Chapter 9: Meeting Prince Ruì |
“I need you as a bodyguard of course. The prince isn’t going to let this slide. He’ll definitely send assassins after us, but since what he wanted to find out was of a blasphemous nature, he’ll have to keep it from the emperor and work in secret.” It was obvious to everyone yesterday, that between the two, Shěn Lí was the stronger adversary. Therefore, the best course of action would be to get rid of Xíng Yún first, then focus on Shěn Lí after. Whether or not they had the ability to take care of her was another story. Xíng Yún understood this, so of course he would drag her along with him!
. . .Shěn Lí read the placard sign in front of her, “Ruì Palace?” She creased her brow puzzled.
Xíng Yún nodded his head. “The emperor has seven sons, and although the crown prince is the first-born from the empress, he is not the oldest prince. That title belongs to Prince Ruì, whose mother is the current favored imperial concubine. The strength of his family is strong with many ties within the government and the imperial palace. Currently, he’s the only one with the potential to stand against the crown prince.
“You are surprisingly well-versed in the politics of the royal family.”
“I didn’t know anything before last night, but if I want to clear out a certain scumbag then I have to gather my information properly.” Xíng Yún stopped talking when he heard the sound of whips approaching. Soon a carriage appeared under heavy escort. Xíng Yún slowly approached and in a clear voice said, “Foreteller Xíng Yún seeks an audience with Prince Ruì!”
After a moment of silence a voice spoke out in a derogatory sneer, “Fortuneteller? You are bold to dare approach. The people consider tricksters that swindle and cheat others to be despicable. This king feels no different.”
“In that case Your Highness can think of me as a tactician instead. I know of a plan that would be beneficial to Your Highness. Would Your Highness be interested?”
“Why should this lord trust you?”
“Last night the crown prince came to me in search of a plan . . .” Xíng Yún trailed off purposefully. Then he laughed and said, “If Your Highness wishes to know more, may we speak privately inside?”
Prince Ruì gave Xíng Yún and Shěn Lí a once over before speaking in a husky voice. “Bring them to the inner courtyard.”
The palace was extremely large with many richly decorated pavilions and courtyards. There were numerous statues, acres of beautifully planted flowers and shimmering clear lakes throughout. Everywhere she looked screamed “Big! Beautiful! Rich!” It was nice and all, but Shěn Lí felt the display was deliberately ostentatious in order to cover up the atmosphere of death and repression that permeated throughout.
Back in the Demon realm, she lived at the base of the ruin. The air was filled with thick miasma that blocked the sunlight and created a dark sky all year round. Naturally, such greenery didn’t exist as plants weren’t able to take root in such inhospitable land. It wasn’t as beautiful as the palace but there was a sense of freedom that existed in the air. Even Xíng Yún’s courtyard, although tiny in comparison, was much lovelier than this palace.
The two were led to a center pavilion to wait for Prince Ruì. He appeared not long after in a different outfit. After the ceremonial greetings, Prince Ruì and Xíng Yún began to talk about court affairs. Shěn Lí decided to escape since their talk was boring and she needed to relieve herself. With her abilities, she easily evade the palace guards and eventually came upon a pond with a beautiful lotus flower floating in the center. It was so eye catching she decided to pluck it for herself. A voice rang out from behind just as she was reaching over.
“What are you doing! Don’t touch my flower!”
Shěn Lí turned to the side to see who was calling out to her. At the same moment that Shěn Lí moved, a figure dashed forward to where she was standing earlier. Unfortunately, without Shěn Lí there to act as a barrier, the person bulldozed forward and teetered on the edge of the pond. The short fence did nothing to keep her back. Shěn Lí reached for the girl and managed to grab her belt. She yanked hard enough to pull her back from the edge, but unfortunately, the pull was so hard, the girl’s belt tore and her pants loosened and was precariously close to slipping off. The girl quickly grabbed onto her clothes and squatted down hiding her head in her arms in shame and embarrassment.
Shěn Lí awkwardly looked at the torn bit of fabric in her hand. “Ah . . . sorry. I didn’t think your clothes would be so . . . fragile.”
The girl looked up and stared at Shěn Lí. “Are you a woman?”
Shěn Lí looked down at her own chest. “Isn’t it obvious?”
Without realizing it, Shěn Lí had recovered more qi in the days since regaining her human form. Her strength increased and she hadn’t reverted to her beast form since. She was too lazy to change clothes, so was wearing the same dirty robe from earlier. It wasn’t an issue for her since back on the battlefield her clothes would be ten times dirtier than this. Xíng Yún had tried to find some better clothes for her for the meeting with Prince Ruì, but he had no luck. He gave her one of his long coats to wear over top in the end.
The girl shook her head and spoke in a soft voice, “It’s obvious looking at you from the front but from behind . . .”
Hm. Yes, Shěn Lí thought, from behind I do look like a slender handsome young man, don’t I? She studied the girl in front of her. She had creamy pale skin and straight eyebrows above peach blossom shaped eyes.
It was such an enchanting combination that Shěn Lí unconsciously reached out to touch the girl’s face. The girl in question blushed even more deeply, and while still in her crouched position, crab walked to the side to avoid Shěn Lí. Shěn Lí thought it was really amusing, so tried twice more. The girl fed up, finally spoke, “Auntie . . . auntie . . . please stop playing. If you are kind, then please pass me something to use as belt. I can’t get up looking like this.”
Two family servants walked by and saw Shěn Lí and the girl crouched on the ground. “Thief! How dare you try to use Xiǎo Hé as a hostage!”
“Eh?-” The servants didn’t wait for Shěn Lí to finish speaking. One immediately ran away to call for backup. Shěn Lí felt a little sour in her heart. The girl looked up at Shěn Lí with a murderous glare as if to say, “This is all your fault!”
“Why don’t I get you out of here?”
Xiǎo Hé, who had broken out in a cold sweat the moment the servants showed up asked, “To where?”
Just then a group of guards showed up escalating Xiǎo Hé’s anxiety. She pulled the hem of her clothes around her nervously. “Ah! This is no good!”
As they were talking a husky voice rang out, “What’s the commotion?!”
Upon hearing the voice Xiǎo Hé’s face perked up, but it quickly dropped in nervousness upon remembering her predicament. She bit her lip and grabbed onto the hem of Shěn Lí’s coat to hide behind.
Shěn Lí looked out and saw the crowd gathering. Among them was Prince Ruì and Xíng Yún. She could already guess what he was thinking from the expression on his face.
Xíng Yún shook his head and sighed. How did she get into trouble already?
Prince Ruì first looked at Shěn Lí before glancing down and noticing Xiǎo Hé who was sitting on the ground obviously hiding behind her. His tone considerably softened at the sight. “What happened?”
Xiǎo Hé refused to speak. Shěn Lí looked down and sighed. “Tell your guards to retreat first.”
Xiǎo Hé poked her head out from behind Shěn Lí and nodded emphatically at this.
Prince Ruì waved his hand and the crowd quickly dispersed. Shěn Lí noticed Xiǎo Hé no longer had a death grip on her coat so she quickly took the opportunity to step aside. She cleared her throat about to speak when Prince Ruì bent down to Xiǎo Hé. After a few whispered words his face broke out into a smile that softened the scar on his face considerably. He took his outer robe off and placed it around Xiǎo Hé before picking her up. After taking a few steps, he turned around. “It will be better if the young master stays here.”
The two had only spoken for a short period of time, but from his polite manner of speech it was obvious he intended to offer Xíng Yún his protection.
Shěn Lí thought it would be fine for Xíng Yún to remain. As long as he stayed in the palace, she would be able to leave without any worries.
Xíng Yún shook his head. “I thank Prince Ruì for your kind intentions, however I only came today to present my plan. I fear my presence, should I remain, will only bring unnecessary trouble. Besides this, I also prefer to live in my own peaceful courtyard. So please allow me to say my farewell for today.”
Since Prince Ruì didn’t feel strongly about it and so didn’t insist. He nodded his head and gave Xíng Yún and Shěn Lí permission to leave the palace.
. . .“Hang on a minute.” Shěn Lí walked up to Xíng Yún frowning. She glanced back at the palace with a complicated expression.
“What’s the matter? Do you fancy the girl or something?”
“No, I was just wondering why a prince would raise a demon spirit.” She turned around to face Xíng Yún and waved her hand. “Ah forget it, not my business. But why did you not stay at the palace though?”
“Stop talking so much. Prince Ruì gave me some coins. I’ll buy a bit of meat today and we’ll have a nice dinner later.”
Shěn Lí opened her mouth then closed it. She did this once more before resolutely leaving it closed. Just just wait and see how it all blows over. If need be, she could stay a little longer to keep him safe.
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