The Empress clutched her hand tightly, sobbing uncontrollably.
Liang Dekuai continuously rubbed his temples, his expression extremely grim.
The little palace maids, driven to the outer room, dared not speak, each one incredibly nervous and fearful.
A quarter of an hour later.
"Your Majesty... Ye Fan requests an audience." The little palace maid, having received the news, reported trembling from outside.
"Ye Fan?" Liang Dekuai visibly started, then exclaimed excitedly, "Quick, invite him in!"
In Liang Dekuai's eyes, if there was anyone who could save Liang Rujing at this moment, it would undoubtedly be Ye Fan!
He had considered seeking Ye Fan's help before, but fearing he might anger the powerful being behind Ye Fan, he had not dared.
Just now, he was still contemplating whether to risk it and find Ye Fan.
He never expected Ye Fan to arrive on his own!
Not long after, Ye Fan arrived at Liang Rujing's bedroom.
For the past half month, Liang Rujing had not contacted him. He had assumed she was busy or perhaps ill.
But now, after half a month of no appearance, Ye Fan felt he had to come and see.
"Your Majesty, is Rujing ill...?" Upon seeing Liang Rujing's appearance on the bed, Ye Fan was clearly a little surprised.
A perfectly healthy person, reduced to this state in just half a month?
What had happened?
"Little Jiu is not ill." Liang Dekuai gestured to a stool, then revealed the truth, "It is a curse..."
Subsequently, Liang Dekuai slowly recounted the whole story.
The origin of the matter traced back tens of thousands of years.
At that time, the Great Liang Kingdom was not yet called the Great Liang Kingdom; it belonged to the Murong family.
That's right!
The current Great Liang Kingdom was seized from the Murong family by the ancestors of the Liang family!
Seeing that the Murong family's fate was sealed, a cultivator proficient in curses named Yimikang, at the cost of all their lives, cast a curse upon the Liang family.
From then on, at regular intervals, a cursed individual would appear among the direct descendants of the Liang family.
Starting from the age of ten, the cursed individual's mental state would gradually deteriorate.
Simply put, they would occasionally exhibit behaviors as if they had a mental illness.
Once the cursed individual reached the age of sixteen, the curse would erupt, and they would die.
However, this process was not instantaneous but a month-long period of agonizing torment!
During this month, the cursed individual's body would grow increasingly weaker.
Their skin would crack inch by inch, and their internal organs would wither and shrink bit by bit!
They would die in endless suffering!
Furthermore, they would perish completely, not even a corpse remaining!
And Liang Rujing was the cursed individual of this generation!
This was precisely why Liang Rujing usually did not behave like a princess should, and often acted foolishly.
It was also for this reason that Liang Dekuai was so indulgent towards Liang Rujing.
No matter what absurd thing she did, Liang Dekuai could not bring himself to scold her.
He only wished that Liang Rujing could spend every day in happiness and joy.
Irrespective of her royal status.
It was purely out of a father's love for his daughter.
And this curse was far from simple.
The Murong family, before their demise, had stated that this curse would last for one hundred generations.
After the hundredth curse erupted, it would detonate the curses buried within the bodies of all Liang family members!
At that time, the entire Liang family would disappear from this world forever!
Liang Rujing was the cursed individual of the one hundredth generation!
Unless the descendants of the curse-caster could all be eradicated, they could only await death.
The Liang family's curse had now manifested for one hundred generations, clearly indicating that the Murong family had left a contingency.
Liang Dekuai was certain that descendants of the Murong family were still alive in this world.
But this continent was so vast; how could they find them easily?
The ancestors of the Liang family had also sought other curse-wielding cultivators to break the curse, but all their attempts ended in failure.
After all, cultivators who practiced curses were extremely niche.
Such individuals, by borrowing the power of heaven's will to cast curses, often paid an incredibly tragic price.
No cultivator with a sound mind would ever dabble in such things.
Finding someone in the cultivation world who could break this curse was harder than finding a needle in a haystack!
"That is how the matter unfolded..." Liang Dekuai sighed, "Perhaps this is the fate of the Liang family..."
After speaking, Liang Dekuai sighed, secretly observing Ye Fan's reaction.
He had his reasons for revealing this.
Firstly, Liang Rujing's curse had clearly manifested, so it didn't matter if it was known now.
Secondly, he harbored a sliver of hope and expectation towards Ye Fan.
He didn't know if Ye Fan would help, nor if Ye Fan possessed the ability.
But now, Ye Fan was his last hope...
Ye Fan was greatly astonished after listening.
It was a curse!
Based on his experiences from his previous ninety-nine lives, curses were clearly not within the scope of Eastern fantasy systems.
They were more commonly encountered in Western fantasy worlds.
However, researching them came at too great a cost. Even when he had the opportunity to learn, he hadn't pursued it.
Moreover, in this life, he had no cultivation whatsoever. Even if he could identify the curse, he would be powerless.
Thinking of this, Ye Fan clenched his fists fiercely.
It had to be another trap set by the damned system!
It had been like this in his previous ninety-nine lives.
And now, it was like this again!
The damned system, time and time again, had stolen the most important parts of his life!
Until, in the end, it even stole his own life!
What had he done wrong?!
Why must he endure such endless torment!!!
[Host, can we negotiate?]
[If you pretend to sign in, I'll help you solve the problem, how about that?]
[...]
[Detected that the host harbors unprecedented hostility towards the system. Initiating intelligent calculation function.]
[Calculated the optimal result: Shut up and behave...]
...
"Cough, cough..." Liang Rujing on the bed coughed twice and slowly opened her eyes.
"Ye Fan, you're here..." Liang Rujing glanced at Ye Fan and said weakly.
"How are you... feeling now?" Ye Fan took her hand and asked softly.
"If I said I felt great, that would be a lie." Liang Rujing gave a wry smile, "I didn't want you to see me like this, but you still did..."
"Father Emperor, Mother Empress." After speaking, Liang Rujing looked at Liang Dekuai and his wife, "You have both worried over me during this period."
"Jiu'er..." The Empress gently caressed Liang Rujing's face, but words failed her.
"Little Jiu..." Liang Dekuai seemed to realize something, "You... you knew all along?"
"Mm..." Liang Rujing replied weakly, "When I had a cold at nine years old, in a daze, I overheard you and Mother Empress mentioning this matter."
It turned out that Liang Dekuai and his wife had discovered signs of the curse on Liang Rujing. In their shock, they had inadvertently spoken of the events of that year.
At that time, they were unaware that Liang Rujing was already awake.
Upon realizing this, Liang Dekuai's tears could no longer be held back.
So Little Jiu had known all along...
From such a young age, she had carried such a heavy burden...
Her daily cheerful and happy demeanor was only to prevent them from worrying...
"After all, happy or not, it's still one day." Liang Rujing's voice grew weaker, "Isn't it..."
"Cough, cough..."
After speaking, Liang Rujing covered her mouth and coughed.
In the palm of her open hand was a bloody mess.
She knew that her body was beginning to collapse.
After a month of horrific torment, she would leave this world forever...