Return of the Swallow

Blood dripped from the sword; the look in Pang Xiao’s phoenix-eyes was so sharp it could cut glass. His angular eyebrows were faintly raised, looking to be immensely enjoying the bloodletting. He stooped down. “How is it? Comfy?”

The man lying on the ground convulsed with pain. He really wanted to just faint and forget about everything, but the acute anguish yanked on his consciousness, making him more alert than he’d ever been.

“Your, Your Highness, I know, I know my wrongs. Mercy, please, Your Highness!”

His voice was so faint that it was almost nonexistent, but in a hall so quiet that a pin drop could be heard, every word was a devastating blow onto everyone’s hearts.

Scared witless, it took a long time for Madame Lu to recover her wits. A frown creased her forehead. “How can the Faithful Prince of the First Rank be so cruel?”

“Cruel? Does that apply to something like this? This prince feels that that thing’s dirtied Ah Lan’s sword!” [1] Pang Xiao wiped the sword clean on the man lying down and flung it casually back to Ji Zeyu.

Anyone else would’ve been frozen with shock at the prince’s actions, but the marquis remained where he stood without a flicker of change in his expression.

The sword unerringly re-sheathed itself in the scabbard by Ji Zeyu’s waist with a clang.

Pang Xiao’s dashing throw, Ji Zeyu’s absolute trust, and the solemn killing aura exuded by the two made hearts pound painfully with fright.

Li Helan’s ears warmed over when she looked at the two perfectly beautiful men.

Madame compressed her red lips and smiled faintly, highly titillated. “Forget it. If this is how the prince will quell his anger, then it doesn’t matter if you take all of these men.”

The escorts all whipped their heads around in disbelief at the madame. They’d never thought that their owner would gift them away like this!

Trembling like leaves, they stared at the crippled man on the ground who was slowly slipping unconscious. They fell to their knees to kowtow with unspoken accord.

“Aren’t these Madame Lu’s precious companions?” sneered Pang Xiao. “Aren’t you worried about hurting their feelings with talk like this?”

The madame wanted to respond with, “What do their lives matter if they can be traded for a smile from you?”

But when she lifted her head to meet Pang Xiao’s eyes, the frosty, violent light shining in the prince’s eyes made her words sputter to a stop. He flared with brutal savagery even when smiling, as if a wild beast that would pounce and devour its victim at any time. The madame didn’t dare voice what she was thinking.

Ji Zeyu tightened his collar and took his leave from Li Helan. “Please enjoy yourself here, princess. You must have your fill of fun. This subject will take his leave now.”

He flung an arm around Pang Xiao after he spoke, indicating for the prince to leave with him.

Li Helan frantically chased after the two. “This seat has nothing to play with here. Prince consort, take me back to my manor!”

Ji Zeyu looked back and cast a remote look. “This subject is clumsy and foolish to not be able to serve Your Highness well. This subject will look to the princess' servants to serve you well.” He nodded politely and strode off again.

Real panic finally struck Li Helan.

However cool Ji Zeyu had been to her before, he’d never been this polite or remote. It turned out that him being stand-offish wasn’t scary at all, since his personality was like this to begin with. Him suddenly becoming the definition of courteous was truly alarming.

They’d known each other for a while; he’d never stood on manners like this before with Li Helan.

Late in coming, realization smacked the princess across the face. Though they’d lived in separate quarters since their wedding night and had only consummated their marriage once, some tinges of relaxed casualness had still suffused Ji Zeyu’s indifference towards her.

Li Helan regretted her actions like no other. Why had she been so greedy in wanting to play around and chase some new thrills? Ji Zeyu had been chilly towards her to begin with, how were they supposed to get along in the future??

She chased the men a few steps, but burst into tears when she saw the black and white figures quickly walk off without a trace of care.

Pang Xiao and Ji Zeyu walked side by side, not saying a word as they left the manor of the Marquis of Valiant Faith.

Pang Xiao was livid about the injustice done to his brother.

But he was also aware that since the moment Ji Zeyu had agreed to become a prince consort, the latter had made all sorts of mental preparations for various situations.

Gentle, kind, noble, and classy princesses abounded since time immemorial, but history was also marked with ones who formed their own harems like Madame Lu.

Besides, having a princess for a wife shifted the balance of power in the marriage to begin with. A princess was the master, and her prince consort specifically designated to serve the princess. He would travel to her manor only when she felt the need to, with the opportunity of intimacy available only then. If she didn’t summon him, not only could he not touch a single hair on her body, but he couldn’t even have a bedwarmer.

Such was the resignation lying in wait when serving the imperial family.

Considering Ji Zeyu’s talents and character, Pang Xiao truly felt that it was a great injustice for his brother to be a prince consort. However, he also understood that his brother’s merits were so eye-catching at the moment that they threatened to eclipse their liege. To be frank, their circumstances were equally difficult.

Ji Zeyu had likely turned over many, many considerations before agreeing to be Li Helan’s prince consort.

1. Lan is Ji Zeyu’s personal name.