.14 - There were unknown dangers waiting for her in the future

In fact, the Prince had quieted down a lot over this period of time and clearly became rather gloomy once the Emperor's body began to recover. Bai Changyan was busy doing things for him all day, and whenever he had a chance to meet Xue Ling, he would always take the opportunity to complain to him.

Because the Prince ascended the throne early in the original plot, and Bai Changyan also had a relationship with the Princess, the Prince had never done anything towards him, and Bai Changyan had naturally never seen the Prince's true face. Rather, he always felt guilty over falling for the same person as the Prince, and worked even more diligently.

But in this life, there was no woman as a buffer in the middle, and as the Prince's temper deteriorated, the most direct victim was Bai Changyan who had grown up with him and who now acted as his aide. The Prince was hot-tempered, and frequently made rash decisions that could lead to mistakes. But when problems occurred, he would not admit to his mistakes, and so every time the person who was scolded was Bai Changyan.

Bai Changyan came to Xue Ling every time to complain bitterly, and after a while, it was almost like Xue Ling had become his counsellor.

Xue Ling did not make any moves, but the next time Bai Changyan showed up with his list of accumulated complaints, he opened his mouth to ask, "If he isn't a wise ruler, then why are you allowing him to make use of you?"

This sentence was a direct hit to Bai Changyan. His brain suddenly started to turn, and the entire plot direction began to change.

Xue Ling spoke boldly and gave him a suggestion. "What's the point of assisting someone who was already set to become an Emperor? If you can help someone who looked hopeless to become a ruler, it will showcase your talent and make the world remember you for thousands of years."

Bai Changyan's eyes were bright. He felt like there was some truth to this.

Nevertheless, he still admonished Xue Ling not to say such words so casually. But slowly, his heart was no longer loyal to the Prince, and began to change direction.

In the original plot, after the Crown Prince came to power, he found and used all kinds of charges in order to deal with those brothers who might steal the throne from him. Therefore, fewer Princes were left alive. If the old Emperor knew of this, he would probably turn over in his grave. Xue Ling had not paid much attention when he looked through the plot, and only thought that the apple truly hadn't fallen far from the tree. The only difference was that the old Emperor had fought fiercely and did not kill those who did not attempt to fight for the throne, while the Prince directly killed everyone just because of a 'possibility' that may exist in the future, completely not placing any value on human life.

The heroine's influence in this could not be ignored. She borrowed the Prince's hands to clean up quite a few people, many of whom had wide areas of influence, and the Capital was washed in a sea of blood.

In order to preserve the royal bloodline, even if the Prince was this body's nephew, Xue Ling would not allow the Prince to live on. The man was too hard-hearted and ruthless, and it would be difficult to deal with him. Fortunately, he saved the old Emperor in time, so he did not need to face him openly and simply borrowed the old Emperor's hand.

After the old Emperor's body recovered, Xue Ling slowly arranged for him to come into contact with the prohibited drugs. Luckily, some people in the back palace were not afraid of death and still tried to use the drug. They were caught, and the Emperor ordered a strict investigation. He even began to have suspicions about his own body.

The Imperial Doctor checked, and repeatedly confirmed several times before he finally realized that he had also been poisoned.

His expression darkened on the spot, but in order to discover the truth, he blocked the news and did not say anything.

The person responsible for investigating this matter for the Emperor was Zhan Shaoxi. Xue Ling had proof that would implicate the Prince, but they lacked witnesses. Although all he needed to do was to seize some people and have his wife hypnotize them before sending them to the golden throne, Zhan Shaoxi was not anxious, waiting until the deadline for the investigation was near and the Emperor was almost beside himself with anger before presenting his findings.

The Emperor was so angry he almost threw up blood on the spot.

Xue Ling was beside him at the time, and it took him a long time to calm down the old Emperor after he had pointed at those things and scolded his son for being an abomination.

The Emperor still had some hope and wanted to see if it had been the Prince making a move himself, or whether someone was using him, but after the matter had been investigated clearly, he was even more disappointed.The Prince was born in his early years, and the Emperor had been in good health in the past few years. The Crown Prince's performance had not been very outstanding, so he always felt stifled in his heart and wanted to sit in the ruling position as soon as possible. Making a move on the old Emperor could also be considered giving him an early rest.

The old Emperor flipped the table in the imperial study on the spot when he heard this, and strictly ordered Zhan Shaoxi to find evidence that could topple the Crown Prince within half a month.

This was what Zhan Shaoxi had been busy with during this period. Although Xue Ling could use the system to look into the matter, the man would end up not having to do any work, which would make the Emperor suspicious of their intelligence network. They did not want to accidentally influence the entire situation because of a small problem like this when they were at such a critical moment.

As soon as the delegation for the marriage alliance left, Zhan Shaoxi would impeach the Prince during morning court.

The main reason for this time's success was Bai Changyan, who had been encouraged by Xue Ling to change masters. He had thought through things, and seen that as long as the Prince was pulled down, and the position of Crown Prince was empty, several other Prince's ambitions would come to light and he could select a wise ruler from amongst them.

Bai Changyan has his own ideals and ambitions. The monarch he served must not be a tyrant, but rather someone who could carry the sky for Xi Country and open up a path for the future. Because of this, he had also gone to Xue Ling and suggested that since he would not be inferior to him in the future with his intelligence and wisdom, he hoped that Xue Ling would consider doing good deeds for the country and its people.

Xue Ling was so embarrassed that he pushed the matter around and finally sent him away.

Bai Changyan's personality had deviated so far from the plot that it had basically collapsed! He had become someone who worried about the country and the people. This kind of morality, and that bunch of words that moved the sky and touched the world, was almost like he was setting up a pyramid scheme.

The arrangements were almost complete, and the delegation that was seeking a marriage alliance arrived at the Capital.

Wenren Yingyue had received the decree that she was to be married a long time ago. These days, she did not stray far from her Palace, suppressing her feelings and planning to pull off a grand scheme and escape by herself while on the road.

The little maid that was always by her side had already made all the preparations necessary to replace her and marry in her stead. The two of them cried in each other's arms, and then swore to the other that they would never give in to their fate.

Wenren Yingyue felt that royal life was not suitable for her. An assassin like her should be wandering through the martial arts world, and as long as she cultivated for several years and brought her own skills back to the level they had been in her previous life, she would surely be able to kill her way back and make the person called Wenren Hong feel regret.

Xue Ling didn't think so much about it. When the delegation arrived at the Capital, there were many things that Zhan Shaoxi had to be involved in, and he was left to stay in the Manor all day, idling. He read some books that the system saved over from the previous world in order to prepare himself for the worlds he would experience in the future.

When Zhan Shaoxi came back, he was lying lazily in the courtyard reading a book.

Probably because they had already spoken about it, all the people who were in the courtyard had been driven out. When he was alone in the courtyard and his rooms, he wore men's clothing, and while he was just idly passing the time by reading, the soft sunlight created a circle of light around his head, making him impossibly attractive, just like a living angel. The more the General looked, the more he felt that his wife was like a god descended from heaven. In any case, Zhan Shaoxi's heart was full, and he moved forward to pick up the man and swing him in a circle.

Xue Ling was surprised, turning to toss the book back onto the reclining chair before wrapping his arms around Zhan Shaoxi's neck and opening his mouth wide to bite down.

Zhan Shaoxi was amused, stopping his movements in order to bite him back and saying, "Why are you acting like a small dog all day long and biting people now?"

"I am a fox, not a dog." Xue Ling harrumphed, motioned for Zhan Shaoxi to put himself down, patted his clothes, and asked, "How is it? Is everything going well?"

"The celebrations over these past few days have all passed without any waves or excitement, and tomorrow they will begin the journey back. I don't think anyone will do anything at this critical moment under the eyes of both the Emperor and the delegation."

"Hm." It was true that the Capital had been too quiet these days. "What about proving the Prince's guilt? Are you all set?"

"That's almost done as well. His Highness the Prince's ambitions have been large over the years. Other than operating businesses, he has also done many things that would make the Emperor pick apart his skin and bones with just a glance." Zhan Shaoxi had a smile on his face when he spoke of this matter, and it was unknown whether it was irony or some other meaning. "He has involved himself in the iron, and salt industries, and he even dared to move gunpowder. He has been stupidly doing these things over the past years, but I strangely didn't notice any of it."

"That's true. Weren't you practically blind before?" Xue Ling picked up the book and spoke lazily, "So what if you didn't notice the Prince? You didn't even see me."

As soon as he mentioned it, Zhan Shaoxi could only laugh along. Fortunately, his wife did not have time to bring up the past all day long, so the conversation went on after he coaxed her a bit. "The Prince used to be good at avoiding detection because he knew he could slowly make his move, and was therefore not arrogant or impatient, and hid it well. But now that I have wrecked his plans, he naturally started to feel uneasy."

"Haven't you noticed that Brother Emperor has not smiled at him at all in recent days?" Xue Ling sneered. "Although he is the Crown Prince, at the end of the day he is still a subordinate and so long as the Emperor is in good health, he does not need his help dealing with political affairs. After he is no longer in the Emperor's favour, what is the use of his position in the Eastern Palace?"

"It would not be easy to recover. Everyone in court knows that once you make a mistake, it will be impossible to get rid of its shadow." He propped up his head and leisurely continued, "Just like me. If Brother Emperor learns what's wrong with me someday, not just me, but you as the husband who helped me hide it, will also follow me into hell."

Zhan Shaoxi's eyes fell on him with some pity, but there was more amusement in his gaze. "When the door is closed, who can learn anything about the Madame? When you've spent enough time in the Capital, I'll quit my official post and go sightseeing with my Lady Wife for the rest of our life. At that time, the Emperor would probably have no time left to care about what happened to you."

"Give up the centuries-old foundation of the General's Manor and go with me to travel through the rivers and lakes?"

"I've always loved beauty, and not the rivers and mountains. Doesn't Madame understand this best?"

"Well yes, I understand." He reached out and pushed away the man who encircled him. "Speak properly and stop coming so close for no reason. When I said you would not be able to join me in bed, I definitely meant that there was no way for you to do so before I turn eighteen. Don't think that speaking some sweet words would make me soft-hearted and change my mind."

"Madam, it's been difficult for your Husband to hold back." Zhan Shaoxi had a bitter look on his face as he pretended to be pitiful.

"Well, you need to endure even if it's difficult." He still wanted two years of closeness. Some things could not be compromised on! At least until these affairs were over, he would not allow the man into his bed.

Otherwise, there would be no need to go on as he would never be able to find time to take care of the heroine.

The Emperor felt guilty towards the Gongqin Palace, and the level of Wenren Yingyue's dowry was only slightly lower than Xue Ling's when he had been married to the General. A large wedding delegation was sent to accompany the ambassadors as they set out.

There was nothing wrong with the delegation except that the bride had not shown herself much ever since she got into the carriage. The ambassador who had come all the way in order to request a marriage alliance had seen Wenren Yingyue and was very satisfied with her appearance, so he was not worried that Xi Country would make any unexpected moves. They were the recipients of Xi Country's goodwill this time, and their attitude towards them also reflected that.

Naturally, he also had not expected any accidents to occur on the way back.

For example, one night, a fire broke out in the inn where the Princess and her maid servants were staying. They had worked hard throughout the night to save and rescue people but only a few corpses were found and the Mingyue Princess, the bride, was nowhere to be found.

It was an accident, and the faces of the people who had died were completely unrecognizable. They could not tell which one was the Princess, and could not bear the charge of having killed her. After thinking about it, the ambassador set his eyes on the good-looking maid who normally followed the Mingyue Princess. She had escaped the fire that night because she had gotten up early to prepare the Princess' food for the next day.

This maid knew the Mingyue Princess extremely well, and would have no problems pretending to be the Princess at all. In addition, very few members of the delegation had seen the Princess before, and there was no danger of being discovered.

They still had a long way to go, and unless something unexpected happened, the Princess would never step into her homeland again, ruling out any possibility that they would be found out. So, choosing the maid was their best choice.

The delegation started off again as though nothing had happened.

Wenren Yingyue waited until they returned to the road as though nothing had occurred before breathing a sigh of relief and savouring the taste of freedom in the air.

She happily embarked on the road to experience the martial arts world, completely unaware that there were unknown dangers waiting for her in the future.

this arc is really dragging for me~ now i remember why i didn't like it so much. it was so exciting at the start that i'd totally forgotten o.o in any case, hang in there! only one more chapter left until the next arc!

editors: alamerysl & BlueBug