Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“Imperial Brother, this one is mine.”

Upon hearing that familiar voice, I wiped away my tears and turned around.

Yuwen Chen looked down at me from his height, raising an eyebrow slightly as he reached out his hand. He pulled me behind him, and I, in turn, pulled Zhao Pingyan up as well.

Yuwen Zhu looked at the three of us, but he directed his question to Yuwen Chen, his voice tinged with disapproval.

“Fifth Brother, you’re not planning to take two, are you?”

Only then did I realize that Yuwen Xuan hadn’t come.

Yuwen Chen froze for a moment, his brow furrowing as he took a half-step back.

“What if I want two today? I left my homeland at the age of eight and spent ten years as a hostage in an enemy country. Do you have any idea what kind of humiliations I suffered out there? I was even forced to lick people’s feet! I really…”

As Yuwen Chen recalled his past of ignoble survival, his tone grew increasingly tragic and indignant. He was on the verge of crying himself.

He spread his arms, his right hand pulling me close. “I want this one.”

Then his left hand pulled Zhao Pingyan in. “And this one too! What’s wrong with having two? Go ahead and report me! Go on!”

Zhao Pingyan and I leaned obediently into his embrace, dabbing away his non-existent tears. I wiped his right eye, and she wiped his left. We performed this task with such meticulous care it was almost comical.

Yuwen Zhu was utterly speechless. “I only said one thing. Why are you getting so worked up?”

Yuwen Chen calmed himself down.

“Forgive me, Imperial Brother. I’ve only just returned, and my emotions are still a bit volatile.”

Yuwen Zhu stopped wasting words on him because someone more important had arrived.

Yuwen Zhu accompanied the newcomer, gesturing with his arm to lead the way into the hall. He even had a relatively quiet corner selected for them.

The two sat down to drink, talking and laughing freely as if they were the best of friends. Zhao Pingyan and I were both stunned.

That man with the refined features and elegant bearing was clearly the Crown Prince, Zhao Xiheng.

Why was it that, though they both belonged to the Southern Dynasty royalty, the women were publicly humiliated while the man could stand by as an idle spectator? Moreover, Zhao Xiheng was actually being treated as an honored guest.

The last time I had seen the Crown Prince was six months ago. In the imperial court, he had argued forcefully for making peace with the Southwest King first to jointly resist Northern Yan. But the Emperor had disagreed. The Emperor believed that all Northern Yan wanted was money, cities, and women, whereas the Southwest wanted his throne.

Consequently, the Crown Prince had personally led an expedition to Yanbei, after which all news of him had vanished.

And now, he appeared here.

Many eyes were fixed on this former Crown Prince, but Zhao Xiheng seemed used to it. He didn’t spare us a single glance, continuing to talk and laugh with ease.

“This is no place for women to linger.”

Yuwen Chen led us away, taking us to Yuwen Xuan’s palace.

The hall was thick with the scent of blood. Yuwen Xuan had been ambushed on his way to the banquet tonight.

He sat stripped to the waist, having been hit by two arrows. He bit down hard on a wet cloth, allowing the physician to extract the shafts. As the arrows were pulled out, flesh and blood were torn. Cold sweat visibly rolled down his body.

Once the outsiders had withdrawn, Yuwen Xuan lifted his eyelids and looked at Zhao Pingyan with his usual coldness.

“Are you two alright?”

Zhao Pingyan shook her head helplessly, her voice exceptionally sorrowful.

“No, something terrible has happened. It turns out the Second Highness isn’t doing so well for himself either.”

That was Zhao Pingyan for you-never one to be deceived by men, and always quick to see the heart of the matter.

Yuwen Xuan gave a soft laugh.

“No matter how poorly I’m doing, I can always fulfill what I promised you.”

He looked even more handsome when he smiled, but he forgot his injuries and let out a low groan of pain.

The Yan Emperor had three sons and two daughters. Yuwen Chen had been a hostage for ten years and had no foundation; it was impossible for him to inherit the throne. This assassination attempt was undoubtedly the work of the First Prince, Yuwen Zhu.

But for some reason, the Crown Prince was on good terms with Yuwen Zhu.

Yuwen Xuan cleared up our confusion. Ironically, Zhao Xiheng had not been captured in battle. Instead, after the Southern Emperor was caught, he followed Yuwen Zhu’s treacherous scheme and sent a secret order to the Crown Prince to come to the rescue. The Crown Prince, intent on saving his father, was lured into a Yan Army ambush.

Thirty thousand Southern Dynasty soldiers were slaughtered in a single night. Zhao Xiheng was captured alive.

I was furious as I listened. “Even a tiger won’t eat its cubs! The Emperor has harmed others and himself-what on earth was he thinking?”

Zhao Pingyan remained silent.

Yuwen Xuan continued. Currently, the Southwest was still maintaining its independence, and the Han people were fleeing from the Yan forces. They would rather flee to the Southwest than live under Northern Yan rule. The Yan Emperor realized he couldn’t achieve true unification yet, so he wanted to prop up a puppet ruler. However, given the Southern Emperor’s current reputation, both the common people and the Yan people looked down on him completely.

The Crown Prince, who had long held a reputation for virtue, was naturally the best candidate. The Yan Emperor even intended to marry a princess to Zhao Xiheng.

“But this hasn’t been finalized yet, because both the Third and Fourth Princesses want to marry him. Yuwen Zhu is also befriending him, which is essentially an act of solicitation.”

I had always known that Zhao Xiheng was very popular with the ladies.

“Since he’s getting married, it’s no longer appropriate for me to keep his things.”

I untied the Twin Fish Jade Pendant from my waist and placed it by Yuwen Xuan’s bedside.

“Second Highness, please return this to him for me.”