Chapter 51

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Chapter 51: Title

Wuyang’s pretty face was as cold as ice. "How much longer will our master endure? Today they can invade Jiulong Mountain, and tomorrow they will turn their attention to Prince Rong’s residence."

Lian Rong lay on the soft couch and clicked her tongue. "Look at you; why are you so impatient over something so trivial? I’m not anxious, so why are you?"

"But—"

"Since they have provoked us, let’s take advantage of their own tricks and give them what they want. As for Liuli Palace… Given the situation, if they annoy us, they won’t stay there long. Later, have a few people from Yu go and deal with it; it will be useful to me."

"Alright. As for Tang Fang, she actually knows nothing about this. Will our master…" Wuyang hesitated.

"Report to the villa master; Guardian Tang requests an audience," Wuyang barely finished when an announcement came from outside the door.

Lian Rong did not speak but glanced at Wuyang. Wuyang understood and nodded, walking outside. Soon, she brought in the woman in fitted clothes.

The woman in fitted clothes kneeled before Lian Rong on one knee. "I was negligent in my duties. Please punish me, master."

Lian Rong stared at the ornate ceiling. Negligent? Ha! She wasn’t angry about that. After a long pause, she finally spoke slowly, "Go to the cold pool and think carefully about where you went wrong."

Wuyang was shocked. "Master, no! The cold pool has no living creatures for miles. Tang Fang will die if she goes in!"

Lian Rong raised an eyebrow. "Then you can accompany her."

"This matter is entirely Tang Fang’s fault. Naturally, she should bear the consequences alone. I hope the master can understand."

Lian Rong looked at her. "Come see me tomorrow at noon."

"Yes," Tang Fang replied as she stood and exited.

Wuyang stared blankly at the door. "The master’s heart is colder than that cold pool."

"Wuyang, I have spoiled you too much," Lian Rong said helplessly.

Wuyang pressed her lips together and fell silent. Every time Lian Rong punished her subordinates, no one dared to complain, regardless of whether they were right or wrong, including Qian Yue, who was just like her, serving Lian Rong. Everyone acted cold-hearted and almost emotionless. Since she started following Lian Rong at the age of eleven, she had seen too much over the seven years. She had gone from fainting at the sight of a corpse to being able to eat and drink calmly, even when surrounded by piles of dead bodies. Because she was scared of corpses, Lian Rong had thrown her alone into an abandoned graveyard outside the city for a whole month. She had thought that people were buried in the ground, but when she went out with a glimmer of hope, she discovered the mountains were full of corpses, leaving her unable to even cry.

Since then, she had always viewed Lian Rong with fear, not even daring to look her in the eye. Although Lian Rong did not say anything, Wuyang knew when she was unhappy. It wasn’t until the year she turned thirteen that the most rampant group in the martial world, Qianying Palace, bullied Lian Rong, thinking they could take advantage of her simply because she was a woman. Yet, they only knew Longyang and did not realize Longyang was actually Lian Rong, the only prince of the current Dongyin Dynasty.

Lian Rong remained calm and unperturbed as they provoked her. Jiulong Villa always operated discreetly, but being low-key did not mean they were weak. She knew Lian Rong wasn’t indifferent to the affairs of the martial world; her goals had never been about gaining power among the various factions. When Qianying Palace started trouble, she thought they would back down after some noise, but those people thought Jiulong Villa wouldn’t dare to provoke them and became greedier by bringing more people up the mountain.

At that time, the villa didn’t suffer much loss, but she nearly lost her life to a rain of arrows, hit three times. If it weren’t for Lian Rong, she wouldn’t be alive now. She only remembered that year when Qianying Palace caught fire, and everyone vanished overnight. The fire raged for three days and three nights. Even now, thinking about it made her heart race.

She didn’t understand Lian Rong. Lian Rong told her she was the current Prince Rong, the emperor’s younger sister, while her elder brother appeared to dote on her but secretly sought her life. No one knew what kind of person that kind-looking emperor truly was. Over the years, faced with Lian Rong’s actions, she continued to tell herself that the master was only protecting herself, but was it really just self-defense? This thought became harder to fathom, as the master’s gaze deepened, becoming more profound—was she truly just the woman who saved her that year?

When Wuyang returned from her heavy memories, Lian Rong was already gone from the couch. She sighed, hoping that the crown princess, who was so naive and often forgot her own importance, could bring her back to her original self.

"Miss, do you still want this clothing?"

Gu Hengbo turned around. It was Lianyang’s clothing that she wore when leaving the palace, which she had cut significantly to wear. "Throw it away. I won’t wear it."

"Yes."

Gu Hengbo felt a bit frustrated. If one were to call the maidservants of Jiulong Villa, each one acted like an expressionless puppet. When they spoke, if you weren’t attentive, you wouldn’t even notice their lips moving. She had always thought the women of Prince Rong’s residence were quite odd, but now seeing these people, she suddenly found Shui Yan adorable.

"This is good satin; it would be a shame to throw it away." Lian Rong had changed out of her torn clothing into a flowing purple garment, her silver mask reflecting an unusual glow.

Gu Hengbo’s heart sank a little. She laughed lightly, "Well, this clothing is borrowed; better not keep it, so throw it away." She wondered if Lian Rong had figured it out.

Lian Rong walked over, pinching the somewhat tattered men’s clothing with her thumb and forefinger while looking at Gu Hengbo. "Whose did you borrow?"

Gu Hengbo waved her hand and said, "You won’t understand even if I tell you. Just hurry up and throw it away, please!"

Lian Rong squeezed her clothes and walked closer to her. "You all can go down now."

"Yes."

Gu Hengbo looked at the clothes, feeling as if they were mocking her. She felt frustrated. If Lian Rong found out that she spent the night in Lianyang’s palace… would she strangle her?

"Be good and tell me the truth. Where did you go that night?" Lian Rong threw down the clothes and sat with Gu Hengbo on the chair.

Gu Hengbo gave a dry laugh, "I didn’t go anywhere. I just slept in the countryside." (She couldn’t even lie properly; it had been raining heavily that night.)

Countryside? Hmph! "Do you still want to go back and see your mother?"

"I’ll tell you! It was… it was the Second Prince’s." Gu Hengbo lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers.

Lian Rong raised her eyebrows and lifted Gu Hengbo’s chin with her finger. "The second royal nephew?"

"Yeah."

Very good! "So, you spent the night there?" Lian Rong narrowed her eyes in disbelief. Was she really sleeping in Lianyang’s place?

Gu Hengbo nodded. "But don’t worry, I slept in his bed while he slept in the study."

"Is that so?"

Of course, though it felt a bit unfair to make the Second Prince sleep in the study, she was a woman and was supposed to have that right as his so-called aunt.

"Do you think that’s appropriate?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think I should confront the royal nephew about this? What he did is really rebellious."

"No, no, no, this is my fault." It was all because of you and the queen.

Lian Rong pulled her hand away. "What benefit did the second royal nephew give you for you to support him like that? Hmm?"

Gu Hengbo made a sad face. "Honestly, nothing. If I hadn’t run into you and the queen that night, and if it hadn’t rained so heavily, I wouldn’t have met him. I know it’s serious. If we get caught, they might accuse us of all sorts of things, but we really didn’t do anything!"

Lian Rong pinched Gu Hengbo’s chin, forcing her to look at her. "No matter what happens in the future, you are still the Princess of Prince Rong." How could she even talk about rebellion and adultery?

Gu Hengbo nodded vigorously. "I know, I know! You are my husband!" Recognizing the times makes one outstanding!

Lian Rong looked at her, amused, acting all coy and not even doing a good job at it. "Alright, stop pretending. Let’s get to the point. Let’s go to bed." Lian Rong said as she pushed Gu Hengbo up, playfully squeezing her little backside.

Bed? Gu Hengbo was stunned. "This… in broad daylight… isn’t that inappropriate?" If she pleased her, she might let her go, right? Was that what she meant? Did it also include free physical offerings?

Lian Rong dragged her to the bed, pushed her onto it, removed her mask, and started taking off her own clothes while looking at her expressionlessly. "Are you going to take it off yourself or do you want me to help you?"

Gu Hengbo trembled as she tried to undress. She wasn’t sure if she was nervous or what, but after a long time, she still couldn’t do it. Lian Rong took off her clothes in a matter of moments, leaving only her inner clothing. She lifted Gu Hengbo like a chick to bring her closer. "Still nervous? We’re both women; there’s nothing to be afraid of."

"Don’t, don’t, don’t… It’s not right, A-Rong~" Gu Hengbo looked at her pitifully.

Lian Rong paused and said, "Call me husband."

"A-Rong~"

Lian Rong slapped her backside. "You really need some discipline!" Before Gu Hengbo could respond, she pulled off her clothes and pressed down on her.

"Ah… help… mmm!" Oh no, it was real!