chapter 14

Zhu Xianyao stood at the window and gazed off into the distance. For some reason, she felt like her whole body was drained of energy.

Su Chen stood right behind her, not daring to speak.

At this moment, they were in Zhu Xianyao’s chambers. More specifically, they were in the chambers that Pall had prepared for Zhu Xianyao.

Su Chen didn’t know why Zhu Xianyao had suddenly called him over. He could only stand in the corner, mute and apprehensive. Right now, his cowardice was his greatest source of protection.

A moment later, Zhu Xianyao slowly said, “When Xianling and I were young, we were good friends. Back then, we would often go together to catch fish in the river and climb trees searching for bird nests like wild little boys. Xianling’s temperament was very gentle back then. Whenever she got into an argument with someone, she would stand off to the side and cry, and I would always stick up for her. I remember one time she was being bullied by one of Second Uncle’s boys. I walked over there and gave that bastard a beating, then dragged him over to apologize to her. At that point in time, Xianling said that having me as an older sister was the luckiest thing that had ever happened to her.

Su Chen lowered his head and didn’t say anything.

Evidently, He Xu’s lie had triggered a certain state of mind in which she had fully immersed herself.

This kind of mood needed to be vented before it could be lifted. Put plainly, she just needed an audience.

But he didn’t know why she had chosen him.

Zhu Xianyao continued, “But I don’t know when Xianling stopped thinking about us this way. She grew to hate this older sister of hers because she felt like my existence was stopping her from inheriting the position of the Zhu Clan’s Clan Patriarch. She felt like she was better than me in all these different aspects except for age, so she wasn’t satisfied with the situation. Eventually, she and I couldn’t see eye-to-eye. And I was so headstrong at the time, always ordering her to do this and that because of my seniority, forcing her to listen to me…… Her unhappiness with me is also probably due to my stubbornness at the time.”

When she got to this point, Zhu Xianyao’s voice was already very heavy. “The battle at the Hidden Dragon Institute was the greatest loss I have ever suffered in my whole life. Uncle Eleven died, and I even lost my memories of that period of time. I was even fed a bunch of lies by a bunch of people. My clan was then even involved in a conflict between the six Bloodline Nobility Clans and the Immortal Temple.”

When he heard this, Su Chen felt his heart start pounding.

She knew about it?

Zhu Xianyao continued, “Xianling felt like her time had come. She tried to pull influence from anywhere she could, all in an attempt to ruin my status as the successor. However, she was still a bit too hasty, and I gave her quite the lesson. Do you think what I did was right?”

Su Chen didn’t know what kind of punishment she had given her. He could only nod his head and say, “However you punished her, you were right.”

Zhu Xianyao didn’t feel any happiness though. She sighed, “I knew you would say that. Tianyang, you’re a good person. Even though your appearance is not spectacular and you are very lazy, that’s not your fault……”

Su Chen’s forehead was drenched in sweat. He thought to himself, ‘You Tianyang, you’ve done quite a good job for yourself! Not only did you earn yourself the evaluation of not having a spectacular appearance and being very lazy, she even said that it wasn’t your fault!’

“I know now that I was a bit too much that time. Perhaps it was because I had a bellyful of rage and Xianling’s challenge finally gave me a chance to let it out…… I shouldn’t have humiliated her like that.” Zhu Xianyao shook her head repeatedly. “Actually, I regret it a lot now. I apologized afterwards, but I know that she didn’t accept it. She is so proud and arrogant; how could she resign herself to a fate of losing to me? I knew that she would try and do something. I just didn’t expect that……. I didn’t expect that she would do something this vicious.”

Zhu Xianyao’s tone only grew more depressed, and her countenance was heavy.

Yes, assassination and fighting for a position were different. The former indicated that all bets were off. Even when Su Chen and Su Keji had fought with each other in the past, they had never reached the point of trying to assassinate each other.

One could only say that this lie had dealt Zhu Xianyao quite the blow.

After thinking for a while longer, Zhu Xianyao then said, “Forget about it, there’s no point in talking with you about these things. I’m very thankful for what you said today, and I’m very thankful for everything you’ve done for me. However, Tianyang, we are not people that belong to the same realm. If you’re smart, after we return, you should nullify the engagement…… We can still be good friends.”

Su Chen thought for a moment, then said, “I want an opportunity.”

“Opportunity?” Zhu Xianyao was stunned.

“Yes!” Su Chen nodded. “An opportunity to prove myself. If you haven’t fallen for me by the end of this mission, I will return home and nullify the engagement. But before then, will you give me another opportunity to prove myself?”

Zhu Xianyao stared at Su Chen in surprise. “You seem a bit different today.”

Su Chen straightened up and purposefully began to stammer, “People…… will…… change…… If Zhu Xianyao could change, I…… I can too. I want to…… be a real man…… not like I was before.”

This was the method Su Chen had thought of to deal with Zhu Xianyao. This way, he could acknowledge her dissatisfaction with him in the past and demonstrate that he was willing to put in effort and try to be more outstanding.

This way, even if Zhu Xianyao discovered that You Tianyang was different from before, she would think that it was because You Tianyang was trying to change himself and successfully grow up. At the very least, she wouldn’t suspect him as quick.

She glanced at Su Chen for a long moment, then laughed. “You really are quite courageous. Yes, people can change. Xianling changed, I can change, and you can change as well. We will all change, but perhaps not for the better.”

Su Chen tactfully remained silent.

Zhu Xianyao thought for a moment, in somewhat of a daze, then sighed and said, “Alright, I promise you, Tianyang. However, don’t get your hopes up too much. It seems to me that no matter how much you change, I will not develop feelings for you. Even so, I hope that you can show me a better side of yourself.”

Su Chen “blushed” and said, “You will definitely fall in love with me.”

As he spoke, he turned around and left.

When she saw him act like that, Zhu Xianyao burst into laughter.

Of course, she didn’t know that their conversation had been monitored by Shi Mingfeng.

In a small room in Castle Garrison, Shi Mingfeng glanced at the mirror and then said with a chuckle, “It seems like our Prince Su is currently doing his best to try and win the heart of that beauty for you.”

He turned and looked at You Tianyang, who was tied up in the corner. You Tianyang looked back at him, his expression filled with fear.

——————————

West Laina Castle’s dungeon.

He Xu sat in the prison, staring idly at the ceiling. His face was beaten so badly that he was unrecognizable, and the bridge of his nose had been broken by Su Chen. However, his consciousness was still intact.

The faint sound of footsteps echoed throughout the dungeon’s hallways.

Su Chen walked in from outside. At his sides were a Sand Race guard and a Zhu Clan guard.

He came to a stop in front of the prison door and looked at He Xu. He Xu felt his vision go blurry before he reappeared in a flower garden. All around him were flowers in bloom and birds in song.

“This is……”

“My illusion realm. You’ve been here before, remember?” Su Chen replied with a slight smile. Here, Su Chen had returned to his original appearance.

He Xu understood. “This illusion realm was created by you?”

“Yes. It was originally used to trap opponents, but I never expected that I could use it for secret communications.”

“The two guards beside you won’t notice this?”

“As long as it’s not for too long.”

“Then let’s keep it short and sweet. What other plans do you have?”

“I want you to tell me first where you hid the Origin Ring……”