Chapter 134 - Jiang Ying Yue (30)

"Yeah. Chen Wang, Lu Ling. It's unimaginable for his kind to go to such great lengths for a woman who has no title and backing and is still disowned by her family. Sometimes I want to know what he sees in her. A woman my dear third imperial brother treated that way, is loved so much by someone like him." Chen Heng shook his head again, lost in thoughts. 

"I believe it's Miss Jiang's good fortune. She might have saved a dynasty in her previous life to be able to catch the fancy of our aloof and mysterious general."

To his right-hand man's amusing answer, Chen Heng laughed. "Maybe? Especially now that Lu Ling had such high accomplishments. There's a high chance my father the Emperor would give him a long vacation. They might take that opportunity to tie the knots. When the time comes, This Prince is sure it will be quite an interesting event." 

Chen Wang was a celebrated hero of the empire. How many unmarried ladies of the capital would not be jealous of that woman to death? 

Fu Jiu chuckled then followed up. "Your Highness, if your words turn into reality, about Chen Wang staying longer this time, then it's also a good thing for us. Nobody knows he's our supporter. The longer he tarries in the capital, the longer we can count on him for some matters that only he can help us."

The male lead nodded in agreement. After their brief talk, they entered the pavilion and then went into an in-depth discussion about the current circ.u.mstances.

One thing which caused the prince to sport an expressionless face was the mention of the Emperor's favoritism of Rui Wang. However, compared to his brothers, thanks to being the only prince unfavored since birth, he was actually a lot less affected. On the next minute, he was already joking around again with Fu Jiu about the eldest imperial prince's hidden force in the east.

An hour later, they parted with each other. 

Hai Wang visited Sheng Lingxin in the prime minister's estate. The beautiful girl was like usual, witty and had a good smile. These days, he could feel that she was becoming more open to him. However, he knew she did not love him yet.

To be honest, he was sometimes annoyed with waiting for her. He was just reluctant to give her up due to her talent and background. There was also the fact that the prime minister was another neutral party that he would want to be on his side since the power in court that he held was just so large. 

After the short walk with her, he went back to the palace since the Empress Dowager wanted to meet him. He encountered Rui Wang and his new princess consort along the way. He gave the woman a good look, thinking of the intelligence he received from one of his own people.

One year ago, Jiang Ying Yue, the first miss of the Jiangs was framed. However, even though her name was already cleared, she was not restored as the first miss of the Jiangs. The reason was that the person before him was already declared Rui Wang's new fiancee and was mentioned on the decree as someone titled the first miss. 

'This person is that woman's sister. But according to reports, since she's a very mysterious and scheming person, there's a high chance it is her who actually caused Chen Wang's beloved to be kicked out of the Marshal's estate. If my hunch is correct, Rui Wang easily got another capable person again.'

His face showed the standard courtesy even though the thoughts swirling in his head were different. "It's nice to see you, younger imperial brother and sister-in-law."

"Greetings, Your Highness," politely curtsied by the woman. "It's this Wang Fei's pleasure to see you today."

Rui Wang was as arrogant as ever. His mouth mechanically returned the greetings yet his face had nonchalance written on it even though he was facing an older brother of his. 

Used to the third prince's attitude, Hai Wang did not say anything. He only nodded at them then bid farewell. The two newlyweds took the turn leading to the palace of the most favored consort while he took the opposite way to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager, the current emperor's mother.

The sky above was already red when he walked out of the Empress Dowager's abode. However, instead of going back to his own palatial residence, he sneaked into a deserted garden near the cold palace. 

When he got there, a man in red showed up leaning against a tree seated on the ground. The tree was the shortest and the most inconspicuous among those in that garden. The person seemed too careful about his tracks since out of all places possible, he chose to hide in a concealed location within a place surrounded by empty residences. 

'As expected of this person.'

With a placid look on his face, Hai Wang marched toward him with his hands behind him. As he watched out for the huge rocks on the uneven ground of this untended garden, he spoke, "In our current writing system, if interpreted backward, the words you wanted to be passed to me by your messenger means to meet up with you today at this place." 

He watched as the cold man turned his head to him. Cold. Capable of freezing many, even those prideful offsprings of old aristocratic clans or those soldiers and martial artists baptized by many battles.

Oddly, even when those eyes gazed at him, the male lead did not feel any oppression or discomfort. He even managed to flash a small smile and said in a joking manner, "I would have been terribly ashamed tomorrow if I missed the real message. Thankfully, my right-hand man passed it word for word, allowing me to discern the true meeting place and time."

The cold-faced man stood up. Ignoring the blaming tone of the other, he said. "Greetings, Hai Wang."

Chen Heng nodded and laughed, "Yeah, greetings. And congratulations on your victory and safe return... Chen Wang."