"Brother Jingyi, did you come to see Huan Changming?"
Jingyi gave a distant bow, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness."
"Answer me, is that right?!"
Jingyi said, "I believe I made myself clear enough to Your Highness in the forest that day. Whatever I do here today has nothing to do with Your Highness."
Huan Mi's arrogant nature was only unleashed in front of Jing Yi. She was so angry that tears streamed down her face. "Even if I am sent to the Western Night Kingdom for a political marriage, do you think it makes no difference?"
Upon hearing this, a hint of doubt flashed in Jingyi's eyes, but he immediately said, "Princess, you have made the sacrifice of marrying into the Western Night Kingdom for the sake of the people of Li Kingdom. Your righteousness is admirable."
Huan Mi didn't want to hear any of that. She disregarded her dignity as a woman and a princess and asked Jing Yi in a harsh voice, "You really won't marry me?"
"Your Highness, I did not win first place in the spring hunt."
The winner of the spring hunt would marry the princess; by saying this, he was subtly rejecting Huan Mi.
"Fine! Jingyi, you're doing very well!" Huan Mi fiercely wiped away her tears. "Guards!"
The jailer immediately stepped forward, saying, "Your humble servant is here."
"Listen to me, Your Highness! During Huan Changming's imprisonment, no one is allowed to visit her!" Huan Mi deliberately looked at Jing Yi and said, "Not even the Prime Minister's son!"
This immediately displeased Jingyi, who asked, "Princess Huanmi, what are you doing?"
"I'm not feeling well, so don't even think about seeing the person you want to see." Huan Mi reverted to her usual arrogant and domineering princess persona and walked towards the prison entrance. "Since you're so worried about her, I'll go and see for you just how miserable she is right now."
The prison was dark and damp. Huan Mi covered his nose with his sleeve and walked quickly forward under the guidance of the jailer. "Why does it smell so bad?"
“Your Highness, this prison is a place for guarding serious criminals. They eat, drink, and relieve themselves all in one place, so over time the smell naturally becomes unpleasant…” The jailer stopped in front of a cell door, opened it with a key, and said, “Your Highness, we have arrived.”
Huan Mi entered the cell. Huan Changming was sitting on the floor made of piled weeds, his hands were chained and hanging in mid-air, his eyes were half closed, and it was hard to tell whether he was awake or unconscious.
"Were they tortured?"
The jailer replied, "We haven't had a chance to use torture yet. Does the princess intend to torture her?"
"Let's starve her for a few days first, and we'll talk about other things later."
"Yes, ma'am."
Huan Mi walked up to Huan Changming, grabbed his chin and lifted it up forcefully. "Do you understand your place? If Father is displeased, he will throw you into a dark and hopeless prison to fend for yourself. You are a stain on our entire Li Kingdom family."
Huan Changming's eyes were still half-open, looking rather weak, but his words were grating to Huan Mi's ears: "Instead of worrying about me, Your Majesty should worry about when you will be married off to Xiye for a political marriage."
Huan Mi slapped Huan Changming across the face with her own hand, "You bitch! It's none of your business to interfere in my affairs!"
Huan Changming's head lolled to the side from the blow. He paused, then continued, "Is it because I hit the nail on the head that you're angry? I'm magnanimous and won't hold it against you. It's just that the people of Xiye are fierce and their women follow the men's lead. If someone like you marries into Xiye, I'm afraid you'll be devoured by them, leaving not even bones behind..."
With each word he spoke, Huan Mi's face paled further. Huan Changming scoffed at this, only to be grabbed by the collar by Huan Mi. "This matter is not settled yet! Besides me, you are the only princess in the Li Kingdom waiting to be married. I will not marry into the Xiye Kingdom. If anyone is to marry, it will be you, this bastard!"
A triumphant smile flashed in Huan Changming's eyes, but his face showed a completely opposite look of panic. "Me? How can I be considered a princess? My elder sister is the rightful princess of Li Kingdom. It should be my elder sister who goes for the marriage alliance..."
"You have half the blood of the Western Night Kingdom flowing in your veins. The Kingdom of Li cannot tolerate you. Sending you back to the Western Night Kingdom is a blessing for you. You should be grateful!"
"No, I don't want to... I don't want to marry Xiye, I don't want to!"
The stronger his resistance and the more intense his reaction, the happier Huan Mi became. She had almost forgotten about Huan Changming. Marrying Huan Changming off to the Western Night Kingdom not only solved her immediate problem but also completely severed her relationship with Jing Yi, killing two birds with one stone.
"Don't worry, if we are to have a marriage alliance with the Western Night Kingdom, I will definitely be the first to ensure that you become the Queen Consort of the Western Night Kingdom." Huan Mi loosened Huan Changming's clothes and looked him up and down. She noticed that although he was wearing prison clothes, he still had a pair of earrings hanging on his earlobes.
The jade was the finest black jade she had ever seen, but she felt it was a waste to wear it on Huan Changming's ears.
Huan Mi found it displeasing and pulled off the pair of black jade earrings, examining them closely. "Such fine jade is truly unworthy of your lowly status."
Huan Changming's expression turned cold. "Give it to me."
Huan Mi took off her own earrings and put on Huan Changming's earrings instead. "Fine jade is naturally worthy of my noble status. You, a lowly slave, should stop daydreaming about things you don't deserve."
"I'll say it again, give it to me!"
Seeing his anger, Huan Mi touched the jade pendant on her earlobe and walked out of the cell triumphantly, saying, "I find this very comfortable to wear!"
Huan Changming's fists clenched so tightly they creaked, and the iron chains rattled from his struggles, attracting the attention of a jailer who shouted, "Behave yourself! Or we'll kill you!"
After the start of spring, a spring rain fell intermittently for seven days.
Lu Zhong would come to Lu Pianpian's room many times a day, but he would always stand outside the door and never go in. The servants of the Lu family couldn't help but find this strange.
"Since you are so worried about the young master, why don't you go in and check on him?"
"I heard that the young master is ill and cannot see anyone until he recovers."
"It really is a strange illness, but our master dotes on the young master from the bottom of his heart, visiting him every day. They really are father and son..."
Qu Surou came to visit Lu Pianpian as usual. Overhearing the servants' conversation, she thought to herself that Lord Lu was indeed very good to Pianpian. Although they were not biological father and son, to outsiders they were like father and son, without any distance between them.
"The Holy Maiden has arrived." Lu Zhong bowed respectfully to Qu Surou.
Qu Surou waved her hand and said, "Father Pianpian, just treat me as a junior. Don't bother with these formalities. I can't accept them!"
Lu Zhong said kindly, "Will Pianpian wake up today?"
"It should be about time by now. I'll go in and take a look."
"well……"
Qu Surou pushed open the door and entered the room, then closed it again. Walking into the room, she noticed that the quilt on the bed was wrapped in the shape of a silkworm cocoon. She went up to her and asked, "Pianpian, are you alright?"
The silkworm pupa immediately wrapped itself up even tighter, and a tiny golden thing, as thin as a cicada's wing, peeked out from the corner of the blanket.
Qu Surou reached out and pinched it, whispering a reminder: "The wings are showing."
The wing immediately tucked back into the blanket. Qu Surou sighed, "You were raised by your senior sister. I've seen you in every way, haven't I..."
As she spoke, she revealed Lu Pianpian's face, which had been hiding under the covers. Seeing that he had recovered completely, she smiled and said, "Isn't he fully healed?"
A strange embarrassment appeared on Lu Pianpian's face. "Senior sister."
"What's wrong? You're all better, so why don't you want to see anyone?"
"Senior sister, I...I might have done something bad."
"What bad things could you possibly do?" Qu Surou would never believe that Lu Pianpian could do anything wrong.
Lu Pianpian recalled the lingering memories of that day at the bottom of the cliff, his earlobes turning even redder. However, he was half-conscious at the time and couldn't determine whether it was a dream or something that actually happened.
He cautiously asked Qu Surou for confirmation, "Senior sister, how did I get home?"
“I used tracking magic to find you on the cliff in the hunting grounds with Huan San and then brought you back. You were unconscious at the time, so you probably don’t remember anything.”
It really was at the bottom of the cliff!
The images that remained in Lu Pianpian's mind were all real. How was he supposed to face his junior sister in the future?
Seeing his conflicted expression, Qu Surou became even more curious, "What exactly happened?"
Lu Pianpian was almost in tears, "I'm a beast... no, I'm not even as good as a beast..."
Qu Surou started to speculate, "Huh? What have you done? Did you perhaps make a fuss with some girl?"
Her words hit the nail on the head. Lu Pianpian was filled with anger and hatred at her own beastly behavior. "I...I feel like I've overstepped my bounds with my junior sister. I'm a beast! I'm unworthy of being Master's disciple. I don't deserve to be called a human being..."
Qu Surou was stunned for a long time before she reacted. Seeing Lu Pianpian's deep regret, she quickly comforted her, "Don't blame yourself. Your symptoms come every year. It's not like you chose to do it. And you certainly didn't mean to do those things to Changming!"
"But I have tainted her innocence!"
"Do you remember exactly how far you went? If it didn't reach that point, then it shouldn't count?" Qu Surou, a doctor who was well-versed in the human body, asked cautiously.
"I don't know, I don't remember!" Lu Pianpian cried out, clutching her head. "But I'm sure I did something to her, I forced myself on her!"
My junior sister is a beautiful young lady, but now her innocence and reputation have been tarnished because of his dementia. If she is so upset about this that she takes her own life, Lu Shaoyan will be held responsible even if he kills himself!
Thinking of this, Lu Pianpian forgot her self-blame and hurriedly inquired about her junior sister's situation, "By the way, senior sister, how is junior sister now?"
Qu Surou looked away and mumbled, "It's fine."
"Really? Then why don't you dare look me in the eye, Senior Sister?"
Qu Surou knew she couldn't hide it any longer, so she had no choice but to tell Lu Pianpian the whole story about Huan Changming's imprisonment. "Huan San has been in the military camp outside the city recently because of the Xiye Kingdom, so he doesn't know about this yet."
"Senior sister, you shouldn't tell junior brother about this either. His identity will put him in a difficult position." Lu Pianpian pulled off the blanket and quickly got out of bed to start getting dressed.
"What are you planning to do? Go to jail and kidnap her? That's a capital offense!" Qu Surou was afraid that Lu Pianpian would do something foolish, so she told him the latest developments about Huan Changming. "Changming will be fine. At most, she'll be locked up for a few days! The Prince of Li has already intended to marry her off to Wu Yao, the new king of Xiye Kingdom, as a princess for a political marriage. He won't let her really die!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Pianpian paused in her dressing. To Qu Surou's surprise, she didn't say anything. After tidying herself up, she opened the door and saw Lu Zhong. "Father, your son is alright."
Seeing that he was completely unharmed, Lu Zhong finally felt relieved after days of worry. "That's good, that's good."
"Father, during the days I've been sick, has anyone from the palace come to deliver a message saying that I won first place in the spring hunt?"
Lu Zhong asked in surprise, "How did you know someone from the palace had sent a message about this?"
Every person who participated in the spring hunt had their name engraved on their bow and arrow. If Lu Pianpian remembered correctly, he did shoot a wolf to save Huan Changming, and by sheer coincidence, it was the wolf king that won the first hunt.
"I need to go to the palace." Lu Pianpian looked at Qu Surou behind her. "Senior sister, please take me there."
Prince Li had originally considered sending Huan Mi to marry a foreign ruler, but he couldn't resist his youngest daughter's crying and fussing, and with her instigation of another candidate, he did waver.
However, Huan Changming's daughter caused him great conflict. He genuinely disliked her and did not want to send her to Xiye Kingdom to return to the hometown of her disgraced mother and become a high-ranking queen of Xiye Kingdom.
In his heart, although the concubine who assassinated him was dead, the child she left behind was a substitute to pay for her sins. The daughter had to pay for the mother's sins, and he didn't want this child to have an easy time.
However, the current war with the Western Night Kingdom inevitably forces him to make a choice to quell it.
This problem had been bothering him for days, and even now, being at a family dinner, it still made him feel uneasy.
Huan Juntian was summoned back to the palace from the military camp for a family banquet and arrived late. When Prince Li saw his promising young son, his mood improved somewhat. He inquired about some trivial military matters, and then the eunuch's announcement came through.
"Your Majesty, the Holy Maiden, accompanied by the young master of Lord Lu Zhonglu's residence, requests an audience."
These are all pillars of the future of the kingdom. King Li waved his hand and said, "Summon them immediately!"
Qu Surou led Lu Pianpian into the hall to pay her respects. Huan Mi felt a little scared when he saw Lu Pianpian and subconsciously looked away.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with the Holy Maiden, the Prince Li turned his attention to Lu Pianpian, "A few days ago, I sent someone to your residence to invite you to the palace to claim the prize for first place, but I heard from your father that you were ill. Are you well now?"
"Your Majesty, I am much better now." Lu Pianpian paused, then continued, "I came to the palace today to ask Your Majesty for the reward for winning the first prize."
"Haha, you're quite straightforward! It's certainly your skill to shoot the wolf king with one arrow. Now, tell me, what reward do you want?"
"His Majesty said at the hunting grounds that he would grant any request as long as one came in first place." Lu Pianpian looked up and met the eyes of the King of Li. "I wish to ask for the hand in marriage with the princess of Li Kingdom."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone around fell silent.
To propose marriage to a princess is an extremely important matter, especially at this critical juncture of making peace with an enemy country. This young master must have a death wish!
Qu Surou spontaneously sat down next to Huan Juntian, and the two tacitly remained silent.