The candle was close to its end.As she watched the melting wax, the Princess was experiencing mixed feelings.
The Dragon King was more like an opponent than a husband. The Princess regretted threatening him with the remaining chapters of the Wayless Book. Only after this fierce collision did she realize the size of the power gap.
“How could I have been so foolish,” she thought. “How could the Dragon King let a young woman such as I threaten him? I always thought his anger a bluff. At one time I took it to be true, and it struck fear in me, yet I remained defiant.”
“In the end, the Dragon King still knows everything. Dragon King knew everything,”the Princess reflected.
Upon hearing that the Dragon King stayed in the main hall during the day, the Princess had a bad feeling, so she went to the main hall privately. She was relieved when she found that the papers were still there; after all, she had spent months working on them. Although these papers meant nothing to her, they were the only thing she had that Dragon King was interested in.
As soon as she stepped out of the palace gate, she saw the two men.
Both of them were wearing cloaks that hung over their bodies so one could not identify the two as men or women, but the Princess was certain that no one had been kidnapped, and Shangguan Fei’s story in this part of the Council Chamber was a lie.
It was not like her home. Since she married the Dragon King and was sent back, the Princess’s position became increasingly more awkward. She did not want to be nosy, so when they disappeared, she quietly returned to her residence.
She thought no one tracked her whereabouts.
“I have just realized how naive I am!” Thinking of it, she laughed at her foolishness. “I’m still a girl. I broke into the game of the grown-ups, and failed spectacularly.”
But she knew how to learn from it. When she sat on the chair awaiting Dragon King, she thought a lot. In the beginning, she felt humiliated, and then complained herself, and at length, she started to analyze the way Dragon King had handled this matter so as to learn from it.
“Dragon King knew everything. But why did he bring me to the Council Chamber and force me to confess,” she wondered.
At first, she thought it was a way for the Dragon King to humiliate her in order to retaliate against her threats. Slowly she realized that things were not so simple. The Dragon King was being suspected by the people all over the country. What he said was all regarded as a lie, but unlike her, as a Princess of Stone Kingdom, it was easier for her to win everyone’s trust.
“Why didn’t he invite the King here as a witness? The King was involved in the conspiracy, so Dragon King didn’t want to embarrass him,” she thought.
“That’s all,” she thought. “I have to make a decision: side with Golden Roc Fort and help mybrother against Dragon King, or take more risks following Dragon King wholeheartedly to gain more.”
She had yet to decide.
Dragon King had shown his extraordinary wits and stratagems, but winning the war ultimately depended on military force. Golden Roc Fort troops’ number was approximately three times larger than Dragon King’s. Besides, they had support from Norland. Western Region was no match for Norland. Although she knew little about military affairs, she knew that Dragon King’s chance to win the war was slim.
“Many princesses in the countries of the Western Region have remarried. Some of them even undergo more than two marriages,” she thought.
The Princess’ breathing quickened and her face turned red. She was too young to accept all this. But after many twists and turns since her marriage, she understood at least one thing: the Dragon King did not love her, nor did she love the Dragon King. The passion of the first three days of marriage was only an impulsive mistake.
Xu Yanwei stood near her silently.
“Xu Yanwei is a good maid. She isn’t skilled in chores and sometimes uses vulgar and obscene language, but she is the only one who consoled me gently when I was sad, amused me when I was bored and spoke for me when I was bullied.”
“However, she doesn’t serve me,” the Princess pondered.
“Take a seat here,” the Princess said to her.
Xu Yanwei wasn’t a court maid and she never took herself for a common court maid. After hesitation, she sat opposite to the Princess. Noticing that the Princess was in a bad mood, she knew she should comfort her. So she said, “Men always want to be smarter than women. As a woman, the best method to please them is to play dumb.”
Xu Yanwei had countless mottos regarding relationships between men and women. When she did not know what to say, she would quote several of them and would usually get the point, but this time she fell short.
Now the Princess did not care about how to maintain a good relationship with the Dragon King as his wife.
“How long have you been with me? It must be a long time,” the Princess said.
“A year and a month, give or take a few days. I don’t think it’s a long time, but instead, I think it’s short,” she said. Xu Yanwei could be pleasing to either men or women when she chose to be.
The Princess smiled. She thought Xu Yanwei was the only one she could talk to in her life. However, she had been a whore. She said, “You have helped me a lot. Without you, I wouldn’t have made it through the hard times this past year.”
Xu Yanwei had successfully changed the Princess’ impression of the Dragon King. Besides, she had spoken for the Princess many times when the king proposed unreasonable demands. Although Xu Yanwei was only three to four years older than the Princess, she was more sophisticated in dealing with matters. She responded, “I’m flattered. It’s my duty to solve those trivial matters for you.”
“No, you’ve done so much for me. You’re the most important person in my life besides the Dragon King.”
Xu Yanwei loved compliments, but the Princess’s praise was overexaggerated. It was as if she absent-mindedly served some guests, but later received a tip beyond her imagination. This happened occasionally, and she always felt uneasy. She said smilingly, “Hehe, you flatter me. You’re not only the Princess of Stone Kingdom but also Dragon King’s Queen. You will meet more important figures in the future.”
“Big shots are not necessarily important. Besides, I may have no chance to meet them,” said the Princess.
“Ah, what makes you think that? Who would dare hurt you? Dragon King won’t allow it to happen.”
Two teardrops ran down the Princess’ face.
When Xu Yanwei saw the tears, her uneasiness increased. She asked in a panic, “My Princess, My Queen, what’s wrong? What happened? The pregnant maid is alive, and the Dragon King treats you well. What are you worried about?”
The Princess grabbed Xu Yanwei’s hand on the desk, and said, “Sister, may I call you that?”
“Yes, of course. But… I don’t deserve this,” Xu Yanwei replied. She had served Luo Ningcha who was evil-tempered and difficult to please. Since that, she thought there was no mistress she could not handle. But now, faced with the Princess’ sincerity and enthusiasm, she was at a loss and did not know how to respond.
“You treat me like your younger sister. I used to have two elder brothers, but they only took me for the Princess instead of their younger sister. You’re the only one who has made me feel the kinship.”
“If I had a sister like you, I would be overjoyed,” replied Xu Yanwei.
“My dear sister.”
“My s– no, I have to call you ‘Princess’ or ‘Queen.’ It frightens me to call you ‘sister.'”
“It doesn’t matter as long as you’re willing to be my sister.”
“It’s my pleasure,” said Xu Yanwei.
“My dear sister, I need you to help me,” the Princess said.
Xu Yanwei was not stupid. She had guessed the Princess must have a reason for being so nice to her. Even still, Xu Yanwei could not refuse her because she was quite fond of the Princess. The Princess was delicate, so she could not help trying to protect her. She said in confidence, “Please trust me. I will keep Dragon King here tonight and try my best to make him sleep with you, at all costs.”
Hearing this, the Princess flushed and interrupted her immediately, “No, you misunderstood me.”
“Did I? I thought… haha. Tell me, who dares to bully you?”
“I betrayed the Dragon King.”
Xu Yanwei was taken by great surprise. She withdrew her hand from the Princess’ hands and said, “You… cheated on him? How…”
“No, I didn’t,” the Princess shook her head repeatedly, and her face became redder, “I don’t have another… It’s about men… My betrayal has nothing to do with infidelity.”
“Then what are you referring to? Are you hiding the papers from him?”
“That’s not all,” the Princess continued.
“What else did you do,” Xu Yanwei inquired.
“I made another copy and gave it to someone else.”
Xu Yanwei was stunned. “You’ve got some nerve,” she said. “Dragon King told you many times… How didn’t I notice?”
“Do you remember that day when the King sent servants to scold me?”
“Of course I remember it; he did it more than once. Your brother likes to meddle and nitpick. He came in person… I see.”
“The brother and sister were acting in front of others. They pretended to be on bad terms, but exchanged information privately.” Xu Yanwei thought.
“I had no choice,” the Princess cried, “He is not only my brother but also a King. I have to work for him. It’s… It’s the rule of the Ju family.”
Xu Yanwei sighed and pitied the poor Princess. “She has lived in the palace since her birth. All she learned is how to be a qualified princess and to contribute to her family. For her, the kinship that others value most is a chain that she can’t escape,”she mused.
“When did it begin,” Xu Yanwei asked.
“Two or three months ago when he heard that I was working on a secret manuscript for Dragon King.”
Xu Yanwei scratched her head. She got angry, not because of the Princess’ boldness, but her own dereliction of duty. She asked, “You said you gave the copy to the King. Who did he give the copy to?”
“I don’t know. I guess he gave it to the man from Golden Roc Fort. He always told me that they were formidable and Dragon King wasn’t equal to them.”
Xu Yanwei became more nervous, and she even regretted agreeing to help the Princess. She asked, “So it was your brother’s plot to kill that pregnant maid, right?
“Yes,” the Princess admitted.
“Did you have a part in it?”
“No, I didn’t. I just… I knew his plot, but didn’t tell Dragon King.”
Xu Yanwei could only smile bitterly, which was not much different from participating in the conspiracy. “You want me to help you,” she asked the Princess.
“Dragon King trusts you. Please tell him that I am very remorseful, and I will go along with whatever decision he makes as I am his wife.”
“Dragon King never takes my words seriously. No one can change his decision.”
The Princess wailed with her head buried on the table. After a while, she raised her head and said, “Then let him kill me. I only beg him to do it himself.”
“I will talk with him and he won’t kill you,” Xu Yanwei said and sighed. “Men are complicatedand women are not simple.” She thought this motto was insufficient, and added, “Women shouldn’t interfere with men’ matters.”
Gu Shenwei arrived at the Princess’ residence. Before he entered, he was stopped by Xu Yanwei. She begged, “Dragon King, allow me to leave the palace. You can ask me to do anything except collect information. I can’t do it anymore. The Princess is driving me crazy.”
“Did she tell you everything?”
Xu Yanwei nodded and shook her head. “I shouldn’t have impulsively agreed to collect intelligence for Dragon King and drank blood wine for no reason,” she thought.