“When soldiers come, counter with generals; when a flood comes, block with earth. There’ll definitely be a way. We’ll just have to see how things go.” Pei Qianhao said calmly.
Du Ling responded in kind. “I won’t allow Xi-er to get hurt.”
“Western Region King, Xi-er is no ordinary woman. She’s equally as intelligent as you and I.” Pei Qianhao said with a gentle light in his eyes.
Du Ling smiled in agreement. “You’re right; I keep forgetting about that. Unfortunately, her astuteness may be the result of my failure as a brother in the past.”
“There’s no need to talk about the past, Western Region King. You don’t have to dwell on it too much.” Pei Qianhao tried to reassure Du Ling.
“Fine, let’s talk about what we’re up against instead then. Hua Ziqing is obviously eyeing the throne, and he has Li Zikang under his thumb. While the latter controlling the military is already troublesome, we can’t forget that the officials aren’t even aware of Hua Zirong’s imprisonment. Xiliu’s situation is precarious to say the least.” Du Ling gave a clear analysis of the current situation.
Pei Qianhao said, “Hua Zirong will definitely appear during the fireworks banquet. We’ll have to play it by ear. As for you, how do you plan on settling the issue regarding the death of the Prime Minister’s daughter?”
“Hah!” Du Ling scoffed. “If Hua Ziqing loves drugging others that much, maybe I should give him a taste of his own medicine. A tryst with Hua Zirong’s consort would do him well, don’t you think?” A cruel glint flashed in his eyes as he spoke.
Pei Qianhao remained rather emotionless. “Paying him back in kind. Sounds like something you would do.”
Du Ling deadpanned at the comment. “Why do you make it sound like I’m a revenge-crazy person?”
Pei Qianhao said, “I see the Western Region King knows himself well.”
Du Ling thought, My dear sister, why in the world is your husband so fuhei[1]
“Well, the same goes for you, Prince Hao.” Du Ling retorted.
“En, thank you for the compliment.” Pei Qianhao’s unexpected response had Du Ling chuckling.
I see that trying to get back at him was foolish.
Su Xi-er sensed that the atmosphere was a little awkward when she returned.
“A-Jing, are you teasing Elder Brother again?”
“Xi-er, I’m just stating facts.” Pei Qianhao whispered in her ear as he hugged her, his breath tickling her ear.
“Fine. I’ll leave.” Du Ling decided to make himself scarce when he saw the couple start up again.
“Elder Brother, go on ahead to the teahouse. We’ll meet you there shortly.” Su Xi-er turned to say as she pushed Pei Qianhao’s head away from her.
Once Du Ling left, Pei Qianhao rested her head on his chest.
“Xi-er, upset after visiting Yu Xiao?”
“A-Jing, Yu Xiao can recover, right?” Pei Qianhao was the only person to whom Su Xi-er would show her fragile side.
Pei Qianhao stroked her hair and said, “Don’t think too much about it. I’ll be sad if you’re always worried about things.”
“A-Jing, we have to help Yu Xiao recover. Otherwise, his hatred for Yun Ruofeng may cause him to do something impulsive and put up a fight to the death with Yun Ruofeng.” Su Xi-er said with concern.
Pei Qianhao gave her a peck on the cheek and said, “Xi-er, Yu Xiao is an upright and honest person. He has a clear idea of what he wants to do, and it’s possible that he might be too narrowly focused on certain goals that he has. I’ll get Wu Ling to talk to him, so don’t fret too much over this.”
1. Sometimes also translated as ‘black-belly’, fuhei refers to a person who seems kind and friendly outwardly, but is inwardly a crafty and even sadistic person.
