Chapter 332

Before she could finish, Lizzie swallowed the rest of her words.

Lizzie stared at Ferris, her eyes wide with shock. “So, you’ve been working for my brother for a long time?”

“Yes,” Ferris bit out the word, his expression deceptively calm.

His sharp eyes were now utterly lifeless.

He said, “Once I took the Ashen Feather, my life belonged to His Majesty. Without the antidote from him, I’m doomed to be a lone wolf.”

Arthur had turned him into a lone wolf, all for the sake of control.

It was a ruthless scheme.

Lizzie’s eyes first widened in disbelief, then she burst into hysterical laughter. “My brother knew you were poisoned, yet he still forced me to marry you. All he wants is to make me obedient, a tool.”

Lizzie shrieked while sweeping everything off the table in one furious motion, “But why? How dare he?”

She went on a rampage, smashing every breakable thing in the room to smithereens.

After what felt like ages, Lizzie collapsed to the floor, weeping and laughing hysterically. “If Arthur hadn’t resorted to scheming, would that throne ever have gone to him?”

“Princess!” Ferris cut her off sharply. “Mind your tongue. Do you want both our heads to roll?”

Lizzie let out a mocking laugh. “You’re afraid of him, but I’m not.”

As if triggered by a wave of painful memories, Lizzie snatched the wine flask from the table and chugged it down.

Ferris glanced outside. Thankfully, everyone had been dismissed.

Otherwise, just these words today would have been enough to get both him and Lizzie executed for high treason.

Ferris took small sips of his wine while Lizzie was already visibly drunk.

Her eyes glazed over as she reached for his arm, only for him to push her hand away in clear disgust.

She asked, “Ferris, do you know why I ended up like this?”

Lizzie was thoroughly drunk, her face flushed crimson, her words slurring beyond comprehension.

Ferris had planned to ignore her, but her words made him stop.

“Why?” he asked.

Lizzie pointed at her chest and giggled drunkenly. “When Father was alive, he always said I was sweet and innocent. He promised to grant me a piece of land when I grew up with the right to mint coins, so I’d enjoy wealth and glory forever…”

Ferris listened to Lizzie’s words and gave a noncommittal smile.

He thought, “How would I know anything about the late Emperor’s affairs? She must be drunk. Even the most favored princess wouldn't receive a piece of land, let alone coinage rights.

“That would make her as powerful as a king in a way, if her influence ever grew, it’d become a serious threat. Should she harbor ambition and raise a rebellion, she could declare herself queen!”

Ferris shook his head and thought, “I must be drunk to actually believe Lizzie’s nonsense.”

Chapter 332

The room was in utter shambles. Ferris sat drinking while Lizzie, alternating between sobs and laughter, rambled drunkenly.

What should have been their joyous wedding night had turned into utter chaos.

But Ferris couldn’t care less. He’d never truly wanted to marry Lizzie in the first place.

He thought coldly, ‘It feels good to see her smash things.’

He kept refilling his glass, drinking one after another in silence.

Lizzie sat beside him while sobbing uncontrollably. “He was so jealous that he had to destroy me. After Father died, when he saw I had no one left to protect me, he lured me out of the palace and abandoned me in the desolate wilds.

“Several men pinned me to the ground…”

Ferris snapped his gaze toward Lizzie, only to find her eyes glazed over, her expression hovering between truth and pretense.

But the sorrow and pain in her eyes was no act.

Lizzie gave Ferris a tipsy giggle. “Guess what I did to them afterwards?”

Ferris couldn’t bear to meet her shattered gaze, averting his eyes.

But the wine in his hand suddenly became impossible to swallow.

She said, “I flayed every last one of them alive. I cut their flesh into strips, fed it all to the dogs. Then made stew from what was left and served it to my dear brother…”

As if envisioning the scene, she pounded the table with glee, her laughter growing increasingly unhinged.

Lizzie shrieked with laughter. “Can you even imagine? That high-and-mighty Emperor turned as pale as a ghost and fell to the ground. He was scared!”

Ferris’s hand clenched the wine glass so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Gritting his teeth, his voice lost its earlier chill as he said, “Lizzie, that’s enough. Don’t say another word.”

“No, I have to say it,” Lizzie insisted, her expression hovering between sincerity and pretense. For a moment, Ferris couldn’t tell whether her drunkenness was genuine or just an act.

Lizzie leaned in conspiratorially toward Ferris, her breath heavy with wine. She whispered, “Just give me a shred of genuine affection, and I’ll raise you to the highest position. Even the throne could be yours. Ferris, can you give me that much?”

Panic finally flickered in Ferris’s eyes as he clenched his jaw, struggling to steady his wildly thumping heart.

But deep inside, a powerful ambition threatened to erupt. It nearly shattered his self control.

Fortunately, he was still sane.

Ferris fixed his gaze intently on Lizzie and said in a low, steady voice, “Princess, you’re drunk.”

Lizzie shook her head, the golden hairpins in her hair jiggling erratically with her movements.

Under the lamplight, the jewels glittered with such dazzling brilliance that it was almost blinding.

Lizzie said, “My father really loved me. He never lied to me. He gave me an Imperial edict that granted me the right to mint coins. Ferris, love me? I’m not greedy. I only want half your heart. Just half is enough.”

With that, Lizzie struggled to her feet, staggering unsteadily toward the dowry chest.

Chapter 332

She flung open the lid and rummaged wildly through its contents.

Then, with a drunken cry of triumph, she exclaimed, “Found it!”

Ferris stared at Lizzie in utter disbelief as she held up a bright yellow imperial edict.

For a moment, his heart nearly stopped dead.

Lizzie held out the imperial edict with drunken ceremony, like a child showing off a prized possession. “Open it and see if I’m lying or not.”

The room was so quiet that Ferris could hear a pin drop. He could practically hear his own heart hammering in his chest.

Sweat beaded on his brow and trickled down. He didn’t want to take it, nor did he dare to.

But an undeniable ambition seized control of his mind. By the time he snapped out of it, the imperial edict was already in his hands.

Ferris unfolded the edict. Sure enough, just as Lizzie had said, the late Emperor had truly granted her coinage rights.

There was no way the vivid crimson imperial seal on it could be a forgery.

Ferris’s thoughts froze. With this imperial edict in hand, he now held the key to unimaginable wealth.

“See? I wasn’t lying, was I?” Lizzie giggled, her drunkenness stripping away her usual venom and leaving behind a childlike innocence.

She twirled and sang before Ferris, just like the carefree princess she once was.

Ferris exhaled slowly, then asked her in a low voice, “Have you ever shown this imperial edict to anyone else?”

“Never. My mom doesn't even know about it,” Lizzie slurred while shaking her head. She was thoroughly drunk, her eyes glazing over.

As Lizzie swayed, about to collapse, Ferris instinctively reached out to steady her.

Ferris helped Lizzie to the bed. Standing in the room with the imperial edict in hand, he took a moment to collect his thoughts before glancing up at the ceiling beam.

There, he spotted a recess just big enough to hide the edict out of sight.

He slipped the document inside, covered it with a wooden panel, and made sure no trace of the hiding place remained.