This Is the Divine Crimson Pill

Seeing Grace here, she paused, studying her for a moment, then bowed to Evan Xiao. "Your Highness, were you looking for me?"

"Sit down," Evan Xiao said.

Sophie nodded and sat opposite Grace, just below Evan Xiao.

"I heard that a few days ago, you and the High Priest went to the Elderworld?" Evan Xiao asked.

Sophie: "Yes."

"And the High Priest was injured?"

"Yes! But it was just a minor injury. Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."

Evan Xiao looked at her. "Was he really injured because of the trip to the Elderworld?"

Sophie looked at Evan Xiao, paused for a moment, and countered, "What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"

"Wasn't it because of backlash?"

"What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Evan Xiao said coolly.

Sophie suddenly stood up. "Your Highness, you can doubt me! But you must not doubt my Divine Father! For twenty thousand years, he has been loyal to the Celestial Emperor, never making a single mistake!"

"Do you think my suspicion of you is groundless and just wild guessing?" Evan Xiao asked, expressionless.

Sophie slowly reached out, pointing at Grace. "How can you doubt my and my Divine Father's loyalty to you because of her?"

She looked at Grace, her gaze icy cold, practically venomous. "She's just accusing me because she can't get what she wants! How can you believe a woman who's lost her mind from jealousy?"

Grace couldn't help but laugh. "Sophie, what a righteous act! But... how's Rona Zhu doing in the Blighted Wilds?"

Sophie’s expression changed slightly.

"Your tricks—both I and His Highness know them well! So there's no need to act like His Highness is some muddle-headed fool who listens to my pillow talk and wrongs loyal ministers! His Highness has every reason to doubt you," Grace said.

Sophie knelt before Evan Xiao. "Everything I’ve done has been for your sake, Your Highness."

Evan Xiao looked at her but said nothing.

"She's the daughter of the Phoenix Goddess. Her identity is sensitive—you know that better than I do!" Sophie said. "If you marry her, you'll push the Phoenix Clan toward the Qilin Divine Clan! For our Longyuan, that would be a devastating blow. I've told you this before, but you wouldn't listen, so I had no choice but to use a few tricks to keep you apart!"

"So marrying you—was that for my own good too?" Evan Xiao asked.

"That was a true divination. My Divine Father and I did not fake it."

Evan Xiao placed the pill Grace had given him on the table. "This is the Divine Crimson Pill."

Sophie looked at the pill, her face showing humiliation. "Your Highness wants me to take the Divine Crimson Pill?"

"I can’t trust you anymore," Evan Xiao said. "Take it!"

Sophie was silent for a while. "Fine, I’ll take it! If I’ve lied even a little, I’ll accept any punishment! But..."

She looked at Grace. "If the divination is true, and I haven't deceived you or the gods, then you must marry me, Your Highness, and never let that woman near you again!"

Grace's heart sank a little as she looked at Evan Xiao.

Yet she couldn't read his emotions at all.

He simply said, as calm as ever, "Sophie, you seem to have forgotten your place. You have no right or qualification to bargain with me. I'm ordering you—take the Divine Crimson Pill! Don't make me use force, or things will get ugly for both of us."