Chapter 303 - 88: Seeking Refuge (Part 2)

Chapter 303: Chapter 88: Seeking Refuge (Part 2)

The King of Zhongshan glanced at Ding Dachui. "A fine warrior. You’ve got impressive skills."

Apparently, he had only refrained from stopping him earlier to see what Ding Dachui was capable of.

With a calm expression, Ding Dachui sheathed his long saber and returned to stand beside Chu Zhao.

"Miss Chu." The King of Zhongshan looked at Chu Zhao again. "Are you certain you’ll succeed?"

Chu Zhao nodded and smiled. "Xiao Xun is both proud and insecure. After losing to me time and time again, he won’t pass up an opportunity that falls right into his lap."

’Proud and insecure?’ The King of Zhongshan looked at the girl, curious. "You know Xun quite well." He smiled. "It seems Miss Chu isn’t as heartless as Xun claimed. To understand even his fundamental nature... you must care for my son a great deal."

"Of course I care. I’d rather not die at the Princely Heir’s hands," Chu Zhao said, brushing the topic aside. "Besides, the Princely Heir’s personality isn’t what matters. What’s important is that my people are reliable."

The King of Zhongshan laughed heartily. "Miss Chu, did I hear you correctly? Reliable? If I’m not mistaken, these so-called reliable people of yours are your uncle’s family, aren’t they?"

The moment Chu Zhao mentioned Xiao Xun, the King of Zhongshan had guessed her plan.

’No wonder the girl refused his water when she came in, worried she’d be poisoned. She herself resorts to such underhanded tactics.’

’But the method is irrelevant; it’s the people who matter.’

"You know perfectly well what your uncle’s family is like."

He shook his head, a hint of pity in his eyes.

"I believe, Miss Chu, that you’re desperate and taking a gamble."

"You know my son, and yet you don’t. You’ve never been willing to let him get close. If you had, you would know what an honest and generous person he is."

"No one dislikes him."

Hearing this, Chu Zhao fell silent. She didn’t object. She had loved Xiao Xun right up until the moment she was poisoned and dying.

...

...

Chu Lan stood at the entrance to the hall, covering his face as he wept.

"I feigned madness and played the fool just to stay alive, but now the court will no longer tolerate my existence," he said. "This world is vast, yet there is no place in it for Chu Lan."

Xiao Xun watched him, a smile playing on his lips. "Are you implying this is all my fault, Mr. Chu? Have you come seeking revenge?"

Though he was a wretched sight, clinging desperately to life, there were some things the scholar Chu Lan could not bring himself to say. Fortunately, Madam Jiang knew the full story. As a woman of the inner residence, she was capable of doing or saying anything when faced with a matter of life and death.

"Princely Heir—" Madam Jiang wailed as she fell to her knees. "If not for you, Princely Heir, we would never have been reduced to this state! But we have never resented you, and we certainly haven’t come for revenge. My husband only blames himself for being utterly incompetent. We truly cannot go on living. In all the world, only you can offer us a chance to survive!"

Chu Tang knelt to support her mother, her own soft sobs joining the chorus. Chu Lan stood with his face buried in his hands while their servants began to wail, the chaotic noise flooding the hall.

Xiao Xun pressed a hand to his forehead. "Enough, enough. I understand. Stop crying."

Tie Ying barked in a cold voice, "Silence!"

The chaotic noise stopped in an instant.

"Don’t worry. I, Xiao Xun, am not a faithless man. Since you’ve come to me, Mr. Chu, I will of course give you shelter." Xiao Xun said, offering Chu Lan a smile. "You can rest easy here, Mr. Chu. Once I enter the Imperial City and my father ascends the throne as Emperor, an even better future awaits you."

Xiao Xun had once spoken of climbing the Heavenly Ladder with him, but now... Chu Lan hid his face and let out a long sigh. "It is a blessing enough for me to simply be alive. How could I dare hope for a better life or future?"

"That ’accident’ back then happened because you weren’t prepared, Mr. Chu," Xiao Xun said. "But you can’t be blamed. If you had known how miserable things would turn out, you probably wouldn’t have needed my persuasion. You would have just—"

He made a chopping motion with his hand.

’If I had known...’ Chu Lan thought for a moment. ’The first thing I would have done that day was lock Chu Zhao up. She seized the opportunity to become the Empress, grinding our family into the mud.’

"I regret it all so deeply," Chu Lan sighed.

’Yes, if I had known, I wouldn’t have wasted my breath on Chu Lan back then. I would have dealt with that girl directly.’ Shaking off the thought, Xiao Xun said, "But it’s not too late—Miss Ah Tang, are you willing to help me and resolve your father’s regrets?"

Chu Lan, still hiding his face, froze and lowered his sleeve. Chu Tang, sitting on the floor wiping away her tears, also looked up.

’Hasn’t he been talking to my father this whole time? Why turn to me all of a sudden?’

"Miss Ah Tang, it was you who convinced your father to come here, wasn’t it?" Xiao Xun said with a faint smile. "You moved among the noble houses of the Capital City, observing everyone, and shrewdly realized something was amiss, prompting your decisive escape."

Chu Tang said timidly, "I only heard some rumors while I was out. But the decision to leave was still up to my parents."

Xiao Xun smiled. "But haven’t your family’s decisions always been yours?"

Chu Tang nodded obediently. "Yes. My parents dote on me."

With a single sentence, she twisted his accusation of her controlling them into a simple matter of parental affection, absolving herself of any influence.

’This girl is completely different from Chu Zhao. She’s like a fish. But fish are simple creatures; they’ll bite if there’s bait. If Chu Zhao could hook her, so can I.’

Xiao Xun didn’t press the issue. "Grandmaster Zhou’s willingness to hide your family and then send you away... that was your doing as well, wasn’t it, Miss Ah Tang?"

’Grandmaster Zhou wouldn’t have given Chu Lan a second glance.’

Chu Tang lowered her head. "Actually, it was because Grandmaster Zhou dotes on his granddaughter. I begged Miss Ah Jiang, and out of a sense of loyalty, she hid our family. Grandmaster Zhou only sent us away to avoid bringing trouble upon the Zhou family."

Xiao Xun said, "You’re being too modest, Miss Ah Tang."

Madam Jiang and Chu Lan were beginning to understand. Xiao Xun considered their daughter to be exceptionally talented and wanted her to work for him—

’Their daughter *was* exceptionally talented, even more so than that Chu Zhao! Chu Zhao merely had the advantage of her father’s troops. If Chu Lan had power like Chu Ling, Chu Tang could have been Empress too!’

"Princely Heir, Ah Tang is a very obedient child; she’s never caused us any trouble. Whatever you need, just give the word," Madam Jiang said. "Our family would go through fire and water for you."

Chu Tang nodded as well but remained silent.

Xiao Xun watched her, then said suddenly, "When my father becomes Emperor and I the Crown Prince, you, Miss Ah Tang, can be my Crown Princess Consort."