8 Chapter 8: The Crown Prince Visits (1/2)

The next day, the crown prince made a visit to the general's residence. Not to visit his fiancee, however, who was supposedly at death's door. Instead, he was there to visit her younger sister, who had ”fallen ill.”

The crown prince was named Fu Longwei and was considered the most desirable man in the kingdom. He was considered to have a good talent, being both water and earth attribute. He was also just slightly more talented in cultivation than Yao Xiuying, also being a low-level martial king, however he was a peak low level, and was said to be on the verge of breaking through to medium-level martial king. He was 16 years old and good looking, with a sharp jaw line, strong brows, and black hair that held a healthy luster.

The only visible flaw in the eyes of the citizens was his fiancee. Fu Longwei had been engaged to Ying Yue when he was only two years old. As she was born under such an auspicious sign, it was considered as a good thing for the kingdom for her to be his fiancee, the future crown princess, and then empress.

As such, he had pampered her for a long time. He had though himself fortunate to have been able to be engaged to her upon her birth, so that no other man would have the chance to snatch her. After all, should she turn out to have some heaven-defying talent, wouldn't that talent then belong to him? However, when she was tested on her fifth birthday and found to be a waste, the crown prince was angry. Was his marriage not now akin to a huge joke? Even though he was only seven at the time, kids in this world understood the importance a good marriage would have on their lives, and so as such Fu Longwei threw a fit.

The empress argued to have the engagement annulled, as she too did not want to see her son married to someone worthless. However, the emperor refused to retract his decree, as he said it would ruin his image in the eyes of his people, and so as such the marriage decree had stood firm to the present day.

Fu Longwei felt as if this was extremely unfair to him, until Yao Xiuying was proven to have great talent. Then, the prince realized he could use that fact that he was Ying Yue's fiancee as an excuse to get closer to Yao Xiuying, as she was the one who was worthy to be his crown princess.

Him visiting Yao Xiuying had long become normal in the eyes of the public, and no one judged him to harshly for it, as no one would want Ying Yue as their wife. As such, when he visited the general's manor, it was not seen as anything odd.

When Fu Longwei arrived at the residence, he was full of worry. Not because he knew that Yao Xiuying was ”ill,” but because Ying Yue had somehow managed to survive. What would happen to his image if she were to tell people that he had abandoned her, and that was how she sustained such injuries. Even though the public had pretty much excepted that it would be Yao Xiuying, and not Ying Yue who would be the crown prince's legal wife, that didn't change the fact that he was engaged to Ying Yue, and thus had to take responsibility for her. So, when he arrived, he quickly went to see Yao Xiuying, so they could discuss the best way to silence her, and quickly.

When Fu Longwei saw Yao Xiuying, however, he was stunned. Was she not supposed to be ill? Wasn't it only a simple cold? Why then was her arm in a cast? What had actually happened, and why did the general's manor seem to be hiding the truth?

When Yao Xiuying saw the crown prince, she started to cry, explaining to him what happened, being sure to make it seem as though Ying Yue was the one in the wrong. Of course, Fu Longwei knew why she really went to see Ying Yue that day, so her lies wouldn't fool him. However, as they were now in the same boat, he didn't say anything.

What truly surprised him, however, was that she had been injured by Ying Yue. Ying Yue had no cultivation, and her body was riddled with wounds, so how had she managed to injure Yao Xiuying? What exactly was going on here? Things seemed to be more complicated than he had originally assumed, causing the crown prince even more stress as he couldn't seem to think of how to proceed in this situation.