The Demon Lords

Chapter 967 - 218: The Collapsed Dam (Part 2)

The princess began yelling at the boy.

But the boy continued to call out "sister" and ran towards her, unfazed.

Initially, Zheng Fan thought the reason the princess feared her brother might be that she had hurt him during childhood.

Such cases are not uncommon, where the sister feels neglected due to the brother’s birth and resents him, doing something understandable.

But the problem is not that simple.

Therefore,

when the princess began avoiding the boy incessantly in the yard,

Lord Zheng remained standing still, rapidly pondering all possible reasons, trying to align the logic within.

Because just as anticipated, escalating stimuli could keep pressuring the princess, while long-term singular stimuli would only lead to numbness.

"The princess has never seen her brother; this brother might have been sent away by the Earl of North Border at a young age, settled somewhere, or even more extreme, whether this so-called young lord actually exists, no one knows, perhaps this child doesn’t exist at all.

It’s understandable if it’s the former, because just like Tian Wujing, who exterminated his whole family, Tian Wujing, Yan Emperor, and Li Liangting, for the rise of Yan, truly might sacrifice anything.

But now the key issue is not whether this brother exists; since this brother lacks a face, it signifies that the princess’s fear and emotional fluctuation do not stem from the brother’s practical existence."

Zheng Fan’s gaze fell on the boy who was chasing the sister for hugs,

and he continued muttering to himself:

"That is to say, this so-called young lord represents an emotional symbol in the princess’s eyes.

The princess fears him, fears his appearance; if he appears, what would it bring her?

The absence of familial affection? The decline in parental attention?"

Zheng Fan shook his head to himself,

"No, these people don’t value familial ties heavily; even parental love shouldn’t be something the princess at this age would care about.

Then,

if someday the legendary young lord truly appeared,

what the princess would lose is..."

Zheng Fan took a deep breath, recalling once chatting with Siniang over letters from Little Six on the bed, Siniang saying that this princess is actually a heroine, seemingly reckless but aiming straight at the core.

If not for the queen’s sudden death, her decisive killing of Chengjue would have directly cleared the path for her and her husband, having a crisp decisiveness akin to Wu Zetian.

"Therefore, what the princess fears is that with the young lord’s appearance, she would lose the support from the marquis’s house, fears losing her status, losing her influence, losing that top-three resource in the whole Yan."

Imagine,

if the young lord hadn’t disappeared, is physically present,

then,

who would Li Liangshen listen to?

Who would Seventh Uncle accompany day and night to protect all around?

Would the three hundred thousand troops in North Border be meant as a dowry to be sent away, or a bride price to forcibly bring into the family?

In Yan, who could represent the marquis’s house and the next generation to voice out loud, can it still be her, the princess Li Qian?

Once that young lord steps from legend into reality,

then she, Li Qian,

her sole value would remain in "marriage alliance,"

and a very pure marriage alliance.

Because she is a daughter, in the end, she has to follow her parents’ and the Yan Emperor’s will to enter the capital as the Crown Princess,

because she is a daughter, the support from the marquis’s house is something she might inherit less than half of,

but if the young lord appears, she doesn’t even deserve one-tenth!

After all,

this is a male-dominated society.

This is the background of this era, unable to be changed by human effort for now.

"So, what you fear is losing."

Your gap is not the young lord, but the gains and losses of power and status.

Zheng Fan’s mouth curled into a smile, finding the root of the problem, what’s left now is to add fuel to the fire.

Moreover,

it must be a big fire,

fiery cooking!

The princess is dodging the boy’s chase, she ran past the corridor, about to enter the next courtyard but saw inside, it was all bleak.

Fallen leaves scattered everywhere, ahead was a pool of dead water, in the middle of this dead water, stood a pavilion.

"My beloved consort, beloved consort, you’ve come to see me, you’ve come to see me, I always knew, no matter what happens to me, beloved consort, you’ll always stay by my side."

Here,

is the lakeside pavilion,

inside the lakeside pavilion,

stood the current Crown Prince Ji Chenglang.

Thanks to accompanying Lord Jingnan to depose the Third Prince once, Lord Zheng had seen the Crown Prince Ji Chenglang with his own eyes, thus simulating the appearance of the Crown Prince in the dream.

However, at this moment, the Crown Prince wore a crown made of straw on his head, his body was filthy and stained, clearly downcast and in shambles.

Upon seeing this, the princess instinctively began withdrawing.

Because from being chased by her brother to seeing the fallen and locked away Crown Prince, there was virtually no time to think, and she hadn’t realized her engagement to the Crown Prince was almost half dissolved.

"Beloved consort, beloved consort, beloved consort..."

"No!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The princess shouted.

The lakeside pavilion began soaking in blood at this moment, the Crown Prince’s whole body started bleeding, even cracking, blood continuously spread outwards, gradually dyeing the whole lake.