.13 - How could that be a wise ruler?

"We have no grievances between us." Wenren Yingyue swallowed down the mouthful of blood that was in her throat and spoke in a cold voice, "Why does Your Highness the Princess have to make things difficult for me like this?"

"Make things difficult?" Xue Ling tilted his head innocently, perfectly portraying an innocent young girl who knew nothing about the world, an existence that was the at the peak of all white lotuses, the type that should be trampled to death under the protagonist's foot so that the audience can applaud and cheer. "Where did I make things difficult for the Mingyue Princess? The Princess is not that young anymore. Brother Emperor had not thought of it before, so he did not arrange a marriage for you. Now that he has chosen such a man for you, the Princess should be laughing instead."

"According to the Royal Princess, being sent far away for a marriage alliance is a good thing?"

"For ordinary people, it would be a never-ending purgatory. Based on the frail appearances of several Princesses within the royal family, it is estimated that they would die on the way to their wedding before making it very far, but it will be different for the Mingyue Princess." Xue Ling propped his cheek against his hand as he praised her. His posture seemed casual, but his tone was very serious. "The Mingyue Princess is good at making the most unfavorable environment comfortable. Isn't this marriage that I've chosen for you the most suited to your ability?"

He spoke this extremely unreasonable nonsense with a solemn expression, and seeing his appearance, Wenren Yingyue knew that attempting to reason with him here would not change anything. She gave him a deep look before dropping some harsh words. "Wenren Hong, you just wait. I, Wenren Yingyue, am not so easily pushed down. You won't always be high up and unreachable, we will slowly see how this game plays out."

Watching her leave, Xue Ling had a large smile on his face as he turned his head to ask his maid, "Does she still have time to go slowly?"

The maid, having served the royal family for many years, has long known what to listen to and when to pretend ignorance. As long as her mistress did not die early, she would be with her mistress for her entire life. Obviously, she would not say any words that did not follow her mistress' meaning. "His Majesty's decree will be sent to the Gongqin Palace sooner or later. As long as the Princess does not resist the decree, there will be no time for the Princess to play slowly."

Xue Ling curved his lips and stood up. "Well, she's really angry now. Even you understand the situation. Why is she so unaccepting?"

The Prince's plan had been blocked, and Xi Country was now under the strong leadership of the Emperor. There was nobody who could challenge the decisions he made. Wenren Yingyue would not have any way of approaching the Emperor, and could only choose to make her move on the way to the marriage alliance.

Regardless of what method she chose to get away, as long as she shed her current identity, she would no longer be the Mingyue Princess of Gongqin Palace.

At that time, her life or death would be completely in Xue Ling's hands.

When Xue Ling arrived at the palace gates, he saw that the General's Palace carriage was still parked there with Zhan Shaoxi seated on the carriage's driver's seat. He was clearly a great General of the army, but was acting like a carriage driver while looking at the official documents in his hand. Many guards who guarded the palace were giving him worshipful gazes, presumably admiring him for his hard-working attitude and not wasting even a minute or a second.

Xue Ling wanted to tell them that they were thinking too much. The man only seized these odd moments to deal with things in order to stick close to him for a few more minutes when they were together.

Dear guards, he was really sorry about making their thoughts go off-track.

Hearing the sound of movement, Zhan Shaoxi raised his head and saw Xue Ling coming out. His icy demeanour immediately melted, and a smile appeared on his face. "Lady Wife is finished?"

"Yes."

"I've already sent word to your favourite restaurant and made a reservation. Let's go over now."

"Good."Xue Ling allowed him help himself into the carriage after they had spoken two sentences. The carriage covered his face and completely cut off the gazes of the guards who were watching. Zhan Shaoxi got into the carriage after him, and immediately turned him around and pressed close to kiss Xue Ling deeply.

Heaven knows why a man from ancient times was so keen on French wet kisses. Zhan Shaoxi kissed him until Xue Ling's originally pale pink lips were bright red and his entire body was soft before finally letting him go, pulling him into his embrace and holding him in his arms.

The carriage was not big, and with the two people cuddled together, the range of action was limited. Their movements made the carriage shake a little, but the driver's face did not change at all as he pretended not to be curious about what was happening inside.

After Xue Ling recovered his breath, he glared at the man. "Why are you suddenly acting so crazy?"

"Madame was a little cold to me today. Your Husband was upset and wanted to seek comfort." He acted like a true shameless hooligan of a husband. This was a skill that the General had perfected over the past half year of not being allowed into his wife's bed.

Perhaps because he had already been in a relationship with Xue Ling for a while, he was no longer always graceful when he spoke, and occasionally also added some modern terminology in order to tease him.

Xue Ling wanted to slap him, but reason held him back and he resorted to threats as he expressionlessly said, "I was only too lazy to respond, yet you considered it as being indifferent? Would you like to try and see what I look like when I'm truly being cold?"

"Never!" Zhan Shaoxi took his hand and placed a gentle kiss on it. "When my Lady Wife is cold, she is as heartless as the winter wind. I don't want to experience the feeling of having my heart stabbed with a knife a second time."

Xue Ling lowered his gaze. "Don't coax me the way you would treat a woman. Your words of love are so smooth, are you sure you've never practiced before chasing me?"

"When I see my Lady Wife, I always want to dig out my heart for you to see. My words of love are from the heart, and they are absolutely not false." When Zhan Shaoxi said these words, his face did not redden, nor did his heartbeat speed up. His appearance could not be more honest.

"Then stop calling me 'Wife'. Believe it or not, I will bite you."

"If I don't call you 'Wife', what should I call you?" Zhan Shaoxi was somewhat entangled. Although the person in his arms was a man, he also had a clear understanding that they were both married, and this was his wife. There was nothing wrong with that.

"Normally, when there are outsiders, just call me 'Wife'. Call me by my name when we're alone."

"Hong-er?"

Xue Ling pressed his lips together, thinking in his heart that that was no better than being called 'Wife'.

"My name is Xue Ling." He turned his head, reached out and pinched Zhan Shaoxi's chin. His expression was calm as he said, "I'm not Wenren Hong, I am Xue Ling."

Zhan Shaoxi met his gaze and was shocked by the seriousness in those eyes. He was stunned on the spot. He didn't know why, but when he heard the name, it felt as though his head was blown open, like fireworks exploding, and the person in front of him seemed to finally truly belong to him. It was like he had really grasped him in his hands and held him in his embrace, and he was no longer so close but still as far away as the horizon.

It seemed that they had entangled together for many years. Although he had called him by various names countless times, their entanglement had always been like a dream. This was the first time that he knew his name.

Yes, it did not belong to Wenren Hong. That pair of eyes, only belonged to that name.

Perhaps it didn't have any meaning, and just sounded good when spoken, but those two words became deeply engraved in the man's heart at this moment, and even if they constantly changed through time and space, the trace it left in his heart would never disappear.

"Good, Xue-er." Zhan Shaoxi laughed a little foolishly, his voice full of tenderness.

And then, he was told off by Xue Ling.

"Don't add 'er'!" His gritted his teeth as he emphasized this. His name and face were both not very masculine, and when the man called him that way, it really made him feel very uncomfortable!!!

Zhan Shaoxi kissed him on the forehead and changed how he addressed him with a smile: "Okay, Ling."

"Aren't you curious?" Xue Ling had not expected that the man would accept it so quickly. In fact, having experienced so many worlds together, Xue Ling had long wanted to tell him his real name. Sometimes, it had felt really strange when he was held in the man's arms while he called out other people's names.

In previous lifetimes, the man also did not seem to like calling out the names that did not belong to him either. Most of the time, he used pet names, teasingly calling him 'Madame', 'Wife', 'Baby', 'Honey', he could shamelessly call out any nickname even if Xue Ling beat him up. During those times, Xue Ling had the idea of telling him his name, but because he had been uncertain about the man and felt a little uneasy, he had never done so.

This world was quite special for Xue Ling. Perhaps because they had been bound together right from the start, or because of the deep affection that the man had constantly shown, he could feel the deep love that had always been suppressed. The system had said before that his love for Xue Ling would accumulate every time they went through a world. Perhaps at the end, Xue Ling would be this person's entire world.

Such strong and irreversible feelings where the love would never fade away once they fell in love made Xue Ling feel more at ease than any promise of commitment. The anxiety caused by the chaotic start in this world had been completely smoothed out by the man. Xue Ling felt that it was time to let him know what kind of person it was that he had fallen in love with.

"Curious, but also not curious." Zhan Shaoxi held him in his arms. Although the teenager had shot up, he was still young, and his face was white and tender, making people want to reach out and pinch his face or kiss his lips. "As long as it's you, calling you anything is fine. Only, I don't know why, but this name makes my whole heart quiver." He clasped Xue Ling's hand. "That kind of feeling is like I've completely and absolutely obtained your entire person."

Xue Ling's lips twitched, and he was too lazy to care about this man who could take any conversation in strange directions. He reached out and picked up the gauze cap that had been kept in the carriage and put it on to cover his face.

They were going to eat out in public at the restaurant. Xue Ling had not shown his true appearance for a long time now in order to make it more convenient for him to run around outside in men's attire. However, there was no gossip in the marketplace speculating that the Royal Princess' looks could not be seen in public or so on, because as long as one noticed the General's concern and love for the Royal Princess and watched the way they interacted like lovers, any rumours would be defeated before they even began.

Dishes were served up smoothly and quickly as soon as they entered their private dining compartment. The dishes were wonderfully plated and smelled delicious; Xue Ling waved his hand for the servants to retire, and then slowly began to eat and discuss matters. "When I entered the palace today, I heard the Empress talking about the marriage alliance. When will people from the delegation arrive?"

"From the announcement during morning court, they should arrive in the Capital in five days."

"Do you think Wenren Yingyue will have the guts to run away from the Capital?"

"Her mother is still there. The Princess Consort is not in good health. If she really escaped from the wedding, she will probably die from anger. Besides, the Capital is heavily guarded, and now that His Majesty has decided on the candidate, people naturally have been sent to guard her, and it will not be easy for her to get away."

Xue Ling thought to himself that she still had the protagonist's halo, even if it had been practically destroyed by him over the past half year. "That's true, she doesn't seem to be the type that would be so scared she would try and run away now. It would be better to run away on the road to the marriage alliance."

The marriage alliance was something that also existed in the original plot, but because the Prince had already ascended the throne at this time and the old Emperor and Wenren Hong had just died, the newly crowned Emperor had claimed that it was unsuitable to arrange a wedding during a national funeral. This also led to the Western Regions launching a series of retaliations against Xi Country after they had gained strength and causing the region to become even more chaotic.

Although Xue Ling had said that the environment would be very suitable for the heroine, in fact he did not intend to let her live to reach the Western Regions. As long as the Princess was alive, they would have to spend their entire lives watching her. For the sake of making his own life more convenient, Xue Ling did not hesitate to borrow other people's hands to kill her.

Only, before dealing with her, there was another person who needed to be resolved.

The Princess was already a turtle stuck inside a jar, but the Prince was still living well, and he would not make a good Emperor. A man who could share a woman with six other men, who was unwilling to wait for his own father to retire from old age and planned patricide, and who did not care about the lives of his generals or the thousands of soldiers beneath them and directly refused to make a marriage alliance, provoking war between the two countries—

How could that be a wise ruler?

Other than killing off the heroine, Xue Ling was also preparing to pull down His Highness the Prince.

editor: BlueBug