2025-03-05 18:56:21"Are you stupid or what, Wang Wei? I called you here because I wanted to discuss our arranged marriage. Two days ago, my father asked me about your father's request to betroth us."
"So, what was your answer, Princess? Are you willing to accept me, this handsome man, as your husband and the father of our future children?"
"I'm not blind, Wang Wei! If we're talking about looks, that annoying young man downstairs is more handsome than you. And you know very well that my father is the Prime Minister of the Shang Dynasty. There's no way I would agree to marry someone of lower status than me!"
Prince Wang Wei clenched his fists, holding back his anger. The princess’s words were an indirect insult. However, he was not a fool. He wouldn’t let go of the beautiful Princess Yuan Li so easily.
"Is there any special condition for you to accept this arrangement?"
Princess Yuan Li nodded. "If you can win the upcoming tournament and become a Commander, I will accept the marriage. But remember, Wang Wei, your competition is neither few nor weak. Many princes from smaller kingdoms will be participating. In short, the man who will be my husband must hold at least the rank of Commander."
A wide grin spread across Wang Wei's face. He believed his chances of winning Princess Yuan Li were high. He was confident that the vacant Commander position in the Shang Dynasty would soon be his.
"Why are you grinning like a horse?"
"Your words are sharp, Princess Yuan Li. Insult me all you want now. But once I become a Commander, you will bow beneath my feet," Wang Wei thought to himself.
"Are you deaf, Wang Wei?"
"I'm thinking, Princess. That Commander position will be mine. Those small kingdom princes won’t stand a chance against me in the tournament."
"Say whatever you want. The bottom line is, I will only accept the marriage if you become a Commander!" Princess Yuan Li responded coldly.
Meanwhile, Li Jie and Mei Lian had already left the restaurant. After asking a villager for directions to the capital, they continued their journey, which was about an hour away.
"Why did you stop me earlier? My hands were itching to punch that soldier’s mouth!"
"Li Jie, we are newcomers here. We know nothing about this place. At the very least, don’t create unnecessary trouble if we can avoid it. Please control your temper! I know you can’t stand injustice, but I’m telling you again—we must adapt to this new environment before making any reckless moves."
Li Jie took a deep breath. He knew Mei Lian was right. "You're right, Mei Lian. Sometimes, I do let my emotions get the best of me. Luckily, you’re here with me. You always manage to advise me when I make poor decisions. To me, you’re the perfect wife-to-be."
"Hmph, sweet talker! Keep flattering me… Do you think I didn’t notice how you were staring at that beautiful princess?"
Li Jie was caught off guard. Mei Lian’s words about him being insensitive were actually a sign of her jealousy toward Princess Yuan Li. He suddenly felt guilty.
Meanwhile, after Princess Yuan Li left the restaurant, Wang Wei’s guards, who had been tasked with monitoring Li Jie and Mei Lian, were shocked to find that the two had already disappeared.
The guards hurried upstairs to report to Wang Wei.
"Find them immediately... don’t lose their trail!"
Wang Wei gritted his teeth in frustration. If they failed to locate them, he might miss the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful girl he had just seen.
His four guards quickly searched every inn in the village, leaving no stone unturned.
Elsewhere, Li Jie and Mei Lian had finally entered the capital of the Shang Dynasty. The pair, who had traveled from a distant land, were awestruck by the sight before them.
The grand, towering buildings, unlike anything they had seen before, now lay in full view. The lively streets were packed with people, merchants calling out to sell their goods, creating a vibrant atmosphere.
"Let’s find an inn first, so we have a place to rest tonight."
"But I want to explore the capital first, Li Jie," Mei Lian whined, her tone slightly spoiled.
"We’ll do that after securing a room. Do you want to end up sleeping in the carriage if we can’t find an available room?"
Mei Lian giggled and shook her head. "Fine. But I want us to stay in the same room. I don’t want what happened last night to happen again."
"Oh no… If we keep sharing a room, I might end up being the one to take advantage of you instead of some stranger!" Li Jie chuckled softly, careful not to attract attention.
Mei Lian shot him a glare, but Li Jie pretended not to notice, keeping his gaze forward. Occasionally, he glanced around when something caught his attention.
Bugh!
A light punch landed on his left shoulder.
"Why did you hit me?"
"Keep pretending you don’t see me!" Mei Lian huffed.
"Are you saying you want me to take advantage of you? People say it feels like floating in the clouds." Li Jie chuckled again.
"No! It’s better if we wait until after marriage."
Li Jie glanced at Mei Lian briefly before looking straight ahead again.
"Are you sure I’d even want to marry you?" he teased in a cold tone.
Mei Lian’s face fell. She hadn’t expected him to say that. She fell silent, her hopes of being with him suddenly shattered.
She understood that as a prince, Li Jie would eventually be surrounded by beautiful women, making it easier for him to choose a bride.
Li Jie glanced at her. He saw her looking down, sadness written on her face.
"Why are you so quiet? Do you suddenly have a toothache?"
Mei Lian remained silent. The happiness she had felt after Li Jie kissed her the previous night had completely vanished.
"It’s nothing. I just don’t feel like talking."
"Alright. We’ll stay at that inn," Li Jie said, pulling the reins to stop the carriage in front of an inn.
He hopped down and headed toward the entrance, but stopped when he realized Mei Lian hadn’t followed.
"Aren’t you coming down? What if someone kidnaps you?"
Reluctantly, she stepped down and walked toward him.
A middle-aged woman with excessive makeup stepped out to greet them.
"Are you looking for a room?"
"No, Ma’am. We’re here to buy farming tools," Li Jie replied.
The woman scoffed, annoyed. "This is an inn, not a farming supply shop!"
"If you knew it was an inn, why did you even ask? Of course, we’re here to rent a room," Li Jie chuckled.
Mei Lian found his teasing amusing but held back her laughter.
"You’re quite the joker, handsome young man!" The woman smirked.
Li Jie turned around briefly, then looked back at her. "Are you calling me handsome?" He pointed at himself.
"No! I meant the horse outside." The woman laughed, satisfied with her comeback.
"Hah… You have a sharp tongue, Ma’am. Why didn’t you become a soldier instead?"
"What does that have to do with anything, you rascal? If I keep talking to you, I might go crazy. So, one room or two? And is this beautiful lady your wife?"
Before Li Jie could answer, Mei Lian cut in, "I’m not his wife. And we need two rooms, Ma’am!"
"You sure you want to sleep alone?" Li Jie asked in surprise.
"I’m sure. Better that than sharing a room with someone so insensitive."
"One room, Ma’am," Li Jie said.
"Two, Ma’am!" Mei Lian insisted.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
The Liberation of the Captives
The two warriors emerged from Aji’s chambers after a brief but deliberate council, their minds set on a single purpose: to find where King Surajaya indulged his vile appetites. It seemed unthinkable that he would sully his own private quarters with such depravity—thus, they knew they must search the palace’s lesser-known halls and hidden chambers for the place where he kept his victims.For what felt like hours, they wandered the labyrinthine corridors of the palace, their footsteps silent against the cold marble floors. Torches cast dancing shadows across walls adorned with tapestries depicting the glory of Kalingga’s past—scenes of heroes and dragons that now felt like bitter mockeries of the realm’s current corruption. At last, their path led them to a section of the palace they had rarely traversed, where a heavy wooden door stood flanked by guards.Fifteen soldiers were posted there, their backs straight and their hands resting on their sword hilts—far more than would ever be ass
The Princess’s Blessing
A flicker of sheer astonishment crossed Aji’s countenance, and in that very instant, his gaze locked with that of the Princess. The radiant maiden bowed her head low, her delicate features shadowed by a profound sense of shame—for the deeds of her father weighed heavy upon her heart like a boulder cast into still waters.“Your Highness,” Aji ventured, his voice carrying the quiet curiosity of one who sought to pierce the veil of mystery surrounding her thoughts, “what manner of vision has visited you in your dreams?”Princess Larasati closed her eyes, and a long, labored breath escaped her roseate lips. The weight of his question pressed upon her soul with such force that words themselves seemed to wither on her tongue. For deep within her heart lay a fear so potent it threatened to unmoor her resolve: that Aji might be the very figure fate had ordained to bring about her father’s end.Yet she knew, too, that her father’s unseemly conduct could not be allowed to persist unchecked. Onl
Breaking the Curse
“Aji…?” Jaya whispered to himself, his breath catching in his throat. His eyes narrowed to slits, as if trying to pierce through the half-light of the corridor and the veil of his own disbelief. The figure seated at the desk ahead was bent low over a scattering of parchments, their shoulders hunched in concentration—but even from this distance, there was something familiar in the set of their spine, the way their fingers moved across the pages as if tracing words they knew by heart.Still uncertain, Jaya took slow, deliberate steps forward, his boots making no sound against the polished marble floor. The palace corridors were quiet at this hour, save for the distant tread of guards and the soft crackle of torches mounted on the walls. Each step brought him closer, and with every pace, the truth of what he saw became harder to deny.“Aji…” he called out softly, his voice carrying just far enough to reach the seated man when he was barely five meters away.The figure lifted their head t
Entering the Palace
After riding for what felt like hours through the winding paths of the forest, they at last reached their destination—a structure of considerable size, its stone walls weathered by time and gnawed at by countless generations of termites. Thickets of thorny brush clawed at its foundations, while vines as thick as a man’s arm crept across its facade, draping the windows and doorways in a tangled curtain of green. Moss grew in dark patches across the crumbling mortar, and the air around it carried the scent of damp earth and decay—a smell that spoke of long years of abandonment.Setiaji’s face broke into a warm smile as he looked upon the building. “A most remarkable hiding place,” he said, his voice echoing softly in the quiet of the woods. “No soul in all Kalingga would ever suspect that human hands dwell within these walls. The very appearance of it repels all who might draw near—they see only ruin, not refuge.”“Let the exterior remain as it is,” Jaya replied, his eyes sweeping over
The Disguise
“Can it truly be so—that great beast is Lord Jaya?” Setiaji asked, his voice barely more than a whisper, his face etched with a disbelief so profound it seemed carved from stone. Even as he spoke, his eyes remained fixed on the tiger, watching as it paced slowly before the line of royal soldiers, its massive head tilted as if assessing each man with cold, calculating intelligence.Ratih offered him a small, reassuring smile, the corners of her lips curving gently despite the tension that hung heavy in the air. “If you do not believe me, Uncle, watch closely. The tiger will not raise a claw against us—not now, nor ever. Its fury is reserved solely for those who would hunt us down.”The certainty in her gaze was unshakable, like a beacon cutting through the fog of his doubt. Taking a slow, steady breath, Setiaji felt the tight knot of anxiety in his chest begin to loosen. He turned to his companions, who stood clustered together with weapons still raised, their faces pale with fear and
The Aid of Jaya
In the blink of an eye, Setiaji’s company scattered like leaves before a gale. Each member moved with silent purpose, their eyes scanning the forest floor and canopy for trees thick enough to shield their forms, or undergrowth dense enough to swallow them whole. The ancient woods of Kalingga were vast and wild, and in its depths, even a band of men could vanish like smoke if they knew where to hide.Setiaji himself, alongside Ratih, slipped behind a massive thicket of thorny brush—its branches woven so tightly together that not even a shaft of sunlight could pierce through to the ground below. From their concealed vantage, they peered out between the leaves, their gazes fixed on the direction from which Setiaji had sensed approaching hoofbeats. He had guessed correctly that these riders belonged to the royal forces of Kalingga, and now every muscle in his body was coiled tight as a spring.The mounted company—some fifteen strong, their armor gleaming like polished silver beneath the d
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