Volume 1, Chapter 4: Father, my life is so miserable!

Page 1 of 3

What on earth?
Hasn't the Seventh Princess always been opposed to this marriage?
The entire capital knows this, so why is she suddenly acknowledging Zhao Wujiang’s status as the Prince Consort?
Long Zhan’s heart churned like a tempest. He had always prided himself on knowing how to handle women, but Li Yunrui’s latest maneuver was truly beyond his comprehension.
"Seventh Princess, I am merely acting under the Emperor’s imperial edict..."
Long Zhan attempted to invoke the current Emperor’s authority.
This only infuriated Li Yunrui further.
Without a moment’s hesitation, she raised her hand and delivered a crisp, resounding slap across Long Zhan’s face.
*Smack!*
The sound was so loud that the Northern Prince’s Mansion fell into instant, deathly silence.
"My father and the Prince of the North are brothers in arms; how could I allow you to run wild here? If you dare slander my father again, I will have your entire clan executed!"
Li Yunrui was livid.
This pathetic Commander of the Brave Cavalry Battalion, Long Zhan, was clearly trying to sabotage the Li imperial family!
Did he have to go out of his way to sow discord between them and Zhao Wujiang? Was he trying to goad the Prince of the North into rebellion so he could bring his armies to the city gates?
Disgusting!
Li Yunrui’s slap caused Long Zhan to clench his fists so tightly within his sleeves that his fingernails dug into his palms, drawing beads of blood.
Yet, he dared not unleash his anger upon her.
He had to endure. At least until he reached the pinnacle of power, he had to keep his composure!
One day, when he held the power of the entire court in his hands, he would make Li Yunrui kneel at his feet and beg for mercy, and he would make Zhao Wujiang serve as his human steed!
But for now.
"It was a slip of the tongue, Long Zhan, I beg the Princess for mercy!"
"If you know you spoke out of turn, then get out!"
"Yes..."
Long Zhan forced a smile through his teeth and led his men from the Northern Prince’s Mansion.
This only made Zhao Wujiang feel even more uneasy.
It was well known that the more a protagonist was capable of enduring, the more terrifying they were.
Although he had changed the plot, he suspected that Long Zhan wanted him dead even more now than before.
[Damn it! It’s all this stupid Princess’s fault. My perfect plan to just lay low and survive has failed!]
[No, I still have to keep a low profile. Only when my father returns with his army will I have a chance to stand tall!]
Zhao Wujiang thought to himself, looking at Li Yunrui.
Before he could speak, Li Yunrui wore an expression that suggested she understood him perfectly. "Should I leave?"
[Huh???]
Zhao Wujiang was stunned. He felt as though this Seventh Princess was a completely different person from the one in the original plot.
It was as if she could read his very thoughts.

Page 2 of 3

"The Young Prince must have important matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave. Rest assured, I will explain things to my father."
With that, Li Yunrui actually left.
Had this death-trap of a plot really been averted just like that?
Zhao Wujiang gathered his thoughts. Li Yunrui’s attitude toward him seemed to have shifted.
But this alone wouldn't ensure his survival.
He had to find a way to deal with Long Zhan the next time he came looking for trouble.
That’s it!
A spark of inspiration hit Zhao Wujiang, and he ducked into his study.
There sat a top-secret letter that had just arrived from the northern frontier.
In the original story, the debauched Zhao Wujiang had never bothered to read it, but after Long Zhan killed him, Long Zhan had found it.
Zhao Wujiang opened the letter; it was a message from the Prince of the North.
It informed Zhao Wujiang that his father’s reported death was merely a ruse, telling him not to grieve.
Clearly, the Prince of the North loved his son dearly and feared for his safety.
Unfortunately, the original Zhao Wujiang was merely a minor villain meant to be fodder for the protagonist, incapable of amounting to anything.
However, this letter had allowed Long Zhan to discover that the Prince of the North was still alive, giving him time to prepare the trap that would later frame the Prince for rebellion.
With this in mind, Zhao Wujiang began to write furiously.
"Father, your son has suffered greatly!
Ever since your faked death, the court officials have shown their true, hideous colors, trampling upon the Zhao family at will!
The current royal family allows the Brave Cavalry Battalion to insult our lineage!
I tried to bring glory to our house, but I was brutally beaten by him, nearly losing my ancestral legacy!
Fortunately, I remembered your teachings—that the Zhao line rests solely upon my shoulders—and I have managed to survive in the shadows.
But I am now surrounded by enemies on all sides. Please, Father, bring your million-strong army and return to the capital with all haste to stand by your son!"
—Your suffering son, Zhao Wujiang, writing through tears.
After finishing these lines, even Zhao Wujiang was moved by his own words.
He believed his doting, indulgent father, who always put him first, would surely bring his army back the moment he read this.
However, the journey back would take ten days.
Add in the time it would take to deliver the letter.
The Prince of the North could return in half a month at the earliest.
Endure!
If Long Zhan could endure, why couldn't he, Zhao Wujiang?
"As long as I can survive these fifteen days, my life is safe," Zhao Wujiang reasoned. "But how do I send this letter out?"
He couldn't trust anyone else.
Ever since his father's "death" and the broken engagement, his every move was surely being watched by many.
Moreover, the gates of the capital were heavily guarded; if he could have escaped, he would have run away long ago instead of hiding from Long Zhan.
If this letter were intercepted on the way, it would be the end of him.
To ensure safety, he decided to wait until nightfall to deliver it personally to a remote corner of the city, then use the well-trained falcons of the Northern Prince’s Mansion to send it. The falcons were fast enough that he didn't need to worry about them being shot down.

Page 3 of 3

"That’s the plan... but it’s still not safe enough."
There could be danger on the way there.
Zhao Wujiang immediately went to the apothecary, where the Prince of the North had previously hired master physicians and poison experts to concoct various antidotes and venoms.
"Why is the Young Prince hiding in the apothecary?" a servant wondered aloud.
The old steward looked pleased. "The Young Prince is finally showing some ambition. He must be studying medical texts. Quick, go prepare some beauties to help him relax later."
*Studying medical texts, my foot...* Zhao Wujiang thought, grumbling to himself as he overheard.
He looked at the rows of green bottles before him.
Sleeping potions, aphrodisiacs, muscle-relaxing toxins, ten-fragrance nerve-numbing powder...
Forget about what they were; he would take anything that could incapacitate his enemies.
Stepping out of the room, he caught sight of the manservant behind the steward. "You, take off your clothes!"
The steward froze. "My Prince, I have already prepared women for you!"
"What would I do with women?"
Zhao Wujiang was speechless.
But to the steward, it sounded as if the Young Prince’s tastes had changed.
The manservant was also startled. "Young Prince... I... I am not mentally prepared for this."
"Too much talk. Take them off."
Zhao Wujiang knew these servants, having been around the old Zhao Wujiang for so long, had nothing but filth in their minds.
He took only the manservant’s outer robe and a stash of poisons, then retreated back into his room.
He waited for nightfall to slip out secretly.
...
Meanwhile.
At the residence of the Brave Cavalry Battalion Commander.
Long Zhan returned with a dark expression, heading straight for the room at the very back.
From within, the melody of a flute drifted out, echoing melodiously inside and out.
Yet, in the sound of the flute, Long Zhan detected a trace of loneliness.
The door was left ajar. Upon entering, he saw a woman dressed in purple silk, the hem of her gown slit high, revealing a significant portion of her long, slender legs.
The woman held the flute in both hands; her delicate lips parted to blow, and her jade-like fingers danced rhythmically, a sight to stir the imagination.
Upon seeing Long Zhan return, the woman even deliberately extended her tongue to lightly lick the mouthpiece of the flute.
Seeing this, Long Zhan, already stifled and humiliated by his encounter with Zhao Wujiang, felt his throat go dry.
"Fifth Senior Sister, I am filled with rage right now."
As he spoke, Long Zhan stepped forward, picked the woman up, and threw her onto the bed.
The woman did not resist; instead, her face filled with enchantment and anticipation. "Shall I help you vent that heat then?"