93.3

"I gave it to her," the Grand Master glanced at the shocked Ji Chengyu and said with disinterest.

"As a reward." Princess Shunde had been enduring a lot over the treatments for her face, so the Grand Master gave her this forbidden art as a candied fruit to coax her into taking his medicine. Ji Chengyu clenched his hands.

"Master, I am afraid from here on, it will be difficult for you to keep her under control." The Grand Master smiled and did not respond. He just waved him off.

Ji Chengyu had no choice but to leave. He rushed to Zhu Ling's residence, kicked open the door and barged in.

"What exactly does Princess Shunde want to do?" Zhu Ling slowly sat up inside his bed couch. He did not wear a mask and the burnt skin on his face looked hideous. He looked at Ji Chengyu with the eyes of a snake and said, "We don't dare to speculate on the intentions of the princess without permission."

Ji Chengyu stepped forward and grabbed Zhu Ling by his lapel. "Zhu Ling, open your eyes and look! Look at this court! The state of the country! People are rebelling everywhere, and you are still helping Princess Shunde do evil! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I have made a vow to serve the princess and remain loyal to her. Aren't you the same?" Zhu Ling looked at him.

"The current state of the country, was it not your Grand Master's doing? Yet you still remain loyal to him."

Zhu Ling smiled and continued, "Even though your own brother turned against him long ago and now leads the great army of the north." Ji Chengyu's hand clutching at him trembled slightly, then let go.

Zhu Ling straightened his lapel and said, "Ji Chengyu, for the sake of our years of brotherhood, I would like to offer you some advice. Right now, it's the survival of the fittest. Even though the Grand Master is powerful, he is trapped in the past.

The princess is different. The future belongs to her, and the whole world will be in the palm of her hands. If you are willing to switch your stance and serve her instead, you might even get to stand over the Grand Master."

Ji Chengyu sneered, "The evil art that the princess is training in was given to her by the Grand Master. Who is she to step over him? Furthermore, did you think the Grand Master controlled everything for decades just with his power?" He turned his head and looked at Zhu Ling.

"This world is just a playground for the strong. You and I are both pawns, so don't get too deep into the game. What I am to the Grand Master is the same as what you are to the Princess."

"That's what you think," Zhu Ling said.

"The princess told me that we will always weather the storms together, that I am the only one who can stand next to her."

Ji Chengyu shook his head and left. He walked aimlessly on the streets of the capital.

"I knew someone who was unwilling to be a pawn." Ji Chengyu looked at the moon and recalled Ji Yunhe's unyielding face, then lowered his head.

"But she is dead."