." Bai Li Ziyun staggered to her feet and said loudly, grabbing the Princess Grand Elder Zande's arm.
"It doesn't matter, Ziyun, you don't need to worry about Mother, Mother will avenge you." The Princess Grand Elder Zande gently patted Shen Xiao Yan's hand and then whispered, "Don't worry, I will soon send her and her three little bitches to accompany you."
"No, I don't want to."
Bai Li Ziyun shook her head vehemently and cried out, "I don't need you to avenge me, nor do I need them to accompany me. I just want to live well."
"Then Ziyun, do you mean you want your parents to die with you?" The Princess Grand Elder Zande's voice suddenly turned cold.