First-Year Internship—And You Went to Site 749 to Contain Monsters?!-Chapter 839: I’m a Man, Not a Delicate Lady

Facing such a request, how could Lu Ding refuse?

He slapped her again with the back of his hand.

How shameless.

An Ning turned her head, wiping the blood that had trickled from the other corner of her mouth.

Her expression remained unchanged as she responded to Fu Xinghe's earlier question.

"Grand Duke Lu, do you know why I have been like this all these years?"

An Ning gestured at herself. With injuries marring her face, she didn't look ugly at all; instead, the disheveled strands of hair and the red marks added a touch of a fragile, broken beauty.

The captivating charm displayed amidst her resilience was a truly unique treasure.

Despite being in a lowly position, she exhibited an extraordinary demeanor.

Today was a day off, so Lu Ding had the leisure to chat with her.

After all, he was quite curious about this An Ning.

He followed her lead and asked, "Why?"

An Ning smiled and said, "Because my father is Prince Zhao, the most formidable mounted prince and mounted prince of Great Jing, peerless in combat, unrivaled in commanding troops, with countless capable individuals and those with extraordinary abilities under his command."

"The army recognizes only Prince Zhao, not the Emperor."

"And such a climate is not something my father intentionally cultivated; it's simply that the brilliance he radiates is too difficult to conceal."

"Just like you, Grand Duke Lu, wherever you go, you cannot escape the fate of exuding charm, attracting countless people to vie to follow you."

After saying this, she looked at Lu Ding, her gaze devoid of any other emotion, filled only with pure appreciation.

That look was as if she was marveling at the most perfect work of art created by heaven.

Lu Ding took a sip of tea. "Thank you for the compliment."

An Ning: "You're welcome."

"But my father's situation has aroused jealousy and apprehension from the other princes, other Your Highnesses, and even His Majesty."

"Moreover, my father excels at warfare and is righteous and loyal, but he is not adept at governing. With such a temperament, he is also unsuited for governance. His Majesty could not possibly pass the throne to my father, and those aristocratic families and powerful clans would never allow the military to grow too powerful."

"Under such conditions, no matter who ascends to the throne, my father will be a stumbling block for the future Crown Prince."

"To put it bluntly, even if my father has no intention of contending for the throne, the people under him will push him to contend. If he does not contend, then my father's end can only be a purge and settling of accounts by the current His Majesty or the future Crown Prince, along with all his subordinates."

"Only by contending is there a chance to survive."

At this point, An Ning took a deep breath, as if calming her emotions.

Then, she said something even more shocking.

"I was originally a boy, not a delicate maiden. It's just that the situation did not allow my father to have a son. If he had a daughter, everyone would congratulate him. But if he had a son, I would not have lived to grow up. Those smiling tigers of Great Jing would have moved against Prince Zhao's mansion in advance."

"So, my father used a secret method to swap my yin and yang, making me a female body. Over all these years, I have long grown accustomed to it. It's quite fine now..."

Although she said this.

An Ning's heart was still very complex.

A man's heart, a woman's body. Unable to marry out, unable to take a wife.

While matters of romantic love between men and women are but trivial paths, and on the long journey of cultivation and life, there are countless interesting things, making it unnecessary to be obsessed with matters of emotion.

But not wanting something and being unable to have it are two different things.

It's like a rich person saying what they lack is not money, but love.

While a poor person says money can compensate for everything.

Aside from genuine humble bragging, there are quite a few people who truly hold such thoughts.

This is the obsession of seeking but not obtaining, the belief that nothing is absolute.

The confinement of the deep palace courtyards and the pervasive scheming have long twisted An Ning's obsessions, making them somewhat deranged.

She does not hate her father. If he hadn't done this, she would not have lived to this age.

She only hates this damned situation!

This damned royal bloodline!

This damned intrigue and power struggles.

Hearing this, Lu Ding was inwardly astonished once more at An Ning's predicament. Male turned female, hiding it day after day, year after year, for over a decade or two. Lu Ding said sincerely, "You have suffered quite a bit."

Suffering is suffering.

Suffering should not be compared; there's no need to compare who suffers more.

For all those who endure suffering, Lu Ding, when the situation is appropriate, never stints on words of comfort.

But it was precisely such a sentence.

That made An Ning's eyes instantly redden.

She raised her gaze, looking at the ceiling, holding back the tears from falling.

She had imagined Lu Ding might mock her, ridicule her, even look down on her, or perhaps say nothing at all.

After all, their positions leaned towards opposition. What had just transpired wasn't exactly friendly either.

Lu Ding's status was that of the lofty Great Han special envoy.

Yet, under such conditions, Lu Ding actually spoke a sentence to comfort her.

An Ning, accustomed to being strong, suddenly felt her heartstrings plucked.

Only after controlling her emotions did she disguise herself by taking a sip of tea. "It's not suffering. It's for survival, for my father."

Putting down the teacup.

An Ning seemed to return to her earlier state. "Grand Duke Lu, I've told you all this not to win your sympathy."

"Rather, I want to tell you that I am tired of this kind of life."

"This superficially glamorous life is not what I want."

"And my father is now also trapped in the forward-rolling wheel of the great momentum, unable to extricate himself. If he does not wage war externally, others cannot stand to see him idle. Once he is idle, they think he has designs on the throne. Once he wages war externally, he accumulates merit, solidifies the army's morale, and the officers and soldiers under him will feel even more that the throne belongs to no one but him. It's equivalent to a slow suicide."

"Originally, there was no way to break this deadlock."

"But now you have come."

"Forgive An Ning's presumptuous act of secretly investigating you. I surmise that you and Filial Prince probably have some kind of relationship, right?"

Fu Xinghe frowned upon hearing this.

Lu Ding looked over, his gaze gradually sharpening.

"How did you know?"

His relationship with An Wuyang had never been exposed.

In fact, the two of them hadn't even had direct contact yet. Those who knew of their relationship were only within Great Han and White Eagle.

An Ning glanced at Shi Tangxue, whom Lu Ding was stepping on.

Lu Ding said, "Don't mind her. Speak directly. She won't live."

An Ning spoke.

"Then An Ning will speak plainly."

"I learned of you through her. At that time, Great Han had not yet made the decision to send you, but I already knew her identity. I also knew that later, the Great Jing branch of the Yellow Heaven Sect would go to the new city."

"Through this point, I delved into the reason why the Yellow Heaven branch sent people to the new city, so I learned about your incident of killing the Yellow Heaven Sect envoy at Lady Mao Ri's place."

"Because your deeds were too dazzling, advancing triumphantly all the way, employing thunderous methods without a single defeat, it was difficult not to notice you. So I also saw intelligence concerning the Path of Dry Bones 749."

"I learned that the Path of Dry Bones 749 incident also involved the White Eagle consulate."

"And the White Eagle consulate's attitude towards you makes one think twice."

"Although White Eagle's national power still has some gap compared to Great Han."

"When facing others, White Eagle's people cannot adopt such a bowing attitude."

"Moreover, when you went, they even replaced the highest consul."