Zhi Yan looked at the grand gate of the Butu Tower, where the bas-relief of Suo Lun had completely solidified into an exquisite form.
Moreover, the Suo Lun depicted on the relief was entirely bare.
"Go inside, aren’t you here to rescue your dear husband? He’s already dead inside. Why don’t you join him in a love pact in death?" the Witch Yuanyuan said with a girlish laugh.
Zhi Yan stared coldly at the witch, and slowly said, "You deliberately lured me here. You never truly wanted Suo Lun to help you obtain the Dragon Mark relic inside. You’re someone consumed by extreme vanity. After several years, you still couldn’t fully unravel the mystery of this Butu Tower; you definitely wouldn’t believe Suo Lun could understand it in just a few days."
Yuanyuan was taken aback, then said with a coquettish smile, "Keep talking."
Zhi Yan continued, "In Heilu County’s Mount E Yun, you deliberately left behind an energy aura for me to follow all the way here. At the docks of Xichui Da Dan City, you could have set sail in the dead of night, but you chose to leave during broad daylight to be seen. Not only that, you feared I would fail to track you, so when I inquired about your ship, by the third person I asked, someone approached me and volunteered your destination."
"Wow! This is getting more interesting by the moment," Yuanyuan giggled.
Zhi Yan went on, "After I hired a ship to set out to sea, the captain nonchalantly steered the ship along the correct route. Later, when I suspected that you may have come to Pagoda Island, I pointed out the exact direction, and the captain exhibited a look of astonishment. At that time, I did not understand why, but now it’s clear. That captain was indeed arranged by you, with the goal of leading me to Pagoda Island; he must have been greatly troubled by how to guide me here without leaving any traces. Yet, it turned out, I myself uttered the words ’Pagoda Island,’ and so his reaction was one of shock."
Yuanyuan’s beautiful eyes revealed genuine surprise as she looked at Princess Zhi Yan and said, "I’ve always thought of you as quite foolish, but it seems you were hiding your intelligence."
How could Zhi Yan possibly be foolish? She was undoubtedly one of the most intelligent people in the world.
It’s just that she was nearly devoid of desire and passion and had grown too lazy to show off her talents, be it her beauty, martial skills, or even her intelligence.
Zhi Yan said, "You captured Suo Lun, and then silently lured me here, seeking my death. And if I were to enter this Butu Tower voluntarily, you wouldn’t have to bear any responsibility. Afterwards, you could even tell Huai Bingyi that I died for love of Suo Lun, which would completely extinguish his thoughts of me. Then, you would seize the opportunity to step in."
Yuanyuan said playfully, "Right, I so love that damned Huai Bingyi, but the sick fool only has eyes for you. I not only want to kill you, I can’t do it directly, and I must eradicate any affection he might hold for you. You think that’s easy for me? Luckily, His Highness Zhi Li paid a high price for me to dispose of Suo Lun, so I used him as bait, hoping to get rid of you without a trace."
Zhi Yan said, "My uncle, Duke Zhi Ting, once suspected that Suo Lun’s downfall was orchestrated with Huai Bingyi playing an unspeakable role. I could not refute it then, but I knew it had nothing to do with him. I know him too well, he’s arrogant beyond measure; how could he stoop to using someone else’s hand to eliminate Suo Lun?"
Yuanyuan said, "Of course, that dying fool is too proud to lower himself to deal with Suo Lun, he’d consider it soiling his hands. And actually, I didn’t want to lay hands on Suo Lun either—to personally kill him? That would be giving such a minor noble too much credit. But I had no choice; to use him to get rid of you, I had to elevate him for once."
Zhi Yan asked, "Is Huai Bingyi that important to you?"
"Of course," Yuanyuan replied. "Both in terms of interests and in love, he is immensely important. There are only a handful of men at the pinnacle of the world; if I don’t take the opportunity quickly, others will snatch him away. I’m definitely going to marry Huai Bingyi. You’re an obstacle in the way, and I just have to figure out how to remove you without earning his hatred."
Zhi Yan sneered, "In the eyes of your ’One Hall Four States,’ anyone outside your circle is an insect, isn’t that so?"
"Pretty much..." Yuanyuan said, "There are only so few young men and women in our One Hall Four States; we marry among ourselves, keep it internal, and that’s about it. You, an outsider, shouldn’t bother joining in."
Zhi Yan stated, "Rest assured, it’s impossible between me and Huai Bingyi. I’ve already agreed to marry Suo Lun and will never change my mind."
Yuanyuan said, "But Huai Bingyi still pines for you. Unless I get rid of you, he cannot see my presence."
Then, the Witch Yuanyuan said, "It’s a pity, you’re not as foolish as I thought, and you’ve seen through everything. You probably won’t fall into the trap now. What a waste of over twenty days of effort on such an insignificant noble. He took pride in his cleverness, not realizing that what he considers cleverness is nothing but a trivial game in the eyes of the likes of us!"
With a faint sneer, Zhi Yan replied, "You truly have no regard for Suo Lun’s brilliance?"
The Witch Yuanyuan pursed her lips, then suddenly said, "By the way, do you remember Ji Mengbai?"
Ji Mengbai, how could she forget? The man Meng Tuoluo loved, the man who abandoned her on their wedding day.