The Attack of the Wastrel

On the first day of the final rounds, fifty Martial Students were about to compete. Su Nian’s number was 31 and was scheduled to compete against number 32.

Those that were not competing automatically went to sit in the rest area demarcated by the First School. They were all ready to cheer their fellow friends on. Stretching out his hand, Rong Yuan pulled Gu Lingzhi who was about to walk over and stand next to Tianfeng Jin, back to his side. He stated plainly, “Sit here, there are too many people there.”

Looking back at Tianfeng Jin, who was the only person in the sitting area, Gu Lingzhi really wanted to ask Rong Yuan if he felt any ounce of guilt when he said things like that. She suddenly felt the gap between her and Rong Yuan narrow and her arm was pressed against him.

“It is rare that I have time to accompany you, don’t you want to spend more time with me?” His deep voice carried with it a hint of resentment, causing Gu Lingzhi to stop struggling.

“… and who is to blame for you not having time?” Gu Lingzhi looked back at him, causing Rong Yuan’s eyes to twitch out of guilt. Chuckling, he said, “Lingzhi, it’s not like you don’t know what kind of position I am in…”

Gu Lingzhi narrowed her eyes. He knew full well whether it was a difficult position that he was forced in or that he had decided to just go with it without any protest.

“Your Highness, you…”

“Sshh… call me Rong Yuan.” Rong Yuan was unhappy with how Gu Lingzhi had switched back to calling him ‘Your Highness’, which sounded as if they were strangers.

“Rong Yuan! I finally found you!” A clear and cheerful voice suddenly interrupted them. Hearing this voice, Rong Yuan could not help but frown as impatience flashed through his eyes. He then regained his composure and looked calmly at the person that was coming towards them.

“Princess Ding, are you finally willing to leave your bedroom? I thought you were determined to never come out.”

The person that was heading towards them was indeed Ding Rou, who Rong Yuan owed his life to. Wearing a pink flowy dress adorned with embroidered cherry blossoms, she looked absolutely stunning as her features were elegant and gentle.

In response to Rong Yuan teasing her, Ding Rou stuck out her tongue. This mischievous action of hers looks to be slightly flirtatious. As her gaze fell onto Gu Lingzhi, who was standing beside Rong Yuan, a smile appeared on her pale face, “Lady Gu, we meet again. I heard that you were injured in your previous competition. Are you alright? Rong Yuan has been taking care of me, his ‘benefactor’ these few days and has not been able to tend to you. Are you angry at me?”

The smile on Ding Rou’s face was welcoming as usual. However, what she said made Gu Lingzhi feel guarded.

When Ding Rou said ‘benefactor’ her voice rose. When others hear them, they would think that it was Ding Rou explaining how she had risked her life to save Rong Yuan. However, to Gu Lingzhi, who knew the truth, she was merely mocking her.

Maybe she really had good intentions when she protected Rong Yuan, but never thought she would be so badly injured. On the other hand, other bodyguards of Rong Yuan, who were similarly protecting him, only suffered minor injuries. When Ding Rou said this, what she implied was that Gu Lingzhi was not that important to Rong Yuan. When both of them were injured at the same time, Rong Yuan had chosen to stay overnight to take care of her and not Gu Lingzhi.

“Why would i? You sacrificed so much for His Highness, it’s only right of him to take care of you.” Not wanting others to see the commotion, Gu Lingzhi replied simply with a smile. She then turned back towards the battle stage and pretended to be very engrossed with the battle.

Seeing this, Ding Rou’s eyes flashed as the corners of her mouth drooped slightly, her initially relaxed smile suddenly became pitiful.

“Rong Yuan, I left in a rush today and did not have breakfast. Can you go to Fuyue Restaurant and help me buy something to eat?”

Gu Lingzhi’s hand clenched, causing her dress to bunch up on her thigh. Would Rong Yuan listen to her and do as she said?

“You…” Gu Lingzhi could only hear Rong Yuan sigh impatiently and replied, “I will go quickly and be back. Do not bully Lingzhi.”

After saying this, Rong Yuan disappeared quickly into the crowd.

Even after she could no longer see Rong Yuan’s figure, Gu Lingzhi was still in disbelief. That person, who was normally cold towards other women, had actually listened to Ding Rou without a second word. Should she be glad that he remembered to mention her name before he left?

“You must be really happy to be Rong Yuan’s woman, right?” Ding Rou spoke without waiting for Gu Lingzhi to recover from her shock.

Lifting her head, Gu Lingzhi saw the look of bliss on Ding Rou’s face, “Rong Yuan has always been like that. Whenever it is a request from someone that he cares about, he will always try his best to fulfil it. You won’t be jealous of me, right?”

One of her hands then grabbed Gu Lingzhi’s hand that was resting on her own leg, “Rong Yuan said that you are the most forgiving person. I believe that you will not mind. If not, your days will be extremely difficult when there are more women around him in the future.”

More women? That means…she was also one of Rong Yuan’s women?

Understanding what Ding Rou was secretly trying to imply, Gu Lingzhi stood up abruptly, pushing aside Ding Rou’s hand.

“What do you mean?”

“Ah!” Acting as if she did not expect Gu Lingzhi to do that, Ding Rou fell onto the ground. Her bodyguards standing behind her immediately came to help her up. With stern eyes, they shouted at Gu Lingzhi, “How dare you?! Don’t you know that our princess is injured? How dare you push her?!”

As the bodyguards shouted, everyone around them turned and looked at them. Seeing who was involved in the commotion, everyone started to gossip amongst themselves.

“Look, isn’t that the fiancée of Xia Kingdom’s Third Prince and the Princess of Dayin Kingdom? Things are about to get interesting”

“What is there to see? Gu Lingzhi is definitely the one at fault. The Dayin Kingdom’s Princess risked her life to save Gu Lingzhi’s fiancé but Gu Lingzhi intentionally pushed her. She is evil. Is the Third Prince blind? How can he fall for someone like her?”

“Oh, I think Gu Lingzhi is about to lose her position. The Third Prince has been going to the Dayin Kingdom’s dorms every single day recently. It is about time that their engagement will be called off.”

Once the discussion started, numerous accusations started to rise against Gu Lingzhi. On the other side, Tianfeng Jin hurried over. As Rong Yuan had chosen a place that was off to the side, they did not hear the conversation that had taken place, but they could see that Gu Lingzhi was being threatened and could not stand by and do nothing about it.

“It is okay, it was just an accident,” Ding Rou smiled and waved away her bodyguards that were about to help her take on Gu Lingzhi. Her eyelashes tilted downwards as she gave a sad expression.

“I had thought that I would be able to become friends with Lady Gu, but never thought that I would be misunderstood. If that’s the case… then it’s alright. I’m sure Lady Gu just lost her composure for a while.”

Ding Rou seemed to direct this sentence to her bodyguards, however, her eyes subtly landed on Yuan Zheng who was standing to the side. It was obvious that she had said it for him to hear.

“I did not push you,” Gu Lingzhi insisted as she controlled her urge to really push her over. “You did it on purpose.”

Ding Rou had intentionally grabbed Gu Lingzhi’s hand as she taunted and angered her to create a false image. To think that behind her righteous looking face, she was actually so scheming. Had Rong Yuan been tricked by her in this manner?

“That’s right. You were the one that grabbed Lingzhi’s hand first,” Yan Liang burst out. He had been observing them closely ever since Ding Rou appeared. Seeing his old school mate suddenly becoming known as the Dayin Kingdom’s Princess, he was slightly disappointed.

He had wondered who was this amazing woman that had captured the hearts of many men from the First School. In the end, her personality was disappointing.

Tianfeng Jin’s reaction was much more composed. Looking at the crowd, she declared coldly, “If you want to blame Lingzhi, you better have evidence.”

“Why do we need evidence? Isn’t everyone used to her doing such things?” the person who said this was not just anyone from the crowd, but Lang Jingchen.

In a split second, the looks that Gu Lingzhi was receiving became even more unfriendly.

What was more convincing than being blamed by her own teammate?

“Lang Jingchen!” Yan Liang growled out Lang Jingchen’s name, “Do not air out your personal grudges here!”

Lang Jingchen laughed lightly, “What I said was completely true, Gu Lingzhi really…”

His voice died out as he caught sight of Rong Yuan’s face who had darkened significantly as Rong Yuan rushed towards them.

“Continue what you were saying, what did Lingzhi do?”

Lang Jingchen’s mouth moved and really wanted to tell everyone that Gu Lingzhi was a scheming woman. However, under the pressure of Rong Yuan’s gaze, he was unable to open his mouth. He could only clench his fists and turn away.

“Rong Yuan, you are back.” Seeing Rong Yuan arrive, all of Ding Rou’s unhappiness seemed to dissipate as she lifted an arm and rested it on Rong Yuan’s shoulder.

If Ding Rou was still under her disguise as a man, this action of hers would be nothing. However, she was a female and the action seemed very affectionate. Rong Yuan did not push her arm off as he lifted the box of food as said, “I have done what you asked. Your breakfast is here.”

Ding Rou gave out a cry of delight and beamed. She held the box of food as if it were a box of sweets and toys. Turning to Gu Lingzhi, she asked, “Lingzhi, quick come and see what good food Rong Yuan has bought. You should join us.”

She had intentionally said this to make Gu Lingzhi sound like an outsider while she and Rong Yuan were together.

Rong Yuan also acted as if he did not hear the intention in her words and gestured for Gu Lingzhi to come over.

“No, thank you. I have no appetite today, you can go ahead.”

Rong Yuan frowned but did not persist. He turned towards Yuan Zheng.

“What happened when I was not around? Tell me everything.”

He could notice the malicious looks that everyone was giving Gu Lingzhi. The fastest way to find out what had happened was to ask Yuan Zheng.

Gu Lingzhi froze. Was Rong Yuan starting to doubt her?