“Prince Yun, this Prince only wanted you to see my sincerity; you don’t have to get angry.” Having sounded Yun Ruofeng out, Hua Ziqing could ascertain that his intelligence was accurate.
Prince Yun is obsessed with Princess Consort Hao; as for the rumours about her resurrection though? Who would believe it? A human’s death is like a light being extinguished; it cannot be reignited, much less in another person’s body.
A smirk formed at Yun Ruofeng’s lips. “Sincerity? I think ‘threat’ would be a more apt term.”
“It’s only a threat if you think of it that way.”
Being on the losing end, Yun Ruofeng became more cautious. “Since our conversation ended up not being amicable, let’s not continue.” Yun Ruofeng stood up and prepared to leave, an action that seemed to have been predicted by Hua Ziqing.
Right before Yun Ruofeng was about to open the door, Hua Ziqing remarked, “Prince Yun, this Prince awaits your next visit.”
Yun Ruofeng paused for a moment before walking out.
The man with the douli then glanced in Hua Ziqing’s direction, seeing the latter nod to signal that it was fine for him to enter the room. Closing the door behind him and standing off to the side, the man began speaking.
“Master, Prince Yun is already on his guard. It won’t be easy to make him crumble next time.” Concern flashed across the man’s eyes.
Hua Ziqing simply sipped his tea slowly. “Do you know the difference between dongding wulong (oolong) tea and normal green tea?”
Realisation dawned upon the man with the douli. “This subordinate was foolish. Thanks for your wise reminder, Master.”
“Qingfeng, tea has to be brewed slowly, and chess has to be set slowly; you shouldn’t rush everything.” Hua Ziqing stated with overflowing confidence.
~~~
Meanwhile, Yun Ruofeng returned to his own private room and sat down as he started to ponder his next move.
Through his exchange with Hua Ziqing, he had deduced that the latter was a very crafty person despite his seemingly aloof disposition. He would rather not deal with such a partner if possible, but Yun Ruofeng needed backers of his own if he were to ascend to the throne.
The result of their confrontations to date was a win for each side, but what came next depended on how well he could plan. To think that he could find out that I’m responsible for the rumours…could he have already been targeting me? It looks like it’s time to thoroughly investigate the powers behind Hua Ziqing.
“Yun Ling, run a thorough check on Hua Ziqing and find something I can use against him. This Prince wants to pit him and Prince Hao against each other so that I can step in and reap the benefits.” Yun Ruofeng called out the order to the empty room.
“Yes.” A clean voice replied to him.
As Yun Ruofeng took off his outer robes, a yupei dropped onto the floor. Carefully picking up, the character ‘Lan’ was reflected in his eyes.
I gave this yupei to her, and now it’s the only memento I have left.
Yun Ruofeng had that scene in his dreams countless times. If I had not shot that Heart-Penetrating Arrow back then, would we already be a happy family with kids of our own? She would never have met Pei Qianhao, and she would be Princess Consort Yun right now… No, she must still become Princess consort Yun. Since the heavens have seen it fit to resurrect her, she must return to her rightful place as the Eldest Imperial Princess and become my fiancée.
Ruthless fury filled Yun Ruofeng’s eyes as his reaffirmed his resolve to bring Su Xi-er back to his side.
~~~
