Translator: Henyee Editor: Henyee
Luo Ningcha liked powerful men. For her, they were an irresistible temptation. The reason why she loathed her husband Shangguan Nu was not simply because of his broken palm; that was the least of reasons. The main point was that he was like a lame dog now! He couldn’t even save his own life, not to mention being powerful.
At the same time, she resented men who remained completely unmoved to her beauty. Even if it was only a beggar on the street that didn’t stare in amazement as she passed by, that would leave her in a bad mood all day. Fortunately, she had hardly ever experienced such a thing.
When the two principles clashed as never before, she was at a loss as to which face to show.
“I do not hate you. I came to the door on my own initiative, but you didn’t even look me in the eye. What’s the matter with you? Were you been scared senseless by the Royal Court that easily? And even can’t do … that thing? This is not the Servant Huan I remember, remember when you were …”
In just a few words, Luo Ningcha alternated wildly between talking in a resentful, angry, threatening, and heartbroken tone, and totally forgot about her task. The more she talked, the looser her lips became.
Gu Shenwei couldn’t let her go on speaking. “It’s different now. You have your own army and you’re a confidant of the Second Consort. The power is all in your hand, and I do not deserve you.”
Luo Ningcha smiled, “I know you are lying to me, but lies are always sweeter than the truth. At that time you were merely a servant, while I was the lord. Yet didn’t you …”
“I never treated myself as a servant in my heart.”
“No wonder Mama Xue always said you were unique. I also felt that you were different from the other servants. It turns out you had always wanted to be the Dragon King. Oh, I feel a lot better hearing you say that. To tell you the truth, sometimes when I thought of you as the son of a servant and you also as a servant in the castle, I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable.”
Luo Ningcha possessed a unique ability, one that seduced people into sighing in admiration and sympathizing with her, before causing them to toss these good impressions of her far into the distance. She believed she had made great progress in her character. However, there were some aspects of her character that she was not conscious about, which naturally made it impossible to change.
“Let’s talk about the Second Consort. We can gain more power from her.”
The word ‘we’ made Luo Ningcha happier, so she straightened up and seriously said, “Yes, she’s the most important. But before we talk about her, let’s talk about ‘us’. I’m not someone who works pro bono.”
“Of course, a smart person like you will definitely not waste such a good chance. Tell me, what do you want?”
Luo Ningcha, instead of recognizing the sarcasm in the Dragon King’s tone, became even more elated and revealed an expression specially crafted for negotiation, which was ‘expressionless,’ but she was so excited that even her fingertips appeared restless. “What do I want? I want power and status that will last forever so that I won’t have to rely on any man.” She then suddenly smiled and added, “Except you.”
“My little power might be lost at any time, and yet you want to rely on me?”
“It’s you who taught me to take refuge in the strong and win over the weak. You are weak right now but you’ll be strong with my help. By that time, you will not give and take away power at will like Unique King. Uh, will you?”
“No.” Gu Shenwei solemnly shook his head, “I’m willing to share my power with my allies.”
“I knew I was right. Shangguan Ru is your enemy’s daughter, but you still sent her to the Land of Fragrance, not to mention that I’m not your enemy.”
Gu Shenwei could not help asking, “Does the Second Consort have any news about her?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll answer all your questions as soon as you agree to my terms.”
“Hmm, go ahead.”
“I also want to own a country in the Western Regions. Anyone will do but it can’t be too remote. I don’t like grasslands.”
“As long as I have the power to do so.”
“Don’t fool me. You own all five kingdoms of Xiaoyao Lake. You can give them to whomever you want. Even that little girl Shangguan Ru can get the Land of Fragrance, so why can’t I get something?”
“Okay, I agree.” Gu Shenwei wanted to get straight to the point as soon as possible.
“Hmm.” Now satisfied, Luo Ningcha suddenly found that this made her even more excited than having sex. So her little bit of discontent with the Dragon King disappeared entirely. “I don’t care who wins the war, you or the Unique King, Golden Roc Castle and Jade City all must belong to my son. Either he inherits the title of the Unique King or gets another title, as long as it doesn’t coincide with the country I own.”
Everyone wanted to have the declining castle on the mountain top. Gu Shenwei had already offered it at least twice and didn’t mind doing it one more time. “Deal.”
Luo Ningcha pressed her hands against her belly and took a deep breath as if proposing the two conditions had exhausted most of her strength. She felt tired, yet more satisfied than if she had indulged in carnal pleasures all night.
Although sensual pleasure between the two was inconsequential compared to power and status, it was a guarantee, a guarantee that Luo Ningcha still needed. So the last term she demanded was, “After defeating Golden Roc Castle — with my help, of course — you have to marry me as your queen.”
On the other terms, Gu Shenwei could respond perfunctorily or even lie but this one was a bit out of his expectations, so he could not even think of a good lie for a moment, and responded, “You … I already have a queen.”
“I know, it’s the princess of the Stone Kingdom. I will not contend with her. You can have two queens like Khan as long as you treat them as equal consorts. And my country should not be too close to the Stone Kingdom.”
Luo Ningcha stared at the Dragon King with a determined expression, her eyes appearing bigger than usual. She had put this term at the end because she remembered Servant Huan once said that important goals should be put in the end. Since the negotiators had agreed to the previous terms, they would naturally find it difficult to reject the last term.
“You really think I can defeat Golden Roc Castle?” Gu Shenwei was a little confused about what Luo Ningcha was thinking about. Even after the victorious battle on the seaside slope, the overwhelming majority of people still believed that the Unique King had the upper hand. She was the only one who believed in the Dragon King with such certainty.
“You’ll be even more confident than I am when you learn about the Second Consort’s plan.”
“Okay, I agree to this condition as well, but I want to see ‘you help out’ first. If you are just running errands for Second Consort, I’d rather marry her. The old Khan won’t live for long anyway.”
“Hahaha!” Luo Ningcha started laughing so hard that she doubled up with laughter.
Gu Shenwei knew that what he had said sounded funny but he did not expect it to be this funny, which helped him understand a bit more about the plan Luo Ningcha had yet to reveal.
All of a sudden, Luo Ningcha’s laughter ceased. “You will definitely notice my help. By the way, I want to add one more term to my previous one. You can only have two queen consorts, and can’t marry more princesses from another country after you taste the benefits.”
“Well, not everyone is as optimistic about the future of the Dragon Army as you are.”
“I’m glad you understand. You were supposed to sleep with me tonight as a ‘down payment,’ but I’m really not interested right now and am also a little tired. So, you can write the formal covenant.”
“I can’t write anything like that. It’s nothing to me but a mortal threat to you. Once exposed, the Unique King won’t let you go even if you have give him a son.”
“Do you think I don’t know? It’s your business to write it, and mine to keep. Besides, with this covenant, you can also be reaffirmed that I’m not a spy of Golden Roc Castle.”
Gu Shenwei believed that the Unique King would not tell Luo Ningcha his true purpose even if he wanted to make use of her, just as he did now.
On the road of vengeance and hegemony, deception was everywhere like a paved stone. But deceiving Luo Ningcha, a woman whose mind was so simple that she couldn’t even see the danger, still made him feel a little guilty. So he carefully chose his words when writing the covenant, and pressed his handprint in the end.
Luo Ningcha watched and nodded her approval when he finished. But as she was about to put away the covenant, Gu Shenwei snatched it first and said, “I have to know the Second Consort’s plan first, if it’s not worth it I can still tear up these pieces of paper.”
Luo Ningcha didn’t sit back on the soft couch but instead stood three steps away from the Dragon King. Her eyes were fixed on the covenant in his hand as if she were a kung fu master who could snatch it when he was off guard. “Which one do you want to hear first, Second Consort’s plan or Shangguan Ru’s whereabouts?”
“The former.”
Luo Ningcha was very satisfied with the Dragon King’s answer. “Hmm, let’s start with Golden Roc Castle. The Unique King has racked his brains to help the little girl of the Shangguan family rise to fame as soon as she arrived at the Royal Court. The purpose is to, you know, attract the attention of the lecherous Khan. Of course, fame alone won’t work. They need someone to spark the fire. Some people around the Khan have already taken action, and the Second Consort hopes that you can stop this marriage.”
“I thought she wanted to borrow my sword.”
“Hey, you just don’t understand. She will naturally use your sword when killing Shangguan Shaomin.” Luo Ningcha knew this ‘little girl’, but she had left all her sympathies to herself and didn’t feel sorry at all when saying the word ‘killing’.
“What’s the purpose of all this?”
“It was actually part of the deal that Shangguan Shaomin would marry the Khan. So that Golden Roc Castle would be able to join the partition of inheritance rightfully after the Khan dies. This also means that they are about to make a move.”
“They?”
“King Kuari and several other kings want to murder the Khan and then pin it on you. The Golden Roc killer will imitate your style. That’s the whole plan.”
“She wants me to protect the Khan?” This was actually the strategy that he had discussed with Fang Wenshi, and yet it had happened to coincide with hers. Gu Shenwei couldn’t help but become suspicious.
“Right, she’s the only one who doesn’t want Khan to die.”
“But he will die, sooner or later. He won’t live many years even if an assassination doesn’t take place.”
“It won’t take many years. Within another year or two, Second Consort will be able to compete with King Kuari.”
By that time, like the other kings, the Second Consort would hope that the old Khan would die right away.
“She’s a woman. Can she also compete for the throne?”
“No, her plan is similar to mine. It is to support a man who is now in a weak position who will marry her when he becomes the Khan.”
Gu Shenwei finally understood where Luo Ningcha’s resourcefulness came from.
“This ‘weak person’ must also be a descendant of the Khan, isn’t he?”
“Of course; without a royal lineage it will be useless no matter how hard she supports him.”
“She can marry someone from her younger generation?”
“The customs here are different from those of the Western Regions. It doesn’t happen very often, but there is no lack of precedent.”
“How can I benefit from this?”
“First, you won’t be framed as long as the assassination doesn’t occur. Second, the Second Consort will lend you a hundred thousand cavalrymen,another twenty thousand after foiling the assassination plot, and eighty thousand more after the heir she has chosen inherits the title of Khan. With these forces, you can sweep the entire Western Regions.”
It seemed that the Second Consort knew the Dragon King’s thoughts very well.
“Where’s Shangguan Ru?” Gu Shenwei suddenly asked.
“Second Consort doesn’t know her whereabouts but she received some news that two people, one tall and the other short, broke into the residence of King Zhuri and then disappeared. This must be helpful to you, no?”
