The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort (Chapters 1- 203)

Chapter 197 : Filing a Petition

"Mother Consort worries too much." Xuan Pei smiled and shook his head."Winning the favour and trust of Imperial Father is purely for protecting myself. With Imperial Father's favoured treatment, no one dares to act rashly against me. That said, I have no intentions of making baseless assumptions about his thoughts. I can't predict how they will evolve in the future. The first thing I must do now is to exact vengeance for Mother Consort and myself. In addition, even though the entire country belongs to the line of Xuan, that doesn't mean that whatever he (Xuan Li) wants is for the taking."

His words contained a hint of hostility and at first Jiang Ruan wanted to console him. Yet, when she reflected on her life, weren't they exactly the same. They had both returned full of hostility and deep seated hatred with the sole purpose of exacting revenge. The grievances from their previous life were too violent and brutal that in this life she would not dare to forget or be derelict. And so, she said with a smile, "I will always protect you."

The two of them talked for a while longer but Jiang Ruan couldn't stay in Nan Hua Yuan at length, however, before she left she cautioned Xuan Pei once more.

Ming Yue entered after Jiang Ruan departed and stood beside Xuan Pei. She was silent for a moment, and then suddenly asked, "Why didn't Your Highness tell Wangfei the truth?"

Whether or not Xuan Pei was interested in the throne, he was not completely apathetic in Ming Yue's opinion. Every action he took was part of a strategy to win the country, while calmly attracting the Emperor's attention. Furthermore, he had gradually begun to win over a group of officials in the imperial court. Although everything was executed flawlessly, it was inevitable that, over time, it would undoubtedly help him seize the throne

Normally, Xuan Pei would never answer such a question. He was almost always very indifferent, but for some reason, possibly because of Jiang Ruan, today he had softened his stance a little, and he even showed a gentle and tired look. "She wants me to be an innocent and kind prince, so why should I shatter this illusion and show her the ugly truth?" he said. "It would be better for me to be regarded as a child in her eyes. After all, the only reason I'm seizing this country is to protect the people I care about."

He wished to protect Jiang Ruan from harm. To achieve that, first he needed to assume the supreme position to crush those who despised them. Only through absolute power would he have absolute safety. For Jiang Ruan's sake, even if the path to becoming the Emperor was filled with slaughter and blood, it didn't matter to him.

Ming Yue silently withdrew to one side and stopped speaking, knowing that Xuan Pei would not explain more to her if she continued to ask.

After Jiang Ruan stepped out of Nan Hua Yuan, she had only taken a few steps when she heard an unfamiliar voice behind her. "Hong'an Junzhu."

She turned to see a man dressed in grey approaching, surrounded by palace eunuchs and palace maids. The man wore a long grey robe and a hat that nearly concealed the upper half of his face. The only visible part of him was his delicate chin, and it was difficult to determine whether he was male or female from his voice. At first glance, he seemed both beautiful and strange.

"You are...?" She gave a faint smile. This person didn't address her as 'Jinying Wangfei' but as 'Hong'an Junzhu'. It was the first time that this had ever happened in the Great Jin's imperial palace.

"I am Yuan Chuan." The man in grey smiled. "I have come all the way from Tian Jin to offer my loyalty to Great Jin."

The eunuch on the other side explained hastily, "To answer Junzhu, Yuan Chuan Daren is an envoy of the Tian Jian kingdom."

Jiang Ruan calmly examined Yuan Chuan in front of her, only noticing that his attire was not characteristic of someone from Tian Jin. There was an indescribable aura surrounding him that made people uncomfortable. Yuan Chuan faced her with his eyes obscured by his hat, making it impossible to see his expression and even more difficult to deduce his thoughts.