Di Wuyou, as he always did, quietly took his seat at the place prepared for him.

As for the matter of being called a Third Imperial Prince — he had given it no thought whatsoever.

All he knew was that the person before him now was not only the one who had pushed Jiu’er off the cliff, but also the one who had murdered his own birth parents.

He would kill her, without fail — to avenge Jiu’er, and to avenge his mother and father.

The attendants who had left returned momentarily with others in tow. They arranged the meal and then withdrew.

“Wuyou, take a look at today’s meal and see if it is to your liking.” Zhan Liyue looked at Di Wuyou with a gentle smile.

But Di Wuyou did not so much as glance at her. He picked up his chopsticks without ceremony and began to eat.

Zhan Liyue had long grown accustomed to his coldness — and besides, the sight of Di Wuyou in his cold and distant manner could make her think of her late husband.

She watched Di Wuyou eat without blinking, without touching her own chopsticks.

Perhaps because it was the first time the two of them had dined together in this way, Di Wuyou ate for a while and then looked up.

When his gaze met hers, Zhan Liyue gave a faint smile, then looked away and picked up her chopsticks.

“Wuyou, I wonder — are you content with life here?”

“It is nothing more than a place with slightly better food than a prison cell.” Di Wuyou answered in a low voice.

Zhan Liyue turned to look at him, her eyes wide.

Cold as the words were, this was still her Wuyou — and it was the first time he had ever offered her a response of his own accord.

The corner of Zhan Liyue’s mouth lifted, and her spirits soared.

“If you are willing to stay, I will no longer need to keep someone watching over you.”

“Wuyou, will you truly remain? From now on, you will be my Third Imperial Prince. In time, we will be a family.”

Di Wuyou glanced up at Zhan Liyue, and the coldness about him deepened by several degrees.

“If not for you, I would still have a family.”

With those words cast aside, Di Wuyou withdrew his gaze and continued eating.

Zhan Liyue looked at him, her brow creasing slightly.

He had spent all this time living alongside Feng Jiu’er — perhaps he had long since come to regard Feng Jiu’er as family.

That was why he had said such a thing — was it not?

“From now on, I am your family. There is also the Crown Prince, and the Second Imperial Prince — the four of us together…”

Before Zhan Liyue could finish, there was a sharp clack as Di Wuyou set his chopsticks down on the table, turned his head, and fixed his eyes on her.

“Spare me the pretense!”

Di Wuyou did not know that Zhan Liyue had recognized him. He assumed that all her kindness toward him these past few days was born of guilt.

She had said he resembled someone she had once known — and that only made him more certain that she had known his father.

So she felt guilty for what she had done and wished to make some form of restitution. Was that not so?

“Wuyou, don’t be angry!” Zhan Liyue got to her feet.

She wanted to go over and comfort him, yet she did not dare take a step, afraid that he would walk away without a word.

Perhaps she could understand something of what Di Wuyou felt.

Feng Jiu’er must have meant a great deal to him. To push Jiu’er off a cliff right before his eyes — Wuyou’s hatred for her could not be one degree less than Wuya’s or Mu’er’s.

Zhan Liyue looked at Di Wuyou and let out a quiet sigh.

Had Long Feiyan never appeared, the one Di Dingtian loved would still have been herself.

Long Feiyan had not only stolen her man — she had also destroyed her face.

Zhan Liyue had never imagined that before she could even settle her score with Long Feiyan, it would now come to this: all three of her sons entangled with Long Feiyan’s daughter.

“Wuyou, sit down first.” Zhan Liyue pressed her lips together, her voice uncommonly soft. “Some things, once done, are done.”

“If there is something you wish me to do by way of amends, tell me — whatever you ask, I am willing.”

“A life for a life — are you willing for that too?” Di Wuyou fixed his gaze on Zhan Liyue and said in a cold voice.

Zhan Liyue held his gaze for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. What form of life for a life?”

Di Wuyou started slightly, then quickly composed himself.

Her callousness in pushing Jiu’er off the cliff, and the murder of his own parents — such a debt of blood was not something he could put aside simply because she had been kind to him for a few days.

Di Wuyou drew in a slow breath, and from his waist he unhooked a small vial.

“Inside this is poison. Drink it, and what happened before will be considered settled.”

The words had scarcely fallen before he sent the vial sailing through the air.

Zhan Liyue caught it, her eyes never leaving Di Wuyou for even an instant.

“If I drink this, you will forgive me — is that so?”

“Yes.” Di Wuyou gave a firm nod.

He was not unaware that by doing this, he would be wasting one dose of poison.

But he had never found an opportunity to act, and the poison sitting on him served no purpose.

In a momentary surge of anger, he had thrown it straight at Zhan Liyue.

Di Wuyou had not expected that Zhan Liyue would actually unscrew the cap of the vial.

He furrowed his brow slightly and readied himself.

Even if today were to cost him his life, he would use the very last breath left in him to fight Zhan Liyue to the end before he died.

Di Wuyou had assumed Zhan Liyue would simply shove the poison back into his mouth — but to his surprise, Zhan Liyue pinched the pill between her fingers without coming any closer to him.

“Wuyou, if you want me to take it, I will take it — only, do not forget what you have said.” Zhan Liyue looked at Di Wuyou and curved the corner of her mouth slightly.

“Once I have taken the poison you gave me — if I do not die — will you call me Mother Empress once?”

Di Wuyou met Zhan Liyue’s gaze, and for a moment he could not speak.

He did not know why, but a sudden ache rose in his chest.

No one could explain to him what this feeling was.

He simply looked at her — quietly, steadily — and even the dense killing intent in his eyes gradually subsided.

Zhan Liyue did not know what poison this was, yet she was entirely satisfied with what she now saw before her.

“Wuyou.” She pressed her lips together, her voice very soft — just like a mother looking upon her own child.

“You have not spoken. I shall take your silence as consent. Remember — call me Mother Empress in a moment.”

The words fell, and Zhan Liyue placed the pill in her mouth.

In the instant she swallowed it, she was still looking at Di Wuyou — and she gave him a faint smile.

Di Wuyou did not know what had come over him. All these days, he had been thinking without cease of how to slip this poison into Zhan Liyue’s food.

Now, watching her take the pill of her own accord, he felt none of the elation he had imagined.

But she was the enemy who had murdered his parents. With her dead, he could avenge them — was that not so?

This was what he wanted. Yes — he had to kill Zhan Liyue, to avenge Jiu’er, to avenge his own mother and father!

Zhan Liyue watched Di Wuyou quietly. Then — with a sudden sound — a mouthful of dark blood came pouring from her lips.

Not wanting the blood to stain her son, she swung her sleeve out and used it to intercept the dark blood.

When the sleeve fell away, Zhan Liyue sank to the ground cross-legged, pressed her palms together, and closed her eyes.

“Wuyou… my youngest son… the poison… I have taken it. Come now… call me… Mother Empress.”

“I have not mistaken you. You are my Third Imperial Prince… Di Wuyou. They all say I… have mistaken someone else. But a mother and son are bound by heart — how could I be wrong?”