Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
With the wild snow blowing outside and a warm log fire glowing inside, Prince Xiao pushed open the window and exclaimed, “What a beautiful snow! This really was a worthwhile trip.”
Luo Ningcha leaned against the soft couch and tugged at her collar, indicating that she was afraid of the cold. She frowned slightly as she said, “What’s there to marvel at about the snow? I’m about to freeze to death.”
As a man in his late thirties, Prince Xiao still looked handsome and highly esteemed. His conspicuous hawk nose added a lot of dignity, but also diluted his innate easygoing personality. When he heard Luo Ningcha’s complaint, he laughed, closed the window, looked back at the beauty, and suddenly sighed. “All things that are created by Heaven are imperfect. My beauty, you are too pretty, so you should be careful.”
Luo Ningcha’s frown deepened. She hated it the most when others talked in a mysterious tone. However, this man was the Imperial Uncle, so she had no choice but to make an exception. She put on a sweet smile and asked, “Careful? Careful about what? Won’t you protect me?”
“Haha, I’ll protect you. You will be safe wherever the Central Plains Army can reach.”
Luo Ningcha pursed her lips and said, “Do not mention the Central Plains Army again. Those twenty thousand people made us suffer a lot last time.”
“It’s different now. Those twenty thousand soldiers were local Western Region people. They have farmed the wastelands and grown grain for generations, long ago forgetting about their duty as soldiers. They couldn’t even tell the difference between a sword and a saber. How can they compare to the real soldiers of the Central Plains?”
“Humph, it was that Wei Song who played secret tricks. He deliberately sent the useless soldiers to you so that you would die at the hands of the Norland Cavalry. If it hadn’t been for the Dragon King saving you…”
“Don’t mention that unpleasant old dog.” Prince Xiao, who was still frightened in his heart, appeared indifferent. “The Heavenly Master said that I would have a great fortune and long life. It’s not easy to harm guaren 1 .”
“Why do you always call yourself ‘guaren’? It sounds really ominous. With me at your side, are you still a ‘guaren?’”
“Haha.” The beauty’s ignorance made Prince Xiao feel both regretful and excited. He became even more convinced that there were no perfect people or things in the world. “It may sound ominous to you, but do you know how many people want to but dare not to call themselves ‘guaren?’ There are many groups of princes in the Central Plains, but only I, Prince Xiao, can call myself ‘guaren’ just like how the Emperor calls himself ‘Zhen’ 1 .”
Luo Ningcha became more and more confused as she listened to him speak. Eventually, she shook her head to toss out those annoying thoughts. “Anyways, you are second only to the Emperor in the Central Plains, aren’t you?”
“It sounds like a braggadocious claim, but it’s true.” Prince Xiao was not modest at all. There was no need for him to explain the complicated situation in the Imperial Court of the Central Plains. After all, she would not understand even if he did so.
“Then just kill Wei Song,” Luo Ningcha said casually, changing the topic back to what she wanted to discuss.
Prince Xiao was a little surprised and did not expect that the beauty was not entirely thoughtless. “You haven’t even met Governor Wei so far. Why do you hate him so much?”
“Don’t you hate him?” Luo Ningcha sat up and covered her heart with her hands, as if she were still in shock from his words. “It terrifies me to think of being surrounded by the Norland Cavalry. Just imagine what would have happened if you and I fell into the hands of those barbarians? I still have nightmares every day, and this is all because of Wei Song.”
“Barbarians? I thought that the Western Regions people don’t use that word. You spent a year in the Royal Court, didn’t you?”
“No, just a few months. I spent it living in tents and eating mutton, and it wasn’t even as comfortable as the small Thousand Horsemen Pass. The Norland men can do nothing but drink and fight. I will never go there again. Prince Xiao, please promise me this.”
Luo Ningcha had her own skill of acting in a petty yet charming manner. She had taught herself this skill ever since she was little, and had reached a whole new level under Xu Yanwei’s guidance. Even though she was a mother now, she could still act as lovely as always. The trick she had used to fascinate the crowd when she received the Big Head God’s coffin in Jade City was also effective on Prince Xiao.
“Of course. If I can’t even do such a small thing, then how can I call myself the second-most powerful man in the Central Plains?”
Luo Ningcha smiled. “What about Wei Song?”
Upon being asked again, Prince Xiao became a bit embarrassed. “Wei Song has sinister motives. I will certainly not let him go, but this can’t be rushed either, and needs further consideration.”
“Are you going to wait until I am old and have lost my charm, when I won’t be worth a second glance?”
“Haha, you have my word, my beauty. In less than a year, I’ll make Wei Song lose all of his reputation and be thrown in prison.”
Luo Ningcha’s eyes lit up as she demonstrated an unusual persistence. “There’s actually a ready-made excuse to do so. Didn’t you say that those garrison troops only knew how to farm rather than fight? Wei Song is the Governor of the Western Regions and so he should be responsible for this, right?”
“I have my own ideas.” Prince Xiao was surprised again. In his shallow impression of the other side, Luo Ningcha shouldn’t have been such a clever woman. “Are you speaking for the Dragon King?”
“Why would I speak for him?” Luo Ningcha was full of consternation as she disparaged the Dragon king. “He used to be a slave who was bought by my father, and he hasn’t even redeemed himself yet. He should be grateful that I’ve decided to drop the whole thing. Why would I speak for him?”
“That was then and this is now. He’s the Dragon King now and he’s controls half of the Western Regions. Do not bring up the past in his presence.”
“I’m all yours,” Luo Ningcha said docilely.
“Hmm. I can file a suit against Wei Song in the Imperial Court regarding the garrison troops.”
“One suit is not enough. Make it… ten or a hundred.” Luo Ningcha changed her tone as soon as she started talking about the Governor Wei Song.
“The Emperor won’t be able to read all of them if there are too many. Take it easy, my beauty. As long as the Dragon King is willing to cooperate with me, then Wei Song won’t last long.”
Luo Ningcha leaned back on her pillow again, feeling quite pleased. After searching for so long, she had finally found a man to rely on.
Since the subject had landed on the Dragon King, Prince Xiao’s interest was aroused. “The Dragon King will be here soon. Tell me about him. There are too many rumors about him. Some have described him as a god while others call him a demon. I don’t know what is real and what is false.”
“Oh, the Dragon King is actually a very simple man. I don’t see what is so special about him.”
“That’s because you used to be his master. By the way, didn’t you say that he has always coveted you?”
“Of course. Otherwise, why would he give up hundreds of thousands of Norland horsemen to work with you? What that old woman couldn’t accomplished was done by me as soon as I went there. But it’s just wishful thinking on his part. I can never forget that he was once my servant.”
“Hehe, that’s alright. But do not mention it in front of the Dragon King. I heard that he’s holds grudges.”
“Exactly.” Luo Ningcha suddenly remembered something and excitedly sat up. “At that time, the Dragon King had just entered Golden Roc Castle. He was nothing but a lowly servant with poor kung fu skills. Then another servant provoked him. No one knew what method he used but he managed to force that servant to suffer from Qi deviation. I still remember how scary it was when that servant’s Qi deviation broke out. It was as if he were possessed by an evil spirit.”
“What happened later?” Prince Xiao appeared quite interested.
“Later, Mama Xue said it was Qi deviation and told me to not be afraid. But Mama Xue also died later on. I have thought about it later, and maybe Servant Huan was also playing dirty tricks behind the scenes for that as well.”
“No. I mean, what happened to that servant who had Qi deviation?”
“He’s probably dead. I don’t know. I never saw him again.”
Prince Xiao squinted and began to re-form the image of the Dragon King in his mind.
Luo Ningcha cheerfully went on. “I would say that the Dragon King’s greatest attribute is his insidiousness. No one can match him in terms of plotting. He hid himself very well at Golden Roc Castle. The only person he wanted was to kill the Unique King but no one saw through him for several years. Judging from what he did, many people even believed that he would soon rise to a position of great importance under the Unique King. Even I was fooled. He always behaved like a normal servant in front of me. Even now, I can’t understand how Servant Huan became the Dragon King.”
Prince Xiao smiled. It was easy to fool Luo Ningcha, but one did need some skills to escape the Unique King’s notice. “I heard that the Dragon King has a divine bird that could match ten thousand people in combat. Have you seen it before?”
“I hate birds,” Luo Ningcha said scornfully. “And it’s not a divine bird at all. Golden Roc Castle once hunted down two birds and still keeps them in the castle.”
“So you are tired of seeing it. No wonder you’re not interested. What does the Dragon King look like? I heard that the Dragon King is seven feet tall and carries a saber longer than a normal spear.”
“Haha, the person who’s seven feet tall was my father Big Head God. The Dragon King is a bit taller than me and about the same height as you. As for his looks, well, if you look at his pale face, you will not notice anything else. His body is full of scars and feels like a piece of stone. Anyways, he’s just an average man and his mind is only on benefits. He’ll become very easygoing as long as you mentioned ‘benefits’ in front of him.”
Prince Xiao smilingly nodded and was very sure that Luo Ningcha had slept with the Dragon King before, but he didn’t care. He merely continued to add to the image of the Dragon King in his mind.
The attendant outside said, “Your Highness, the guest has already arrived at the door.”
” I see.” Prince Xiao turned to Luo Ningcha. “Do you want to listen to our negotiation and give me some advice, my beauty?”
Luo Ningcha slightly stretched as she yawned. “Negotiations are boring. I invited the Dragon King here, so I suppose I’ll just say hi to him and then go take a nap.”
Prince Xiao went out to greet the guest in person. Although he had learned a lot of information about the other side, he still found the Dragon King to be quite different from what he had initially imagined. “Welcome, welcome. Dragon King, I’ve waited from autumn to winter. If it were not this timely snow, then I would really be worried that the Dragon King was still refusing to come.”
“The auspicious snow does lift the spirits. But it is Prince Xiao’s sincerity that brought me here.” Gu Shenwei also adjusted his impression of the other side at once.
Prince Xiao hides himself well , he thought.
At first sight, the two talked as if they were old friends as they walked slowly to the study at the backyard. Luo Ningcha was already waiting in the doorway. Upon seeing the two, she coldly said, “The Dragon King is really arrogant. It’s been more than a month and only now have you finally come to see Prince Xiao.”
“There’s always some details that need to be discussed first. I’m sure that Prince Xiao also wanted me to come prepared.”
“Of course. Just leave the details to the servants. We’ll talk about friendship, not common affairs.” Prince Xiao then suddenly remembered something and said, “Oh, excuse my poor memory. Please wait a moment, Dragon King. I have a present for you. I’ll go bring it to you myself.”
Prince Xiao thoughtfully gave the two a chance to speak privately.
Luo Ningcha immediately said in a proud tone, “Prince Xiao agreed to file a suit against Wei Song. It’s all due to my work. How are you going to repay me?”
“With the title of the Unique King.”
“I have your word, Dragon King, that you’ll help my son become the Unique King. If not, you’ll be in trouble.” Luo Ningcha had a new backer now, so she was unwilling to mention the relationship between her son and the Dragon King.
By the time Prince Xiao returned, Luo Ningcha had already left.
“I just received some news,” Prince Xiao said in a serious tone. The attendant behind him held a long box which was obviously a gift for the Dragon King. “Jade City is in chaos and many people died. Has the Dragon King heard about it?”
“Hmm, I was just about to mention it.”
In the past few days, a series of assassinations had broken out in Jade City. A lot of people were now dead or injured. The strange thing was that nobody knew who the assassins were and who they belonged to.
