Lianâer saw her brother having experienced torture under the crown prince and her heart was in pain, with tears in her eyes.
Tuoba Liufeng cried out, âSister, what are you doing here? Run!â
âHumph, why else would she be here if not to plead for you?â
The crown prince grinned, âLaying your hands on a member of the imperial family is punishable by death! No matter who pleads for you in court, I have the final say if you get to be released! I can even have the Tuoba family removed from the Quanrong Empire. Ha-ha-ha, Tuoba Liufeng, everyone says youâre a brilliant warrior, a wise young commander, so why were you so impulsive to hit me? That punch has shattered the future of your entire family!â
Tuoba Liufeng shook and spat, âCrown Prince, I had no intention of doing anything but you went too far when you tried to force yourself on my sister⌠â
âForce? Sheâs my concubine to begin with! What business does her brother have in this? Humph!â
The crown prince cut him off and turned to the girl with a twisted smile, âLianâer, youâre my concubine. Fulfill your duty and, ha-ha-ha, Iâll forget about this, letting this brother-in-law keep his life. When I ascend the throne, the Touba family will rise again to its former glory. Refuse and wellâŚâ
The crown prince threatened, âIt wonât be just your brotherâs life on the line. Your father, and your familyâs eight servants will follow him to his grave. I vow there wonât remain even a Touba dog alive after Iâm through with you!â
Shuddering, Lianâer paled from dread.
Tuoba Liufeng cursed in hatred, âCrown Prince, take it out on me if youâre a man. Leave my family out of this! Lianâer, donât listen to his twisted words! Your life will be ruined if you agree. Father and I will never agree to marry thisâŚâ
âThatâs enough, brother.â
Lianâer shouted, looking frail as she spoke, âYour Highness, let him go. Iâll do all you askâŚâ
The crown prince had a winning smirk. Tuoba Liufeng cried out, âNo!â
Lianâerâs crystal tears began rolling down her cheeks as the despair took herâŚ
âYour Highness, sixth prince is here with a strange youth. He requests an audience.â A guard came to report.
The crown prince flicked him away in annoyance. âThat idiotic little brother of mine has the worst timing. I wonât see him. Tell him to scram. Todayâs my most glorious day. Iâm not in the mood to cater to his whims.â
âIâll notify sixth prince at once!â The guard left.
The crown prince drew closer to Lianâer with a disgusting leer in his eyes. His hands shook and his mouth watered in anticipation of having his fill of this fine ladyâs exquisite curves, âLianâer, I finally have you. This is heaven on earth, ha-ha-haâŚâ
âThen my brotherâŚâ Lianâer muttered.
The crown prince sneered and waved, âAfter we seal the deal, heâll be my brother-in-law. I wonât go hard on him. Ha-ha-haâŚâ
âGreat, thatâs greatâŚâ Lianâer nodded in despair, her eyes losing their light. Tuoba Liufengâs eyes burned with hatred and humiliation.
A man like him actually needed his sister to save him.
Boom!
The sudden huge explosion rattled everyoneâs composure. The crown prince cried out, âWhatâs going on here?â
Whoosh!
A guard flew over in panic, âYour Highness, sixth princeâs guest is forcing his way over.â
âWhat? Does brother plan on rebelling to fight his way into my home?â The crown prince was fuming, âWhat are you doing standing around for? Take the men and capture them! Tie him up and bring him here. Iâll have imperial father sort him out. For godâs sake, imperial father spoils him too much. He even dares to barge into my home!â
The guard was hesitant, âYour Highness, sixth princeâs guest is too strong. We canât even hold him back! All the men we send over are dead. I barely made it out alive to report to you and urge you to flee. Theyâre almost upon usâŚâ
Boom!
His words were cut short by the rumbling explosion from behind, sending a fierce gust of dust all around.
When it settled, two men waltzed out of fresh ruins around them. To make it worse, the joking manner they carried themselves with made it look like they werenât just walking all over the crown princeâs lavish home, or what was left of it.
âSixth prince, is this the way?â
âSir Zhuo, just up ahead, yes. Last time I saw the amazing scene in crown princeâs manor right around here, the still pond.â
Sixth prince was all smiles as he led the way, âItâs truly a wonder. I wanted this manor too, but elder brother just wouldnât budge. Not even imperial father would help me, saying crown princeâs manor is too important to give to me. That is not proper.â
Zhuo Fan nodded, âTrue, this ainât just about the manor, but the name of the crown prince. If the crown princeâs stuff gets shared to everyone, wonât that make him useless? So no matter how much the emperor dots on you, he still wonât do something so absurd as to affect the imperial familyâs image.â
âThat does make sense actually.â
Sixth prince nodded, then became confused again, âDoesnât that mean barging in like that will affect elder brotherâs image just as well? He is crown prince after all, so ruining his manor is a bitâŚâ
Zhuo Fan glanced at him, âWhy should I care?â
Sixth prince jerked and his eyes glittered, âCool~â
The two enjoyed the short stroll to the pavilion, looking about like they were window shopping, anywhere but at the host of this now ruined manor.
It didnât get more disrespectful than this.
The crown prince exploded in fury, âSixth prince, what the hell? Are you revolting? Why did you barge your way in here?â
âThatâs totally not it, elder brother. My idol came so I had to play the kind host. Since you have a marvelous natural attraction here, I just brought him over for a look-see.â
âLook your ass!â
The crown prince had had it, roaring, âThis is the crown princeâs manor! Yet you destroyed it regardless just for that damn flimsy reason? Youâre outrageous!â
Zhuo Fan and the sixth prince didnât pay him any mind. Zhuo Fan was still looking around the place with a frown, âThereâs nothing special about this place as well. Whereâs that wonder you talked about? â
âThat lake over there, itâs a real rarity. I promise it wonât disappoint, Sir Zhuo, he-he-heâŚâ Sixth prince stuck to him like glue as he flattered.
The crown prince was outraged at the blatant disregard.
Lianâerâs dead eyes picked up Zhuo Fan looking everywhere and her hope renewed, âZhuo Fan⌠y-youâre Zhuo Fan?â
âYeah, youâŚâ
Zhuo Fan had to focus for a second to really place where he had seen her before. âOh, Tuoba Tieshanâs daughter, Lianâer. Itâs been a while, how have you been?â
With a weak smile, Lianâer sighed in response.
Zhuo Fan shrugged and walked next to the lake, ignoring all the extra people around, âItâs not at all what I need. Oh well, I knew it was a long shot even when I came here. Sigh, so where exactly is this amazing scenery, sixth prince?â
âSir Zhuo, itâs the lake.â The prince skipped before him and pointed. Zhuo Fan scanned the place, still ignoring everyone else.
Lianâer felt pain in her heart. Why was it that he was always so disregarding to everyone when she saw him?
But this had to be why the people he did notice would forever be in his mind.
Lianâerâs features softened gazing at his inquisitive look.
Ignoring the rare gentleness on his concubineâs face, the crown prince shook from the humiliation and anger, âCall all the venerables in this manor. I want this obnoxious fool to meet a swift end! Let him know the price of ruining my home!â
âYes, sir!â
The guard bowed and left at once. Zhuo Fan didnât know this, still looking at the lake.
The hogtied Tuoba Liufeng saw this and shouted, âZhuo Fan, Crown Prince is calling reinforcements. Take my sister and run! Never come back to Quanrong!â
âEh, whoâs he now?â Zhuo Fan turned to where the voice came fromâŚ
Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.