When Artuya saw the man she loved killed before her eyes, she was utterly devastated. She couldn't fathom how things had escalated to this point. All she had wanted was to control her own marriage, but now, merely attempting to escape had led to her capture and the death of the one she loved. Why was the world so unkind to her?
As Shen Feng led his people back into the city, someone soon arrived. Upon closer inspection, Shen Feng recognized this person as Artuya’s sister, also one of Long Qian’s wives. Seeing her sister captured by Shen Feng, she became instantly anxious and began to plead with him.
“Lord Fengshen, please spare Artuya. I promise this will never happen again. I only ask that you spare her life.” The sister earnestly said to Shen Feng.
Yousha was Artuya’s older sister, and now she only had one sister left. She had thought she had found a good match for her sister, but she never expected her sister to choose to flee her wedding and now be captured. If she angered Shen Feng, her sister would surely be killed.
Therefore, for her sister’s life, Yousha rushed here immediately and began to plead.
However, upon seeing her sister’s arrival, Artuya did not feel happy. Instead, she showed a look of resentment and said to her sister in Persian, “Everything that has happened to me is your fault. If you hadn’t made me marry an ugly old man, I wouldn’t have run away. Now that the person I love is dead, don’t pretend to be sympathetic.”
Although Shen Feng couldn't understand Persian, he knew this was not the place to say such things. Many people were watching. Shen Feng had to take her away quickly, otherwise, the events of today would spread and bring disgrace to Wang Feiying.
A man’s most important asset is his reputation. With enough reputation, men are even willing to suffer losses. But at this moment, Wang Feiying’s fiancée had fled her wedding. Shen Feng never expected such a thing to happen. Once this matter spread, it was predictable that Wang Feiying would be mocked by countless people, truly becoming a cuckold.
Therefore, Shen Feng quickly said, “There’s no need to say these things now. Let’s hurry back. We can discuss everything once we return to the palace.”
Shen Feng led his people back to the palace. Long Qian was still holding a celebration banquet with his men and could not deal with this matter. However, Long Qian had sent a message: “Mr. Shen, you can handle this as you see fit. It doesn’t matter how you deal with this runaway woman. If you’re not satisfied, just kill her. I can find other women for a political marriage.”
Shen Feng didn’t want to kill anyone; he just hoped to resolve the matter peacefully. However, he was worried about one thing: if Artuya stubbornly refused to comply, the situation would become truly awkward.
Yousha also earnestly persuaded him, “Lord Fengshen, I only beg you to forgive Artuya’s youthful ignorance. She was deceived by a damned man. She is a good child and will surely become a gentle wife in the future. Therefore, please forgive her this time and give her a chance to change her mind.”
Yousha could speak Chinese. After all, she was one of Long Qian’s consorts, and she must have learned Chinese through their daily interactions. Now, she began to explain to her sister, shifting all the blame onto a dead man. This was a very normal choice, as the dead could not speak, and no one could refute even if all the blame was cast upon the deceased man.
Shen Feng then said, “My disciple Wang Feiying is a very outstanding young man. Although he looks very ugly now, he was a handsome young man before. As long as he recovers his health, he will surely achieve greater things. Moreover, he is a third-tier ability user, and his future is boundless. I don’t understand why your sister ran away. If she was not satisfied, why didn’t she simply refuse the marriage earlier?”
Yousha still pointed to the corpse on the side of the room and said, “It’s all because of this shameless man. We were neighbors before, but this man kept pestering my sister. Artuya was just a young girl and couldn’t distinguish right from wrong. In the end, she was deceived by him. Otherwise, my sister would never have left here, nor would she have dared to betray Lord Chen Xinzhi.”
At this moment, Artuya continued to plead for her sister, even kneeling on the ground.
Shen Feng also found a translator to clearly convey his words: “If you were not engaged to my disciple, I wouldn’t care where you went. But Artuya, at this moment, you are already a betrothed woman, yet you still tried to escape. Your actions have brought shame upon Wang Feiying. The reason things have turned out this way is entirely your own doing.”
At this moment, Artuya was already filled with despair. After all, the man she loved had been killed, and she had been captured. All she wanted now was to die.
Therefore, Artuya then glared fiercely at Shen Feng and said, “This marriage was forced upon me. I had no choice. Under your schemes, I can only marry an ugly old man I don’t like. Now you say it’s my fault, and I refuse to accept it. This is completely unfair.”
The translator hesitated for a moment before translating these words back to Shen Feng.
Upon hearing this, Shen Feng did not rush to refute her opinion. Instead, he nodded and said, “Indeed, what you say is true. Your marriage was not something you could control. However, you only see the surface and not the deeper truth. In the end, it is because you are short-sighted. You want to pursue love, but you don’t understand the price of pursuing love. In the East, there are Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, and in the West, there are Romeo and Juliet. Why do pursuits of love lead to tragedy?”
Upon hearing these words, Artuya didn’t know how to respond. She was now waiting for Shen Feng’s explanation.
Shen Feng took a deep breath and walked around the room, saying as he walked, “The gap in status has never disappeared. Marriages with status differences are bound to bring unhappiness. The man who promised to take you away, what did he promise before? Did he say he would protect you in this dangerous world? When you escape, and can’t find food outside, and when you arrive in an unfamiliar environment without income, what will he do? This young man seems to be just an ordinary person!”
“He promised to protect me his whole life, and I believe he won’t change his mind. If we can leave this ugly city, we will surely have a better life,” Artuya said without hesitation.
Hearing this answer, Shen Feng couldn’t help but laugh mockingly, “A better life outside? Heh, what a joke! Neither of you are even evolved individuals. Let me ask you, if others forcibly impose taxes, what will you do? If someone sees you and kidnaps you, what will you do? If you encounter villains robbing you, what will you do? Just lose your lives?”
At this moment, Artuya didn’t know how to answer because she clearly didn’t know how to answer these questions. Shen Feng’s questions were something she had never considered. Now that she heard them suddenly, she didn’t know how to respond.
Shen Feng then said to Artuya, “You have not considered these issues at all, which is why you cannot answer when asked. Furthermore, you don’t care about your sister at all. She has done so much for you, yet you treat her as an enemy. You truly lack judgment!”
“You’re just an outsider, how dare you lecture me? I don’t need you to worry even if I die, and don’t think that scolding me will make me change my mind.” Artuya could no longer stand being reprimanded by Shen Feng. She would rather die.
Shen Feng pondered. Forcing her to admit her mistakes would not be easy. However, if she did not admit her mistakes, Wang Feiying’s matter could not be resolved.
With this in mind, Shen Feng said to the others, “Lock her up. Make sure she doesn’t commit suicide. Starve her for two days. After she’s hungry, she’ll understand what this world is like.”
After Shen Feng gave these instructions, the others immediately took action and led Artuya to the prison. This was a very special prison. There were not many items in such a room, especially no sharp objects. Moreover, the walls of the prison were covered with rubber, making it difficult to commit suicide.
The most unbearable thing in this world is hunger. When there is nothing in the stomach, a person’s emotions are affected. Many people are left with psychological trauma for life after experiencing hunger once. Therefore, Shen Feng’s goal was to make this woman, who couldn’t see the times clearly, go hungry for a while. Then she would understand the cruelty of the world and would surely calm down.
Shen Feng wanted Artuya to change her mind, otherwise, Wang Feiying’s reputation would be ruined. If Artuya truly was determined to pursue happiness, then there was nothing that could be done, and perhaps a different marriage arrangement would have to be made for Wang Feiying.
Meanwhile, after Shen Feng returned to his room, the laboratory also sent news. This news was naturally delivered to Long Qian immediately. He had appeared here because of the meteorite, and now that the meteorite was finally in his hands, it was natural to determine its composition.
Long Qian received the latest information about the meteorite immediately. Unfortunately, the information was not good news: “The meteorite is mainly composed of glass, nothing else. There seems to be a fluorescent substance inside the meteorite, but it definitely does not contain extraterrestrial elements. It is just an ordinary meteorite that melted due to high temperatures when passing through the atmosphere, thus becoming a translucent glassy appearance.”
“Damn it, I’m so unlucky. I thought there was a ninety-nine percent chance it was a meteorite containing extraterrestrial elements, but now it turns out to be just an ordinary meteorite. It’s infuriating that I wasted several years of effort.” Upon hearing this news, Long Qian couldn’t help but become enraged.
Long Qian couldn’t believe that after several years of hard work, he had obtained such a result, with no gains whatsoever.
However, Long Qian immediately thought of something else, which was about Shen Feng. If he wanted to obtain resources, he had to strengthen his relationship with Shen Feng. Shen Feng controlled a large amount of evolution base, and it was said that he also had many evolution crystals. Such important items were abundant in Shen Feng’s hands. As long as he could get something from Shen Feng, he would surely have better development.
“Notify the doctor to halve the medication given to Wang Feiying every day. In short, absolutely do not cure Wang Feiying as quickly as possible, but also do not let Wang Feiying die.” Long Qian finally made a decision at this moment.