Let’s Squander A Billion First!

Chapter 537: Chapter 537: Difficult to be a Hostage (32)

Chapter 537: Chapter 537: Difficult to be a Hostage (32)

“Is it too tight?”

Lian Qiong asked Chuzheng with some embarrassment.

His voice carried the nervousness of a young man experiencing carnal pleasures for the first time, and he dared not let his gaze wander.

Chuzheng moved her arm slightly, felt the chest binder was appropriately tight, and nodded her head, “Mhm.”

Lian Qiong hurriedly secured it in place from behind and draped a garment over Chuzheng.

Her heartbeat thumped incessantly.

“You can… resume your identity as a girl,” Lian Qiong said as he helped Chuzheng into her clothes.

“What a hassle.” Chuzheng, finding Lian Qiong too slow, snatched the task from him and fastened it swiftly by herself.

“…” He knew how to tie it!!

Lian Qiong tidied up the disheveled couch, noticing the fallen petals on it; his cheeks flared with heat in an instant, but he calmed down just as quickly.

She had been the one to initiate!

He had been forced!!

–

Chen Fei saw his master sneak out like a thief, clutching some items, and hurried over, “Your Highness, you…”

“Stay away from me!” Lian Qiong suddenly backed away a few steps, “Turn around!”

Chen Fei: “??”

Wary of upsetting Lian Qiong, Chen Fei turned around as instructed.

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

“Your Highness?”

No one responded to him.

Feeling hesitant, Chen Fei turned his head back, but there was no sign of Lian Qiong.

Chen Fei: “…”

Lian Qiong disposed of the items without a trace and calmly instructed the utterly baffled Chen Fei to prepare some food and send it to his room.

Chen Fei did not see Chuzheng, but judging by Lian Qiong’s rippling demeanor, Chen Fei had a rough idea of what might have happened.

However, His Highness was surprisingly easy to appease this time…

Thirteenth Prince truly had his work cut out for him.

–

The frontline battle had been raging for more than three months, with both sides suffering equally, neither Jin nor Wei Countries gaining any advantage.

By this time, Jin Country and Wei Country had come to the realization that they might have been set against each other by deception, but it was already too late; with both parties seeing red, how could they possibly talk peace?

And just at this juncture, an incident occurred in the harem.

One of the concubines had a miscarriage.

Miscarriage was routine in the harem; the child could only be blamed for its misfortune.

Yet, the concubine who had miscarried claimed someone had used witchcraft on her child.

The matter reached the Emperor’s ears.

The Emperor detested witchcraft the most, and upon hearing of such an affair in the harem, he immediately ordered a thorough investigation.

Upon investigation, the matter was traced back to the Empress.

With irrefutable evidence, the Empress was promptly captured.

The Emperor had not expected the Empress, whom he had cherished for so many years, to be such a vile woman.

What was more terrifying was that someone suggested the Empress might have used witchcraft on him.

The Emperor thought about it carefully. The Empress was not as beautiful as the other concubines, though she had an outstanding demeanor; she was not the most attractive.

Why had he adored her for so many years?

The more the Emperor thought about it, the more something seemed amiss.

He demanded a thorough investigation.

This investigation ended up implicating the Xiao Clan, who had previously been executed for witchcraft.

The Emperor’s mind suddenly flashed back to Consort Xiao, the woman whose smile could captivate an entire city and who had once briefly shone in the harem before fading away in sorrow.

With General Zhen Nan on the frontline, the Empress was left without any support.

Determined to uncover the truth, the Emperor started revealing the facts of the past, bit by bit.

General Zhen Nan was implicated as well.

The Emperor immediately sent people to the frontline to arrest General Zhen Nan, but alas, the general had received warning and fled beforehand.

The Emperor restored the honor of the Xiao Clan.

Not knowing whether it was out of guilt or something else, he summoned Lian Qiong into the palace and spoke with her for most of the night.

Lian Qiong had little affection for this father of hers, but he was the Emperor, and Lian Qiong maintained only the proprieties due between sovereign and subject.

–

The Heavenly Prison.

“Mother Empress.”

Princess Yun Lan rushed to the prison door, where the Empress had none of the elegance and nobility of the master of the Harem, only dishevelment.

“Yun Lan,” the Empress came from the corner, grasping Princess Yun Lan’s hands, “where is your father Emperor? What did your father Emperor say?”

“Mother Empress…” Tears fell from Princess Yun Lan’s eyes in an instant, “Father Emperor is very angry; all my pleading was to no avail.”

Princess Yun Lan had escaped implication, which was already a stroke of great fortune.

She dared not provoke the Emperor.

The Empress fell to the ground, her face growing increasingly ashen.

“Mother Empress, what exactly happened? Did you really do those things?” Princess Yun Lan pressed for answers.

A vacant laugh touched the Empress’s dull expression, “Whether I did them or not, it’s no longer important now.”

If the Emperor believed it, that was the outcome.

Just like the Xiao Clan all those years ago.

“Mother Empress, as long as you didn’t do it, Father Emperor will find out the truth, and he will release you once it’s clear.”

The Empress was silent.

Princess Yun Lan’s expression changed slightly, “Did you really do it?”

Princess Yun Lan walked out of the Heavenly Prison in a daze.

She had already married once before and could still enjoy the luxuries in the palace, all because of her mother Empress.

The mother Empress had said that the Emperor might not dote on her as before…

Princess Yun Lan walked forward listlessly, and from a distance, she spotted Lian Qiong.

Recalling the words of the Empress, Princess Yun Lan’s expression suddenly twisted with rage.

“Lian Qiong!”

Princess Yun Lan called out his full name, stopping Lian Qiong in his tracks.

Lian Qiong slightly lifted his eyes to look over, a thin, chilly smile on his lips, “Sister Yun Lan, didn’t your mother Empress teach you about hierarchy? I am your brother; is it fitting for a princess to call out my full name so directly?”

“It’s all your fault!” Princess Yun Lan pointed at him, “It was you – you caused my mother Empress to end up like this. And wasn’t it also you who brought ruin upon Marquis Yongan’s Mansion, wasn’t it!”

Lian Qiong looked at her innocently, “What are you saying, Sister Yun Lan? What do these matters have to do with me?”

“A real man dares to do what he won’t admit!” Princess Yun Lan clenched her teeth, “Do you have the guts?”

“Pfft…” Lian Qiong laughed lightly, “Sister Yun Lan, this matter is not for you to meddle in, it concerns my future Prince’s Consort.”

Princess Yun Lan did not catch on at first.

It took her a while before her face flushed red, “You…”

“Instead of stopping me here, you’d be better off spending time with the Empress.”

Leaving those words behind, Lian Qiong departed with Chen Fei.

“Lian Qiong!!!”

Princess Yun Lan’s hoarse shout gradually carried through the air.

Half a month later.

Because General Zhen Nan defected with his troops, Wei Country took advantage and gained the upper hand, capturing several cities.

The Emperor of Jin sent envoys to Chu Country to seek military aid.

Chu Country, seizing the opportunity to exploit the situation, made demands that were excessive and infuriating.

The Emperor of Jin naturally refused, but if things continued this way, in just a few months, Wei Country would be able to reach the Jin Imperial City.

After weighing his options, the Emperor of Jin opened negotiations with Chu Country.

Eventually, he agreed to send Princess Yun Lan for a marriage alliance, along with meeting several other conditions, and only then did Chu Country agree to provide troops.

The men of Chu Country were all rough and fierce; Princess Yun Lan was unwilling to go there.

But now it was not a question of whether she was willing to go or not.

The Emperor of Jin also proposed using another princess, but unfortunately, everyone knew that Princess Yun Lan was the most favored, and there was no way Chu Country would agree to that.

Princess Yun Lan had no choice but to go.

Princess Yun Lan tried to escape several times but was always caught and brought back; finally, she was bound and sent to Chu Country.

Chu Country indeed kept their promise, quickly dispatching troops to assist, and they stemmed the aggressive invasion from Wei Country.