radicalducati Chapter 125 Snow Empress: A Scumbag Who Deceived People's Feelings
Chapter 125 Snow Empress: A Scumbag Who Deceived People's Feelings
Chapter 125 Snow Empress: A Scumbag Who Deceived People's Feelings
Faced with Dai Youheng's long and sharp questioning, the air in the hall seemed to freeze.
He couldn't very well tell Xu Jiujiu that the person at the time wasn't actually him, and that the good-for-nothing really couldn't beat her, and wasn't pretending.
After calming himself down, the shock and grievance on his face slowly receded like the tide, replaced not by the panic of having his lie exposed, but by an indescribable complex expression. His eyes held a mixture of pain, struggle, forbearance, and a hint of helplessness and hurt at being forced into this situation by her questioning.
"Your Highness—" His voice was low and hoarse, carrying a deliberately suppressed bitterness, "You ask me why? Do you think I had any other choice at that time?"
He raised his head, his gaze meeting the other's again for a long time, but the usual feigned fervor was gone from his eyes, replaced by a cruel clarity and helplessness.
"Yes, I lied to you. Those three blows were intentional. My strength at the time far exceeded what I showed. I took them, then faked being seriously injured, and put on that well-known joke." He admitted it so readily that Xu Jiujiu was slightly taken aback.
"You ask me why?" Dai Youheng repeated her question, a self-deprecating smile tugging at the corners of his lips, a smile brimming with bitterness. "Because back then, Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin were both fine. They were the legitimate sons that Father had poured his heart and soul into raising, the rightful future of the Duke's mansion! And what was I? An insignificant illegitimate son!"
His emotions gradually intensified, and his voice rose a few decibels, filled with long-suppressed resentment and unwillingness. "Your Highness, have you ever thought about it? If I had displayed my great strength back then, who would have been the first to not tolerate me?"
"It's not Your Majesty, it's not you, but that high and mighty stepmother, Zhu Man, in the Duke's mansion! It's her two legitimate sons who see me as a thorn in their side! They will see me as a huge threat, and they will stop at nothing to eliminate me completely before I can fully rise to power!"
He took a step closer, his gaze intense, his words like knives, dissecting the cruel reality. "Furthermore, if I were to approach you with such astonishing talent, to express my admiration for you, what would Father think? What would the elders in the family think? They would immediately assume that I, this illegitimate son, am scheming, trying to use the princess's power to suppress the legitimate line and seize the inheritance that doesn't rightfully belong to me! At that point, to quell the panic among the legitimate line and to maintain the superficial balance of the Duke's mansion, Father's first act would be to completely sever all ties between me and you! He would send me to the most remote military camp, or even use more ruthless methods to ensure I can never get even a step closer to you again!"
His voice was filled with helplessness, a suffocating feeling of struggling to survive in the family's infighting. "Your Highness, tell me, in that situation, what else could I do but turn myself into a complete waste of a joke, a 'bewitched by beauty' and willing to give up my life and future for the princess'?"
Only by making myself appear harmless, foolishly infatuated, will Zhu Man and Dai Huabin look down on me, and only then will my father turn a blind eye to my occasional transgressions. Only then can I—only then can I preserve this one and only chance to see you and hear your voice!
He took a deep breath, as if using all his strength, and his voice became low again, but with a heart-wrenching despair and deep affection, "I would rather be laughed at by everyone, I would rather be looked down upon by you, I would rather bear the stigma of being a simp, than be completely driven out of your world, and even seeing you from afar become a luxury."
Silently watching over you was the closest I could think of to you at that time.
After delivering this long, helpless, and sorrowful analysis, he fell silent, lowered his head slightly, as if he had unloaded a heavy burden, or as if he were awaiting final judgment.
The hall was deathly silent.
After standing there for a long time, the frost and doubt on his face had long since disappeared.
She was an extremely intelligent woman, so naturally she could think of this stakes.
What Dai Youheng said was the cruel and real rule within the top aristocratic circle of Xingluo. A powerful stepmother, two favored legitimate sons, and a gifted but awkwardly positioned illegitimate son—she understood the dangers involved better than anyone else.
She looked at the man with his head bowed and imagined his precarious situation in the Duke's mansion back then. In order to see her, he did not hesitate to tarnish his reputation, hide all his sharpness, and play the role of a complete clown.
This forbearance, this calculation, the motivation behind it all was his desperate and humble obsession with her.
Her heartstrings were plucked hard.
At this moment, Dai Youheng raised his head again, and the helplessness and humility in his eyes were gradually replaced by a new and fervent light.
"But now, things are different." His voice became firm, carrying a rebirth-like strength. "Dai Yueheng's hand is crippled, and Dai Huabin's future is ruined! The future of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion can no longer be entrusted to two crippled people. My father has to face me squarely, and the family has to consider me!"
"I am now qualified to compete for the heirship! Therefore, I no longer need to hide!" His gaze burned as he looked at Xu Jiujiu, filled with undisguised ambition and desire. "Your Highness, I choose to reveal my full strength at this moment not only for self-preservation, not only to fight for the power that was not originally mine, but also because I now finally have the confidence to dream of things I never dared to hope for before!"
He stepped forward, his gaze burning with intensity. "I am no longer content with merely watching you from the shadows! I want to become powerful, powerful enough to match your status, powerful enough to command the respect of His Majesty and the court! I want to stand openly by your side. I don't want occasional summons, nor do I want to merely gaze at your retreating figure!"
What I want is to marry you into the Dai family honorably! To make you my wife!
Xue Di couldn't help but rub her forehead in his mind's eye. "It's starting again! This melodramatic act is so natural, so masterful, you bastard! You act like some kind of love saint, but when you were absorbing that other martial soul, you weren't this affectionate towards Xu Jiujiu. You didn't even grant his last wish to express his true love for her. What a scumbag! Now you're all set on making young girls cry!"
Dai Youheng felt an awkward chill run down his spine. He could only pretend he hadn't heard Xue Di's complaints at all. It was just a matter of being shameless!
These words, however, struck like a thunderclap, resonating deep within my heart for a long time.
Her previous helpless outpouring evoked pity and sighs, but this declaration, full of wildness and possessiveness, was like a raging fire, instantly igniting a certain emotion deep within her that had never been touched before.
She had always thought he was just a obsessed pursuer, but she never imagined that behind this obsession lay such deep scheming, such difficult forbearance, and such immense ambition and desire.
The ambition born for her, the desires aroused by her.
She stared at him blankly for a long time, her heart, which was used to scheming and weighing things, experiencing a violent yet unfamiliar throbbing for the first time because of a man.
She seemed genuinely moved by this heavy and obsessive infatuation.
Man Yi remained silent in the corner, but her gaze towards Dai Youheng held less scrutiny and more appreciation.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her somewhat chaotic emotions, and found that her voice was a little hoarse: "You...you don't get so agitated, I...I didn't really mean to blame you."
This time, her tone was devoid of questioning, only filled with sighs and emotion.
The Snow Emperor shook his head. "It's over. This girl seems quite shrewd, how could she actually believe her? This scumbag's skills are getting more and more sophisticated; even I can hardly stand listening to him anymore!"
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