When the bodyguard announced the arrival of the Third Prince, Pei Rumo was in his study attending to his work that he had acc.u.mulated over the past few days. He had regained his focus ever since he resolved the matter that had been troubling him.
Evidently, Pei Wuchen was not as calm and composed as Pei Rumo. Pei Rumo had already antic.i.p.ated this reaction from him and he casually ordered his guards to direct Pei Wuchen to the Flower Pavillion.
The moment Pei Rumo sat down, Pei Wuchen rushed to his side and started to scream, “What is the meaning of this?!”
Pei Rumo shot him an innocent look and replied, “Third brother, what do you mean by that? I was just doing some work in my study when I heard that you have come to visit me. I immediately put down my brush and rushed to meet you, only to be met with accusation!”
With that statement, Pei Rumo managed to turn the tables and blame Pei Wuchen for being rude and informal.
Pei Wuchen knew that he was no match for his brother in an argument and he decided to ignore his comment. “You obviously know that Emperor Father had already decreed that I am going to be engaged to Feng Wan"er, so why did you choose this time to request to be in a union with Luo Chu?! You know well enough that choosing a dead woman as a consort is a grave mistake! Are you doing this to spite me?”
Pei Rumo raised his eyebrow and looked at Pei Wuchen with contempt in his eyes and sneered, “I think you"re thinking too highly of yourself, my dear Third Prince.”
Pei Rumo thought to himself, I really don"t know what he is thinking of inside that thick skull of his! He always thinks that the world revolves around him... I did that not to spite him, but to fulfill my own desire and also to make sure that Luo Chu will not be forgotten, even after her death.
Spite him? I think he better take a good look at himself before he accuses me of doing so! He"s not worthy! Can"t even beat me in a fight after all these years and now he wants to rush in and challenge me... Pei Rumo felt a trace of rage forming in his heart.
Pei Rumo recalled how much time he had wasted during the period where he regarded Pei Wuchen as a compet.i.tor.
Pei Wuchen understood the subtle message in Pei Rumo"s words. He knew that Pei Rumo wanted to say that he was not worth the time. However, a thought surfaced in his mind. When he rescued Luo Chu, didn"t he mess up his future for her?
“Did you forget why you wanted to rescue Luo Chu from the b.e.s.t.i.a.l Battle Arena?” Pei Wuchen asked.
Pei Rumo had already expected the question and he had long prepared his response. “Men do foolish things when they are young. Even a person like me is not spared from committing such foolish acts. That is why I am seeking your forgiveness and understanding now.”
Pei Rumo was increasingly annoyed by the fact that the heartless Pei Wuchen had taken advantage of Luo Chu and kicked her away once he was done with her, making her the point of gossip for the entire capital.
He told himself that he would not forgive Pei Wuchen easily. He wanted the Third Prince to suffer for what he had done. He wanted to anger his third brother to the point of spitting out blood.
As Pei Rumo had expected, Pei Wuchen"s face turned red with anger and he was close to spitting out blood. To avoid having an outburst, he turned and left.
How could Pei Rumo let him off that easily? He called out to Pei Wuchen, “Third brother, don"t leave just yet!”
Pei Wuchen stopped in his tracks.
Pei Rumo decided that he did not want to be wrongfully accused by Pei Wuchen. Even if he wanted Pei Wuchen to suffer, he decided that he needed to let him know the real reason behind his intentions.
“I know that you won"t believe any explanation that I give you. But I did not make my request to Emperor Father to spite you. If I really wanted to hinder your path, I would have asked Emperor Father to arrange a marriage with the prime minister"s daughter. My request was merely to fulfil my personal desires and not for any other reason.” Pei Rumo explained.
Pei Wuchen was speechless for a long time. He thought to himself, what he said makes sense, if he really wants to scheme against me, he would have requested to marry a woman with an equal status. He did something no other prince would have dared to do… He asked for a dead woman to be his consort...
Pei Rumo could see that Pei Wuchen was finally calming down and he no longer felt like fighting with him. “Each of us has the right to our own choices. Luo Chu had a miserable life. Even after her death, her soul is unable to get the proper rest it deserves. I must put a stop to it! You don"t know how much she means to me!”
After he spoke, he removed the bandages on his head and showed his wound to Pei Wuchen.
“I even wagered my own life to make that request!”
Pei Wuchen thought to himself, Pei Rumo must be telling the truth! He constantly refers to his union with Luo Chu as a favour and he even went to such lengths for her! He really cherishes her more than I do.
Pei Wuchen chuckled as he replied, “Yes indeed, you do treasure her much more than I do. She wasn"t even that important to me!”
She means so much more to Pei Rumo than to me…
And just like that, Pei Rumo planted a seed of guilt in Pei Wuchen"s mind. The seed in Pei Wuchen"s heart would only start to grow into a flouris.h.i.+ng tree as Feng Wan"er showered him with more love. He would feel more and more guilty, and his guilt would create a rift in the relations.h.i.+p between him and Feng Wan"er.
“Your Highness, what is your purpose of telling the Third Prince all these when you know that he is someone who only cares about benefits?” Ming Lu asked Pei Rumo.
“It was never my intention to let him understand what I was going through.” Pei Rumo explained. His gaze was deep and it seemed as though he had already planned out his next step.
His true intention was to create a rift between Pei Wuchen and Feng Wan"er by making him feel guilty.
“He is really nothing but a fool!” Pei Rumo said as he shook his head and walked back to his study. He couldn"t waste his time on such trivial things when he had a ton of work that was yet to be completed.
Deep down in his heart, Pei Rumo knew that his Emperor Father had already weighed the consequences of his actions. Now that he has gotten what he requested for, he was worried as to what was in store for him.
Far away from the politics and strife of the Cloud Water Nation, Bai Luochu was in the middle of the wilderness of the ruins, absorbing the power of the Field Pearl Flower, with Pei Qingfeng quietly waiting by her side.