World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 730 - 359: Suo Lun, reunited with Zhi Ning!_2

Chapter 730: 359: Suo Lun, reunited with Zhi Ning!_2

Zhi Ning fell into deep thought.

She was extremely reluctant to involve her own son in this trouble, but the method Zhi Li proposed could indeed solve all the current problems.

Moreover, she, Zhi Ning, stood to gain the most.

Not only would she marry Suo Lun, but she would also reconcile her brother with her husband, and her biological son could ascend to the throne.

Although it would be very difficult for her son to be established as the Crown Prince, once Zhi Li and Suo Lun joined forces, the entire Rage Wave Kingdom would be without rivals. By then, they only needed to adopt Zhi Ning’s son to Zhi Li and then establish him as the Crown Prince; it would all fall naturally into place.

After all, Zhi Li was already adopted by King Quo Bian at this time.

Moreover, Zhi Ning’s son already carried the royal bloodline.

Zhi Ning even felt that this matter was much simpler to handle than supporting Zhi Yan to ascend the throne!

Zhi Li said, "This is the only solution I can think of that can avoid a civil war in the kingdom, completely heal the rift between me and Suo Lun, and lead to a happy ending for everyone."

Zhi Ning fell into hesitation once again; she truly did not want her darling baby to be dragged into this trouble.

But she could not just watch indifferently as the kingdom plunged into civil war, nor could she stand by as her brother, Zhi Li, died without a place to be buried.

"Fine, I agree to this plan," said Zhi Ning.

Zhi Li said with great joy, "In that case, please take a trip to the capital of the Southeast Province on my behalf and negotiate peace with Suo Lun. There are three main conditions: first, I will marry you to him. Second, once I ascend the throne, I will grant him the title of Prince Regent, fully in charge of attacking the Barbaric Wilderness and expanding our territory. Third, your son with him will be adopted by me and established as the Crown Prince, inheriting the throne!"

Zhi Ning nodded and said, "Alright, I will make the trip."

...

Inside the Governor’s Office of the Southeast Province!

After slapping the Dragon Temple in the face and capturing Fang Qingshu, Suo Lun’s momentum in the Southeast Province was unstoppable.

Suo Lun had ordered that officials ranked county prefect and above report to the Governor’s Office for evaluation, with anyone refusing to come being executed immediately.

As a result, within the stipulated time, all the officials arrived, and a swath of them knelt down en masse.

This actually made Suo Lun feel a twinge of regret. He had hoped to use this opportunity to kill off all the officials loyal to Zhi Li, but when they came all the way to kowtow and pledge loyalty, he found he could not bring his sword down upon them.

However, as Earl Gui Xingfu said, civil officials who lack integrity aren’t particularly steadfast in loyalty; the so-called loyalty to Zhi Li was just that. Many officials didn’t even have a family, so what loyalty could they speak of? They were like lone grass on the ground, swaying to wherever the wind blew, with no firm stance whatsoever.

With the full cooperation of Earl Gui Xingfu and Yan Wuzhi, Suo Lun now had almost complete control over the entire Southeast Province.

Moreover, in Tianshui City, the reorganization work of more than seventy thousand prisoners was underway in an orderly fashion.

Once the reorganization was complete, Suo Lun would suddenly have an army of one hundred and twenty thousand.

Not only that, Suo Lun planned to once again restore the organization of the Southeast Army and form an army of over one hundred thousand soldiers.

By that time, Suo Lun alone would command an army of over two hundred and fifty thousand, coupled with the hundred thousand strong army of Rouran City.

An army of over three hundred thousand didn’t mean they could dominate the entire Rage Wave Kingdom, but militarily overwhelming Zhi Li was only a matter of time.

Furthermore, once Zhi Yan ascended as the Queen and Suo Lun became the Prince Regent, with forty to fifty thousand troops under his command, he need not fear any nobles or vassals causing trouble.

Nevertheless, Suo Lun’s path in the Southeast Province was not entirely smooth sailing.

At least two people had never come to pay respects, nor had they even sent a messenger.

The rulers of the other two vassal states of the Southeast Province, Ironwood City and Lord of Qichi City.

The territories of these two vassals were not large, about two hundred miles around, with tens of thousands of subjects and only a few thousand soldiers.

Their military strength was not formidable, but they were still vassals of the kingdom, and even as the acting Governor of the Southeast Province, Suo Lun found it difficult to deal with them.

After all, without any significant errors, even a king would find it hard to directly confront a vassal.

To deal with Suo Lun, Zhi Li had to invoke a century-old royal law, using the non-noble samurai prohibition from inheriting titles to prevent Suo Lun from succeeding as the Lord of Tianshui City.

Ever since Suo Lun took over as interim Governor of the Southeastern Province, those two feudal lords acted as if they knew nothing, not only did they fail to pay him a visit, but they also completely shut the gates of their fortresses, presenting a posture of refusing to have anything to do with Suo Lun.

...

Earl Gui Xingfu proved to be a sly one, he came up with many strategies to deal with Ironwood City and Qichi City; although he couldn’t bring about their downfall, he could at least skin them.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Suo Lun waved his hand and said, "Forget it, if no one offends me, I shall not offend them."

After all, his control already extended over the entire province and, adding Tianshui City and Linhai City, he had a population nearing ten million under his rule.

As for those two feudal lords’ territories, a little over two hundred li combined and with a population of less than three hundred thousand, he didn’t take them too seriously.

"My lord is broad-minded and benevolent, unmatched in righteousness. One day, those two clowns will regret their actions and be overwhelmed with guilt and shame," Gui Xingfu flattered unabashedly.

Indeed, before Gui Qinshao’s assassination attempt on Zhi Li, Gui Xingfu faced Zhi Li with a rather unbent posture—nothing like now, where, in order to please Suo Lun, he didn’t even care about losing face.

At that moment, Zhuang Zhixuan suddenly entered to report, "There’s a lady requesting an audience, claiming to be an old acquaintance from Wangcheng Zidu."

Suo Lun couldn’t help but be stunned. An old acquaintance from Wangcheng Zidu?

"Let her in," Suo Lun said.

A moment later, Zhuang Zhixuan led the lady into the main hall of the governor’s mansion.

Wrapped entirely in a black cloak, Suo Lun saw her figure and couldn’t help but be shocked.

He had an eidetic memory, and the lady’s figure was voluptuous, like a fully ripened peach that seemed to burst with juice at the slightest bite.

But, he really hadn’t seen this woman before!

"Hmph, Marquis Suo Lun, it seems the eminent forget the past," the woman said coldly,

Then, she lifted the cloak and pulled off the mask, revealing a stunningly beautiful face.

The chin was still pointed, but now filled out, the whole face beautifully plump and rounded.

Suo Lun’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Was this woman Zhi Ning?

Where had the sullen and frail girl gone? How had she, after having a child, transformed from Lin Daiyu into Wang Xifeng?

Her face glowed with health, her entire being bursting with vitality.

Even her gaze had become bold and fierce, unlike the melancholic tenderness of the past.

In her one year in Yanjing, she had seemingly become a completely different person.

"What, don’t recognize me?" Zhi Ning said with a cold laugh.

Even her voice had changed, no longer the soft affectation of before.

"You’ve returned? When did you come back? Where is the child?" Suo Lun fired off three questions in a row.

"The last question is what you really want to ask, isn’t it?" Zhi Ning said, "Ever since I went to Yanjing, I have not received a single letter from you. When you defiled me back then, was it just to save Tian Shui City, without a shred of affection?"

As she spoke, Suo Lun remained unchanged, but Earl Gui Xingfu had already bowed his head and, with great deference, said, "Master, I will take my leave."

Zhi Ning looked at Gui Xingfu with disdain and said, "Earl Gui Xingfu, you really have no ambition. With your daughter and wife taken from you, even your lands seized, you still willingly play the dog for others."

Gui Xingfu, unfazed, replied, "Better to be a Suo dog than a wolf of your house."

Having said this, Gui Xingfu departed, and his utter shamelessness left Zhi Ning rolling her eyes.

After the others had left, only Suo Lun and Zhi Ning remained in the room.

Zhi Ning’s beautiful eyes widened as she stared at Suo Lun and said coldly, word by word, "Suo Lun, now that you are riding high, will you still leave a way out for me, for our son?"

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