"What is the meaning of this?" Yin Lin Lin furrowed her brows and stared at the demon in front of her. She could hardly believe what she was hearing.
Yong Hai smiled. "Didn't I make myself clear enough? Or is it that you fail to see where your benefit in this idea lies?"
Yin Lin Lin's gaze darkened even further. Did she need some common demon to tell her what would be beneficial to her? "I understood very well what you said. I'm just wondering what made you think that this idea of yours is in any way feasible. Between you and my husband, do I need to remind you who is stronger? Who has more people backing him? Just what talent of yours do you want to use to fight against him?"
Yong Hai scoffed at her condescending look. "Are you so sure about that? Maybe you should reexamine your evaluation of me and your husband. You might not have been there when he took the throne but I can tell you for sure that it wasn't just because he is strong. He might not be weak but he certainly isn't as great as he made you think.
"Back then, he was only able to have things go so smoothly in his favor because he took advantage of the time when that Longjun killed the previous king. Everybody had already been fighting over taking on his mantle. The strongest warriors had already died. It wasn't like he had a lot of competitors anymore. And for the ones that he had … He didn't deal with most of them in the direct way, instead using others to do his dirty work."
Yin Lin Lin's gaze flickered. In fact, she really didn't know much about what had happened back then. She knew that Jin Ling was much older than her and that he had taken the throne sometime after the last war but that was the extent of her knowledge. And why should she have cared? Her father had already died in the war before that one so she hadn't been tied to the God of War's palace anymore. She also had nothing to do with the demons so she didn't care. Now though, she wished that she had paid more attention to these matters. She couldn't say for sure whether Jin Ling would be able to win against this Yong Hai or not.
The demon smiled when he saw her waver and used the opportunity. "Let's not speak about whether or not I'm able to personally kill him. Let's talk about the benefits instead. You certainly can't return to the Nine Heavens after what has happened. There's no way the Heavenly Emperor would ever pardon you for marrying the demon king. So you can only rely on somebody in our realm. I'm sure that you still have use here so there will be people that'll listen to you. Since that is the case, you can be sure that I won't just let you fall once things are over."
Yin Lin Lin's fingers clutched the edge of her chair's armrest and she gave a strained smile. "The word of a demon isn't worth much."
Yong Hai shrugged his shoulders. "It really isn't. But what is the alternative? I bet His Majesty promised you a lot of things when you married him. But has he kept his promises? In fact, how much time have you spent with him in the last years?
"Rumor has it that he seldom is in the palace, rather running around outside, doing whatever. Even when he is here, it is said that he has people outside keeping an eye on some matters in the human realm. That begs some questions, doesn't it?
"Why would he care about the humans? They've never been a problem for us. We should be focusing our efforts on destroying the dragons or make them bow down to us again. Our current king … I'm afraid he has forgotten that he is the demon. He is doing nothing for us. Maybe he has fallen in love with a human woman? That would be one explanation." He gave her a moment to digest that possibility before he continued. "Anyway, whatever his reason may be, sooner or later somebody will come and put him in his place, attempting to lead our race back to glory themselves. When that day comes, do you still want to be considered the past king's wife? Or would you rather be in a good situation because you helped the new king ascend the throne? You decide."
Yin Lin Lin looked at the demon in front of her and her fingers clenched around the armrest even tighter. She certainly didn't want to go down together with Jin Ling. Back then, she might have believed what he told her. Getting away from the punishment she had to suffer in the mortal realm, getting back at the man who had broken their engagement for that slut Bai Fen, becoming one of the most important people in the demon realm, presiding over everybody else … Naturally, she had wanted that and taken the chance when Jin Lin offered it. But who could have known Jin Ling would turn out to just want to use her?
Sure, she had escaped that punishment but now she was stranded in the demon realm without any way to return. She might have married the demon king and become his queen but she was merely one of many beauties in his harem and not even his favorite! Comparing that to Bai Fen who was the Heavenly Emperor's sole wife … She hadn't won at all.
Maybe she should have expected it. Jin Ling was a demon, after all. Since when had any of them ever been trustworthy? But she had been blinded by that charming smile of his, that copper-colored hair and those caramel-colored eyes. She had felt that with him, she had struck a good deal. She had felt that being rejected by Rong Su had been worth it if it meant that she would end up with an even better man.
Unfortunately, that man had never put her into his eyes. She could tell. He treated her the same way that Rong Su had treated her back then: She was an obligation he had but nothing more. He had never had any feelings for her. That was the truth she had to accept.
Yin Lin Lin closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Yong Hai had already approached her. There was no way for her to stay out of this matter and see how it unfolded. She could only decide to help him or to work against him. There was no guarantee that he would honor his promise afterward and let her have a favorable treatment but there wasn't any security in continuing to follow Jin Ling either. After all, even if she told her husband, she couldn't say for sure how he would react.
Yin Lin Lin opened her eyes and sighed. "Very well. Then let me your plan."
Yong Hai smiled happily. "I knew you would see it my way." Now, it was only a matter of time until he would be able to take down that weakling Jin Ling and take the demon throne.