573 Laughter (1/2)

The Second Consort was a beautiful woman, but after hearing so much about her legendary appearance, it actually was somewhat disappointing to anyone who met her for the first time.

She had only been a teenager when she had gotten married to the Khan, and now she was in her late thirties. Like most women of the prairies, she was beginning to put on weight and now looked resolute. She walked very fast and flashed into the tent like a gust of wind, showing her manliness.

Fang Wenshi had found out lots of information about the Second Consort, all of which all rushed through Gu Shenwei's mind at the moment.

The most important information they got was that she had no children, and on the surface, she stayed at an apt distance from all the kings. Many people of Norland believed that in the future, the Second Consort would either be buried alive with the dead Khan or exiled to the bitter cold North. No one had heard that she was helping a king's son seize the title of Khan.

The Second Consort had an independent cavalry of ten thousand soldiers, which had been given to her by the Khan many years ago. This army had always been one of the important defensive forces of the Royal Court, but it was far from enough to control the whole situation.

There were many rumors about her, most of which were of course false, such as that she was eight feet tall, could lift a man with one hand, and throw him a hundred steps away. The real Second Consort, though valiant and heroic in bearing, didn't look like a kung fu practitioner. Her commanding walk was not a display of her physical strength, but rather of her pride in her power.

Gu Shenwei's mind immediately visualized a scene: The Second Consort was heading towards her destination with vigorous strides, leading a crowd of entourage that hurried along behind. With sweat oozing from their foreheads, they not only had to hear and execute every command of their lord but also had to guess where her next move would lead.

”You're quite different from what I thought.” The one who said this was the Second Consort. She hadn't brought along her entourage, and the one behind her was King Rizhu, who held a look of indifference and vigilance. Obviously, he didn't support this meeting.

”Rumors are misleading,” Gu Shenwei said casually, eliciting a burst of laughter from the Second Consort.

”Ah, right, we all know the power of rumors.”

After a moment's worth of awkward silence, King Rizhu stepped forward to break the ice, saying, ”The Dragon King is still doubtful, and is waiting for the Second Consort to convince him.”

King Rizhu's tone was strange, as it swayed between respect and control. He thought that he had covered it up well, but it was very clear to the ones present.

The Second Consort said with spread arms, ”Honestly, the most important reason why I choose to ally with the Dragon King is that you have no way out, right?”

King Rizhu revealed a faintly bitter smile. Gu Shenwei, however, didn't care about what she had said. He had heard many similar words in Norland. Everyone who wanted to court him would point out the Dragon King's plight either explicitly or secretly. ”'No way out' is very close in meaning to 'everywhere.' This is the prairie, and I can go whatever direction I like.”

”You're so proud. Indeed, you're Gu Lun's son.”

King Rizhu knew the Dragon King's true identity, as did the Second Consort.

Gu Shenwei didn't intend on replying.

”I want to talk to Dragon King alone,” said the Second Consort to King Rizhu.

”This…” King Rizhu was a bit reluctant but only spat out one word before he nodded and slowly left the tent. As he lifted the curtain to exit, he shot a serious glance at the Dragon King.

”I knew your father. He always followed the seventh prince closely, not like a guard but rather like an elder brother.”

Since the Second Consort had taken the initiative to mention the past, Gu Shenwei also no longer evaded the topic. ”King Rizhu said to me that you and the seventh prince didn't meet each other.”

”Haha, he's right. We hadn't met before that incident. But we met frequently after I married the Khan. By that time, the seventh prince had become a strong contender for the Emperor of the Central Plains, and the Khan naturally wanted to befriend with him, and I usually stayed around the Khan.”

This explained why the Khan had wanted to gloss over Gu Lun killing a king's son.

”You two are …. very familiar?” Gu Shenwei didn't know how to exactly ask his question without appearing too rude.

The Second Consort replied with what Gu Shenwei had said before, ”Rumors are misleading.”

She did not seem to want to elaborate in detail but after a moment of hesitation, she began to explain, saying, ”The prince of the Central Plains and the Khan's favorite woman flirted with each other and then secretly had an affair. What a beautiful legend! Even those honest herdsmen who worshiped the Khan as a god delighted as they talked about it. No one could image that I, only a teenage girl who had just married the Khan, the greatest Lord of the Prairie could do such a thing. My position was unstable, I was threatened by rumors, slandered all the time, and lived under the watch of dozens of eyes from morning till night. I didn't even dare to breath heavily, so how could I possibly have an affair with the prince of the enemy country?”

Gu Shenwei didn't know her living conditions at that time, but judging from how she was now, it seemed like it would have been easy for her to have an affair with someone. ”People just want to hear what they want to hear.”

The Second Consort still appeared indignant. Suddenly, she asked, ”How old are you?”

”Twenty… one.”

”Alas, you are so young. When I was your age, I still had to please a flabby by any and all means. In order to numb myself, I drank lots of wine every day. I was so drunk that I couldn't feel dirty no matter what I put in my mouth. I don't even know how I managed to survive.”

It was distance that created a godly image. The closer she got to god, the more realistically she saw and heard him. But Gu Shenwei still admired her courage that she dared to describe the Khan like this to someone she had met for the first time.

”King Rizhu wants to protect the Khan, but I just want to solidify my position. I've paid too much and I don't want my hard-earned rewards to be taken away by others.”

”That's almost exactly what Luo Ningcha told me.”