Steal my marriage? Turn around and marry the tyrant to take the throne

Chapter 1103: Counterattack (174 million votes plus additional content)

Fuqi and Handan held their breath and watched the gleam in their queen's eyes. It was the excitement of a hunter locking onto his prey.

Fuqiu asked softly, "Your Majesty, do you mean... to take advantage of the enemy's strategy?"

"Yes."

Shen Zhinian nodded slightly, his voice filled with unquestionable determination: "Zhan Weiran's report was very timely. Since Liu Shixiu's wife is also secretly investigating Shen Nanqiao, it shows that the Dingguo Mansion is not a monolithic entity."

"It's possible that his wife is unaware of Liu Shixiu and Shen Nanqiao's scandal, and...maybe she's even been deeply harmed by it."

Shen Zhinian's eyes gleamed, and a more complete plan quickly took shape in her mind: "As for Shen Nanqiao... I will give her the opportunity to pass a card to enter the palace."

"Doesn't she want to 'reconcile'? I'll give her this courtesy. Let her think she's getting closer to me, and pass on everything she sees and hears from me to Liu Shixiu without missing a word..."

"However, whether the news she sent back is true or false, that is up to me to decide."

Shen Zhinian raised his chin slightly and looked at the dark night outside the window, as if he had seen the panicked face of his opponent on the chessboard.

Her voice was gentle, but every word flowed like pearls, conveying the calmness of someone in control of the situation. "Duke Dingguo's Mansion wants to play the mantis stalking the cicada. I will show them who is the oriole, sitting on the high platform, waiting to reel in the net."

"Not only will this fire spread back to Duke Dingguo's Mansion, I'll also make it burn brightly enough to burn off all their outstretched claws!"

The confidants all said in unison: "The Queen is wise!"

……

The night was as dark as ink, drenching the entire capital.

The empty and almost silent courtyard of the Lu Mansion seemed even more desolate in the cold of late autumn.

The sound of a clapper came from afar, knocking three times muffledly, as if knocking on people's hearts.

In the west wing, only a flickering candle remained.

The dim light barely opened up a small space in the sky and earth, illuminating the figure lying on the bed, and the sound of the quilt rubbing against each other could be heard from behind the bed curtains.

"...Xiu Lang!"

Shen Nanqiao's voice was broken and filled with tears: "It worked... She believed it! That bitch Shen Zhinian... She believed me!"

Beads of sweat rolled down her bright cheeks, hitting the messy brocade quilt and leaving dark marks.

Liu Shixiu leaned over and kissed Shen Nanqiao on the mouth, blocking out her voice, leaving only muffled sobs.

The candlelight danced restlessly, casting the shadows of the two people on the curtain, like ghosts dancing wildly.

After an unknown amount of time, the violent storm finally stopped...

The tent was filled with a strong scent of lust.

Shen Nanqiao collapsed like mud, lying on Liu Shixiu's sweaty chest, panting softly, her face flushed with almost exhaustion from being satisfied.

Liu Shixiu still had one hand on her smooth back, his fingertips sliding across it intermittently, feeling the throbbing beneath her skin that had not yet subsided.

His breathing gradually became steady, and the lust-clouded blur in his eyes quickly faded away, leaving only the coldness of a deep pool.

"Mrs. Qiao."

He spoke, his voice hoarse from the incident, but remarkably clear: "You did a great job!"

Shen Nanqiao rubbed Liu Shixiu's chest contentedly, like a cat whose fur had been stroked, and made a lazy nasal sound.

Liu Shixiu's fingertips lingered on her sweaty spine, but his tone suddenly turned serious: "Since Concubine Chen has already trusted you, now is a perfect opportunity."

"Autumn Hunt is coming!"

Shen Nanqiao propped himself up slightly, a few strands of sweat-soaked black hair clinging to his forehead. A trace of confusion flashed across his eyes, which was then replaced by excitement. "Is it the Royal Autumn Hunt? Xiu Lang, you're so well-informed!"

The corners of Liu Shixiu's lips curled up slightly. He raised his hand and gently brushed away the wet hair on Shen Nanqiao's cheek. His fingertips seemed to accidentally brush against her sensitive earlobe, causing her to tremble slightly again.

"Businessmen, if you don't have good news, your bones will be chewed up."

His tone was calm, as if he was talking about something very ordinary, but his eyes were fixed on Shen Nanqiao's, with a bewitching power: "The autumn hunt is a royal event, and it is also a perfect occasion for Concubine Chen to show her favor."

"If she really lets down her guard against you, she should take you with her. It would be both a courtesy to you and a manifestation of the deep sisterly love."

"Mother Qiao, this is a crucial step for you to truly get close to her and gain her trust! Only by accompanying her can you...know both yourself and the enemy."

Liu Shixiu deliberately lowered his voice for the last sentence, which was filled with deep resentment as it rang in Shen Nanqiao's ears: "Only then can we... find the opportunity to avenge our child!"

The word "child" was the most painful part in Shen Nanqiao's heart, and it made all the confusion in her eyes disappear.

Her eyes suddenly erupted with poisonous hatred, and the tenderness she had just shown vanished, leaving only a bone-eating madness. Then she raised her head and grasped Liu Shixiu's arm tightly, her nails almost digging into his flesh.

"I'll go! I'll definitely go!"

Shen Nanqiao's voice was sharp, filled with a desperate determination: "Tomorrow morning, I will submit a sign to the palace to ask for an audience!"

The flames of revenge burned in her eyes, as if she had already seen how she approached Shen Zhinian in the hunting ground and how she stabbed the deadly blade into the bitch's heart!

Liu Shixiu looked at the woman in his arms, whose face was twisted with hatred, and felt the slight tremors of her body due to excitement. In his heart there was only a cold calculation and the pleasure of controlling everything.

His face still had that affectionate look, as if he was planning for her.

Liu Shixiu closed his arms and pressed Shen Nanqiao back into his arms. He gently rested his chin on the top of her head, and his warm breath sprayed into her ear: "My dear Qiao, I know the pain in your heart. Everything... depends on you."

"Once our great revenge is achieved, we can stay together forever!"

Shen Nanqiao nodded vigorously in his arms, as if drawing infinite strength and courage.

Her voice was muffled, with a desperate ruthlessness: "Xiulang, don't worry, for you, for our child, I am willing to do anything!"

It was getting darker outside the window and the dew was heavier, and the cold air was silently corroding the window paper.

Inside the house, the flame of the remaining candle struggled and jumped a few times, and finally went out completely with a "puff", leaving only a thin wisp of green smoke rising up and blending into the boundless darkness.

The tent was instantly plunged into a thick ink-black color, with only the outlines of the two people cuddling together, vaguely visible in the dead silence.

Liu Shixiu opened his eyes in the darkness, feeling the gradually calming breathing and body temperature of the woman in his arms, and a cold arc silently appeared at the corners of his lips.

……

On an autumn afternoon, Zhongcui Palace is shrouded in a layer of warm golden sunlight.

In the gilded beast furnace, the finest sinking water incense burned silently, and the green smoke curled up, diffusing a refreshing and calming fragrance in the hall.

Shen Zhinian was leaning on the rosewood carved couch by the window. Her skin looked whiter than snow in her casual dress of sky-blue. Her fingertips were casually playing with the Lingxiao Wumeng bracelet on her wrist.