Chapter 1093: The Empress of Baoji Accepts Defeat Gracefully, Leave Me an Intact Body, Face Covered by Hair

........Blood streamed down along the wound on her cheek.

Lu Ding twisted his wrist.

"I really gave you too much face. Now that you're in Hanjing, you still dare to act arrogant? This isn't your Baoji Kingdom. They treated you well, gave you food and drink, even brought you some little fruits—but I'm not going to spoil you."

"If you won't eat, then the hell with it."

The Empress of Baoji fell to the ground and pushed herself up with both hands.

The wound on her face hurt so much that she sucked in a breath of cold air.

"You dare hit me!?"

"I am the Empress of Baoji!!!"

"I am a sovereign!"

Lu Ding looked at her: "Don't put on airs with me. You're nothing but a prisoner, a defeated foe. Loud voices only cover up your own helplessness."

"And what if I did hit you? This is a bet. If you keep yelling, I'll assume you're unwilling to accept your loss and want to renege. Then it won't just be one slap."

The Empress of Baoji clenched her teeth.

She swallowed back every word she was about to say.

Lu Ding nodded: "Good. That's the attitude of a defeated opponent."

"Of course, if you could speak to me on your knees, that would be even better."

The Empress of Baoji: "Lu Ding, don't push me too far!!!"

Lu Ding ignored her outburst: "Tell me, why were you so eager to see me? What do you want to say?"

The Empress of Baoji stared at him with hatred burning in her eyes: "How exactly did you bring me back!?"

That wasn't what she originally wanted to say.

She had so many questions, so many curses.

But she realized that Lu Ding wouldn't spoil her at all, and he didn't care about her status.

So she chose to follow her heart instead.

She picked the least important question to mask her current thoughts.

Lu Ding could see through her true state.

But he chose not to expose her.

Although the Empress of Baoji was indeed a deposed monarch and a defeated foe,

Her civil and military governance was undeniably impressive.

She had managed Baoji Kingdom very well.

It was just her vision of mixed human-demon development that put her at odds with Great Han.

To Great Han, she was a criminal.

But to Baoji Kingdom, she was a hero.

Lu Ding didn't answer her question.

He turned and looked at the investigator waiting at the door.

"What about the thing that was hanging around her neck before?"

The investigator turned around, took out the small pouch that Lu Ding had used to hold Baoji Kingdom's soil from the small storage compartment by the prison door.

"Right here, Grand Duke Lu."

Lu Ding took it and tossed it to the Empress of Baoji.

"I'm giving this to you. Consider it something for you to hold onto. Stop yelling now. Cooperate as you should. The matter of Baoji Kingdom's survival has already been decided—there's no saving it."

"Who was right and who was wrong, I believe you understand in your heart. There's no need to dwell on it. The result is that you lost."

"If you behave yourself, we'll all keep our dignity. Great Han is willing to tacitly acknowledge your status as Empress of Baoji, not as a prisoner."

"But if you don't cooperate, once the proper procedures run their course, it won't look good for you either."

"Spending this final period peacefully and quietly—maybe that's not so bad."

The Empress of Baoji held the pouch filled with soil from Baoji Kingdom's Royal Capital. Tears welled up in her eyes.

She was a bold leader.

She could set aside personal attachments, prioritize her ambitions, and gamble on a brighter future for Baoji Kingdom.

So how could she not understand?

She had simply lost. She wasn't wrong.

Although Lu Ding had killed her brother and her daughter, such things... the Empress of Baoji didn't actually harbor that much hatred.

Because she herself had killed countless people's wives, children, siblings, and relatives.

Everything was nothing more than the law of the jungle—the strong devouring the weak.

Those who kill will eventually be killed.

The Empress of Baoji had long prepared herself. If she couldn't accept that someone close to her might die one day, how could she calmly kill others' loved ones?

She wasn't that hypocritical. She just felt grief and powerlessness.

Now, touching the pouch of Baoji Kingdom's soil again,

The Empress of Baoji let go of many things.

Of course, this was only because she knew she couldn't fight anymore. This was Great Han. This was the 749 Director-General's headquarters in Hanjing.

"Lu Ding."

She called out, tucking back her hair that was stained with blood from her face.

"I can cooperate. But I will only accept Great Han's judgment. I lost to Great Han. I lost to you, who represents Great Han. I only recognize Great Han as the victor."

Lu Ding nodded: "Fine. As long as you cooperate, everything is negotiable. Do you have any other requests? Speak up. I can consider fighting for them on your behalf."

The indirect benefits a nation's empress could bring to Great Han were unimaginable.

So if she had any requests, within reason, they should be accommodated in exchange for her cooperation.

The Empress of Baoji smiled bitterly and continued: "Can you leave me an intact body, face covered by hair? After all, I am an empress, a monarch. Monarchs have their way of dying. They must not be killed by blade or sword. Dismemberment or beheading does not befit the dignity of an emperor."

Lu Ding looked at her: "And screaming and yelling befits the dignity of an emperor?"

The investigator who had just brought food to the Empress of Baoji, upon hearing Lu Ding say this, very naturally retreated from everyone's view.

As if to say,

I didn't hear anything.

As he disappeared through the doorway,

Only the three people who had captured the Empress of Baoji alive were left in the room.

There were no outsiders present.

After all, they had already seen her at her most humiliated.

The Empress of Baoji rubbed the cloth pouch with her fingertips: "An emperor is also human, and should have human emotions and desires."

"I hate you, so naturally I can't control my temper."

Lu Ding really couldn't stand it anymore. Why did everyone hate him?

But he still nodded: "Fine. I'll try to fight for that for you."

"Any other requests?"

The Empress of Baoji looked at the food scraps scattered on the floor and smiled: "I'm hungry."

Lu Ding turned around.

"I'll have someone bring you food later."

The words landed.

He disappeared.

Lu Ding was gone.

Not long after,

Several investigators guarding the prison brought food again. It was specialty cuisine from Baoji Kingdom's Royal Capital, along with seasonal fruits that would normally be available in Baoji Kingdom's Royal Capital at this time of year.

Also included were grooming supplies, cosmetics, new clean clothes, medicine ointment for injuries, and so on.

All of it was specially arranged by Lu Ding.

The Director-General's prison had a suppressive effect. In here, even a dragon had to coil, and even a tiger had to crouch.

No matter how formidable someone was outside, once they arrived here, they would be suppressed.

If medicine ointment wasn't provided, given the environment here, the Empress of Baoji's face would rot sooner or later.

It was also because he had seen Gongyang Qingrou and Wang Qingge putting on makeup when they woke up that Lu Ding had arranged for these things to be sent.

Regardless,

The Empress of Baoji was still a woman. Since she had chosen to cooperate and confess, she deserved the dignity that should be given, as well as the gentleness owed to a woman.

That slap was just the bet.

Of course, if men and women were equal, and the Empress of Baoji were a man, Lu Ding would have arranged for cigarettes and such things instead.

Seeing these items,

The Empress of Baoji adjusted her posture, sitting upright and dignified. She gently shook the Royal Capital soil that Lu Ding had given her from the pouch, mixed it with her food, and took small, careful bites, chewing and swallowing...

This was a very old tradition in Baoji Kingdom. In those days, the kingdom was ravaged by endless war. It was impractical to bring every fallen soldier's body back to their hometown, and there was no way to precisely identify who was who.

So when soldiers marched out to battle, they would carry soil from their homeland. If they still had breath left before death, they would eat the soil—a way to return to their roots. If they died outright, at least the soil would accompany them, so they wouldn't die in a foreign land.

That was why, when Lu Ding had made the bet, the Empress of Baoji hadn't cursed or struggled. She had simply accepted the wager coldly.

At least she felt some respect from Lu Ding.

At this moment, the Empress of Baoji's face no longer showed any ferocity or resentment. Only the calm acceptance of one who had lost a bet fairly, and the regret in her eyes that she would never again set foot on Baoji Kingdom's soil.