Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Luo Ningcha’s anger overwhelmed her fear. This was the second time she had been kidnapped in the Royal Court, and this time’s treatment was even worse than the last time because no one had explained to her why she had been kidnapped.
The moment her hood was taken off and her hands untied, she was bewildered and at a loss for what to do, but she soon started looking around with glaring eyes, searching for someone to vent her anger on.
Four strange women… No, there’s one… two she was familiar with. Luo Ningcha’s gaze swept between Shangguan Ru and Xu Yanwei. Instead of greeting or asking them the reason why she had been sent here, she said to Xu Yanwei viciously, “You traitor, you dare to come back and see me?”
Xu Yanwei had once served Luo Ningcha for a long time. This threat immediately brought her back to that unbearable period of time. Although Luo Ningcha liked her and sometimes even relied on her, she wasn’t so soft-hearted when she was angry.
Luo Ningcha had chosen the weaker one amongst the two acquaintances to vent onto. Xu Yanwei, however, would choose the strongest of the three women to be her protector.
Shangguan Ru, Queen Ju, and Xiao Fengchai. Xu Yanwei looked them over, and half out of instinct, and half out of judgment, she jumped behind Shangguan Ru like a rabbit being chased.
Luo Ningcha strode within two steps in front of Shangguan Ru and glowered at her. “Give me back the maid.”
“Eighth Sister-in-law, why are you so angry?”
“Neither you nor Shangguan Nu are people of the castle anymore, so why are you still calling me your ‘sister-in-law’? Get out of my way!”
Luo Ningcha still had the ability to annoy the other side in just one word. Shangguan Ru smiled. “Okay, there is no relationship between us. However, Luo Ningcha, this isn’t your place. You don’t have the authority to force anyone out of the way.”
Luo Ningcha suddenly came to her senses and realized that she had been kidnapped. “You, you kidnapped me because you are jealous…” She pointed at Shangguan Ru, stepped back in horror, and bumped into someone.
It was an indifferent-looking woman. Shangguan Ru and others already knew she was a disciple of the Waning Moon Hall, but it was Luo Ningcha’s first time seeing her. Startled yet foolhardy, Luo Ningcha raised her hand and was ready to strike. “You are also a slut of the Dragon King?”
Before she could react, the disciple of the Waning Moon Hall had slapped her in the face and coldly said, “This is for the Master Commander.” Then she slapped a second time. “This is for Maid Cui.” The third slap rang out. “This is for me. I’m Han Qin, ‘Qin’ for ‘celery.’”
It turned quiet again after three crisp slaps. Han Qin turned and left, leaving Luo Ningcha to slowly accept the humiliation and ponder who the Master Commander and Maid Cui were.
Then she remembered. Wasn’t the Master Commander the hateful Lotus who had tried to assassinate her? And Maid Cui was that dumb and blind maid who had been dead for a long time.
Luo Ningcha’s heart trembled. She was afraid of ghosts, but the humiliation of being beaten publicly eventually prevailed. She covered her face to sob, which then escalated into wailing.
“Who is she?” Queen Ju asked in surprise and displeasure. Luo Ningcha’s words of ‘slut of the Dragon King’ really annoyed her because only she had the right to say that.
Shangguan Ru and Xu Yanwei didn’t utter a sound but Xiao Fengchai had already guessed who this was. She hummed and said, “The number one beauty of Jade City, the eighth young mistress of Golden Roc Castle, Luo Ningcha.”
Both Jade City and Golden Roc Castle were former strongholds of the Dragon King, so Queen Ju was filled with suspicion.
The more Luo Ningcha cried, the sadder she felt. All the grievances she felt since her birth welled up in her heart and she immediately saw herself as the most innocent and miserable woman in the world.
She had finally won a little sympathy from Xu Yanwei.
Xu Yanwei remembered that this former lord of hers had always had a high opinion of her and never acted hard on her, so she walked out from behind Shangguan Ru, took out a handkerchief and pass it to Luo Ningcha. “Miss, don’t cry. It’s more important to find a way out.”
As she grabbed the handkerchief with her right hand, Luo Ningcha slapped Xu Yanwei in the face with her left hand, which caused a loud ring. “You wretch, traitor, betraying your master for the sake of glory…”
Xu Yanwei covered her face, retreated to one side, and said to the others with a bitter smile, “That’s me.”
Queen Ju coolly turned away as her way of punishing Xu Yanwei for choosing the wrong lord.
Xu Yanwei let out a long sigh. She had been worried that Lotus would dump Luo Ningcha here and didn’t expect her nightmare to come true. And the scene was more awkward than she had imagined. “There’s only one more left,” she muttered. Besides Lotus, the Dragon King’s women were all here. She really wanted to see how that pale-faced boy would cope with the current situation. Thinking of this, Xu Yanwei felt much better at heart.
Luo Ningcha stopped crying. She looked around once before her eyes fell on Shangguan Ru. “What the hell is going on? Didn’t you kidnap me?”
“No.” Shangguan Ru hadn’t vented her anger yet but then she felt that it was not worth taking this woman seriously, so she softened her tone. “We were all kidnapped by Lotus.”
“Lotus? Isn’t she the Dragon King’s guard? Why did…” Luo Ningcha suddenly became alert. “What’s your relationship with the Dragon King?”
No one said anything. Queen Ju, however, couldn’t bear being ignored any longer. She held her head up high and said, “I’m the only Queen of the Dragon King. Who are you? Why did Lotus kidnap you?”
“The Dragon King and I…” Luo Ningcha shut up just in time. She was not stupid enough to spread that secret. “He used to be my servant, and now is my ally. Lotus kidnapped me because I had an unfaithful servant killed. I suppose that was her friend.”
Queen Ju’s face darkened. The word ‘servant’ stung her, and Luo Ningcha’s ambiguous tone especially enraged her. It turned out that the Dragon King had been so dissolute outside but he always avoided her like the plague.
Xu Yanwei could only venture to break the ice. “Can we count her in?”
Queen Ju and Xiao Fengchai didn’t seem to have much enthusiasm, and Shangguan Ru reluctantly nodded before saying, “Ask her first to see if she wants in.”
Luo Ningcha already understood their intentions so she hastily said, “Yes, I’m willing. I’ll get revenge on Lotus after I get out and then I’ll give each of you a big reward.”
Now everyone liked the most beautiful woman in Jade City even less now.
Xu Yanwei had thought that amongst all the women of the Dragon King, Lotus was the only one missing but the last hostage delivered here was someone she didn’t know at all.
Of all the prisoners, Red Bat was the most confused but she was very excited to see her instructor here. “The Dragon King said that you were all right. You are indeed all right.”
The Red Bat insisted that she had nothing to do with the Dragon King except for some contact with him in her search for instructor’s whereabouts. The others were skeptical about it but Shangguan Ru trusted her subordinate, though she knew Red Bat had once seduced the Dragon King at the Land of Fragrance. She naturally would not say so. “Lotus is mad. I hope the Dragon King is on guard.”
“The Dragon King must know already.” The Red Bat’s confidence increased the women’s suspicion. Queen Ju even needed Xu Yanwei’s comfort now.
Shangguan Ru, however, suddenly became so calm that even she herself was surprised. All the years of entanglement and fantasy suddenly seemed like a joke, much like her current feelings towards her former identity of ‘Tenth Gongzi’, which now seemed redundant and strange.
She finally knew what she had been expecting and how to get there step by step.
First, she had to take these women with her to escape from prison.
The arrival of the Red Bat was a great assistance but Red Bat had also lost her internal energy and couldn’t help in urgent situations.
Shortly after nightfall, Lianqing finally came back with a reply. “Tonight at the third night watch period. Just wait for my news.”
Everything happened on the same day. Not long after the monk left, Azheba sent someone to invite Shangguan Ru to have a talk.
Xu Yanwei tagged along. The young noble officer made her feel uneasy.
Azheba made a serious apology because of his failure to keep his promises. “Tonight is our chance. Something big is going to happen in the Royal Court and it may be chaotic for the next few days. The Immortal Master will soon lose his power. I can get one person out and send her to inform the Dragon King.”
His tone made it clear that he hoped for this person to be Shangguan Ru.
Azheba had just been ordered to lead a hundred soldiers to the edge of the forbidden zone to assist in the defense. These a hundred soldiers were appointed by the superiors and he had no right to intervene, but all the noble officers had private escorts whose identities were left to the commander’s own discretion.
“You’ll have to pretend to be my entourage and find a chance to run away after we get to the edge of the forbidden zone.”
Shangguan Ru accepted the offer of the other party but she couldn’t escape alone, and neither could she tell him that she had other plans. “I can’t go. If you really want to help me, then take another person with you.”
Azheba was very surprised and without bothering about the presence of Xu Yanwei, whispered, “Once the masters have lost their favor in the Khan, they might do anything.”
“Precisely because of that, I can’t leave the others and run away alone. After all, it’s just to send a message to the Dragon King after getting out of here, and anyone else can do it.”
Azheba blankly stared at Shangguan Ru for a while and bowed deeply, “As you wish. I’m leaving in half an hour.”
Back in the tent, there was a controversy over who should run off with the officer. Compared with Shangguan Ru’s plan which was unpredictable, Azheba’s plan was simple and seemed more reliable and secure.
Shangguan Ru rejected all the opinions and appointed Xu Yanwei.
“Me? Why me?” Xu Yanwei couldn’t believe it herself. In fact, she had been staying out of it and letting Luo Ningcha and Queen Ju compete for it.
Shangguan Ru felt that she couldn’t let things be. They were risking their lives to escape and needed a decisive leader, and only she fulfilled all the requirements. “She’s the only one who cares about everyone in this tent. Who better to inform the Dragon King than she?”
Shangguan Ru’s words were not entirely accurate. Xu Yanwei didn’t know Red Bat and likewise, she also had no feelings towards Xiao Fengchai, but it was true that she had no intentions to harm anyone here.
The proposal was passed.
Perhaps it was due to the nervousness of the impending flight or the weak position they held after Red Bat joined, but Shangguan Ru’s status as the leader was confirmed with this. Even Queen Ju gave up fighting and had no objections to the task when it was her turn to take over.
Xu Yanwei, who was disguised as a small attendant, followed Azheba out of the camp.
On the second night watch period, Shangguan Ru sneaked into the chief’s tent and found the waist token placed on a small table. A small lamp was lit beside the table which made the waist token more conspicuous. And the chief was snoring loudly.
Shangguan Ru thanked the chief in silence, hoping that tonight’s events would not cause him much trouble.
It was a quarter to the third night watch period. Lianqing arrived on time but appeared to be in a hurry. “We can go now, but give me my Master’s manual of the Sumeru Mustard Divine Power first.”
He no longer wanted to hide his true purpose.
