Chapter 74
Chapter 74
Content Warning: attempted sexual assault
Disparaging and Trampling (2)
The rims of her eyes were red, “The crown prince is innocent. He’s like this because he’s been drugged—look, does he seem like he’s in his right mind?”
“Two strokes.”
Another lash of the sword flicked out from Cui Wang’s fingertips.
The crown prince cried out in pain; he finally woke up from his stupor, and found that not only his neck, but also his face, was stinging painfully.
When he touched it, his hand was stained with blood.
He paled with fright.
“Cui Wang, don’t go on anymore!”
Zheng Wan tried to wrap her two hands around his big hand to stop him. “The crown prince’s life concerns the Great Liang’s future, you must not touch him.”
“Three strokes.”
Cui Wang gave another flick.
The prince screamed more miserably this time; he held his left leg and howled.
“Cui Wang!”
Zheng Wan stomped her foot. “The crown prince is a member of the imperial family of the Great Liang, and has the energy of the dragon in his body.”
“So what?”
Cui Wang turned his head away. “He touched you.”
Zheng Wan almost laughed at his obstinacy.
In the book, the crown prince was wholly indifferent to her. She resented him at first, but then she figured out that life was full of encounters, and everything happened because of the choices one made. There was no use in begrudging anyone, she could just treat him like a stranger.
Since he was a stranger, she shouldn’t have to bear the responsibility of this stranger’s life for nothing.
Even if the crown prince had to die, he shouldn’t die here in the hands of the infuriated Cui Wang. She didn’t want the crown prince to die because of her——after all, the dream clearly stated that people undergoing cultivation should never touch those who had the dragon’s energy in their bodies unless it was a matter of grave enmity; no one knew what kind of consequences there would be if they did so.
Generally speaking, it wouldn’t end well.
Cui Wang has great luck, so he naturally wouldn’t care, but Zheng Wan didn’t want to challenge her luck.
After thinking about it, she decided to change her approach instead of fighting him head-on.
She lifted her head and let her tears well up in her eyes, looking as if he had made her angry to the point of tears. “Cui Wang, I don’t want you to kill him, but isn’t that because I’m concerned about you?”
“I don’t care whether the crown prince lives or dies, but if this affects you and you are burdened with bad karma for no good reason, what should we do then?
“Don’t kill him, okay?”
When she finished, pearl-like teardrops rolled down one by one onto the back of Cui Wang’s hand.
“Wan’niang, so…… this is what I mean to you.”
The crown prince had suddenly stopped screaming in pain.
How could the stinging pain of his body compare to the hurt inflicted by those words? See now, she didn’t even care if he lived or died.
In the past, he had always thought that even though what happened between them was a series of unfortunate circumstances, the two of them had known each other for so many years. So, even though they couldn’t be man and wife, there must still at least be some friendship
But who knew, his beloved was actually using his life as a tool to ingratiate herself.
Then, the crown prince looked at Cui Wang.
This person had always been high and mighty. Even though he was the one and only crown prince, he had become a marionette in his hands—he could cut him where he wanted to, throw him where he wanted to, and even assumed this pure and lofty bearing of a celestial being.
Ridiculous and hateful.
This burst of hatred flowed into his body like a sharp, searing poison.
“Hahahahahaha how ridiculous! How extremely ludicrous!”
The crown prince laughed till tears came out. “Women’s mouths are all deceitful knives, and each knife cuts deeply into one’s heart.”
“I just didn’t expect that the honourable State Preceptor would also be like me, and fall for such a woman. When you were down and out, she abandoned you; when you had a meteoric rise, she turned her head to show her affection. If one day you hit rock bottom again, she will move on to another high branch!”
“One’s true heart, how much is that worth?”
Zheng Wan raised her eyebrows.
“The crown prince is so unreasonable. Between us, it was you who broke off the engagement.”
“Then I will ask you, when you and I were betrothed, did you ever have any sincere feelings for me?”
“——Enough. I don’t care about what happened between the two of you.”
Cui Wang suddenly interrupted the two.
With a flick of his sleeve, a crack of sword light flashed through the room, like a thunderous lightning bolt; it circled the crown prince, then swiftly returned to his sleeve.
“Scram.”
He looked at the crown prince coldly.
The crown prince stared blankly at the floor, where a broken arm had fallen. Cui Wang’s sword was so fast that there was not a drop of blood on the ground. Soon, a burst of piercing pain surfaced, but he didn’t dare to scream. He gritted his teeth and exited the dressing room.
Zheng Wan was stunned.
“Cui Wang, you chopped off his left arm?”
Cui Wang didn’t answer. Zheng Wan reflexively raised her head to look, only to find that those cold and deep eyes were hiding something that made one cower; it was cold and hard, sharp and pointed.
It seemed like he had been like this ever since the crown prince’s spiel.
“Cui Wang?” Zheng Wan cocked her head. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m looking at it. Your true heart.”
Zheng Wan seemed to have been greatly insulted. “If you believe him, why are you still with me?
“This is not the way to disparage and trample on others!”