Wen Li dumped the ten copper coins she had begged for at noon onto the table with a clatter.
“Hard to say. Maybe something went wrong on Zongzheng Huangyue's end and she ordered them to subdue us if she hadn't returned. Or maybe Saint Emperor Zongzheng caught wind of her movements and wanted to find out what deal we made. Or perhaps...”
Nine copper coins toppled flat on the table, leaving only the last one still spinning.
“...Zongzheng Yingchu noticed something.” The final coin came to rest.
At least since arriving in the Eastern Province, those were the only two people they had interacted with. Anyone capable of lying in ambush at the courtyard besides Zongzheng Yingchu and Zongzheng Huangyue had to belong to the imperial clan.
“Th-Then what do we, we do n-now?”
Gu Linshu knitted his brows. The enemy was currently in the dark while they were in the open; staying exposed would be dangerous.
Wen Li raised a slender finger without saying a word.
Gu Linshu ventured, “Wait?”
Understanding dawned on him. “Wait for Zongzheng Huangyue to find us.”
“Bingo!” Wen Li nodded, snapping her fingers. “Either way, now that we've vanished, she'll come looking for us even if something went wrong on her end. We just wait for news from Zongzheng Huangyue.”
Dusk gradually settled in. The two remained inside the inn—one reading, the other... sleeping.
The night passed without incident.
...
Capital of the Beiqiong Kingdom.
“Your Highness, he is awake.”
In front of a pavilion, Zongzheng Huangyue, dressed in luxurious black-and-red robes, gazed down at the quaint bone ring in her hand. She could feel a biting chill emanating from it. It truly looked worthless, but since that woman had spoken with such certainty, she was willing to take a gamble.
Zongzheng Huangyue inquired via voice transmission to the black-robed person wearing a bamboo hat beside her, “How is his condition?”
The black-robed figure behind her replied via transmission, “Your Highness, it is somewhat strange. His spiritual roots were crippled, reducing him to the constitution of a mortal, and he had been thrown off a bottomless cliff with grievous wounds all over. Yet when we found him, he was still breathing. Just now, a pill cultivator examined him and discovered that his crippled spiritual root was not completely destroyed, preserving a sliver of spiritual energy that sustained his life.”
Hearing this, Zongzheng Huangyue came to a conclusion. Slipping the bone ring onto her finger, she stepped into the pavilion.
Upon entering, she saw a handsome youth with well-defined features sitting on the bed, looking up at her.
Though his face was pale and his vitality depleted, it could not conceal the sharp clarity in his eyes.
“Who are you?” the youth asked with a furrowed brow.
Zongzheng Huangyue walked over to the bedside and took a seat. “Your fiancée, Zongzheng Huangyue.”
This youth was none other than the Chosen of the Heavenly Dao, Wangquan Sheng.
He instinctively assumed, “Have you come to annul our engagement?”
Her status was noble now, far beyond what a crippled waste like him could aspire to. Yet to his surprise—
“No, I did not come to break off the engagement. I came to save you, and also to apologize.”
Wangquan Sheng was baffled.
Zongzheng Huangyue bowed her head, an apologetic look on her face. “I am so sorry. Your plight this time was caused by me. Saint Emperor Zongzheng intends to name me as the successor, and your existence... affects my standing. Despite my protests, the Saint Emperor sent people to kill you.”
Hearing this, Wangquan Sheng’s expression darkened. He had never imagined an engagement would cause him to be targeted by an esteemed Saint Emperor. He sneered self-deprecatingly in his heart—what an honor that was.
“The moment I received word, I rushed here immediately. After tracing your tracks, I learned you had been cast off the cliff. I led my people to search for you, and fortunately, you still had a sliver of spiritual energy protecting your body, which allowed me to bring you back. I have wronged you. Although we have never met, I never once wished to annul our engagement. Yet under the Saint Emperor's decree, I have no choice. I am truly sorry... This is also to protect you.”
Zongzheng Huangyue's eyes reddened, tears welling up in her gaze with sincere, heartfelt contrition.
“I know I have let you down. I have here a bone ring that I once risked my life to obtain. Though I do not know its exact purpose, my master is the Imperial Preceptor of Houchi Kingdom, and even he remarked that this bone ring is extraordinarily profound and beyond his comprehension. I give it to you as an apology for what I owe you.”
As she spoke, she slid the bone ring off her finger and offered it to Wangquan Sheng. “If it brings you good fortune, let it serve as the culmination of the fate tied to our engagement.”
Yet he did not accept it.
“There is no need. I am well aware that a vast gulf separates our statuses now, and I have no desire to hold you back. Even if you hadn't brought up annulling the engagement, I would have. However, bringing it up yourself would damage your reputation. I will pen a letter to Houchi Kingdom to dissolve the engagement amicably.” The youth’s brow was upright, his demeanor polite yet distant.
“As for the assassination, you traveled thousands of li to save me. This matter has nothing to do with you; if anything, I owe you a debt of gratitude. The grudge lies between me and the Saint Emperor, and I will handle it in my own way. I cannot accept your gift of apology. You should leave. You owe me nothing—may we each walk our own path in peace.”
Hearing his words, Zongzheng Huangyue's expression grew crestfallen, her reddened eyes filled with disappointment.
“You... you wish to cut ties with me so cleanly?”
Her gaze, laden with deep affection yet forced into forbearance, stunned Wangquan Sheng. Aside from the engagement, when had they ever had any contact that would warrant such a look from her?
Zongzheng Huangyue let out a self-mocking laugh and shoved the bone ring into the youth’s hand. “Fine. Take this bone ring, and only then will our slate truly be clean, allowing us to go our separate ways.”
With that, she stood up decisively to leave. But as she reached the doorway, she “accidentally” knocked against the frame, instantly sucking in a breath of cold air from the pain.
“Hiss!”
Clutching her arm, Zongzheng Huangyue turned sideways to cast a perfectly timed backward glance at Wangquan Sheng before finally departing.
The maid who remained in the room voiced indignant grievances on Zongzheng Huangyue's behalf.
“What kind of person are you?! Because of the engagement, Her Highness has harbored feelings for you for years! She traveled day and night without rest for three days from Houchi Kingdom just to save you, and beneath the cliff, she was even bitten by demon beasts while shielding you! And all you want is to cut ties so cleanly?! Do you think Her Highness gives gifts to just anyone?!”
Stamping her foot in indignation, she turned and left, leaving behind an astonished Wangquan Sheng.
She... she liked him?
That couldn't be right. They had never even met once—all because of an engagement?
Besides, he was just a cripple right now. Was he worth doing all this for?
Wangquan Sheng stared down at the bone ring in his hand. He slowly raised it to inspect it. For some reason, despite his initial intention to return it to Zongzheng Huangyue, the moment his skin touched the bone ring, an inexplicable sensation welled up within him.
It was as if he had to keep this item—as though it had always belonged to him.
Inside the room, Wangquan Sheng ultimately decided to keep the bone ring. Declining any further would only humiliate her. He resolved to repay Zongzheng Huangyue for this favor in the future. As for the engagement, it still had to be annulled; his crippled body was unworthy of her, not to mention there was no affection between them—it was nothing more than a political marriage between two kingdoms.
Given his current plight, he was in no mood for romance anyway.
You couldn't blame Wangquan Sheng for being so gullible. After all, a teenage boy had barely interacted with many women; how could he have ever encountered malicious women or seen through such deceptive, convoluted schemes?
Outside the room, Zongzheng Huangyue couldn't care less about what he was thinking. The seed of cause had been planted; the future karmic fruit wouldn't turn out too poorly.
Taking the basin handed over by her maid, she used a warm towel to meticulously wipe the slender fingers that had touched Wangquan Sheng when handing over the ring.
“We return to Houchi Kingdom immediately,” she said, her eyes veiled in languid arrogance.
She needed to rush back to meet that woman. Counting the days, today was the seventh day. She hadn't expected finding Wangquan Sheng to take so long, and she had no idea whether those two were still waiting for her in the courtyard.
“Also, send a Late-Stage Golden Core cultivator to monitor Wangquan Sheng in secret. Pay no heed to his life or death; only keep watch on what he does and whom he meets. If he discovers them, say that I sent them to protect him.”
Zongzheng Huangyue's gaze turned dark. If it weren't for some protective destiny shielding Wangquan Sheng, why would she have ever stooped to staging such a hypocritical charade of deep affection?
She was still not powerful enough—not powerful enough to simply sever every threat with sheer might.
“Understood.”
The maid who had just indignantly defended her princess now bore a cold, composed expression, showing none of her earlier brash impulsiveness.
...
Rate on N.U.
