Chapter 172: The Secret Envoy

Rayan was slightly startled, "You... you're not doing this for the Firebird family?"

"It's for myself—to be exact, for my son to smoothly inherit the throne."

Phoenix Lady spoke unabashedly, "The Second Prince holds a distinguished position. Though he cannot marry a widow, he can at least call her 'sister-in-law'. If Spring Rain were promised to Hart, not to mention that Spring Rain would definitely refuse, leading to a relationship break, even if she didn't refuse, all the benefits would fall into Hart's hands alone. By then, why would he fear me, his aunt? Why would he fear the Second Prince? And how would I benefit from Spring Rain's family's advantages? Therefore, Spring Rain must stay within the Firebird family, and yet cannot fall into the hands of any man in this family."

Rayan took a deep breath, his voice low, "Did you kill Spring Rain's husband?"

"That was my own nephew, how could I possibly harm my own nephew?"

Phoenix Lady shrugged her shoulders, her light laughter full of mature charm. "Besides, it was his brother Hart who kept pouring wine for the groom that day, while I was far away."

Rayan felt a chill in his limbs, finding it hard to imagine how Lady Spring Rain could live in such a cruel environment. "I see, you instigated Hart to poison his own brother."

"You have no proof," Phoenix Lady said calmly in the face of the accusation.

After a moment of silence, Rayan shook his head slightly and spoke with a sigh, "You are a vicious woman. To achieve your political goals, you do not hesitate to destroy the life of a relative and the happiness of another unrelated woman."

"Happiness?"

Phoenix Lady suddenly burst into laughter, her laughter causing her chest to quiver like shaking branches, "Happiness is something to deceive little girls with, even more illusory than candy in the hands of those with ulterior motives."

She cast a seductive glance at Rayan, "Moreover, do you think Spring Rain would have happiness if her husband didn't die? Married to someone she doesn't even know, who is cowardly, weak, and sickly, would she be happy? If we must use the word happiness, her current situation is the happiest. Therefore, you should stay away from her, lest she encounters any misfortune."

Her final words were filled with threats, causing Rayan's anger to rise, his fists clenching tightly. "What I should do, I do not need others to point fingers."

Phoenix Lady smiled, "You can say whatever you like, the sword is in your hand, and you can chop me up like a pillow at any moment. However, since you don't kill me but want to make a deal with me, I will state my demands, and you can state yours—what do you want from me?"

She paused, "Money? No, I believe the rumors that you could single-handedly kill a group of Seventh Rank Fire Scorpions are true; you certainly don't need money. Beauty? Neither, I am both younger and more mature than eighteen or nineteen-year-old girls; you are not moved by my temptations, indicating your ambitions are greater—power? That is possible, but what can you achieve in Stonerock City, a noble with no lineage document in a city where you are a stranger?"

"You're wrong," Rayan said bluntly. "What I want is just the truth, everything else is irrelevant to me. As long as you don't hinder me, I will definitely not be your enemy, but if you do hinder me, I guarantee your Firebird family will burn with my fury."

"The truth?"

Phoenix Lady seemed not to hear Rayan's threat, instead picking up one eyebrow with interest, "About which aspect of the truth? Perhaps I can help you."

Rayan pursed his lips. About the Holy Light, he knew almost nothing, and Phoenix Lady, having been in the deep palace longer, had more contact than he, and with her extreme intelligence and noble connections, if he had her help, he believed he could find the man who stole the Twilight Blade. But the problem was, Phoenix Lady was not Lady Spring Rain; he could confide the secrets in his heart to Lady Spring Rain, but he should keep as much distance as possible from Phoenix Lady.

"How so? Don't you trust me?"

Phoenix Lady seemed to have anticipated this outcome, now accepting it calmly, "It doesn't matter if you don't trust me. Many people who sleep in the same bed don't trust each other, not to mention we haven't slept together. Tell me your specific demands."

Rayan immediately responded unceremoniously, "I want something of yours."

Phoenix Lady extended her delicate arms, "You can take whatever you like in this room—including me."

Rayan paused meaningfully, "I want your Holy Light artifact."

"The Holy Light artifact?"

Phoenix Lady frowned slightly, "What do you want that useless thing for? If you like its golden color, I could bury you with piles of gold."

"I only want the Holy Light artifact," Rayan insisted.

Phoenix Lady's eyes shifted, "It seems, then, that the Redwood family's lost Holy Light artifact also involves you?"

Rayan replied dignifiedly, "You have no proof."

Phoenix Lady laughed heartily, "Your cleverness excites me greatly; I really want to pull down your pants and see if your penis is like your clever reactions, making me unable to close my mouth."

Rayan responded coldly, "Do not try to divert the topic. I want not your mouth; I want the Holy Light artifact."

"My mouth is much better than the Holy Light artifact, too bad you are unromantic."

Phoenix Lady twisted her body, standing up and walking to a hidden compartment, taking out the third Holy Light artifact but not in a hurry to give it to Rayan. "What will you give me in return?"

Rayan thought for a moment, his expression serious, "I promise that as long as you do not hinder me, I will not harm you."

Phoenix Lady shook her head, her hair flowing like a waterfall, "That is what you must do; now I want the return for the Holy Light artifact."

Rayan looked at her coldly, "What tricks are you playing now?"

Phoenix Lady pouted her lips, "I just want to see if your penis is as robust as I imagine."

"You may keep guessing, but I will not satisfy you."

After looking, then touching and licking... Rayan, though only recently acquainted with Phoenix Lady, was very familiar with her methods; this woman could even control the Lion King. Once entering her rhythm, escaping from her tenderness was absolutely impossible.

"That's really too bad."

Phoenix Lady turned around and tossed the Holy Light artifact back into the hidden compartment. "If you change your mind, you can come and take it anytime."

"I want it now, and I don't plan to come to your room again," Rayan said coldly.

"Then agree to my request, or you will just have to kill me and take the Holy Light artifact."

Phoenix Lady calculated that Rayan would not kill her, so she was not at all nervous. "If you do that, you will have to hide like a rat."

Rayan paused slightly, his expression unreadable, "I can exchange a secret with you."

Phoenix Lady scoffed, "If secrets could be considered capital, I would probably be the richest person in all of Auroria Continent. No, my little wild beast, I know enough secrets; do you think I would like to hear you talk about how many girls you have slept with? No, I don't want to hear, even if I did, it would only be as foreplay after we have been in bed, I only want you, either your heart or your body, ideally both."

Rayan's face remained expressionless, "This secret is not about me; it's about the Holy Light envoy."

"Oh?"

Phoenix Lady raised her arched eyebrows, "The Holy Light envoy Eileen?"

Rayan nodded silently.

Phoenix Lady feigned an air of casualness, "What is this secret about?"

"This secret is worth exchanging for a Holy Light artifact," Rayan said.

Phoenix Lady stared into Rayan's eyes, seemingly trying to read the secret he spoke of, but after a long time, she was still clueless.

"I rarely take risks, but precisely because of this, my gains from each risk are also very substantial—"

Phoenix Lady took out the Holy Light artifact from the hidden compartment again, holding it in her hands and walking over to Rayan, "So, you better not disappoint me."

Rayan could clearly feel the Holy Light artifact trembling; he quickly took it and immediately put it into his carry-on bag before it could make a buzzing sound.

"Now you can tell me the secret about the Holy Light envoy," Rayan said after securing the third Holy Light artifact, his tense face slightly relaxed, a slight smile on his lips, "The Redwood patriarch has a daughter..."

Phoenix Lady, as if deceived, became angry, "I wanted the secret of the Holy Light envoy, do you think I need you to tell me about the Redwood patriarch's daughter? Who doesn't know that his daughter was the former queen?!"

Rayan spoke calmly, "What I'm talking about is the secret of the Holy Light envoy—she is the Redwood patriarch's daughter."

"Nonsense, the queen she has already—"

Phoenix Lady suddenly paused, the anger on her face stopping abruptly, replaced by a wave of panic; her delicate body stepped back several times before stabilizing, "Redwood patriarch has two daughters!"

She forcibly suppressed the urge to take deep breaths, pressing her wildly beating chest, "I am such a fool! I forgot that old fox has two daughters! His eldest daughter went to the Holy Light Sisterhood twenty or thirty years ago—while I was just a little girl with braids, playing in the mud, and had not yet come of age—"

Her expression suddenly tightened, "If Rayan is deceiving me, then I am doomed."

"Are you sure the Holy Light envoy is the Redwood patriarch's eldest daughter?"