Zhao Nuanyue took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from her brother’s face. Her beautiful eyes fixed on Zhao Jinghai. "Heh. If you don’t want anyone to know, you shouldn’t have done it in the first place. Your mother and daughter were whispering in the room. Anyone who wasn’t deaf could hear them."
At her words, Zhao Jinghai grew furious. ’He’d told his mother not to say a word until everything was settled.’
’Now, not only did Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuan Yang know, but it also ant Xia Yingyu would find out soon. If Xia Yingyu made a scene, that would be a real headache!’
"Well, you know now anyway," Zhao Jinghai said with a smirk, looking at Zhao Nuanyue. "I expect you to be smart and behave yourself. You’ll be the young mistress of the Li family, living the good life. But if you don’t listen... heh, it won’t just be you who suffers. Your brother will suffer too. He might even lose his life." He then shot a vicious glare at Zhao Nuan Yang. "You’re a smart boy. You should know what’s best for you!"
"Sister, I’m not hurt," Zhao Nuan Yang said, trying to comfort Zhao Nuanyue when he saw how upset she was. Then, he glared at Zhao Jinghai. "You’re bullying my sister. I’ll kill you!"
Zhao Jinghai froze at Zhao Nuan Yang’s words, staring as if he’d seen a ghost. ’This Zhao Nuan Yang can actually talk now? And he just clearly threatened to kill . Even though he’s slow, he’s a grown man. Maybe he really could do it.’
’Therefore, Zhao Nuan Yang had to be eliminated.’
Zhao Nuanyue knew how ruthless Zhao Jinghai was. Worried he would harm her brother, she quickly covered the boy’s mouth and whispered, "Nuanyang, l-listen... Be good... Don’t say anything right now."
Zhao Nuan Yang nodded. ’I’m so useless,’ he thought. ’I can’t even protect my sister.’
Zhao Jinghai’s expression was stormy, a sinister light glinting in his eyes.
"I know you’re worried Nuanyang will get revenge, so you want to kill him," Zhao Nuanyue said. She had no ti for anger or sorrow. Trapped as she was, her priority was to guarantee her brother’s safety. Only if he was alive and well would she have the motivation to resist and find a way to escape.
"Huh?" Zhao Jinghai was taken aback. He glanced at Zhao Nuanyue. "You’re reading too much into it. I wasn’t thinking anything of the sort!"
"Heh, you know perfectly well what you were thinking," Zhao Nuanyue sneered. "I’m in your hands now with no way to escape. My marriage to the Li family’s fool is a done deal. You’re all pushing into a pit of fire just for your promotion, but if there’s nothing in it for , I’m obviously not going to be happy."
Zhao Jinghai paused, then retorted, "You and your brother are my prisoners, and you want to negotiate terms? What leverage do you have? Your mother? Let tell you, even if sothing happened to the two of you, the most your mother would do is get angry. I’d just have to sweet-talk her a bit, and she wouldn’t dare do anything to !"
"Haha!" Zhao Nuanyue burst out laughing, tears of mirth streaming from her eyes. She had never held out any hope for her mother. "Ever since we were children, she would let us suffer before she’d ever let Zhao Huilan feel wronged, all to keep the peace in your house. I knew back then I couldn’t rely on her. But she’s learned to fight back now. She knows that just trying to please everyone won’t win her any respect, and that’s a good thing. Even if she can’t protect and Nuanyang, she can at least make sure your household knows no peace, which is also quite nice."
The thought of his wife’s transformation, which seed to begin right after Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuan Yang were sent to the countryside, made Zhao Jinghai even more furious. His earlier cold deanor vanished, replaced by a burning curiosity about what other leverage Zhao Nuanyue could possibly have. "If it’s not your mother," he retorted, "what makes you think you can force my hand?"
"Heh. The Li family!" Zhao Nuanyue said, looking at Zhao Jinghai with a triumphant smirk. "Don’t think that marrying off to their fool will make your position secure."
"Haha!" Zhao Jinghai laughed as if he’d heard the funniest joke in the world. "The Li family will believe my word, not yours. After all, you’re not exactly going into this marriage willingly. But they have plenty of ways to make you behave and stay put."
’That was true, but so what?’
’If you weren’t even afraid to die, why would you fear their thods of torture?’
’Of course not!’
With that sa smirk, Zhao Nuanyue looked at Zhao Jinghai and said coldly, "The Li family might not believe . But if you harm my brother, or kill him, it’s true I won’t be able to get revenge on you myself. But I have a hundred ways to make the Li family so furious that they’ll take their anger out on you. When that happens, with their rank and power, they’ll crush you. Just you wait for their wrath."
"You overestimate yourself!" Zhao Jinghai sneered. "The Li family and I are allies. That won’t change because of a woman who’s nothing more than a commodity. That’s how it is, and that’s how it will always be! So stop wasting your breath. Just be a good girl and stay with the Li family, and you might even get to enjoy a few comfortable days."
"Allies?" Instead of getting angry, Zhao Nuanyue laughed. "What kind of ally are you? You’re nothing but the Li family’s dog! As long as they’re powerful, you’ll be there, wagging your tail and begging for scraps. But the mont they lose their influence, you’ll be the first one to leap up and bite them."
"Zhao Nuanyue, don’t take it too far!" Zhao Jinghai glared at her, his gaze frigid. "Don’t think I won’t teach you a lesson just because your mother is around. Keep this up, and you will suffer."
Zhao Nuanyue looked at Zhao Jinghai with utter contempt, feeling a wave of disgust. "I know exactly what you’re thinking. And you’re right. The Li family won’t lift a finger against you just to appease . But what if I kill their fool of a son? Or what if I castrate him? Or maybe I get my hands on so poison and kill him that way? Do you think they’ll still consider you an ally then? More likely, they’ll butcher you like the dog you are and cook you into a stew just to feel better."
"You!" Zhao Jinghai looked like his eyes would split from their sockets with rage. ’If she really did what she said, the Li family would annihilate .’ But his gaze fell on Zhao Nuan Yang, and he felt his confidence return. ’I still have him as my trump card.’ He chuckled. "You may not be afraid to die, but do you want your brother to et a violent end? Do you want your mother to et a violent end?"
Zhao Nuanyue smiled, her expression triumphant as she looked at Zhao Jinghai. "So? Looks like you’ll have to promise to take good care of Nuanyang after all. If he has a bad life, I will make sure your entire family, Zhao Jinghai, has a bad life. My situation is already hopeless, so I might as well drag everyone down with . I’m just not the type to accept a losing deal. If my brother and I die, then your daughter, your old mother, and that son you’ve waited twenty years for—they will all die. Not a single one of them will et a good end!"
Though Zhao Nuanyue’s voice was pleasant, at this mont, it was as terrifying as a wail from the depths of hell, making one’s hair stand on end.
Zhao Jinghai had never imagined that a girl on the cusp of sixteen could be so deeply calculating. ’Just like her father, who died so young.’
The driver in the front seat felt a chill run down his spine.
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