Playing both sides

Xu Qi'an felt really angry!

When I accepted the Second Princess's jade pendant yesterday, I thought I might face this situation one day. I just didn't expect the retribution to come so quickly.

If this had happened in my past life, the most I would have said would be, "Only children make choices!"

He ate himself to death and got two slaps in return.

In ancient times, this might have resulted in a scar the size of a bowl.

"This humble servant has come to ask the Princess a question concerning the Sangbo case." Xu Qi'an turned around, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Biao Biao, indicating that he had official business.

But he overestimated the second princess's intelligence, or underestimated her willfulness and capriciousness. She stood with her hands on her hips and sneered, "Why don't you come and ask me for advice!"

Upon hearing this, Princess Huaiqing immediately sneered, "Lin'an's greatest strength is its self-confidence."

The irony is obvious even to a fool.

The eldest princess has taken over the fight for me. Xu Qi'an breathed a sigh of relief. "You guys can argue all you want, just treat me like I'm invisible."

The second princess and her older sister have conflicts, from fighting as children to their current open and covert rivalry; they are at odds with each other in various ways.

"Huaiqing, Xu Qi'an is my man. He accepted my jade pendant and has agreed to serve me." The Second Princess, hands on her hips, gave a cold laugh as she spoke.

"A good bird chooses its tree to perch on; it's just that some people are so stingy. They want the horse to run but don't give it any grass. I'm much more generous."

Seeing that the princess remained silent, she walked to Xu Qi'an's side, giving Xu Qi'an a fierce glare before declaring her dominance. "If you want to use my people, you can, but you'll have to get my permission first. I'm in a bad mood today and don't want you ordering my people around."

Princess Huaiqing took a sip of tea, smiling without saying a word, appearing quite confident.

The second princess hated this attitude of hers the most. She glared at her with her clear black and white eyes, then said to Xu Qi'an, "Aren't you coming with me now!"

Xu Qi'an didn't move, not looking at either the Second Princess or the Eldest Princess: "Your Highnesses, I am Nightwatchers, loyal to His Majesty."

"Shut up!" the two princesses said at the same time.

"."

Xu Qi'an understood. The conflict between the two princesses was not one-sided. The second princess, who was rather cunning, liked to stir up trouble, while the strong and domineering eldest princess welcomed all challenges.

He was just a lowly sycophant caught in the middle.

This is like two rich girls fighting over a toy, and then letting the toy choose which one to go with.

Meeting the gazes of the two princesses, Xu Qi'an let out a breath and looked at Lin'an. "Please forgive me, Second Princess, but I have official business to discuss with the Eldest Princess."

The words were phrased tactfully, but the message was clear: he chose the eldest princess.

The second princess suddenly bit her lip, her peach blossom eyes glistening with tears. She gave Xu Qi'an a deep look, then turned and left.

She lost again, once again losing face in front of Huaiqing, who sat arrogantly and had a small copper gong used to slap her face.

The proud and arrogant Princess Lin'an had never felt so wronged or so defeated.

She left without saying a word.

Xu Qi'an ignored the Second Princess's departure, calmly exchanging a few words with the Eldest Princess. Suddenly, he touched his chest, as if remembering something, and smiled helplessly:

"Oh dear, I haven't returned the jade pendant to the Second Princess yet, so this humble servant shall take his leave."

The princess, in a good mood, gave a soft "hmm," her voice melodious.

Xu Qi'an slowly left the elegant garden, catching up with the guard at the gate and asking, "Where did the Second Princess go?"

The guard pointed him in a direction.

Xu Qi'an chased after her quickly, like a wild dog that had broken free of its reins. A few minutes later, he saw the Second Princess's fiery red figure, leading two palace maids, walking briskly, her delicate shoulders trembling slightly.

"Second Princess, please wait!" Xu Qi'an called out as he caught up with her.

Princess Lin'an heard this but ignored it, instead walking even faster, swaying her waist and fluttering her skirt.

Xu Qi'an quickly caught up and blocked Princess Lin'an's path. Before he could speak, he paused, startled. "Your Highness is crying?"

She has such a poor mental capacity.

Princess Lin'an immediately turned her head away, giving him a beautiful profile, and said coldly, "You dog servant, what are you doing following me? Are you plotting something?"

Her eyes were red and swollen, and there were still some tear stains on her fair cheeks; she had clearly been crying in distress just now.

However, this only made her peach blossom eyes even more captivating.

Seeing that Princess Lin'an hadn't left or called for help, Xu Qi'an was overjoyed, thinking she could still be saved. He solemnly said:

"Your Highness, I am utterly loyal and have no other intentions whatsoever."

Princess Lin'an suddenly turned her head and sneered, "Xu Qi'an, do you think I'm someone you can easily fool?"

This loyal dog of Huaiqing is two-faced and even tries to have his cake and eat it too; he's utterly despicable.

If it weren't for his excellent poetry and Huaiqing's appreciation, I wouldn't bother with this jerk.

Princess Lin'an's opinion of Xu Qi'an plummeted.

"Perhaps, in the Second Princess's eyes, I am a shameless opportunist who tries to please everyone," Xu Qi'an sighed.

"This humble servant has no rebuttal. Princess, please take this jade pendant back. Such a fine jade pendant should not be buried with me."

The second princess already disliked Xu Qi'an and was about to take back the jade pendant when she heard the last sentence. She paused, stunned. "What did you say?"

Xu Qi'an did not answer, but lowered his head to stroke the jade pendant, saying, "The Second Princess is very generous. No important person has ever been willing to bestow such a personal jade pendant upon me. I am deeply moved. The Second Princess treats people with sincerity, and I am not one to be ungrateful."

He sighed sadly and handed the jade pendant back, "Perhaps I am not destined to be with the Second Princess. Please take it back."

The second princess was slightly moved, but she did not forgive him. After all, as Emperor Yuanjing's most beloved princess, she had heard plenty of flattery.

However, the man's eyes were quite sincere, and his tone was earnest. The Second Princess was willing to listen to his explanation again, and said:

"What did you mean by 'burial with the dead'?"

Xu Qi'an said with a wry smile, "I originally thought the Second Princess must have investigated me."

Princess Lin'an felt a pang of guilt, then suddenly remembered something and asked in surprise, "The crime of being cut in half at the waist?"

Lin'an was also present when Huaiqing recommended him.

According to Huaiqing, he was sentenced to be cut in half at the waist for killing his superior. Princess Lin'an pursed her red lips, taking the opportunity to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes. Her tone softened slightly, but her temper remained. She huffed, "What does this have to do with Huaiqing?"

"The eldest princess is very curious about the Sangbo case and wants to know the latest developments. She said that as long as I report regularly, she promises that after the case is over, regardless of whether I can redeem myself through meritorious service, she will plead with His Majesty on my behalf." Xu Qi'an gazed sincerely at the second princess:

"This humble servant thought to myself, the Second Princess treats me with sincerity, but I am a sinner and cannot repay the Second Princess's kindness. So I thought of promising the Eldest Princess that after I am exonerated, I will serve Your Highness with utmost loyalty."

If sincerity could be quantified, the sincerity in Xu Qi'an's eyes was like the ocean tide, softening the Second Princess's heart considerably.

She said angrily, "Why didn't you tell me? Father Emperor dotes on me the most. Wouldn't it be safer for me to plead for you than for Huaiqing?"

After he finished speaking, he saw a violent emotional fluctuation on Xu Qi'an's face, a mixture of emotion and shock.

Then, a trembling voice was heard from the small gong. "Your Highness, you're actually willing to plead with His Majesty for a gong I've only just met?!"

It turned out he felt he couldn't help, so he was clinging to Huaiqing as a lifeline. Princess Lin'an was both angry and amused. It was just a casual remark, but things had escalated to this point, leaving her somewhat caught in a bind. She nodded and said:

"Of course! I never mistreat my own people."

Xu Qi'an stared at her for a long time, then clasped his hands in a fist salute and said in a deep voice, word by word, "Your Highness, this humble servant only wishes to buy a piece of land."

Lin'an didn't understand and asked in surprise, "Buy land?"

Xu Qi'an solemnly said, "Its name is Unwavering Devotion!"

Princess Lin'an was stunned, and slightly moved; this was something she had never heard of before.

Suddenly, all the disgust she felt for Xu Qi'an vanished. If before she was thinking about competing with Huaiqing for toys, now she genuinely felt that having such a subordinate wasn't so bad.

But remembering how the little gong had just made her cry, she snorted and muttered in a soft, weak voice, "You dog slave!"

Done!

Xu Qi'an breathed a sigh of relief.

When faced with a choice between two options, never think about solving the problem; instead, think about how to deal with the person who created the problem.

Key element: Divide them up and defeat them one by one.

The eldest princess is a strong-willed and domineering woman, and she is also intelligent, so in more public settings, you should favor her and give her face.

The second princess is spoiled and willful, both a pushover and a slut who loves to provoke trouble. But she is naive and a pampered princess with many quirks, yet she is easy to coax.

If you're eloquent, you can turn her anger into joy; she's a woman who needs sweet words.

Based on the different personalities of the two princesses, Xu Qi'an, caught in the middle of a chaotic situation, quickly devised a seemingly perfect solution.

Not only did he escape danger, but he also got the second princess to plead for him and buy him a commercial insurance policy for the future.

And it doesn't cost a single penny.

In front of the Second Princess, Xu Qi'an carefully put the jade pendant back into his bosom, as if it were not a jade pendant, but a precious treasure.

The second princess's gaze immediately softened considerably.

"Then, this humble servant shall take his leave?" Xu Qi'an planned to slip away.

"What's the rush!" Princess Lin'an glared at him. "You're my subordinate; I still need to order you around."

She stole Huaiqing's boyfriend, so of course she had to let all her other siblings see it, so that she could save face and make Huaiqing lose face.

"Your Highness, please give your orders," Xu Qi'an said helplessly.

The carefree second princess, finding she had nothing for him to do, tilted her head and said, "Hmm, the weather is nice today, and with that annoying Huaiqing gone, I'm going to find Linglong to play. You come with me; I won't be serving as a guard."

Emperor Yuanjing stood on the edge of the high platform, scrutinizing the spirit dragon lying on the shore, meeting its gaze with those lively, black button-like eyes.

"What's wrong with you? Lin'an has been playing with you since she was little. Why did you suddenly pull her into the water the other day for no reason?" Emperor Yuanjing reprimanded Linglong.

The Spirit Dragon, an High Antiquity beast, is born from purple qi and is not classified as Demon Race. If one had to find a "kindred spirit," it would be the Gu God, another High Antiquity mythical beast.

Spirit dragons are extremely rare and have a long lifespan, historically existing as divine beasts accompanying royalty.

Whether it was the Great Feng or the previous dynasty, the palace kept this kind of strange beast.

"Sneeze"

The dragon snorted lazily and lay listlessly on the shore, ignoring Emperor Yuanjing's reprimands.

His dark, button-like eyes glanced at Emperor Yuanjing.

Are you going to ride it or not?

The prince observed the spirit dragon. He remembered that the spirit dragon had also lay prostrate on the shore in this manner before, but it seemed more respectful and trembling than it was now.

At the time, they were quite far apart, so the prince couldn't see Linglong's expression or demeanor clearly, and only had a general impression. Therefore, the prince wasn't sure either.

The spirit dragon was the water mount of emperors throughout history. Legend has it that in ancient times, the territories of the Demon Race and the human race were not as clearly separated as they are now, but rather lived in a relatively mixed state.

Therefore, it is common for humans to be devoured by Demon Race, or for Demon Race to be hunted by humans.

Humans are not good swimmers and are helpless against the monsters in the river. Only the Human Emperor can easily enter the water and fight the Demon Race.

Their reliance is on the spirit dragon, an amphibious and mythical beast.

Today, the emperor of the Great Feng no longer needs to fight the Demon Race in the water, so water mounts have become creatures for ornamental purposes.

Since he began his cultivation, Emperor Yuanjing had not visited the spirit dragon for many years. He couldn't help but recall the glory of riding the spirit dragon on a tour of the Jing River when he ascended the throne.

"I haven't been close to you for many years. I imagine you must be quite lonely." Emperor Yuanjing sighed, then lightly leaped onto the armor on the back of the dragon and grasped its horns with both hands.

The dragon let out a joyful roar, its limbs flailing and its body twisting gracefully as it carried Emperor Yuanjing as they swam in the lake.

How envious! The Crown Prince gazed at this scene, imagining himself one day riding a spirit dragon, with his princes and princesses standing on the shore, watching eagerly.

Just then, the spirit dragon swimming merrily in the lake suddenly roared, as if it had been stimulated by something. It raised its head high, letting out a deafening roar while shaking its neck, and flung Emperor Yuanjing away.