It was at this moment that the image of the Princess became clear to Gu Shenwei.
She was a beautiful girl, but he had never had a deep impression of her before.
She was his wife, known to the people of the Western Region as the Dragon Queen, but it was a fact that he often forgot.
The Princess had large eyes that reflected the anxiety and fear that had been brewing inside her for the past few days. She could not hide her emotions. It was her first negotiation and her opponent turned out to be her husband, the same Dragon King whom she feared and missed.
She trembled ever so slightly, her stiff smile barely lasting before her facade crumbled. Her eyes were wet and on the verge of tearing.
Gu Shenwei hoped that she would give up on her own accord. He also wished that this was only a poor joke and that she would hand over the final copy of the documents.
But she was like a slender blade of grass that shook violently in a gale. Her body leaned sideways until it nearly touched the ground, but she was still standing.
Gu Shenwei turned to look at Xu Yanwei.
Xu Yanwei was the only maid left, but she could not have expected such a scene to unfold.
In her imagination, good wine and a little seduction were enough to conquer most men. She had taught the Princess all of her unique skills—though there were not too many, they would be enough.
She blamed herself for adding that reminder: “The Dragon King is a little special and doesn’t easily take the bait, but you don’t have to worry because no matter how long it lasts, victory will always belong to the woman in such a battle.”
Xu Yanwei suspected that the Princess had misunderstood her meaning. War was just a metaphor, but it seemed as if she was really drawing out a saber to duel with the Dragon King.
Xu Yanwei wore a wry smile on her face. She did not think Princess went too far. “That… There’s no wine. I’ll go and get some.” She quickly ran out with a full flagon in hand, silently wishing the Dragon King good luck.
The Princess’ persistence finally worked. The Dragon King said, “Tell me your conditions.”
Gu Shenwei was not angered. On the contrary, he was rather amused. He would have laughed out loud had he not already forgotten how to change his expression.
The Princess held back her tears and took a deep breath. From the descriptions of the Dragon King that others have made, she believed that tenderness would not work on her husband. He believed in concrete benefits rather than the feelings of a married couple whose time together was brief. “It’s very simple. I’m your wife and you’re my husband. We should live like a real married couple. I want to live with you,” she said.
“I live in the barracks,” Gu Shenwei replied, reminding the Princess. “There are thousands of soldiers who don’t live with their families. I can’t make an exception and the barracks are a dangerous place.”
How wonderful it would be to hear these words from her husband before she was “kicked out” of the barracks! The Princess could not help crying again. She took another deep breath to restrain her almost unbearable sadness before saying, “You’re the Dragon King. You can’t live in the barracks all your life.”
Gu Shenwei was silent for a moment and decided it would be easier to lie to her. “You’re right. I will build a royal palace outside Xiaoyao Lake, where we’ll live together. I hope the Jade City doesn’t leave a bad impression on you.”
The Princess liked the Jade City. She grew up in the North City and had never seen the dirty and bloody South City before. She failed to realize that the Dragon King was humoring her. It was as if she was a killer who was armed for the first time and so self-conscious that she was unable to discern her opponent’s tricks.
“The Jade City is great but I will follow you no matter where you go. I don’t care even it’s a desolate desert.” The Princess quickly expressed her stance, not wanting him to think that she was being a snob.
Being a person who was used to telling lies, Gu Shenwei was well aware of just how fragile promises were. Most of the time, people did not lie deliberately. They simply did not really understand what they have just said.
“I will wait ten years for you.” The one who said this had no idea just know how long a decade was, let alone one hundred or one thousand years.
“I’d like to go through fire and water for you.” Those who made this oath will not even have a scar on their bodies, thinking that death was distant and easily handled.
When they failed to keep their promises, they would find all kinds of excuses to defend themselves.
Gu Shenwei thought that the Princess was probably unfamiliar with the desolate desert, for she traveled in a carriage while crossing the desert. She had never seen the power of the gale and sand.
“In the Jade City, I will defeat the Supreme King so that the city will no longer be under the control of a few countries. It will just belong to me,” Gu Shenwei said.
The Princess was a little excited because it was her dream to return to the Jade City as his Queen. But her demands went beyond that. “I believe you can achieve your goal soon, Dragon King, but before that, you have to come over once in a while… to pay me a visit.”
Her voice became weaker and weaker. The words “pay me a visit” meant many things that were hard for her to speak of.
She did not know that her passion on the wedding night was generated with the help of external forces. The Dragon King had once hinted of it but was not explicit about it. She had never heard of secret techniques of the New Moon Hall, nor would she believe that there were such magical and strange martial arts in the world.
Gu Shenwei frowned. It was easy to lie about the future, but not things that had to be accomplished in the near future. “The war is beginning soon. I can’t come often.”
“You don’t have to come during the war but there will be always an end to the war.” The Princess was not so confident now and there was a hint of pleading in her voice. She was increasingly doubtful and feared that she had gone too far. She worried that her behavior was neither fitting of a Princess and Queen, nor a wife for that matter. “Ten days, twenty days, a month, as long as it’s at least once… Let everyone know that I’m still your wife and the Dragon Queen. That will silence His Majesty, at least…”
The King of the Stone nation was her brother. She was still afraid to talk about the incompetent king and immediately dropped the subject. “I don’t want to see people giving me strange looks as if the Dragon King and I are just husband and wife for one night.”
Even the cold-blooded Dragon King began to think that her request was reasonable. “Well, as long as I’m not too busy, I will come back often. Every ten days maximum.”
The Princess felt gratified to finally win once in her relationship with the Dragon King, even though it made them look even less like a married couple.
However, this was not enough. The Princess, who had never negotiated before, instinctively understood that it would get harder after making the first request. She was afraid that making the next request first would anger the Dragon King, but it was within her right as his queen. It was also a test of his bottom line.
“Dragon King, can you… change one of your guards?”
“Which guard?”
The Princess was still inexperienced and too impatient. Had she discussed it with Xu Yanwei in advance, the latter would certainly remind her that the best place for men to agree with her was not on the dining table but the bed.
But she was exhausted and not in the mood to think about such matters.
“Maid Lotus,” she said, spitting out these two words as if reciting a short curse.
Xu Yanwei was waiting outside the house. The longer she waited, the more she felt the Princess had a good chance of winning. She had already figured out how to comfort the Dragon King. “Men are like this. People who aren’t afraid of their wives can’t achieve great things. Of course, you’re not afraid of the Princess, but letting her win every now and then will bring you constant victories on the battlefield.”
She had prepared a lot of answers for when the Dragon King asked her for a reason, many of which were well-known figures in the Jade City. Even he would not be able to find a flaw in that.
But the married couple had been negotiating for too long. Xu Yanwei began to harbor wild thoughts and pricked her ears to listen, but she could not hear any familiar sounds coming from the room.
Then came a noise which sounded like a cup being thrown on the floor. This did not bode well. Just as Xu Yanwei was about to work up the nerve to stop the fight, the Dragon King came out with a face full of anger.
“Dragon King… Please don’t get angry, Princess… Queen…” The words that Xu Yanwei had prepared could not be used. She did not know what to say.
“You have been accompanying the Queen. Where did she hide the other characters?” Gu Shenwei asked fiercely, waggling a pile of paper in his hand.
Xu Yanwei was confused. She had never seen Dragon King enraged like this and was thus not as calm and glib as usual. She thought carefully and shook her head. “I don’t know. Didn’t the Princess tell you? I’ll go persuade her.”
“No.” Gu Shenwei forbade harshly for he did not want to give in to the Princess again. “Gather the books I sent. I want to take them away.”
Xu Yanwei tried hard to keep her big eyes open, giving a blank and timid expression, making herself look extremely pitiful. It was her unique skill that made her famous in the Pleasure Alley. When the guests saw this expression, they would either take out a bunch of taels of silver to give her or leap forward and push her onto a bed. In short, it helped her solve problems without having to say a word.
She had not used this skill for a long time and involuntarily brought it out at this moment. However, she had forgotten that the Dragon King knew her very well and would never rise to the bait.
“Where are the books?” Fire seemed to be bursting out of the Dragon King’s eyes.
“I thought you have permitted this, Dragon King,” Xu Yanwei said in a low voice.
Gu Shenwei felt a sense of foreboding. The Princess was more difficult to deal with than he thought because she had made adequate preparation.
“They are burned!” Xu Yanwei narrowed her shoulders and tried to look innocent. “The Princess said… The Queen said that there are important secrets hidden in those books. She has deciphered them and decided that they can longer be kept. She said that they should be burned to avoid future troubles.”
The Dragon King looked like he wanted to kill someone. Seeing this, Xu Yanwei hurriedly added, “It’s the Queen’s idea…” Suddenly, she remembered that she should not be so afraid of Dragon King as he would not kill her. Things might be different for the Princess, however. “No, no, no! It’s my idea! I persuaded the Princess to do this. Dragon King, please just give in. She has deciphered the code and those books are useless. Moreover, men are all like this. People who are afraid of wives can achieve great things, like that person in the Jade City…”
Xu Yanwei finally said what she had planned to, but it was so hastily done that it lost its intended effect.
The Dragon King went off in a huff.
Maid Lotus was on the alert outside all the time, not knowing what was happening inside. She was shocked to see Dragon King come out in anger. He did not look like a commander-in-chief who commanded 30,000 troops.
“Call on your people.” Gu Shenwei gave an order harshly, intending to withdraw the protection of the Princess. “Especially Han Fen. I need to ask her some questions.”
Han Fen might have noticed things that Xu Yanwei did not.
Maid Lotus accepted the order and walked away, but turned back again after taking only a few steps. She exchanged a glance with the Dragon King and came to understand that there was a complex reason behind his anger.