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In the simple, but luxurious resting palace, the handsome “young man” helped the trembling and crying girl to stand up. The “young man” looked as if she were at a loss.
“Your Highness!” Wu Wei held her hands very tightly. Even if she knew she was breaking rules and even if she knew the Crown Prince might cut off her hands, she was hesitant to let her go. That was the last thing she wanted to do.
Holding the hand of the Crown Prince, Wu Wei explained, “I used to serve at the Mansion of Eldest Prince. After my parents died, I lived with my little sister. She was a gorgeous girl, but she didn’t expect anything she shouldn’t. We had been living with great care. But one day, the Eldest Prince had a crush on her. He raped her in his garden! And he asked his guards to watch them!” As she spoke, she couldn’t help releasing her killing intent. She continued, “My little sister felt so humiliated that she killed herself by knocking on the rockery inside the garden. When I knew the truth, I wanted to revenge her. But I always failed. Instead, I got my face scratched by sword when I was trying to assassinate the Eldest Prince!”
Shang Wuxin looked down at her hand, but held back her anger. When staring at her close friend, Wu Ju sighed and wondered how to comfort her.
Wu Wei looked at Shang Wuxin’s pale hand as if she were holding her savior. She confessed, “The Eldest Prince’s guards have been tracing me. That’s why I hide myself inside your mansion. It’s quiet and safe enough to stay here. And I’m also able to approach the Eldest Prince. I confessed that I wanted to use you, Your Highness. But since I worked for you, I have never thought about that again!”
After she finished, she let go of Shang Wuxin’s hand. She knew she was waiting for the answer. Would Shang Wuxin trust her? If Shang Wuxin did, she would still be a maidservant. And if Shang Wuxin didn’t, she would revenge her little sister and then kill herself as an apology. She didn’t take action all along, just in fear that she might spoil Shang Wuxin’s plan. Unexpectedly, Shang Wuxin still saw her through.
“Since you’re with me, how could anyone else bully you? Who does Shang Chenzhao think himself is?” answered Shang Wuxin with an evil smile. She added, “Just do what I ask you to. Since when did you become so nagging?”
With appreciation and joy in her eyes, Wu Wei cried harder. Wu Ju went up and gently hugged her. Wu Wei pursed her mouth and wailed bitterly.
“Will you stop it?” scolded Shang Wuxin. Wu Wei was crying louder, which totally used up Shang Wuxin’s patience. If Wu Wei weren’t her subordinate, how would she allow her to be so presumptuous? She even wept so hard. What a shame to her name!
Gradually, Wu Wei stopped crying. Thinking of the kindness from Shang Wuxin, she couldn’t help smiling with swollen eyes. Kneeling at Shang Wuxin’s feet, she flattered, “Thank you, Your Highness!”
Shang Wuxin nodded. To be honest, she wasn’t interested in Wu Wei’s past. When she knew, all she did was to sigh. Besides, she knew what Wu Wei wanted from the very beginning. If she were disloyal, she wouldn’t have tried to kill the Eldest Prince, considering how powerful she was. But Shang Wuxin had to admit that Wu Wei knew how far to go and she made a great subordinate. Otherwise, Shang Wuxin wouldn’t have treated her as one of them.
“Your Highness.” Wu Wei calmed down, stood up and said respectfully, “Now, all the other princes are keeping an eye on us. If we take action and get caught, I’m afraid it’ll harm you!” It was important to take revenge. But Shang Wuxin’s plan mattered more. She would manage to take revenge someday. But if she brought any trouble, they would need more efforts to fix it.
“Humph!” murmured Shang Wuxin with a cold smile. She added, “Do you think the other princes will let go of me? The Eldest Princess wasn’t joking today!” Getting married? Shang Wuxin sneered secretly. If she got married, her wife would live like a widow. More importantly, the girl named Wanwan wanted to marry her, out of no reason. Obviously, that really annoyed Shang Chenzhao. “How will Shang Chenzhao deal with me?” thought Shang Wuxin when she was somehow expecting.
“Do we need to?” asked Wu Wei. The girl named Wanwan gave really a disgusting look to Shang Wuxin at dinner as if Shang Wuxin were her husband. And this clearly enraged Shang Chenzhao.
“Show yourself!” Suddenly, Shang Wuxin yelled at the outside.
Nangong Lian walked in embarrassedly, but she was stopped by Wu Wei and Wu Ju before she managed to enter the resting palace.
“I didn’t hear anything!” Nangong Lian raised her hands and promised. She was telling the truth. She was so boring that she wanted to talk to Shang Wuxin. Unexpectedly, she was scared by Shang Wuxin’s voice even before she knocked at the door.
Shang Wu certainly knew she had heard nothing. She reminded Shang Wuxin of her biological brother, namely Prince Nangong Qian, the most powerful prince in Nangong State.
It was rumored that an imperial maid gave birth to Nangong Qian and Nangong Lian. She died when Nangong Qian was ten years old. Without any power, Nangong Qian should have been living a hard life in the palace. He did, in the first few years. Then he amazed the world at the age of sixteen. That year, other princes recommended Nangong Qian to go to war. Everyone thought he would have been killed in the battlefield. Unexpectedly, instead of getting killed, he defended his state and even captured some cities from other states. It was exactly when he became famous all over his state. Meanwhile, there were other rumors that he was handsome, but enjoyed harming officials. Those rumors were spreading so widely that Shang Wuxin heard a lot.
“Don’t wander about in my mansion. If you get killed, I won’t take responsibility!” said Shang Wuxin. However, she clearly knew that this girl mustn’t die in Shang State, just because she was Nangong Qian’s little sister. Shang Wuxin didn’t want to make such big trouble for herself.
Nangong Lian knew the Crown Prince was telling the truth. She didn’t know why, but she felt that the Crown Prince wouldn’t trust her. Also, she was clear that she liked this guy, but not that kind of feeling between lovers. It was something weird that she failed to describe.
“I see! I see!” promised Nangong Lian. When she thought that her brother would soon send someone to take her away, she felt hesitant to leave. The Crown Prince’s mansion was cold, but was like a real home. Especially, the Crown Prince talked to her maidservants and the chief in the way that reminded her of her terribly lonely brother. She wondered what it would be when her brother met the Crown Prince.
“Your Highness!” said Chief Hai. He walked into the resting palace, without even looking at Nangong Lian who was stopped out there. He felt glad when such a plain girl failed to attract the Crown Prince.
“This is the invitation from the Eldest Prince!” said Chief Hai, “Your Highness, you’re not invited alone. Other princes are also invited, with a girl named Wanwan. You must be careful, Your Highness!” Chief Hai had heard about what happened at dinner, so he realized that the Eldest Princess must mean something evil.
“Tell them I will go!” Shang Wuxin put down the invitation and went into the resting alone.