Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 913: Coercion and Temptation

To Wanyan Ping’s shock, a miracle actually happened! 

The guards dispersed one after another, their expressions wooden, as if the prison break had never occurred.  

“See? I wasn’t lying. I can leave anytime I want. The reason I’m staying here is because I have to.” Song Qingshu turned back and smiled at Wanyan Ping.  

But Wanyan Ping felt a chill run down her spine. The brother-in-law she had always known suddenly seemed like a complete stranger. Instinctively, she took a step back, putting distance between them.  

Song Qingshu sighed. “I know you have many questions, but this isn’t the place. Go home and protect your sister first. Once everything is settled, I’ll explain everything in detail.”  

Wanyan Ping nodded mechanically. Even after leaving the prison and stepping into the sunlight, she remained in a daze, moving toward the Tang Kuo residence as if in a trance.  

The servants of the Tang Kuo household were familiar with their mistress’s younger sister, so no one stopped her or announced her arrival. As she wandered through the estate, she suddenly snapped back to reality—‘Sister! My sister must know something!’  

She grabbed a servant and asked, “Where is my sister?”  

“The mistress is receiving a guest in the main hall.”  

“What guest?” Wanyan Ping frowned.  

“I believe it’s Prince Hailing.”  

Wanyan Ping’s heart skipped a beat, and she hurried toward the hall.  

*****

Inside the hall, Gebi stared at the man who had murdered her husband, barely managing to suppress her emotions as she forced a faint smile. “To what do I owe the honor of Prince Hailing’s visit?”  

Wanyan Liang noticed her unnatural expression but assumed it was due to exhaustion from her husband’s imprisonment. Even so, her beauty remained undiminished, only adding a pitiable charm that made her even more alluring.  

‘What a divine gift to men.’ Wanyan Liang marveled inwardly, recalling ‘that night’ when he had ridden her to his heart’s content. A surge of conquest and pride welled up within him.  

“I heard about Brother Tang Kuo’s troubles and was worried you might be overwhelmed with grief, so I brought some tonics to check on you,” he replied smoothly.  

Gebi glanced at the gifts beside him, suppressing her disgust. “Thank you for your kindness, but I’m fine. With no men in the household now, it’s improper to entertain you for long. Please forgive my rudeness.”  

‘As soon as he leaves, I’ll burn everything he brought—no, even the chair he sat on!’  

Wanyan Liang was taken aback by her blunt dismissal, but her coldness only fueled his desire. He had bedded countless women, and those who threw themselves at him had long lost their appeal. Only by slowly conquering a woman like her—body and soul—could he savor true satisfaction.  

Unfazed, he said, “I came not only to see you but also to ask if you truly wish to save Tang Kuo Bian.”  

Gebi’s heart stirred. She had been agonizing over this very matter and was no longer in a hurry to send him away. “Does Your Highness have a way?”  

“A way? Of course.” Wanyan Liang deliberately paused, heightening her anticipation.  

Gebi’s delicate brows furrowed slightly as a sense of foreboding crept in. Still, she played along. “Please enlighten me.”  

“Ah!” Wanyan Liang sighed theatrically. “This case is the Emperor’s will. Saving him won’t be easy.”  

Gebi replied coolly, “Your Highness has always been resourceful. Surely this isn’t beyond your means.”  

Wanyan Liang frowned, realizing his usual tactics weren’t working on her. ‘Time to change approach.’  

“Since we’re speaking frankly, I’ll be direct. I ‘can’ save Tang Kuo Bian, but why should I take such a risk to rescue your husband?”  

Gebi sneered inwardly. ‘The fox has finally shown its tail.’ “From the sound of it, you want compensation. What exactly do you desire?”  

Wanyan Liang grew increasingly uneasy. Gebi was far calmer than he had expected—nothing like the distraught woman he had imagined. But since everything was under his control, he decided to cut to the chase.  

“You’re a smart woman. You know what I want.”  

Gebi’s expression turned icy. “Forgive my dullness, but I truly don’t know what ‘you’ want.”  

She deliberately dropped the respectful tone, signaling the end of pretense.  

“If you insist on playing dumb, I’ll spell it out.” Wanyan Liang let out a grating laugh. “I want ‘you’. Spend one night with me, and I’ll save your husband.”  

Gebi parted her ruby lips and uttered one crisp word:  

”Leave.”

Wanyan Liang was stunned. He hadn’t expected such an immediate, unwavering rejection. “Don’t you want to save your husband?”  

‘My husband was already murdered by you!’ But Gebi knew exposing this now would only bring harm, especially to Song Qingshu. Suppressing her rage, she replied coldly, “My husband is a true man. I know he would never agree to trade my virtue for his life. Say no more. If you don’t leave now, I’ll have you thrown out.”  

Though Wanyan Liang held great power, this was still her home—the ancestral residence of the Tang Kuo clan. Killing him might be impossible with his guards, but expelling him was well within her means.  

“‘A true man’?” Wanyan Liang burst into exaggerated laughter as if hearing the world’s greatest joke. “My dear sister, don’t act so chaste. Do you know that your ‘true man’ of a husband ‘already gave you to me’ in exchange for his allegiance?”  

“Remember that night I stayed at your estate? Did you really think it was Tang Kuo Bian who entered your room? Let me enlighten you—’he’ was the one who led me to your door. After he spoke to you, ‘I’ was the one who went in.”  

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You were so wild that night—your gasping whispers, your glistening skin, your boundless passion. Even now, the memory excites me.”  

Wanyan Liang unleashed a torrent of words, revealing every detail of that night. He expected Gebi to break down on the spot, allowing him to shatter her defenses and claim the prize he had long coveted.  

Yet from start to finish, Gebi’s expression remained indifferent—almost devoid of any reaction.  

“Are you done?” she said flatly. “If so, get out.”  

Wanyan Ping, who had just arrived near the hall, heard everything clearly. She stood frozen as if struck by lightning, her mind screaming only one thought: ‘Impossible! Absolutely impossible! My brother-in-law could never be such a man!’