"Don't keep beating down a dead snake... It might just come back alive and devour you wholly..." - Epigraph.

.....

"Yue, you have to do this for your father. I wouldn't ask you for this if there was any other way."

Tang Shen, the serpentine clan Emperor's younger brother requested his daughter with a pleading tone.

Any other daughter would have been touched by her father's miserable hopeless pleading and immediately sympathized with him, but Tang Yue looked at her father with her unwavering cold eyes.

Hmph. Lies after lies. Where did this fatherly love suddenly come from? You have already decided to offer me as a sacrifice, so why bother disguising it now?

Tang Yue smirked. She couldn't help but chuckle coldly.

Looking at Tang Shen being kind to his useless daughter, the voluptuous woman sitting beside him got restless and snapped.

"What are you asking that idiot for? She doesn't know a good thing even if it sits on her face! Hmph."

"Mother and father are having your best interests in mind. So don't make any trouble tomorrow and quietly accept your destiny." Tang Zuelo begrudgingly added.

Tang Shen immediately glared at his wife. Damn woman! Don't you know when to use what tone? First, try to read the situation properly.

If this matter was not properly handled, tomorrow's joyous event would turn into a calamity instead.

He immediately tried to salvage the situation and pandered to his daughter.

"Don't mind your mother. She might be gruff, but she means well. The Elven clan is a monstrous clan when compared to our small settlement."

"Resources, precious metals, treasures, and whatnot. They have a surplus of everything! Trust your father, Tang Yue, this is definitely in your best interest."

"With their help, you might even be able to heal your crippled meridians!"

"All those nasty rumors about the crown prince are just random nonsense. I have personally witnessed him be a kind and gentle soul, who is wise beyond his age."

"You will be perfectly safe there. There is no need to worry about any dangers. There won't even be the occasional goblin assaults like we have here."

Tang Yue's father looked at her with deep and dedicated concern.

"Destiny huh? Sure, I will accept this destiny." Tang Yue mockingly smiled.

What else could she do but accept? She was the miserable talentless trash of the family.

Her meridians were damaged by an unfortunate accident during her childhood, which made her unable to cultivate.

She could neither consolidate a beast core nor practice any illusion magic, the innate magic of the snake clan.

In fact, she did not understand, why would the esteemed crown prince of the mighty elven empire even accept useless trash like her as a consort??

Did he have some weird fetish to bed beast women??

Watching her father and her step-mother continue their concerned parental act, Tang Yue just indifferently stood there, waiting patiently for this blatant charade to come to an end.

But, the lectures and the advice went on and on for another hour.

She just couldn't stand it any longer. No matter how much she had matured because of her cruel circumstances, she was still only 18 years old.

She finally couldn't listen to their drivel any longer and sarcastically chimed in, "Anyways you are sending me to my death, can you at least let me sleep peacefully tonight? Maybe for the last time in my life?"

Her sharp words made Tang Shen lose his cool for a moment. After all, she was also his daughter, the daughter whom he had cherished once upon a time.

But ever since that accident... He too was helpless. His hands were tied.

What else could he do? They neither had the resources nor the power to address her irreparably damaged meridians.

But he immediately regained his composure, "Brat. Don't talk too much. We all have to do what we have to do."

"If things don't go well tomorrow, then don't blame me for being ruthless. Hmph." Tang Shen stood up and abruptly left the ornate decorated courtyard.

Tang Zuelo, the current step-mother, glared at her mockingly for a couple more seconds and then followed her husband.

"Heh... Finally, this trash was of some use. If not for her, one of my precious daughters might have had to be sacrificed in her stead." Tang Zuelo shuddered even at the thought of it.

The ruthless cold-blooded Elven crown prince! The mere thought of him instilled fear and dread in all living beings on the land of Xion.

His blood-drenched conquests and heinous acts were well known throughout the serpentine dynasty.

When the elves turned their attention towards the serpentine clan neighboring their settlement, everyone thought that they were going to be either killed or taken in as slaves.

But the crown prince suddenly proposed a peaceful marriage treaty surprising everyone greatly.

This definitely was for the best because now the two clans could be united and live in peace with each other, without fearing the outbreak of a brutal war.

Unfortunately, the Snake clan Emperor did not have any daughters. So he turned to his brother, Tang Shen, who had seven daughters for help.

Each and every single one of the princesses was extremely talented in various fields and skilled combat. Well... Except for the first and the eldest princess, Tang Yue, who is the daughter of Tang Shen and his first wife.

Without even a modest cultivation base, Tang Yue simply could not match or even compare to the other royal spawns in any aspect.

Though everyone had high expectations for her since birth, somehow her meridians were damaged and now she was merely an useless trash, who was unable to cultivate.

And thus, she turned out to be the perfect pawn in this little political game.

Peace treaty? Just how long would something like that last in the cold bloodied hands of the heartless crown prince...??

Tang Yue sucked in a deep breath of air before effortlessly reverting back to her serpentine form.

Though her meridians were crippled, she still retained her natural ability to shift between her human form and her serpentine form as she pleased. This was something every member of the serpentine clan was capable of doing.

Putting aside the complex emotions swirling within her heart, her thin figure quickly slithered across the musty courtyard and reached her private chamber.

She really did want to go to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.