Chapter 78: Banquet in the Reception Pavilion
She was indeed special and was different from the young ladies of other aristocratic clans. She understood clearly what she had to do and would work hard to strive for it. Even if there were challenges throughout her journey, she would resolve them one by one.
She wasn’t like the young ladies in the capital who had a pretentious friendliness. She simply revealed her true self and if anyone treated her well, she would repay them appropriately. There were people who wanted to plot against her but they would end up falling into the pit she dug for them.
Pei Rumo silently drank a cup of wine. Bai Luochu had been residing in the First Prince's residence for many days but he had never looked at her properly. To him, she was just a bargaining chip that he would use to strike at his Third Brother. When did he start to silently pay attention to her?
Perhaps it was from the beginning. She wouldn’t flatter him because he was the First Prince and would always remain clear-headed as she completed her deals with him. Furthermore, she didn’t use her looks to try and strike up connections with the nobles.
She treated the other imperial clansmen the same. Emperor Father had tried to entice her by promoting her to a high official position, but she remained unmoved. She was able to swiftly find out his Emperor Father’s objective and provided a way for the emperor to step down from the embarrassing situation. She even managed to emerge unscathed from all that.
“I am very tempted by your proposal. I asked you here to discuss the details of the matter.” Pei Rumo withdrew his thoughts and spoke to Bai Luochu.
Bai Luochu understood and she laughed. She expected Pei Rumo’s decision. She was very calm when she responded. “I have been waiting for a long time and I presume that the First Prince wasn’t satisfied with the deal. Since you made your decision, let us discuss and finalize the conditions.”
“Don’t waste this table of delicacies. Let’s eat as we discuss.” Pei Rumo picked up his chopsticks and went for the dishes on the table.
When Bai Luochu saw the lord of the residence moving his chopsticks, she no longer held herself back. She started to eat as well.
“Since you were able to propose such things, you should be able to guess the reason behind my actions from saving you from the Bestial Battle Arena. Since that is the case, I won’t hide it anymore. Your guesses are correct and since I am willing to rescue you, it means that you are of some value to me.”
“Third Brother has been learning martial arts in the Phoenix King Valley since a young age and is also the Valley Master’s last disciple. Just this status of his is enough for him to be way ahead of the other princes. If I wasn’t the first son of the Empress, I wouldn’t be qualified to be in the imperial court.”
“Third Brother has been refined and cultured since he was young. He has good looks as well. It’s natural that young ladies flock to him and among them is the Phoenix King Valley Master’s daughter, Feng Wan’er.”
“The two of them grew up together and can be considered childhood sweethearts. Seeing how they have feelings for one another, the Phoenix King Valley Master and Emperor Father also wish for the two clans to be tied together by marriage. However, I do not wish for such a thing to happen.”
“Once that happens, Third Brother’s influence will go through the roof and it’s not a good thing for me. I think you should understand my point.”
“Furthermore, do you wish for such a thing to happen? He is your fiancée and you should have been the Third Prince’s concubine. With this status, you don’t have to reside in that rotten general's residence and be a part of a declining noble clan that everyone looks down on. But someone destroyed all of this. Are you willing to resign yourself to your fate?”
Pei Rumo stood on Bai Luochu’s side as he analyzed the matter. He didn’t have other intentions, and it wasn’t because he was showing his pity for her. He was simply trying to stir up the anger and unwillingness in Bai Luochu’s heart, allowing him to successfully recruit Luo Chu into his camp.
However, this person in front of him had Luo Chu’s appearance but Bai Luochu’s soul. How was it possible for the evil dao witch to be tricked by him?
Bai Luochu let out a chuckle. She originally thought that the First Prince was clever. However, from what he just said, it seemed like he wasn’t that smart.
“Your Highness, there is no need to waste your efforts to stir up my emotions. I didn’t choose to stand on your side because of the anger in my heart. I’m helping you because someone tried to kill me. I swear never to let them off easily.”
“The Third Prince means nothing to me. Since he doesn’t belong to me, I’ll throw him far away. I don’t need an irksome presence by my side.”
Bai Luochu didn’t mince her words at all and blocked up Pei Rumo’s path of advance.
Pei Rumo let out a soft sigh and felt that this lass wasn’t a simple character. When he thought about it, had she been a simple character, she wouldn’t be brave enough to come up with this deal.
“Sigh, you are truly a cold-hearted and ruthless lady. Is your heart made of stone? How can a girl behave like this?”
“This is the only way for other people to not see through my weaknesses. This is the only way no one will dare to take the opportunity to kill me.” Bai Luochu finished her statement and drank a cup of wine as though she recalled something.
Bai Luochu was thinking about her previous life. She swore never to make the same mistake again.
Pei Rumo was rather surprised as the young lady in front of him wasn’t even fully developed yet. She wasn’t even of age to marry! Why did she give off a bleak feeling as though she was an old woman who had experienced plenty of storms in her life?
Pei Rumo took it as Bai Luochu’s anger due to the arranged marriage with the Third Prince and didn’t continue to probe.
“After returning to the general's residence, what are you preparing to do?” Pei Rumo asked.
“Since the general's residence is my home, I will naturally take it back. I will also investigate if my uncle and his family are related to the matter of me falling into the Bestial Battle Arena.”
Bai Luochu’s attention was already back on the table full of delicacies.
“Alright. How are we going to calculate the profit?” Pei Rumo’s chopsticks were already on the table and he seemed to be prepared to have a serious discussion.
Bai Luochu reacted by putting her chopsticks down as well and started to list out the conditions she offered previously. She explained all of them in detail.
“According to the previous conditions, you will provide me with sufficient money. After all, it isn’t an easy task for me to take back the general's residence. After I take back the residence, there will probably be plenty of debts to settle because of my uncle. Thus, it is impossible to do anything without enough money. The things that are bestowed by the palace can’t be sold as well. If I do not have a steady source of income, things will be bad. Of course, in exchange, I will appear whenever you need me. Furthermore, this condition remains effective forever. Even if I am no longer in the Cloud Water Nation’s imperial city, I will rush back to complete our deal as long as you need me.”
Pei Rumo thought carefully and it seemed like apart from losing some money, there was nothing else for him to lose. For some unknown reason, he felt like Bai Luochu was a trustworthy person.
“Fine, if that is the case, I choose to believe you. I hope that you will not disappoint me.”