Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Ninth Prince’s expression turned cold.

“Just by yourself?”

“Yes, by myself.”

He gave a mocking laugh and suddenly stepped closer to me.

“Very well, Gong Yaoguang. This Prince can take that bet. But if you lose… on our wedding day, I will make sure you remember it for the rest of your life.”

He laughed arrogantly and departed.

I shook my head, smiling at his lack of self-awareness.

Across two lifetimes, there has only ever been one person who made me remember them for the rest of my life. It certainly wasn’t him, nor was it the Sixth Prince.

Liu Cui did not like the Ninth Prince.

She felt he was arrogant and overbearing, far inferior to the Sixth Prince, who was gentle and considerate.

She often lamented, wishing that the Second Young Miss hadn’t stolen the Sixth Prince away.

I smiled and ordered her to make some pastries to send to the Ninth Prince.

“Miss, do you truly have feelings for the Ninth Prince?”

“You cannot judge a person by their surface. The Ninth Prince is much better than the Sixth Prince. In the past, it was I who lacked the judgment to see people for who they were…”

Liu Cui’s mouth hung open, caught between disbelief and the need to trust my words.

She meticulously prepared four types of pastries and personally delivered them to the Ninth Prince’s manor. When she returned, however, she was fuming.

I asked her what was wrong.

She said she had encountered a dog on the road, and all the pastries had ended up in the dog’s stomach.

I nodded with a smile. “That dog must have been quite handsome and wearing green clothes.”

“Miss, how did you know the Second Young Miss was at the Ninth Prince’s manor?”

How did I know?

This was merely a tactic Gong Qiuyue had used in our previous life.

In that life, after her Rebirth, she had laid her plans early. She traveled as a man, making the acquaintance of many scholars and refined gentlemen. She took the opportunity to befriend the Ninth Prince, traveling with him and riding horses through fields of flowers, forging a deep friendship.

Later, through a twist of fate, the Ninth Prince discovered her identity as a woman, making his breaking of our engagement a natural progression.

Unfortunately, she was too clever for her own good.

In our last life, Gong Qiuyue never imagined that the one who would ascend the throne wasn’t the Ninth Prince she had so desperately schemed for, but the Sixth Prince she had treated as a discarded pawn.

She couldn’t understand it.

When I sent her to her death, she demanded to know why. She had already experienced Rebirth, so why could she still not defeat me?

I simply said one thing: no matter how many times you are reborn, you will always be defeated by my hand.

She was beautiful when she died.

A thin sword wound across her neck, blood gushing out like a blooming, exquisite painting.

I ordered someone to paint that scene and burned it for her ghost in the Underworld, hoping she would learn her lesson.

She must have learned it.

In this life, she has become smarter.

She won’t choose the Sixth Prince, and she won’t choose the Ninth Prince. She will likely keep them both on the hook, waiting for the day the dust settles before stepping out to claim the prize.

But if one wants to pick the fruit, the tree must first be able to bear it.

Not long after.

Xiliang sent a tribute of countless fine horses.

Among them was a magnificent, divine steed. Its body was snow-white, but its four hooves were black as ink. His Majesty named it White Cloud Treading Crow, declaring that whoever could tame the horse would become its master.

Gong Qiuyue entered the field in men’s clothing. While taming the stallion, her hair bun accidentally came loose, her fake beard fell off, and her long hair billowed in the wind…

In the end, she tamed the horse and became its master.

While earning the cheers of the crowd, she also shocked the Ninth Prince.

Only then did he realize that his close friend all this time was actually a woman.

Gong Qiuyue gave the horse to the Ninth Prince as an apology and turned to leave with effortless grace.

The Ninth Prince, however, stood frozen in a daze for a long time, so distracted that even his new divine steed lost its luster.

When I heard the news, the hand I used to play the zither remained steady; not a single note was out of place.

Liu Cui, on the other hand, was so angry that she pricked her finger while embroidering.

“Hiss… She truly is shameless.”

“Between one’s face and one’s life, which is more important?”

“Naturally, it’s one’s life.”

“Mhm. I think it’s life, too.”

I always felt that between Gong Qiuyue and me, there was a fatal knot. It seemed that only if one of us died could the other live a satisfied life in this world.

Therefore, I wasn’t angry that Gong Qiuyue wanted to kill me.

Because I felt exactly the same way about her.

She can tear down the past and start over time and again, and I have the memories of my Rebirth every time. It is only fair.

In the middle of the night, the Ninth Prince slipped into my bedroom.

He carried the scent of the gardenias from Gong Qiuyue’s room.

I pretended to be fast asleep, only to feel a hand slowly tighten around my neck.

I was forced to open my eyes and meet the Ninth Prince’s gaze.

He huffed coldly, released his grip, and looked down at me with pride.

“I used to think you were clever and alert, worthy of being my princess consort. Looking at you now, you fall short after all.”

I sighed. “Your Highness, please use the door next time.”

“I do not need your guidance on how to conduct myself!”

“Today, Your Highness gained a soulmate and a legendary steed. It seems you’ve forgotten that I am your fiancée-the one who is meant to share the same quilt in life and the same grave in death.”

His face remained cold, his expression flickering with uncertainty.

After a long silence, he seemed to have made up his mind.

“Soon, you won’t be.”

“Then Your Highness will have lost the bet.”

“I accept the terms of the bet. Those three promises will serve as your compensation.”

The Ninth Prince snorted and turned to leave.

Before he climbed out the window, I asked out of curiosity:

“Your Highness, if one day your horse and Gong Qiuyue both fell into the water and you could only save one, which would you choose?”

*Thud-*

It sounded like the Ninth Prince slipped as he went out the window.