DEG - Chapter 34
Chapter 34: An Unnecessary Confession
“I don’t know where you learned the secret code, but I’ve contacted the people you asked me to.”
“I’ve also relayed the message you wanted to give them.”
Jiang Xun nodded, full of confidence.
“It seems they’ve already agreed to my conditions.”
Cen Rubai’s gaze was deep and inscrutable. That scrutinizing look returned.
The kind of look one gives a substitute.
“You’re really so much like her,” Cen Rubai sighed.
Jiang Xun was already used to it.
Facing the teacher who had always admired her, she could still be witty.
“Then why don’t you treat me as a substitute too, Teacher? I know Jiang Xun’s personality. She wouldn’t be angry.”
Cen Rubai was at a loss for words for a moment, then let out a deep sigh. They were in the prison’s monitoring room, watching the scene inside.
Qi Yi’s maternal grandmother had now passed through layers of security and stood before him.
The people Jiang Xun wanted to contact were Qi Yi’s maternal family.
She wanted to make a very simple deal with them.
Jiang Xun understood these nobles of the Empire very clearly.
Qi Yi’s maternal family was old-fashioned and admired the strong, firmly believing that descendants with excellent bloodlines could lead their family back to its peak.
Previously, they had always hoped to have a child with royal blood.
Qi Yi was their product, but unfortunately, he later became a failure, causing them to be deeply implicated.
So far, the bloodline they most desired was Luo Nanqiu’s, but that was completely impossible. Looking at their declining family, they desperately hoped for a turning point and a change.
So Jiang Xun gave them one.
“I want to make a deal with Qi Yi’s maternal family. I’ll give them a chance to avoid Nanqiu’s continued wrath, and I can even give them another descendant with a royal bloodline.
But they have to make Qi Yi willingly write a confession.”
It was a very simple plan, but as long as she grasped their admiration for the strong and their desperation to change the current situation, she wasn’t afraid they would refuse.
Because they also knew about the current public opinion on the StarNet, and knew that many of Jiang Xun’s former comrades-in-arms were desperate to clear her name.
For the sake of getting the Little Emperor’s Edict of Self-Condemnation, it was only natural that Jiang Xun’s comrades would pay a high price to ask for their help.
What they needed to do was seize this opportunity.
As long as they pretended they hadn’t given up on Qi Yi, pretended that Qi Yi was still the most important person in their family.
Deceive Qi Yi into thinking someone was willing to rescue him, as long as he was willing to clear Jiang Xun’s name.
That not-so-bright Little Emperor, the Little Emperor who only wanted to escape his current suffering, there was an 80% chance he would fall for it.
As for the remaining 20%, if he didn’t fall for it, his maternal family would coerce and entice him, or even personally write the Edict of Self-Condemnation for the Little Emperor.
Now, Qi Yi’s maternal family had come before him, persuading him by appealing to his emotions and reasoning with him.
They spoke of the current situation, saying that someone was willing to go so far as to let him go in order to clear Jiang Xun’s name.
“But even if I’m let go, Jiang Xun’s followers will hunt me to the ends of the universe.” After so many years of torture, Qi Yi was no longer the naive and reckless prince of the past who couldn’t see the consequences. His gaze was dark and uncertain as he looked at the relatives who had long since abandoned him, suppressing the sneer on his lips and the hatred in his heart.
“Little Yi, how can you say that? Where does that put us?!” Qi Yi’s grandmother angrily tapped her cane on the ground. “Before, it was the Regent who ostracized our family, making us afraid to come save you. But now, her attention is entirely on Jiang Xun. Isn’t this the perfect time to get you out?”
“My dear grandson, you are the apple of my eye.” Qi Yi’s grandmother’s tears fell at a moment’s notice. “Are you resentful that the family didn’t rescue you before?”
“There just wasn’t a chance before. Now the chance is here. Grandma will definitely get you out. We’ll be fine, we’ll definitely live well.”
Qi Yi could no longer suppress the cold smile on his lips.
He had never understood why he wasn’t allowed to die, even though he had long since lost any value in living. But now, he suddenly discovered the bargaining chip that would allow him to live well.
“But, Grandma.” As he spoke, his gaze wasn’t on the old woman. He was staring at the monitor.
“Writing the Edict of Self-Condemnation would prove I have no value left to be used.”
“But if you don’t, you’ll have even less value to live in their eyes!” Fearing he would discover something, Qi Yi’s grandmother hurriedly explained.
But Qi Yi asked the camera, “It’s Jiang Xun, isn’t it.”
“Even if they want to clear Jiang Xun’s name… they all know the person who wants to clear Jiang Xun’s name the least is actually Luo Nanqiu.”
“So at a time like this, only you would be willing to come find me.”
“Did you come here secretly on your own?”
“Have you also discovered that Luo Nanqiu hates you, framed you, and isn’t on your side?”
He stared at the camera, full of malice.
Qi Yi also hated Jiang Xun, hated this person he had killed through schemes and plots.
His intense hatred made him understand Jiang Xun. It made him know that Jiang Xun truly hated being covered in filth, which allowed him to find some joy in his suffering, thinking with consolation that even if some people died, the reputation they left behind was the one they wanted the least.
“My confession is what you want, isn’t it.”
A savage smile curled his lips. “If you get my confession right now, aren’t you afraid Luo Nanqiu will go crazy and imprison you completely?”
His gaze was dark and direct, carrying a terrifying, predatory hunger.
“For the sake of me having killed you once, I’ll give you a sincere reminder: without this confession, you two can still maintain your superficial, false life together.”
Cen Rubai watched as the Little Emperor avoided the trap and even identified the mastermind. She thought Jiang Xun would frown, but instead, Jiang Xun casually turned on the prison’s communication key, a triumphant smile on her lips.
“First of all, even without this confession, our relationship isn’t a superficial falsehood. We’re doing great.”
“You people and your attempts to sow discord, it’s always the same few lines.”
“Don’t you think I deserve Nanqiu’s hatred?”
Jiang Xun knew Luo Nanqiu too well.
Everyone else said Luo Nanqiu hated her. After recognizing the true feelings between them, after learning of Nanqiu’s terrifying possessiveness, Jiang Xun, through slow contemplation, finally understood why Nanqiu hated her.
The mark Jiang Xun left on Luo Nanqiu’s life was too heavy, so heavy it was everywhere. Even though Luo Nanqiu tried hard to maintain the illusion that Jiang Xun had just gone on a long trip, Luo Nanqiu’s Ability could no longer sense her.
That Label Ability, which Luo Nanqiu had imprinted on her since childhood and was only removed for a short time during camouflage training.
The Ability that could sense Jiang Xun’s presence and location at all times could no longer sense her.
Luo Nanqiu fell into a long period of heart palpitations.
It was as if a piece of flesh that had long grown in her heart was casually taken away. The pain passed, and she deceived herself into thinking a scar was forming, but the piece of flesh had been carved out so deeply that it almost took half of Luo Nanqiu’s life.
It would never get better. The wound was full of fluid, empty and bitter. A draft seemed to pass through at any moment, and the waves of palpitations almost carried her away.
It constantly reminded the self-deceiving person that she had already lost Jiang Xun.
The intense longing and guilt were suffocating her.
She wanted to see Jiang Xun, again and again, even if only in her dreams.
Even if only in her dreams.
But why couldn’t she see her in her dreams?
Clearly, other people could.
Could it be that Ah Xun didn’t want to see her?
Actually, Ah Xun must resent her too.
Do you resent me?
Are you thinking of me?
It’s time for you to come see me, isn’t it?
Why won’t you come see me in my dreams?
Is it because you don’t hate me enough?
Luo Nanqiu allowed the Empire to sentence Jiang Xun for treason.
Just as she had told Qing Yue.
“She should hate me.”
“…She should come and see me.”
“Even if it’s in a dream.”
Luo Nanqiu hoped that she would hate her.
But also begged that she wouldn’t hate her.
“Besides, so what if she hates me?” Jiang Xun retorted to Qi Yi, her tone full of indulgence. “I won’t hate her anyway. You’re the culprit. I won’t get that wrong.”
“As for that hatred.” A smile surfaced in Jiang Xun’s eyes, and her voice carried a hint of smugness.
“It’s a little game between lovers. What business is it of yours?”
Qi Yi probably never expected Jiang Xun to say that. His eyes widened in an instant, and he was speechless for a long time.
After saying it, Jiang Xun also realized she had been a bit impulsive, saying many things she normally never would.
Jiang Xun covered her face, the tips of her ears slightly red.
Personally admitting it was her scheme obviously increased the difficulty of getting Qi Yi to write the Edict of Self-Condemnation himself.
But it didn’t matter.
“Your confession isn’t that important anyway. As long as you die here, all the blame will be thrown onto you.”
“Besides, my figure saving them has already been seen in the last testaments from Qingfei Star.”
“I have half a planet’s worth of people as my witnesses. What are you, an emperor with no real power who has shouldered all the blame?”
“After all, my merits are beyond question.”
Jiang Xun’s voice was clear and firm, yet it broke the defenses of Qi Yi, who thought he had obtained a bargaining chip to live well.
“Then why did you come looking for me?”
“Don’t you just want to use me to completely clear the stain on your name? Only a confession written by my hand is the most powerful evidence.”
Qi Yi said this, his speech growing faster and faster. Even though by the end he had already figured out that his confession was worthless, he stubbornly deceived himself.
The confession, the confession written by his own hand, was the most important thing.
Even Cen Rubai’s gaze held a hint of confusion.
The Jiang Xun from before would never have been so impulsive, leading a painstakingly planned matter to failure.
So…
What was she thinking?
She watched as Jiang Xun, in a rather good mood, turned off the communication key. She wanted to speak but hesitated.
“Alright, Teacher, I should go home and sleep, or Nanqiu will get anxious waiting.”
What annoyed her was that her student had clearly seen her confusion but had no intention of explaining.
Seeing that Jiang Xun was about to leave, Cen Rubai finally couldn’t help but ask.
“Jiang Xun, what are you thinking?”
Jiang Xun looked at her teacher who had finally spoken, turned around, and smiled.
“Teacher, I care about the stain on my name, but I care more about Nanqiu.”
“I know Nanqiu cares about me. I never thought I would run away from her side right after she got me back, when her surveillance on me is at its tightest.”
“So, Teacher, you were recruited by Nanqiu long ago, weren’t you? Nanqiu knows everything I’ve been doing.”
Cen Rubai choked for a moment, then nodded.
“Actually, Nanqiu is watching everything here.”
Jiang Xun looked up at the sky, a smile on her lips, as if looking at her lover. She waved, greeting Luo Nanqiu.
“I just thought this was a good opportunity to tell Nanqiu that I don’t really mind that she won’t clear my name.”
“Nanqiu, you just miss me a lot.”
“I don’t hate you, so you don’t have to feel guilty.”
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