So, to prevent her secret from being exposed, she quickly got up, flicked her sleeve, and it turned into a white ribbon that wrapped around the Emperor. She immediately sealed his acupoints, preventing him from calling for help.
"Your Majesty, do I still look beautiful in this state?" Consort Rou leaned her withered, wrinkled face close to the old Emperor's eyes and asked with a chuckle.
Her smiling expression was even uglier than when she wasn't smiling.
Now, Wen Yuerou not only had a ghastly face with fangs but also a pair of long, sharp claws. Coupled with her silver hair and the white, floor-length gown she wore, she resembled the kind of vampire portrayed in modern movies, which was Leng Ruoli's assessment of Consort Rou after her lycanthropy had flared up.
Unexpectedly, Consort Rou's lycanthropy flare-up was much gentler than Jun Mohan's and lacked his potency. She had only scratched a few times before revealing her true form. A defective product was indeed a defective product.
Meanwhile, Prince Ji, who was hidden in the shadows, saw the Emperor being captured by Consort Rou. He did not rush to his rescue, as Prince Ji wanted the Emperor to suffer a little more before intervening.
At this moment, the Emperor, afraid to look at Consort Rou's terrifying face, was slapped several times by her. Blood immediately trickled from the corner of the Emperor's mouth.
Subsequently, Consort Rou tightened her grip around the Emperor's neck with her hand. The Emperor looked at her with a terrified expression, attempting to say something with muffled grunts, but he was unable to utter a single word.
At this moment, he deeply regretted not listening to Prince Ji's advice and marrying this Wen Yuerou into the palace as his woman. However, it was too late for regrets.
But just as Consort Rou was about to strangle the Emperor, Prince Ji immediately threw a flying dagger, piercing Wen Yuerou's chest. Consort Rou immediately released her grip on the Emperor's neck and dodged Prince Ji's dagger.
Freed, the Emperor touched his neck and coughed a few times, his breathing instantly becoming smooth.
Prince Ji, accompanied by the Cold King and his wife, immediately appeared before Consort Rou.
Seeing Prince Ji and the others appear, the Emperor immediately let out a long sigh of relief, a flicker of hope arising in his heart. He was no longer as afraid of Wen Yuerou as before.
"Wen Yuerou, I never expected you to be the blood-sucking demon who has been frequently appearing in Bianjing City all these years," Prince Ji said, looking at Wen Yuerou.
Seeing that Prince Ji had witnessed her most hideous side completely, Wen Yuerou's heart instantly collapsed.
"Yunxiao Gege, I am not the person you see now. It's just that the lycanthropy in my body has flared up," Consort Rou said, weeping.
"Wen Yuerou, this King has no desire to listen to your explanations. This King only wants to ask you if the innocent children whose blood was drained to death in Bianjing over the years, as well as my Eleventh Imperial Brother and Twelfth Imperial Sister, were killed by you?"
Prince Ji stared at Wen Yuerou with sharp eyes and said to her with a chilling expression.
"I, I, Yunxiao Gege, I was also forced. If I don't absorb the blood of young boys and girls, I will become this hideous and slowly die. To preserve my life and my beauty, I can only absorb the blood of a pair of young boys and girls on the full moon night when my lycanthropy flares up to sustain myself and maintain my delicate appearance," Consort Rou's tone was somewhat flustered.
She wanted to elicit sympathy from Prince Ji by recounting her plight, but she did not realize that her current ghastly appearance could not evoke any sympathy at all; instead, it made Prince Ji and the others feel even more disgusted.
"Wen Yuerou, those innocent children had no grudges against you. How could you bring yourself to kill them? And my Eleventh Imperial Brother and Twelfth Imperial Sister were only nine years old. How could you bring yourself to kill them all?" Prince Ji said indignantly.
"Yunxiao Gege, once my lycanthropy flares up, if I don't absorb the blood of a pair of young boys and girls within a day, I will die, and I will die in extreme ugliness. I was also forced. That night, I went out of the palace to find a blood source. With great difficulty, I managed to get a pair of young boys and girls, but they were stopped by two hateful people who also injured me... I had no choice but to return to the palace and absorb the blood of the Eleventh Prince and Twelfth Princess... Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to show my face... I don't want to become ugly, I don't want to be ugly..."
As Wen Yuerou spoke, she grabbed her silver hair and shook her head in despair.
Meanwhile, the Emperor, having recovered, immediately hid behind Prince Ji, only peeking his head out to look at Wen Yuerou, feeling both fear and anger in his heart.
"Wen Yuerou, I have always treated you well. You actually tried to kill me and killed my princes and princesses. This is outrageous! Xiao'er, stop talking nonsense with her. Kill her immediately! I will not allow such a blood-sucking demon to wreak havoc on the world."
Upon hearing this, Prince Ji felt speechless at his words.
His father, the Emperor, was truly...
Just moments ago, he was indulging in tender affections with Wen Yuerou, and now he was clamoring to kill her.
At this moment, Jun Mohan, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke, "Wait, Wen Yuerou, I have a question for you. How did you contract this lycanthropy?"
As he spoke, everyone turned to look at Jun Mohan.
"Who are you? I feel like I've seen you two somewhere," Wen Yuerou said, looking at Jun Mohan's face and trying to recall.
"You don't need to think about it. I can tell you. The ones who stopped you from absorbing blood on the full moon night two days ago were me and her," Jun Mohan said, pointing to Leng Ruoli beside him.
"No wonder I felt so familiar seeing you two. So you two were the ones who stopped me from absorbing blood that night. How detestable!"
"If it weren't for the two of you hindering me that night, I wouldn't have had to absorb the blood of that pair of prince and princess, and my secret wouldn't have been discovered."
Wen Yuerou's gaze was sinister as she looked at Jun Mohan and Leng Ruoli, wishing she could suck their blood dry.
"Wen Yuerou, what you're saying now is meaningless. For now, tell us how you contracted this lycanthropy?" Jun Mohan asked coldly.
"If I say that this lycanthropy was forced upon me by my father, will you believe me?" Wen Yuerou said with a sorrowful expression.
"Your father? Wasn't he the one who doted on you the most?" Prince Ji asked, shocked.
"Hmph! If he doted on me, he wouldn't have used me as a test subject for medicine, he..." Wen Yuerou was speaking when an arrow flew from a distance and pierced her chest.
"Yunxiao Gege, Xiao, Xiao... Liu... Zi is..." Before she could finish her sentence, she fell to the ground and died.
Hearing the nickname "Xiao Liuzi" from his eldest son, Prince Ji immediately rushed forward, helped Wen Yuerou up, and asked excitedly, "Wen Yuerou, where is my Xiao Liuzi? Speak quickly!"
However, Wen Yuerou could no longer speak.
But Prince Ji was not giving up and continued to shake Wen Yuerou's corpse.
Leng Ruoli, standing beside them, also suddenly remembered the little boy she had rescued at Old Guo's cloth shop. He was also called Xiao Liuzi. Could he be Prince Ji's eldest son?