Chapter 243 – Consent

Translator: Coca5156

Editor: Drea

People who achieved big things did not concern themselves with the small things? That was a woman who had been “used” before! As the dignified Crown Prince of the North Qiu Kingdom, why should he try to please a woman who has lost her chastity?

In front of Pan Luming, however, Pan En had to swallow his grievances despite his unwillingness. As a result, his face had turned completely green when he emerged from the underground Secret Chamber. Due to his ancestors’ orders, he had to take advantage of this time period when Ding Rou monopolized Rong Yuan and continue to act affectionately towards Gu Lingzhi. The best case scenario would be if Gu Lingzhi would willingly let herself be used by the North Qiu Kingdom’s Royal Family.

In a flash, ten days passed.

Rong Yuan had not appeared ever since he was dragged away by Ding Rou that day. Instead, it was Hua Qingcheng that had come to see her countless times.

Speaking of which, the power of love was really strong.

In the Sacred Lands, Hua Qingcheng’s appearance was akin to the beggars on the street. Yet, ever since Meng Rou woke up, it was as though he had become a different person.

His previously messy hair had been tidied up nicely and even the clothes he wore were brand new without any wrinkles at all. Gu Lingzhi was shocked when she saw him.

Hua Qingcheng’s reputation of being the enemy of men was indeed true. Before he had tidied himself up, he did not look like anything special. Now that he had cleaned up his appearance, he looked youthful and handsome once again.

He had a pair of peach blossom eyes that were always smiling, a high nose and red lips. He was a truly handsome man indeed.

Just as Gu Lingzhi was guessing which member of the North Qiu Kingdom’s Royal Family he was, Hua Qingcheng spoke, “Master, I’ve come.”

This one sentence stunned Gu Lingzhi for a while. The difference in his appearance before and after was just too big such that she was unable to react.

After some consideration, Gu Lingzhi decided to let Hua Qingcheng focus on taking care of Meng Rou. After all, Meng Rou had just woken up and needed someone to take care of her. Furthermore, Pan En would definitely not allow Hua Qingcheng to stay by her side and disrupt his plans and efforts.

Even so, Hua Qingcheng felt indebted to Gu Lingzhi and would still come to visit her from time to time, inciting Pan En’s dislike towards him. Of course, the person Pan En hated the most, was still Gu Lingzhi.

If she had been more selfish and kept her chastity, he would not be feeling so bothered right now. Each time he met Gu Lingzhi, he could not help but think back to that day when she had cried out those words before she ran and hid away, he felt as though he had just swallowed a fly. However, for the sake of the rare and precious treasures in the main palace that even the North Qiu Kingdom’s Royal fFamily had never seen before, Pan En could only bear with it.

Gu Lingzhi pretended not to see the disgust in Pan En’s eyes and continued acting as per normal. When she was in a good mood, she would even reveal a bashful smile at times which made him feel even more disgusted. On the fifteenth day, Gu Rong and Lin Yue-er once again came to persuade her. Gu Lingzhi did not voice any refusal but seemed undecided as she bit her lips as though she was trying to make a hard decision.

Gu Rong could tell in one look that Gu Lingzhi was finally wavering. He seized the chance to persuade her further, “Lingzhi, I know you are a smart girl. The Third Prince, that ungrateful man, hasn’t cared for you ever since Ding Rou appeared. Now, he has disappeared without a trace for over ten days. If he is already so cold towards you before marriage, just how much pain would you have to go through after your marriage? His Second Highness however, is different. Although he has many women around him, he still treats you as gently as ever. It is not easy to find such an outstanding man.”

“Exactly, and he has such a distinguished status,” Lin Yue-er spoke up, “His Second Highness will be inheriting the throne in the future. If you become his woman now, you will definitely be part of his harem in the future. If you can please him, perhaps you can even become the Empress of the strongest Kingdom on the Tianyuan Continent. Isn’t that much better than staying by the Third Prince’s side and being jealous of a Princess?”

In front of Gu Rong and Lin Yue-er who were singing the same tune for half the day, the seemingly undecided Gu Lingzhi finally nodded her head softly.

Gu Rong stood up excitedly, “Lingzhi, I knew that my daughter wouldn’t be stupid enough to give up the chance to be the Empress of the North Qiu Kingdom and instead become the Queen of a small country. Let me see who else dares to disrespect me when the Gu Clan becomes the most powerful clan of the North Qiu Kingdom in the future!”

So this was the olive branch that the North Qiu Kingdom’s Royal Family had offered to Gu Rong?

If the Gu Clan were to become the top Clan in the North Qiu Kingdom, it would truly be incomparable to being one of the Four Great Clans in the Xia Kingdom. No wonder Gu Rong would take the risk of being cast aside to persuade her.

Gu Rong was relieved as he had managed to complete the most important task assigned to him by Pan Wuyang. He suddenly remembered another pressing matter, “Lingzhi, your wound...?”

For each day that the injury on Gu Lingzhi’s spirit has yet to recover, the North Qiu Kingdom’s Royal Family would have to wait an additional day to retrieve the treasures in the main palace. They were impatient and simply could not wait any longer.

“My injury is almost fully healed,” Gu Lingzhi murmured. She lowered her head when she saw Gu Rong’s eyes once again light up in delight and wrung her hands together, “I just need another two days of rest, then I should be able to enter the main palace again. As for the matter regarding my engagement with Rong Yuan, I hope that Father can wait a little longer before making things clear with him. Furthermore, everyone knows that I am staying in His Second Highness’s palace, it won’t be good if everyone misunderstands His Second Highness.”

Gu Rong blanked out at Gu Lingzhi’s words; he could not understand what she meant. However, Lin Yueer was instantly able to understand Gu Lingzhi, she stopped Gu Rong from asking further questions and assured her, “Lingzhi, don’t worry. We can resolve the matter with the Third Prince when we return back to the Xia Kingdom. You don’t have to worry about His Second Highness, he will not put you in a difficult position.”

“Mother...” Gu Lingzhi whimpered and turned to have her back facing them.

Lin Yue-er and Gu Rong assumed that she was feeling embarrassed. Since they had already achieved their aim for coming today, they had no more reason to stay and left after saying a few sentences.

After they left, Gu Lingzhi looked towards her bed with an amused expression. The curtains hanging around her bed moved slightly, and a long figure emerged. Gu Lingzhi was locked into the person’s embrace and kissed her with a fiery hot passion.

Rong Yuan was unbearably lovesick and had sneaked into her room.

After some time, Rong Yuan released Gu Lingzhi whose cheeks were all red and had almost suffocated. He whispered fiercely, “You want to break off our engagement, hmm?”

“I wouldn’t dare to,” Gu Lingzhi quickly denied. A pair of hot, seductive eyes looked up at Rong Yuan, almost stealing his soul, while two arms were wrapped around his neck. She smiled and said softly, “Wasn’t this part of the plan? Just like how you agreed to marry Ding Rou back then.”

He thought that Gu Lingzhi had forgotten about that matter. It turned out that she had just been waiting for him here to repay her grievance!

Rong Yuan immediately felt guilty upon hearing her words and his jealousy dissipated. He avoided Gu Lingzhi’s gaze and defended himself, “That was part of the plan, right? Furthermore, even though I verbally agreed to marry Ding Rou, I never did say that I would break off my engagement with you!”

Towards the end, Rong Yuan’s voice was aggrieved. Back then, they had only agreed to socialize with Pan En, but now Gu Lingzhi had directly raised the bar by two levels and agreed to marry him. She must have done this on purpose!

She refused to be on the losing end and took the opportunity to take revenge against him for having agreed to the marriage back then.

Since Rong Yuan was the one at fault first, he could only accept it silently in depression.

“Didn’t Madam Lin say it earlier, that they would only announce the annulment after we return to Xia Kingdom? Don’t you have the confidence to resolve this issue before then?”

“I do!” He had to have the confidence, even if he did not, he had to force himself to do it. In order to not become an “abandoned husband”, Rong Yuan felt that he had to pick up the pace.

After Gu Rong and Lin Yue-er left Gu Lingzhi’s residence and walked a distance such that Gu Lingzhi would not be able to listen in on their conversation, Gu Rong asked Lin Yue-er curiously, “What did Lingzhi mean earlier on? Why do we have to wait until we return to Xia Kingdom before breaking off their engagement?”

Lin Yue-er glanced at him with disdain, “Do you think your daughter is as useless as you?”

“You...” Gu Rong stuttered in anger.

“Me, what about me?” Lin Yueer sneered. Ever since her family had tried to earn a fortune using the Gu Clan’s name, which ruined their reputation, Gu Rong had distanced himself from her. It was only after Gu Linglong’s disappearance that they were finally able to work together with much difficulty against Gu Lingzhi. However, they were unable to do much because of Rong Yuan. Subsequently, even though Gu Rong was aware that Gu Linglong’s disappearance was related to Gu Lingzhi, he turned a blind eye towards it because of the benefits towards both himself and the Gu Clan. Hence, Gu Rong had had several huge arguments with Lin Yue-er who wanted to take revenge for her daughter. They only acted like a pair of loving husband and wife when they were in the presence of others. However, in private, Gu Rong had not gone to Lin Yue-er’s residence since then,

It was only a few days ago when Gu Rong received a secret correspondence that he finally learned that Gu Linglong was still alive. Subsequently, the matter of Gu Linglong having become His Second Highness’ favourite concubine almost caused Gu Rong to faint. Next, he saw Pan En’s handwritten letter stating that he would make the Gu Clan the most powerful Clan in the North Qiu Kingdom if he could convince Gu Lingzhi to willingly let herself be used by the Royal Family. Gu Rong was so thrilled that he did not even bother to verify the authenticity of the message and hurried over with Lin Yue-er.

It was only when he finally saw Pan En and met up with Gu Linglong that Gu Rong finally found out that Lin Yue-er had known about her whereabouts all along. Furthermore, after coming to the North Qiu Kingdom, Lin Yue-er’s attitude towards Gu Rong underwent a drastic change as she no longer had to worry about being driven out of the Gu Clan.

Since Gu Linglong had earned the favour of His Second Highness, she was no longer concerned about not having anywhere to go. The connection to Pan En was completely reliant on Gu Linglong. It could be said that Gu Lingzhi played a large part in the maintenance of Gu Rong and Lin Yue-er’s relationship. It was truly ironic.