Chapter 467: Choice
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Gu Shenwei discovered that the King of the Stone nation was behind the plot, and that Xu Yanwei played an important role in it.
Among five kingdoms, the Stone Kingdom was the most important one to the Dragon army. The court was full of the Dragon King’s men. Therefore, when the Golden Roc Fort looked for traitors around the Dragon King, the royal family of the Stone Kingdom was their best choice.
The Dragon King would not sleep well at night unless he put a reliable spy in the palace.
Xu Yanwei had excellently completed her task. She was the personal maid of the princess, so she was able to stay in the palace. As she worked for Dragon King, no one dared to bully her. Besides, she had a history with the king, so she could freely leave or enter the palace.
During that period, she had often argued with Dragon King and caused trouble. Given that, many thought she was losing Dragon King’s favor, which allowed her to gather information in the palace more easily.
She basically had nothing to do for a long time. At that time, Prime Minister Zhong Heng had gotten everything in control. Nothing special happened in the palace, so Xu Weiyan couldn’t gather any information and felt like she was trapped in a huge prison.
Even when Golden Roc Fort had besieged the Stone Kingdom, they never attempted to bribe the king and his sister.
He had thought that the small Stone Kingdom would yield soon, so he didn’t plan to waste much energy or time on it. Beyond Supreme King’s expectation, the capital under Zhong Heng’s instruction command, had withstood his attack for a long time
Not until the Dragon King returned to Xiaoyao Lake and gave a pile of important ancient scriptures to the princess, did Supreme King pay attention to the King of the Stone nation.
Xu Yanwei had many friends in the palace, and besides that, she had a knack for discerning truth from the rumors. Therefore, she had been told that a court maid got pregnant and the child’s father was the king soon.
Xu Yanwei told Gu Shenwei as soon as she heard this. When he had eavesdropped on an old eunuch who was speaking about the king’s secret in the main hall, he knew immediately that it was the king’s trick.
The eunuch was a good actor, but he couldn’t fool the Dragon King.
That night, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus snuck into the palace. One kept an eye on the main hall where the secret ma.n.u.script was hidden, while the other spied on the pregnant court maid’s residence.
The two plots began together. While the princess hid in the gate of the main hall, watching the pregnant woman leave, Gu Shenwei was watching her.
But Xu Yanwei had overlooked the most important piece of information. She had noticed that Golden Roc Fort had sent people to the palace, and she knew that the king had been bribed by them, but she never thought that the shy timid princess became his brother’s partner under her close scrutiny.
The princess had given the chapters eight and nine to the king. It was meaningless for Gu Shenwei to change the contents of those pages.
“Allow me to leave the palace, the princess is driving me crazy.” Xu Yanwei didn’t mean it seriously.
She and her brother owed a lot to the Dragon King. They had reached an agreement with him to gather information for him and that they would be free after three years. Now, three years had already pa.s.sed, but they still worked for Dragon King of their own volition.
Among all the men that Xu Yanwei met, the Dragon King was the only man who didn’t s.e.xualize her. To her, Dragon King was more like a business partner; she loved their current relations.h.i.+p and had never considered giving it up.
“The princess is so smart,” Xu Yanwei said in low spirits. She blamed herself for her negligence. She continued, “Just now, her words almost made me cry. I was used by her again, wasn’t I?”
Compared with this matter, the victory he got from Ju Chi became less important. However, Gu Shenwei became more composed instead of getting angry. “Although anger is a good way to disguise oneself, it can’t solve the problem.” he reflected. “Things have happened. Now I should figure out a method to remedy it and change this tough situation.”
“No, you have done a good job. You were not used by her. Continue to stay with the princess.”
Gu Shenwei walked towards the princess’s chamber. Compared with his anger, Xu Yanwei was more worried about his composure. She said, “You won’t… She is your wife and you have slept in the same bed.”
Xu Yanwei knew that her reason was lame. She had slept with plenty of men, but she never loved them.
Gu Shenwei stopped for a while, and then kept walking. He didn’t give Xu Yanwei a reply because he needed to make his decision based on the princess’s att.i.tude and behavior. In fact, he was confused. He wondered, “Why did the princess ask Xu Yanwei to tell me the truth? Did she decide to side with me? But it is too late.”
Hearing the door open, the princess raised her head.
At this time, the candle on the table burned out suddenly. The weak light disappeared instantly, leaving a puff of smoke.
Gu Shenwei immediately put his hand on the hilt of his saber. But it had just been a coincidence. He loosened his hand after making sure that there was no ambush. Besides, he knew that the princess didn’t know Kung Fu.
The princess was even more nervous than he was. She was standing up but then sat down and said gently, “Dragon King, I… will light the candle.”
“Just let it be,” Gu Shenwei said. He thought it wasn’t so bad to sit in the dark. The princess’ appearance had already left a deep impression in his mind, so it didn’t matter if he talked to her without seeing her face.
“Am I… still your Queen?” The princess asked with unrest and expectation.
Gu Shenwei nodded. Noticing that the princess couldn’t see it, he answered, “Yes.”
“I never mean to betray you,” the princess said. To lessen his anger towards herself, she sent Xu Yanwei to deliver her words first. She believed that it was the only way to let Dragon King listen to her confession with patience. She explained, “I didn’t know the two chapters were important until…”
“Until I got angry for it,” Gu Shenwei thought. He knew he was also responsible for this. “I never explained the source and importance of the Wayless Book to her, so she was ignorant of the importance of it. But why did she threaten me with those papers?” He mused.
“My brother told me that small country’s survival method is to please both parties and mediate between them. He also said that he had waited for the people from Golden Roc Fort to contact him for a long time but those killers lurking in the palace never did it.”
When Gu Shenwei had first returned to the Stone Kingdom, he was attacked in the princess’ chamber. Those a.s.sa.s.sins had waited in the palace for about a year. In fact, they were killers and they would only implement a task they had received. Their task was to kill the Dragon King, which was why they hadn’t contacted the king.
“I’m the descendant of the Ju family, and a.s.sisting the king is my mission,” the princess said without pride. In her eyes, that mission was a heavy shackle. “Though now I finally understand. It was you who let me understand, that no one is born to be a king. I heard similar words when I was young, but I never took them seriously. It was not until now that I realized that you’re a real king and my brother is just a clown. Golden Roc Fort doesn’t take him seriously. Once they kill you, our Ju family will perish.”
“Dragon King will discover mine and my brother’s plot soon. When I gave that stack of intact papers to Gu Shenwei, he began to suspect.” She thought.
The princess didn’t expect Dragon King to forgive her immediately, so she continued, “Now I’m your queen and I’m not responsible for the Ju family or my brother, but I was a fool and I still worked for him. I don’t beg your forgiveness. You can punish me, but I only hope you know that I will choose to be your wife and servant forever if I have another chance.”
The princess had changed a lot. Gu Shenwei admired her courage, but he didn’t trust her. He asked, “Who contacted the king?”
Gu Shenwei had strict control over the palace, half of the guards were his men, but the enemy had still managed to find loopholes. He wanted to figure out how the king contacted Golden Roc Fort.
“I don’t know. My brother never told me these matters, he only asked me to behave obediently and never mentioned a word of it. Even that he was bribed by Golden Roc Fort is only my own guess.”
Gu Shenwei believed most of her words, now it was time for him to announce his decision. The decision he made totally depended upon the current situation instead of the princess’s plots and repentance. He announced, “You have two choices, and this is your last chance. You can sit and do nothing, waiting for the results of the war. If Golden Roc Fort wins, you will get rewards, and if Dragon army wins, you won’t lose your t.i.tle of Queen, but you will never be allowed to leave the palace. Or you can work for me. If I win the war, you’ll be the real Queen; if I lose, you’ll die with me.”
The princess had considered this problem for a long time. Not until Dragon King had entered and the candled burned out did she make up her mind. She suddenly realized that the best outcome for her by siding with Golden Roc Fort was to live as n.o.body. The Ju family occupied a low status in Supreme King’s career. Although it was risky to follow the Dragon King, it was also her only chance to change her fate.
Compared with the Dragon King, the king was shortsighted. The princess finally understood why cunning people like Prime Minister Zhong Heng and proud men like the swordsmen from the Great Snow Mountain were willing to serve Dragon King, who had no background. Those men were isolated and they would have never stood out in their former situation. Dragon King was the only one who was able to discover their value.
“I pledge my loyalty to Dragon King forever,” said the princess as she knelt down in the darkness.
In Gu Shenwei’s world, trust became less important. He only knew one thing— that he needed the princess of the royal lineage. At least she could play a significant role in stabilizing the soldiers’ morale before the war broke out.
“I accept your allegiance,” he responded.
Their weak relations.h.i.+p as husband and wife ended at this moment.
“I have another secret to tell you.”
The princess believed his words. After she made sure that she was safe, she resolved to distinguish herself with this secret.
It was important to find the proper time to reveal the secret. She had been considering it for a long time. Each meeting with Dragon King was a fresh practice for her. It took a while for her to learn how to make a prompt decision.
“If I had told him this secret when I first saw him, it would have just been a method to beg his forgiveness. In that case, I could only have used this secret to offset my sins. It will be a good deed only after I have been forgiven. Then, it will be a gift that he will value,” the princess mused.
“Tell me.”
“Some of the contents in chapters eight and nine that you have aren’t authentic. My brother gave me some words and asked me to replace the original content with them.”
“I know,” Gu Shenwei said. To be accurate, it was only his suspicion. That was why he had no intentions to practice it in the first place. Besides, he hadn’t told Maid Lotus his doubts as he had not found any proof at that time.
“However, the contents that I gave my brother also aren’t authentic. The real contents are in my mind.”
Gu Shenwei had no idea about that!