Chapter 149: Persuasion

"How is that possible?" Tan Yunge naturally refused to accept this. "What Tan Qingshui is able to do, I can naturally do as well."

"I am just unwilling to resign myself to this. Clearly, I had several chances to completely get rid of her, yet every single time—almost every single time—the Prince of Duan stepped in and disrupted my plans."

Chen Yuru lowered her eyes, her expression nonchalant. "You are unwilling? And what if you are? Tan Qingshui is a woman. For a woman, if she can find a man who is powerful enough, willing to pamper her, dote on her, and back her up, that is a skill in itself."

"Just like how you married the Heir of the Prince of Ding previously. Because you married the Heir of the Prince of Ding, you could act as recklessly as you pleased in pursuit of whatever you wanted."

"Now that Tan Qingshui has found the Prince of Duan, and the Prince of Duan outranks the Heir of the Prince of Ding, Tan Qingshui is naturally able to outrank you."

The veins on Chen Yuru's forehead throbbed, and her expression grew increasingly fierce. "Precisely because of this, you should avoid confronting her sharpness head-on."

"The Prince of Duan..."

Chen Yuru sneered. "I heard that the Prince of Duan is afflicted with a rare poison and probably doesn't have much time left."

Tan Yunge raised her head abruptly, her face full of joy. "Really?"

"Could my information be false?"

Chen Yuru glanced sideways at Tan Yunge. "Therefore, your most urgent task right now is to preserve your life—to save your own skin."

"Only by keeping your life can you live to see the Prince of Duan... die."

"Once the Prince of Duan dies, what will Tan Qingshui have to rely on then? When that time comes, wouldn't it be much easier to deal with her? Couldn't you torture her however you want then? Why must you insist on clashing head-on with the Prince of Duan right now?"

Tan Yunge bit her lower lip lightly and fell silent.

"Listen to your mother. Hand over that antidote first."

"If you stubbornly resist like this and say nothing, it is useless. The Prince of Duan already stated earlier that he has both human and physical evidence. Even if you say nothing, it is merely a matter of a single word for him to convict you."

"Besides, the Heir of the Prince of Ding has already posted the letter of divorce publicly. The entire capital knows you were divorced. You are now just an ordinary commoner. For the Prince of Duan to deal with you is even simpler than crushing an ant."

Tan Yunge clenched her teeth tightly. "Did Shen Xiao truly wash his hands of me?"

Chen Yuru let out a faint sigh. "If he truly wanted to protect you, he would not have let the officials take you away in the first place, nor would he have posted that letter of divorce to humiliate you."

"We women can indeed use men as our backing, but it requires that man to like you and be willing to dote on you for him to truly become your support."

"If that man grows tired of you, he will only become your death warrant."

As she spoke, Chen Yuru looked around and lowered her voice even further. "However, you do not need to be overly saddened; it is not worth it. You need to understand one thing: as women, our bodies are also our most formidable weapons."

"A weapon does not belong to just any single man exclusively. We are also quite capable of changing men, of changing our masters."

"You have both talent and beauty; what kind of man can you not get? Once this one loses his utility, we simply move on to the next—to the one who is useful to us."

These words were far too shocking. Chen Yuru kept her voice extremely low, so low that only the two mother and daughter could hear. "Do you understand what I mean?"

Tan Yunge rolled her eyes. Of course she understood.

Precisely because she understood, amidst her shock, she also felt a sudden surge of enlightenment.

That was right. Tan Qingshui had already been defiled by another man six years ago and had even given birth to a child, yet she still managed to find the Prince of Duan to back her up.

How was she inferior to Tan Qingshui? Why couldn't she...

Besides, Shen Xiao had already divorced her now, so she could also...

Tan Yunge bit her lip, took a deep breath, and asked, "If I hand over the antidote, will the Prince of Duan really let me go?"

Chen Yuru nodded. "You don't need to worry about this at all. Even if the Prince of Duan refuses to spare you, you still have me and your father. Your father has promised that as long as you hand over the antidote, he will naturally go and persuade the Prince of Duan."

"Or, we can have Tan Qingshui persuade the Prince of Duan."

"Even if the Prince of Duan cannot be persuaded there, we have already prepared a backup plan."

"A backup plan?"

Chen Yuru replied, "We can bribe officials in the yamen to find a scapegoat for you, use disguise to imitate you, and swap you out of here."

Tan Yunge was tempted. "I can hand over the antidote, but I need to fabricate an excuse. In any case, I will never admit that I was the one who poisoned Tan Qingshui."

"Once I admit to that, my crime will never be washed clean."

Chen Yuru quickly said, "Who says so? Tan Qingshui managed to clear her name even after illicitly coupling with a man six years ago. What is this compared to that?"

"You don't need to consider so much right now. Above all, save your life first and figure out a way to get out of here."

Tan Yunge took a deep breath, her emotions churning within her. "Alright."

Chen Yuru was overjoyed. "Then you've agreed. I will go invite the magistrate over shortly."

As she spoke, Chen Yuru took a purse from her sleeve and slipped it quietly to Tan Yunge. "Take this first. In a place like this, you will need money for many things. Do not wrong yourself."

Tan Yunge's gaze fell upon the purse, her expression shifting slightly. "Thank you, Mother."

"Silly child, what nonsense are you speaking? I am your mother; naturally, I will plan for everything on your behalf."

Chen Yuru lowered her gaze to the purse. "After you get out, go lay low somewhere else for a while. Once the storm blows over, you can return with a completely new identity. By then, the Prince of Duan should already be gone. At that time, I can personally select a few men for you to choose from."

"I promise you, the man I pick for you will not be inferior to Shen Xiao in the slightest."

"Stay here obediently for now. Rest assured, I will definitely rescue you in due time."

"Alright."

As soon as Chen Yuru stepped out, she returned straight to the estate and informed Tan Yun that she had persuaded Tan Yunge and that Tan Yunge was willing to hand over the antidote.

Half an hour later, the Prince of Duan received the report.

"Chen Yuru told Tan Yunge to set her mind at ease, saying that after she goes into hiding to avoid the trouble and returns, she will definitely find a good man for Tan Yunge—one who will certainly be no worse than the Heir of the Prince of Ding."

Ye Bei lowered his voice as he made his report. Earlier, he had lurked inside the prison and heard every single word spoken by the mother and daughter crystal clear.

Tan Qingshui raised her eyebrows slightly. "Did she really say that?"

Tan Qingshui blinked. "She actually said such things aloud? Is this a collapse of morality or a distortion of human nature?"

She had to admit, Chen Yuru's mindset was quite progressive for this era...