Chapter 356

Chapter 356: Hatred Out of Love

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Shen Rui left the guest house with Han Chengxi’s personal promise and token.

When the attendant walked into the bedroom, he saw Han Chengxi playing with the jade pendant and could not help but ask. “When did Your Highness get such a beautiful jade pendant?”

Han Chengxi glanced up at him.

The attendant’s heart trembled under his gaze. He hurriedly knelt down and apologized.

“I said too much. I deserve to die.”

Han Chengxi had no intention of blaming him.

“This is a token from the Sixth Prince of Dayan.”

The follower looked up carefully and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the Ninth Prince smiling and in a good mood.

He continued to ask the Ninth Prince, “That Sixth Prince is really strange. He came to you sneakily in the middle of the night to give you a token. I wonder what he wants?”

Han Chengxi said, “He wants me to do something for him. This jade pendant is my reward.”

The follower was even more puzzled. “As a prince, why did you agree to help him?”

Han Chengxi was in a good mood and did not mind saying a few more words.

“If I help him do this, it’s equivalent to having something on him. In the future, no matter what I asked him to do, he would have to do it obediently.”

“With the prince of the Dayan as my spy, won’t the Chen Nation have a much higher chance of winning if they want to invade the Dayan in the future?” The follower hurriedly praised, “Your Highness is wise!”

Han Chengxi continued, “Even if the matter doesn’t succeed, we can still pick on the internal conflicts of the Dayan and let them fight among themselves. At that time, our Chen Nation only needs to reap the benefits. Why wouldn’t I agree to such a stable deal?”

He laughed at the end.

The follower laughed with him. “As expected of His Highness. Your plan is really flawless. I’m impressed!”

The next morning, Shen Rui entered the palace.

He told Noble Consort Shu everything about his conversation with Han Chengxi. When he finished updating, he did not forget to take out the token Han Chengxi had promised him.

Noble Consort Shu snorted. “This Ninth Prince of the Chen Nation is really scheming! He wants to exchange a token with you because he wants to hold something on you and use it to threaten you in the future.”

Shen Rui said nervously, “But I’ve already promised him…”

Noble Consort Shu comforted him. “It’s fine. If you agreed, so be it. Let’s leave it at that for now. It’s just a jade pendant. If he really wants to threaten you with the jade pendant in the future, you’ll insist that the jade pendant has long been lost.”

Hearing this, Shen Rui felt a little relieved.

Noble Consort Shu continued, “Keep these two things well. Don’t let anyone else see them.”

These two things concerned his life, so Shen Rui naturally valued them very much. He hurriedly said, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely hide them well.”

Shen Rui asked, “Are we really going to kill Tang Guixi? She’s the daughter of

General Zheng Yuan. Father just conferred her the title of County Lord.”

Noble Consort Shu said, “So what? She’s 180,000 miles away from your status as a prince. In the end, she’s just a helpless little girl. Since the Chen Nation wants her life, just give it to them.”

Shen Rui would sometimes help his father read memorials. When his father was in a good mood, he would even talk to him about politics. Therefore, even though he had never left the Imperial Capital, he knew the importance of the Eastern Expedition Army to Dayan.

Once something happened to the Eastern Expedition Army, Liaodong County would be lost. At that time, the Chen Nation’s army could easily rush into the hinterland of the Dayan.

Shen Rui was very worried. “Tang Guixi is in charge of the Eastern Expedition Army now. If she dies, will the Eastern Expedition Army be in chaos?” Noble Consort Shu did not care about this.

“You think too highly of her. The Eastern Expedition Army was willing to be under her control on account of her father. How could so many people really be convinced by a little girl?”

“Even if she died, it would not affect the Eastern Expedition Army. At that time, the Imperial Court would send someone else to take over the Eastern Expedition Army.”

“It just so happens that your uncle is about to return to the capital to report his work. He’s good at literature and martial arts and is the best candidate to take over the Eastern Expedition Army.”

Shen Rui felt that his mother’s words made sense.

Tang Guixi was just a little girl. Her life and death did not affect the overall situation.

When she died, Shen Rui could think of a way to let his uncle take over the Eastern Expedition Army.

No matter how he thought about it, he did not lose out.

Shen Rui no longer hesitated and said, “I’ll arrange for the assassin later.”

Noble Consort Shu said slowly, “There’s no hurry about Tang Guixi. We have other things to do now.”

“Are you talking about Duke Lang?”

Noble Consort Shu nodded slightly. “Yes, since the Chen Nation’s diplomatic mission has agreed to cooperate with us, what we have to do next is to create an opportunity for them to attack.”

Seeing how confident she was, Shen Rui could not help but ask.

“Did you already have a plan?”

“I’ll talk to Princess Tao Ran later.”

Shen Rui pursed his lips in disdain.

“Why are you looking for her? She only knows how to circle around Duke Lang every day and even lowered her status to force him to marry her. In the end, she was rejected. She’s really disgraced our royal family.”

Noble Consort Shu said, “She still has to help us get Duke Lang to take the bait.”

Shen Rui was suspicious. “She likes Duke Lang so much that she will help us deal with him? That’s impossible, right?”

Noble Consort Shu smiled.

“You don’t understand. It is precisely because she could not get what she wanted from Duke Lang that it is easier for her to hate him. She will want to destroy something she can’t get her hands on.”

Shen Rui felt a chill down his spine and muttered softly, “Women are so scary.”

Noble Consort Shu smiled again. “Not all women are like Princess Tao Ran. She’s just an exception. Go back first. I’ll inform you when the matter is settled.”

“Yeah.”

After Shen Rui left, Noble Consort Shu got someone to invite Princess Tao Ran over.

Because of the marriage, Princess Tao Ran was in an extremely bad mood. Even she ignored Noble Consort Shu.

Noble Consort Shu was not in a hurry. She pulled Princess Tao Ran aside and said a lot of things. She even got someone to take out the latest clothes and jewelry and tried them on Princess Tao Ran one by one.

In the end, she gave all these clothes and jewelry to Princess Tao Ran.

No woman would not like beautiful clothes and jewelry, and Princess Tao Ran was naturally no exception.

The expression on her face finally improved.

Noble Consort Shu took the opportunity to suggest.

“I know that you’re going to marry into the Chen Nation soon.

“It’s a long journey. The emperor will definitely arrange for people to escort you all the way.”

“Don’t you like Duke Lang very much? Why don’t you suggest to the emperor that he dispatches Duke Lang to send you to the Chen Nation?”

“This way, you can spend more time with him. It can be considered the last bit of fate between the two of you.”

Princess Tao Ran was tempted.

She was indeed still thinking about Xiao Juan.

If Xiao Juan could escort her to the Chen Nation, she might be able to seize this opportunity to have something happen between her and Xiao Juan. When the time came, he would have no choice but to acknowledge it..