Chapter 70: Coercion

Knock, knock, knock!

“Mmm… Should I answer it?”

“Is anyone home? Anyone there?”

Ye Feng rested his chin on his hands, a deeply conflicted look on his adorable face.

By all logic, she was his new neighbor, so he really ought to step out and greet her. But if she caught sight of his face and…

“No one’s home? I could’ve sworn someone lived here. Ah well, what a shame—I just baked a fresh cake and wanted to share it with my neighbor!”

The crisp feminine voice outside made Ye Feng hesitate even more. Am I being rude by ignoring her?

Outside the door, the silver-haired girl cradled the pink fox in her right arm, a cruel smirk playing across her face as her eyes remained locked on the threshold. Yet in her left hand, there was no cake—only a gleaming, deadly blade!

Seeing no sign of the door opening after calling out for a while, she sheathed the blade and stroked her fox’s fur softly.

Turning back toward her own apartment, she wasn’t in the slightest hurry. She preferred torturing her prey over a swift execution anyway—it was far more entertaining, wasn’t it?

Only when the corridor went completely silent did Ye Feng finally let out a long sigh of relief. Pressing his palm against his stomach, he found his thoughts drifting back to his child once more.

“I am giving you one last chance. Tell me—where is he?”

“I’m sorry, Sister Murong… but I can’t say.”

Guen gritted his teeth and refused to yield, bracing himself for whatever cruel interrogation awaited. No matter what happened, he would never give up Ye Feng’s location.

“Heh. Whether you speak or not isn’t up to you.” Murong Fanghua turned her head slightly. “Hypnotize him.”

Lisa, wearing a long lab coat, stepped forward at the command. “Your Highness, if you remain in the room during the session, it might interfere with the process. Please step outside for a moment.”

“Fine. Make it quick.”

Murong Fanghua turned and walked out. Yet only moments later, Lisa followed her into the hallway.

“Done already?”

“No, Your Highness.”

“Then why are you out here?”

Sensing the sharp displeasure in Murong Fanghua’s tone, Lisa immediately explained, “Your Highness, I cannot hypnotize him.”

“What? Why not?”

“He appears to have undergone heavy psychological conditioning since childhood. His subconscious regards that original conditioning as a master command, causing his mind to reject any secondary attempt at hypnosis.”

Murong Fanghua closed her eyes in silence, her breathing growing heavy as she forcefully suppressed her mounting rage.

“I see. Dismissed.”

When she finally reopened her eyes, her tone was terrifyingly calm.

“Qing, go bring the baby.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Taking a deep breath, Murong Fanghua pushed open the door and stepped back into the room.

Guen sat stiffly on the sofa, his head lowered, fingers tightly intertwined in his lap—a picture of pure nervous tension. Murong Fanghua took a seat opposite him. He cast a brief, cautious glance at her before darting his eyes back down.

“Tell me where he is.”

Silence—a long, agonizing silence.

“If you don’t speak, I will divorce you and cast you out.”

“No! Please, don’t!”

Guen snapped his head up, his face pale with horror.

He didn’t even understand why he was reacting so strongly—he only knew that defying her felt entirely wrong, a fundamental breach of everything he had been conditioned to obey.

“Then tell me where he is!”

“No… Sister Murong, please don’t force me… I can’t say!”

“You!” Murong Fanghua clenched her fists, drew a steadying breath, and tried a different angle. “Then at least tell me… why did he want to leave?”

Wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes, Guen pondered the question for a moment before deciding to answer truthfully.

“He… he wanted freedom.”

“Freedom?” Murong Fanghua frowned. Had she denied him freedom? Well… perhaps she had.

“Sister Murong, please don’t blame Brother Ye Feng. If you must blame someone, blame me! But I still won’t tell you where he is…”

“Why did he feel so desperate for freedom?”

“He said… he was in pain. And… and…” Guen stole a quick glance at her face.

“Keep speaking!”

“He said… you don’t love him.”

“Don’t love him…?”

Murong Fanghua repeated the words under her breath. How could she possibly not love Ye Feng? If she didn’t love him, why would she have gone to such lengths for his sake? How could he ever think such a thing?

Yet no matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn’t fathom why Ye Feng felt that way.

“Your Highness.”

Right on cue, Qing stepped into the room carrying a bundled infant.

Murong Fanghua looked up, stood, and carefully took the swaddled baby into her arms.

The little infant smacked her tiny lips the moment she settled into her mother’s chest. Over the past few days, her features had filled out, revealing a soft, tender, and impossibly cute face.

Looking down at her daughter, Murong Fanghua felt a twinge of hesitation. What she was about to do felt monstrous, but for Ye Feng’s sake, she forced herself to go through with it.

At that exact moment, miles away in his quiet apartment, Ye Feng felt a sudden, sharp pang in his chest—a sudden sense of loss, as if something precious was being torn away. A single tear involuntarily slipped down his cheek.

“Tell me where he is!”

With those words, Murong Fanghua gradually raised the baby high above her head, as if she were about to drop the infant onto the hard floor at any second.

Qing, standing beside her, immediately tensed every muscle, bracing herself to spring forward and catch the child if necessary.

“No! Stop! Sister Murong, you can’t!”

Guen panicked instantly. He had promised to protect the child; if anything happened to the baby, how could he ever face Ye Feng again?

Though he tried to tell himself Murong Fanghua was merely bluffing to force his hand, he didn’t dare gamble with the child’s life. What if her hand slipped?

“If you don’t want her to get hurt, tell me where he is!”

“I… I… Sister Murong, please don’t push me like this!”

“Tell me!” Murong Fanghua’s commanding aura flared, bearing down on him with suffocating weight.

“Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!”

Sensing the immense tension around her, the baby woke with a start and burst into sharp, terrified crying.

Hearing the cries, Murong Fanghua’s heart softened slightly—this was her own flesh and blood, after all. Yet for Ye Feng, she steeled her resolve and raised her arms a fraction higher.

“No! Please don’t! Sister Murong, don’t do it!”

The child’s frantic cries shattered Guen’s resolve. He was torn apart inside: if he revealed Ye Feng’s location, Ye Feng would be dragged back to his cage, but if the baby suffered any harm, neither Ye Feng nor he would ever forgive him.

Seeing Guen still hesitating, Murong Fanghua deliberately let her grip slip for a fraction of a second before snatching the baby back firmly—a terrifying sight that Guen caught in full view.

“I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you! Please, just don’t hurt her!”

Hearing him finally break, Murong Fanghua let out a huge breath of relief, bringing the baby back down into her arms to gently soothe her.

Yet the baby was crying hysterically, and with Murong Fanghua lacking any parenting experience, her clumsy rocking only made the infant cry harder.

“Your Highness, let me try.”

“Hmm? You know how to soothe a baby?”

“A little. Her Majesty had me undergo child-rearing training when I was younger.”

“Alright… here.”

Murong Fanghua handed the baby over to Qing. True to her training, within moments of being cradled in Qing’s arms, the infant stopped crying, her small eyes opening as she let out a tiny, cheerful giggle.

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