By now, what didn’t Xiao Xun understand?
The Chu Lan family—or rather, Chu Tang bringing her parents—hadn’t come seeking refuge because they had nowhere to turn, but had come to capture him.
What was this called?
Walking into the tiger’s den?
Whose scheme was this? Deng Yi’s? Xie Yanfang’s? The court first proclaimed that Chu Lan had colluded with Prince Zhongshan, then Chu Lan fled here, with Old Master Zhou adding fuel to the fire. Missing any single step would have made it hard to gain his trust. He wouldn’t have let them come. Of course, there was also the most crucial person—
Chu Zhao.
Without Chu Zhao, Chu Tang would never have been persuaded.
Without Chu Zhao, even with those three’s conspiracy, after arriving here, Chu Tang absolutely could have been convinced by him.
Chu Zhao! Xiao Xun clenched his bound hands behind him. Was his plan going to be ruined by her again?
Chu Tang said: “Eh, what promises or not—she and I are family. When her life isn’t good, I don’t have a good life either. No choice.”
Because they were family? Chu Tang was this kind of person? Xiao Xun didn’t question or refute, only saying: “Compared to Chu Zhao, I’m still not enough to make Miss A’Tang believe.”
He looked at Chu Tang.
“The position of empress—I wasn’t deceiving Miss Chu Tang. I can obtain such a vast empire—would I still need to rely on an empress’s family to support my court? Or rather, Miss A’Tang with your thin family background is more suitable to be my, Xiao Xun’s, empress. With you as empress, I won’t be torn apart or coerced by other families either. This way, we each get what we want—Miss A’Tang.”
He looked at Chu Tang with a smile, his dimples deep.
“You don’t believe you can be a good empress, do you? Compared to her, what do you lack? A good father?”
Chu Lan sitting on the ground shed tears.
Chu Tang chided: “Crown Prince, my father is also a good father.”
Xiao Xun said: “Yes, any father who dotes on his children is a good father. It shouldn’t be judged by power and position.”
He looked at Chu Tang.
“Compared to Chu Zhao, you just lack troops. I said before, I can have your father command the border army. The border army will still be in your hands. If Miss Chu Tang still isn’t assured, I’ll give you half the tiger tally. You’ll hold military authority. Then Miss A’Tang will surely be able to be a good empress, won’t she?”
The tiger tally—this was real military authority. Chu Tang clutched the paper slip, her eyes flickering.
“Miss A’Tang.” Xiao Xun sighed softly. “What I need is an empress—nothing to do with romantic love, but a companion, an assistant, a—”
Before he could finish, Chu Tang suddenly raised her hand and slapped his face.
Smack—a crisp slap echoed through the room.
Xiao Xun froze, his voice cutting off abruptly. He looked at the girl before him in disbelief.
He, Xiao Xun, had grown this large, and even his father had never struck him once.
She had hit his face?
While he was smiling and speaking with her gently and amiably, she hit his face?
His face!
The girl’s strength wasn’t great. The slap on his face didn’t hurt that much. But it was his face!
Slapping someone’s face was never about causing pain, but about humiliation.
This was humiliation—
“You!” Xiao Xun’s dimples vanished, his eyes darkening.
Before he could finish, Chu Tang stepped forward and raised her hand. This time she didn’t hit him but stuffed the rag back into Xiao Xun’s mouth.
Xiao Xun’s voice was blocked. Only his eyes blazed as he glared at her.
Only then did Chu Tang pat her chest and say to Xiao Xun: “Crown Prince, don’t be angry. I had no choice either.”
“Sister A’Tang, why are you dithering and muttering about?” Little Rabbit couldn’t help asking.
He’d been crouching on that general’s corpse the whole time, tossing his small knife, staring at Chu Tang.
“If you want to hit him, call me. I can hit hard enough to hurt.”
Chu Tang looked at him: “I’m not trying to make it hurt. And I’m not hitting him for his sake.”
What did that mean? Even more incomprehensible.
Chu Tang sighed deeply: “I hit him to cut off my own escape route.”
What Crown Prince Xiao said was too tempting. If she kept listening, she really couldn’t control herself from siding with him.
She understood these powerful nobles best. They seemed magnanimous but were actually very petty.
With this slap, even if Crown Prince Xiao made her empress, this slap would be carved into his heart and could take her life at any time.
Slapping Xiao Xun this once was to make herself give up and stop thinking about becoming Xiao Xun’s empress.
She closed her eyes and thrust out her hand.
“Quickly take this to Chu Zhao. Any later and I’ll regret it.”