“What?” Helian Wei Wei didn’t understand why Third Prince would suddenly use this kind of gaze to look at her.
However, she intuitively still sensed danger as she subconsciously was going to withdraw her hand.
Yet Baili Jia Jue was a step faster than she was as he pressed down on that piece of fine writing paper using his finger smeared with red ink. His fingerprint was clearly visible.
As she saw that everything had been settled, Wei Wei also immediately relaxed and got up to move about and loosen her neck muscles as she said, “I’m going to go pack up.”
It could be seen that Wei Wei was in a good mood.
Basically, her biggest problems could be considered to have been resolved.
The reason why Wei Wei thought of the marriage contract was because firstly, Third Prince was difficult to handle. If he became an ally, then matters would become much simpler. Secondly, it was because she hadn’t forgotten that this was ancient times. If by chance, Retired Emperor was displeased with her for Third Prince’s sake, and just had her married off to someone else as he pleased, she wouldn’t be able to voice a single word of protest, as that would be considered the same as disobeying an imperial edict. That’s why she had to think of a move ahead of time as a countermeasure.
Now that she’s got the contract, in the future, everything would be done according to their agreement.
Both she and Third Prince happily agreed to this contract.
Therefore, now that they had this written agreement, in the future, no matter what happened, she could still escape from the palace unscathed.
However, was it truly this way?
Wei Wei didn’t know at all that just when she entered her bedroom to pack up her things.
The man sitting on the wood chair extended his hand and brought the fine writing paper over. Within his profound eyes brewed an acute chill that seemed like it could freeze everything over and also seemed as if it could stab and skewer a person’s chest.
There wasn’t a single word among all of the words on this piece of paper that didn’t clearly say that she wanted to maintain her distance from him.
Heh.
Baili Jia Jue curved his thin lips down as his slender fingers grasped the writing brush firmly and added the two words ‘can end’ under the section regarding the married couple’s obligations. After adding ‘can end’ after the words ‘not a thing’, the phrase became ‘not a thing can end’, which meant that their husband and wife relationship could never end.
Baili Jia Jue put down the writing brush and leisurely folded that piece of fine writing paper. His posture completely seemed like none of this had ever happened…
The mist outside the window already cleared up. The only thing that remained was a muddled yellow color, and that was an omen that the sun was setting.
Within the main hall at the imperial palace.
Prince Murong stood beside the window as he grabbed the black scarf covering his face and pulled down on it. His expression was gloomy as he threw it to the side. “We failed. He didn’t die. Not only that, not a single one of the secret guards that we sent out was able to return.”
“Then what should we do?” The other woman standing within the main hall suddenly looked up. The dangling pearl hair pin on her head also quivered as her head moved. “Father, we’re already running out of time. The king’s health is getting worse and worse. He’d had too much fun. Sooner or later, there’ll be a day when he’ll die on some woman’s body. Yan Er is still too young and simply doesn’t know anything. If the king passes away, based on how Retired Emperor, that old fart who refuses to die, pampers that vile spawn, this throne will be given to Baili Jia Jue for sure! I really can’t wait for that to happen!”
It turned out that this woman was none other than the current leader of the imperial harem ‘Empress Murong’. She gripped the handkerchief in her hand tightly. The crimson red tips of her fingers emitted unprecedented malicious thoughts. “He must die!”
“Please be assured, Empress.” Prince Murong lowered his voice as his eyes revealed an ominous glint. “We failed to kill him in Armament City, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t kill him after he returns to the capitol.”
Empress Murong tightened her grip on her handkerchief as her long shapely eyebrows creased. “Didn’t they say that the vile spawn didn’t bring a single person with him? How is it that not a single secret guard was able to return?”
“Our people encountered Young Master Han.” Prince Murong clenched his left hand. “He won’t have such good luck next time!”
The light in Empress Murong’s eyes submerged deeper. “Actually, what good plan does Father have?”
“Do you still remember the servant girl who poisoned him that year?” Prince Murong slowly curved his thin lips up. “Third Prince treated her very differently than how he treats other people.”
Empress Murong’s long, shapely eyebrows jumped. “Didn’t Retired Emperor dispose of her on the spot that year? How is she still alive?”
“Of course it’s because father saved her.” The corners of Prince Murong’s mouth slowly raised upwards, the shadow of a smile contained within. “Such a good chess piece of course needs to be used to the greatest extent.”
Empress Murong also smiled along. “Since it’s like that, then I am relieved. I heard that servant girl has been a beauty since birth. Beauties are like poison, this saying is not the least bit wrong. That vile spawn has not chosen a consort for so many years most likely because of her, the seed of infatuation that had been planted, heh.”
“I wonder when the two of them meet each other, what kind of expression they will show.” Prince Murong’s fingers slowly ran over the wood table and crushed it. “Having her kill him again would be impossible. Afterall, even if Third Prince becomes momentarily dazzled after seeing her, he’s still not that stupid.”
The light in Empress Murong’s eyes was like poison seeping. “Then let’s have him fall out of Retired Emperor’s favor for the sake of this person who claimed his heart, just like what happened to the current emperor because of me.”
“Even though it’s a bit of a problem, however, based on how much she understood Third Prince, it shouldn’t be too difficult.” Prince Murong set aside the china cup in his hand.
He believed that in everyone’s heart, there’s a person who’d left an indelible mark on it, and it’s evident that for Third’s Prince, this servant girl who had accompanied him countless nights and years in the palace, was such a person.
He hadn’t forgotten how in those days, no one was able to approach Third Prince no matter who they were.
Yet this servant girl had always received special treatment.
Prince Murong curved his thin lips. What’s more, it’s this special treatment that after they grew up, would become even more destructive. In any case, Baili Jia Jue no longer possessed any martial qi. No matter how intelligent he was, he was but a naive teenager. Only Retired Emperor was a little difficult to contend with, that’s all…
At a not too distant place, west of the imperial palace. “How’s everything?” Retired Emperor could no longer hold back his distress as he stood up and hurriedly asked the shadow guard rushing back. “Nothing’s happened to little Jue, right?”
The guard respectfully kneeled on the ground, and reported without leaving out a single word. “Please don’t worry, Retired Emperor, His Highness has already set out to return to the capital. There’ll be people accompanying him throughout the entire journey. That kind of thing won’t happen again.”
“That’s good then. That’s good then.” Retired Emperor seemed as if he’d aged a dozen or more years all at once. He sat firmly on his seat and extended his hand to brush his forehead. “Have you made inquiries about the person who’d extended their hand to help little Jue?”
The shadow guard looked up. “Reporting to Retired Emperor, reportedly, at that time, Young Master Han was also there.”
“It’s really youngster Han?” Retired Emperor skeptically narrowed his eyes. Such a swift and fierce style doesn’t resemble that child’s methods, and instead seemed…
Retired Emperor’s eyebrows jumped once. “You go make a trip to White Academy and look into everything that little Jue had recently participated in. After that, report to the results to me.”
“Yes!” The shadow guard dropped his eyes.
“Wait a moment.” The light within Retired Emperor’s eyes submerged. “That girl from the Helian family, what’s going on with her?”
The shadow guard stared blankly. Retired Emperor asked this of him, but he also didn’t know what’s going on. He hadn’t waited upon Third Prince, and even if he was one of those brothers who did wait upon Third Prince, he’s afraid he’d still be unable to guess Third Prince’s thoughts…
Retired Emperor apparently also became aware that he’d asked the wrong person as he waved his sleeve. “It’s fine. You can go.” Maybe he’d thought too much.
Little Jue should only have been too bored recently, so he found himself a plaything…