Chapter 127 (1/2)

Chapter 127 Cascades: Heartless

Gan Qingjia hummed along to himself as he slowly headed home, filled with happiness. Never did he think that he would fall prey to a girl like her, having always been the predator himself. Now that things were finally on the right track after much effort, he was filled with glee.

“Young master!” The head steward approached him frantically the moment he entered the household. “Please head to the study right now; the Heir and Master are both waiting for you.”

“The Heir?” Gan Qingjia's eyes glinted, but quickly reverted to his usual lazy look. “Why would I go over if the Heir is discussing things with Father?”

“But it's something to do with you.” The head steward did not hear many details clearly from the outside of the study, but whatever he heard had made him uncomfortable. Things seem to be serious. Too worried to care for the usual pleasantries, the head steward dragged Gan Qingjia towards the study.

“Master, the young master is here.” The head steward knocked lightly upon the door.

The Minister of the Left opened the door and looked Gan Qingjia over. He muttered under his breath. “Punk.” He let Gan Qingjia in. “Your Highness, my son has returned.”

The Heir looked at Gan Qingjia, a light smile on his lips.

“Greetings, your Highness.” Gan Qingjia bowed.

“Can I take your bow as your pledge of allegiance towards me? What an important bow for a man like you, the Head of the Villa of Mount Baicha, the man as rich as the kingdom itself.” The Heir laughed and motioned for Gan Qingjia to take a seat. The Minister's face changed; he did not expect such directness from the Heir.

“You seem very confident, your Highness.” Gan Qingjia was unfazed. “If I was to have this conversation with you as the Head of the Villa, then I will be a man of the Jianghu. I'm sure you know that if there is one thing the men of the Jianghu long for, it is freedom.”

The Minister's face changed again; he did not expect Gan Qingjia to admit his ident.i.ty so quickly, especially without any discussion prior. The Heir's face changed as well; Gan Qingjia's confession threw him off guard and he swallowed his prepared speech.

“Qingjia, you are before the Heir of the Kingdom right now; you are to speak as an official of the court. Mind your manners.” The Minister spoke harshly to Gan Qingjia, hoping that his son would understand his hidden intentions.

Gan Qingjia looked at his father with a slight smile on his lips and saw the worry in the Minister's eyes. He turned back to the Heir. “Your time must be very precious, your Highness. Let's just talk openly, or we'd be wasting your time.”

The Heir hid the dark look in his eyes and put on his signature warm smile. “I heard that you're close to Miss Qi, Inspector1.” The Heir paused. “Inspector, you must know that I have feelings for Miss Qi, but yet you continue to woo her. It seems as if your feelings for her run deep indeed.”

Gan Qingjia smiled. “You are very observant, your Highness. My feelings towards Jianqiu are as true as the Moon and the Sun. In fact, I was just about to discuss with my father my proposal to the Qi household for her hand in marriage.”

The Minister's face was as dark as it could be – not from anger that his son has been harbouring feelings for the daughter of his rival, but for his son's willful provocation of the Heir, knowing that the Heir had intended to win Qi Jianqiu's hand in marriage as well.

Naturally, the Heir was furious, but he kept it well in check. He put his best smile and looked at Gan Qingjia. “I understand your feelings, Inspector. I have a question for you: if you can only choose one between the Villa of Mount Baicha and Miss Qi, which will you choose?”

That gave the Minister a fright. He stepped forward, wanting to fall to his knees to beg for forgiveness on behalf of Gan Qingjia but was quickly stopped by the Heir with a wave of his hand. The Heir looked at Gan Qingjia.

“What is your decision, Inspector?”

Sweat beaded the forehead of the Minister and he glanced at his son. This is the moment that would decide his future! I never thought that my son would be the wealthy Head of the Villa that even the Emperor feels threatened by! And how was I to know that the Heir would disregard all the hard work I'd put in for him these years and force his hand upon us?

A silence descended over the study.

The Minister could not help himself any longer. “Qingjia!”

Gan Qingjia came to his senses and laughed loudly. “I'd thought that you'd make good use of my secret ident.i.ty, Heir. But to think that you were foolish enough to come straight to me and have me choose myself!” Gan Qingjia waved a hand in the air. “Isn't it obvious enough? Of course, I'd want to keep both! Jianqiu is the person that I love, and the Villa is the fruit of many years of hard work. Who do you think you are to have me let go of these things with just your mere words, my Heir?” Mockery dripped from his words like venom; not even the Minister had thought that his playboy of a son was capable of such a speech.

The Heir jumped to his feet and raged. “Then it remains to be seen if you have the longevity to keep both of these things!” He turned to leave the study.

The Minister came to his senses and quickly stopped the Heir, pleading, “Please calm down, your Highness! My son never meant to speak so harshly against you with his words! Please forgive him and give put the matter on hold for a while on behalf of all the help and advice I'd given you all these years! I will convince him to make the correct choice!”

The Heir laughed harshly. “Years of help and advice? Pray, tell me, Minister: what exactly have you done for me these days? I don't believe that you had no idea of his true ident.i.ty! No wonder you'd let him woo the woman I was chasing after; you must have harboured rebellious thoughts against me for a while now, haven't you!”

The Minister looked at the Heir with his mouth agape, shocked at how such words had come out of the mouth of the Heir he'd known. The Heir treated his silence as an acknowledgement and turned to leave, stalking out of the residence.

On their way back to the palace, the Heir's trusted advisor, Yu Ming, looked cautiously at the Heir's expression. “Your Highness, how are you going to handle the situation?”

The Heir was still angry. “If he can betray me, it is only natural for me to do whatever is in my best interests!”

Yu Ming chose his words carefully. “Judging from his personality, the Minister of the Left would definitely look for you again in the next few days. Seeing as how you still have your hands tied investigating the case of the Imperial Treasurer, why not give it a rest for a few days? You can demonstrate your benevolence to your other followers.”

The Heir was still angered, but he did not reject the proposal.

Meanwhile, in the residence of the Minister, Gan Qingjia looked carefully at his father, who looked as if he might pa.s.s out any moment from the shock of the events that have just transpired a few moments ago.