Chapter 2846: You Can’t Snatch It If I Don’t Give It to You

“Order envoy?” Zu An was shocked. He would never have expected Jiang Luofu to have caught the Deity of Order’s gaze. “How did you end up here?”

I wonder what the Deity of Order is thinking. There are so many Universal Conglomerate elders and Holy Knight Order knights to choose their envoy from, but of all people, they chose Jiang Luofu.

“I was in an Order trial. I was about to succeed when I was captured by the Deity of Annihilation’s power and was placed here,” Jiang Luofu replied.

Zu An was startled. “The Deity of Annihilation personally made a move to capture you?”

“Of course. I am an Order envoy now. Ordinary Annihilation worshipers can’t hope to capture me. However, I didn’t see what the Deity of Annihilation looked like. I only briefly sensed their divine power before being transported here.” Jiang Luofu felt stifled.

“Having a universal deity personally make a move for you is something worth bragging about for a lifetime,” Zu An said with a smile, but he slowly frowned out of worry. “Based on what I know, Da Yu’er is one of Huang Taiji’s wives. Did they make things difficult for you?”

“They are Annihilation worshipers, whereas I am an Order envoy. We are sworn enemies. They were bound to make things difficult for me. It’s fortunate that I bumped into you here.” Jiang Luofu’s expression suddenly turned peculiar. “I guess I should be thankful for your philandering nature, or else I would have been in trouble.”

Zu An was confused.

What does this have to do with me?

Jiang Luofu explained, “Da Yu’er has an older sister in this world named Harjol. Huang Taiji favors her more. Can you guess who Harjol is?”

Zu An’s heart skipped a beat.

It can’t be Chuyan, right? According to the intelligence gathered, Chu Chuyan seems to be the princess of Taiwan’s Zheng clan.

“It’s the Fiend races’ Little Fiend Empress,” Jiang Luofu replied. “I was in despair after falling into the hands of the Annihilation worshipers. I thought I would suffer a terrible plight. I was lucky to have met her. She spared me from humiliation.”

Zu An’s heart sank. “Doesn’t that mean that she...”

Harjol was Huang Taiji’s most favored wife.

Jiang Luofu knew what he was thinking, so she replied, “Don’t worry. The Little Fiend Empress is now a Bliss and Desire worshiper, and she previously obtained a special ability from a trial that allows her to plunge others into a blissful illusion. She’s unharmed.”

“Not even the Annihilation envoy noticed her deception?” Zu An was astonished. He had just met Huang Taiji and was shocked by his overwhelming aura.

“The Bliss and Desire path is a peculiar one.” Jiang Luofu’s face reddened. “You should ask the Little Fiend Empress to show you.”

Zu An hadn’t expected to encounter so many friends in the Order Ceremony. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. “On that note, Huang Taiji probably already sees you as his woman. Why would he still send you to me?”

“Annihilation worshipers are a bunch of despicable scum.” Jiang Luofu bit her lip as her eyes glistened. “He wants to conquer me because I am an Order envoy, and he thinks the way to do so is by making me succumb to depravity. So, he sent me to seduce you to trample all over my dignity and pride. He believes that converting an Order envoy into an Annihilation pawn would deal the greatest damage to the Order faction.”

Zu An understood Huang Taiji’s intentions. “But it’s not as if he can do anything if you refuse to do it after entering my room.”

“Don’t you think my complexion looks redder than usual?” Jiang Luofu looked embarrassed.

Only then did Zu An notice that her face was unusually red, and her breathing was more ragged than usual. He'd thought that she was just excited to meet him, but the truth was something else. “He drugged you?”

Jiang Luofu nodded. “Huang Taiji was worried that I wouldn’t follow his will, so he drugged me before sending me over. It just so happens that the Little Fiend Empress was occupied with other matters and couldn’t help me. I thought I was doomed. I never expected to encounter you.”

Zu An’s heart rippled. “So, it’s fine with you if it’s me?”

Jiang Luofu pinched him. “What do you think?”

The two of them had been platonic partners for a long time now. They had the closest bond in the world.

Jiang Luofu suddenly sighed. “I’m happy to reunite with you, but you’re the Ming Empire’s marshal. If even you have been captured, it means that the Order faction is doomed.”

“That’s not necessarily the case.”

“You have a way out?” Jiang Luofu looked at Zu An with surprised but hopeful eyes.

Is this man able to pull off a miracle here as well?

But she soon shook her head, knowing how terrible their plight was. She couldn’t even sense the Deity of Order’s power here, let alone the Order faction. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been captured so easily.

“I only have some vague thoughts in mind. We’ll have to take it a step at a time.” Zu An had a rough idea, but he needed to further work on the execution details.

A beautiful leg wrapped in black stocking suddenly stomped on the bed. Jiang Luofu leaned in with a reddened face, her breathing hasty. “I’m at my limit.”

“I’ll find a way to expel your poison.” Zu An quickly thought of ways to remove poison.

Jiang Luofu pushed him down onto the bed. “You rascal. Acting chaste at a time like this.”

The Order faction was doomed. She could feel danger looming over her, and she had no idea what would happen to her. She considered reuniting with someone she loved before her death as a silver lining to the situation.

Zu An wasn't someone who couldn’t read the mood. Seeing the usually mature and dignified lady showing rare cracks of weakness and helplessness, he spoke no more and instead leaned in to kiss her.

Jiang Luofu had been barely holding on with her strong willpower. Anyone else in her place would have long lost their rationality. Feeling the sensation of his warm lips, she felt like a desert traveler stumbling upon an oasis. Something snapped in her mind, and she dropped all self-control to embrace her lover.

The cold prison suddenly became as passionate as the wildest ocean. Even the flowers seemed to bloom more vibrantly.

...

In the meeting tent, the Manchur king Dorgon angrily glared at the plump khan. “Why did you give her to him instead of me?[1]”

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

He had been drawn to Jiang Luofu’s cold disposition ever since their first meeting. He had requested for Huang Taiji to give her to him several times now, but Huang Taiji turned him down using all sorts of excuses. He'd thought that Huang Taiji simply wasn’t done playing with Jiang Luofu yet.

He was displeased, of course, but in view of Huang Taiji’s greater strength and standing, he'd refrained from saying anything.

However, Huang Taiji had chosen to give Jiang Luofu to a prisoner instead of him. This was too much!

Huang Taiji glared at Dorgon. “She’s my spoil of war. I choose what to do with her. You don’t have a say in whether I give her to you or not.”

Dorgon was infuriated. He stood up and glared at Huang Taiji, placing his hand on his sword handle.

Huang Taiji narrowed his eyes. “Are you challenging me right now?”

Several expressions flickered across Dorgon’s face. In the end, he let out a harrumph, flung his sleeves, and left the room.

Fan Wencheng walked out from the shadows. “That fellow covets your position. You need to guard against him.”

“Don’t worry. He can’t escape my control,” Huang Taiji calmly replied. “What’s the situation in the prison?”

“The deed is sealed.”

“Hmph. That Order maiden pretends to be virtuous and chaste, but she turned out to be a cheap whore.”

1. After Huang Taiji died, Da Yu’er was rumored to have gotten together with Dorgon through levirate marriage (a practice in which a man marries his brother's widow)... but later, when Dorgon died, the Shunzhi Emperor exhumed Dorgon’s corpse and mutilated it. ☜