World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 920 - 430: Ascension to the throne as king! The situation is reversed!

Chapter 920: 430: Ascension to the throne as king! The situation is reversed!

After the countdown ended, Zhi Ning was still kneeling on the ground, silently looking at Turing Duo.

"If you don’t choose, it seems you don’t want both of the baby’s hands after all," Turing Duo said coldly, stepping forward and violently yanking out the little hand the baby had in his mouth.

The baby was in a deep sleep, and suddenly being jolted awake, he immediately burst into loud cries.

Turing Duo grabbed both of the baby’s tender, lotus root-like little arms, placed a dagger on the wrists, and chuckled, "Such tender and adorable hands, I wonder if seeing them will break Suo Lun’s heart to pieces?"

The baby was terrified, desperately struggling to break free from Turing Duo’s grasp, but at just over a year old, how could he escape the clutches of Turing Duo and he cried even more fiercely.

"There, there, it will be over quickly," Turing Duo cooed, raising the dagger to strike.

Zhi Ning remained kneeling on the ground, without begging for mercy or crying, and said in a cold voice, "After you cut it off, I will take the baby and leave this world. A woman who can’t protect her own child has no face to live."

Turing Duo was taken aback.

Zhi Ning said, "My baby is intact, if even a single finger of his is harmed, then I will die! To spare him further suffering, I will take him away with me."

"Are you threatening me?" Turing Duo said.

Then she placed the dagger on Zhi Ning’s cheek, and said coldly, "At this moment, you still dare to threaten me?"

"Yes, I am threatening you," Zhi Ning replied, "Because kneeling doesn’t work, begging for mercy doesn’t work, all that’s left is to threaten! What do you mean by putting a dagger to my face, to disfigure me? Go ahead, I’m not going to marry in this life anyway."

Turing Duo dragged the dagger lightly.

Instantly, a rosy streak of blood seeped from Zhi Ning’s pale cheek, then trickled down her face.

Zhi Ning did not move but instead placed the dagger against her neck’s major artery, and said, "I am Suo Lun’s woman. If killing me satisfies your rage, then do it. This is the major artery, cut it and I’ll die within minutes, and not even gods can save me."

"You’re not only threatening me but also extorting me," Turing Duo said, then the dagger lightly cut again.

"Don’t!" Fang Qingzhuo screamed in agony.

A cut opened on Zhi Ning’s delicate neck, from which blood gushed out. The razor-sharp blade was a mere millimeter from her major artery, a cut would mean certain death.

However, Zhi Ning remained still, looking at Turing Duo with a gaze filled with readiness to face death.

Suddenly, she and Turing Duo were locked in a stalemate.

After Zhi Ning showed her absolute will to die, Turing Duo was put on the defensive. The last shred of her rationality told her that if she killed Zhi Ning, Zhi Li would not let her off. And if Suo Lun’s son died, then Turing Duo’s situation would be even more hopeless.

The standoff lasted quite a while.

Zhi Ning suddenly said, "Now the biggest obstacle to my brother’s ascension to the throne is not just Duke Zhi Ting, but also Gao Yin, Hei Ningqi!"

Hei Ningqi, Commander of the Imperial Guards, was under the control of Grand Eunuch Gao Yin.

Zhi Ning continued, "Without Hei Ningqi’s acquiescence, my brother Zhi Li can’t even enter the palace, let alone ascend the throne. Surely he can’t ascend in the prince’s residence, can he?"

Turing Duo slowly regained some semblance of sanity; while revenge on Suo Lun was satisfying, her ultimate goal was to ensure Zhi Li’s smooth ascension to the throne.

Zhi Ning said, "Suo Lun is a very paranoid man. Faced with interests and family ties, he will not hesitate to choose family! Yesterday I wrote a blood letter, also with a tuft of the baby’s fetal hair, did you send it to Suo Lun?"

Turing Duo replied, "Zhi Li His Highness doesn’t have a griffon, so the letter was sent to the princess’s residence. Gao Yin would definitely dispatch someone to deliver this secret letter to Tianshui City as fast as possible."

Zhi Ning replied, "Perhaps not, Gao Yin is loyal to the King and Zhi Yan, not to Suo Lun. For Gao Yin, the deaths of me and the baby are in his best interest, as well as that of Zhi Yan. Therefore, he might not actually deliver the letter to Suo Lun."

After some thought, Turing Duo immediately agreed with Zhi Ning’s statement.

Zhi Ning added, "Gao Yin will pretend as if nothing has happened, as if he never received your threats of death. What you need to do now is to publicize this threat, to make it impossible for Gao Yin to ignore the fact that the baby is in imminent danger. So if anything happens to the baby afterward, Gao Yin cannot escape the blame of watching him die without help, and Suo Lun will definitely not forgive him."

Turing Duo asked, "What do you think should be done?"

Zhi Ning replied, "Summon Duke Zhi Ting to this secret chamber and use the lives of my child and me to force him to compromise."

Turing Duo inquired, "To what extent should he compromise?"

Zhi Ning said, "To the greatest extent, to keep him from attending the assembly against Zhi Li, and let the opposing officials’ group continue without a leader. Moreover, have him publicly acknowledge that the death of the King has nothing to do with my brother Zhi Li, and let him indirectly accept Zhi Li’s ascension to the throne! Not only that, but he should also inform Gao Yin and Hei Ningqi that they must not prevent Zhi Li from entering the royal palace for the coronation, or else we mother and son will be killed."

Turing Duo’s face twitched and said, "Such excessive demands, will they agree to them? Would they give up the entire throne for just one child?"

Zhi Ning said, "It might be impossible for others, but for Suo Lun it is entirely possible! Our mother and son’s death at your hands will drive Suo Lun into madness, and he will literally tear Zhi Li and you to pieces. And he certainly will not forgive Zhi Yan and Duke Zhi Ting, because the child’s death would indirectly be on their hands. Zhi Yan might temporarily lose this throne, but they absolutely cannot lose Suo Lun’s support."