After that day, Huo Yuyan's luck improved considerably. His men did a clean job, and once they had driven the poor scholar away, he completely disappeared. He sent people to check and found that the scholar had indeed fled and was hiding in an old, dilapidated countryside house, exposed to the wind and rain.
As for Lou Wanjun, she went to the western market twice without success and finally gave up her search. However, Huo Yuyan was lucky. His men constantly monitored Lou Wanjun's movements and managed to orchestrate several chance encounters between her and him.
Little by little, Lou Wanjun stopped mentioning the scholar and spent her days thinking about Huo Yuyan, even taking the initiative to invite him to visit Lin'an.
Huo Yuyan noticed all these changes. He knew Lou Wanjun’s temperament and thought he understood her preferences well. Indeed, she was easily manipulated, and now, without him needing to invite her, Lou Wanjun came to find him on her own.
At this point, he had to maneuver carefully. He maintained a calm and detached attitude, neither refusing nor actively accepting, acting gently but keeping some distance, as if he genuinely regarded Lou Wanjun as a sister, with no other intentions.
Lou Wanjun was starting to become impatient. Her concerns were evident on her face, and she grew more anxious with each passing day.
Huo Yuyan observed all of this without reacting.
Until that day.
Lou Wanjun excitedly informed him that the lotus flowers at the West Lake were in bloom and suggested they go see them together. Huo Yuyan pretended to have urgent matters to attend to and delayed the invitation for two days before finally agreeing.
Lou Wanjun hired a boat at West Lake and sat by the window with Huo Yuyan. After chatting for a while, Lou Wanjun became obviously distracted and appeared preoccupied. Shortly after, the young eunuch next to Huo Yuyan went out to pour tea. Lou Wanjun hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"I remember... you're twenty-seven now, aren't you?" she asked.

Although Huo Yuyan was slightly surprised, he remained calm and smiled gently. "That's right. Time flies. I believe I met my sister Wanjun when I was around ten years old."

Lou Wanjun clasped her hands together, nervously squeezing them.

"And the emperor, isn't he rushing you to get married?" she asked.

Huo Yuyan smiled faintly upon hearing the question.

Lou Wanjun immediately became nervous. "Why are you smiling?"

Huo Yuyan adjusted his expression and joked with subtlety, "My sister asks this question—do you already have someone in mind?"

Lou Wanjun's face turned red, as if she had been caught off guard.

"I was just asking!" she exclaimed hastily.

Seeing her embarrassment, Huo Yuyan smiled again.

"Of course he pressures me," he said softly. "However, I don't really want to. And the emperor has no other choice."

"Why?" Lou Wanjun asked spontaneously.

Huo Yuyan looked up at her, his gaze deep.

After a moment of silence, until Lou Wanjun lowered her head slightly, embarrassed.

"On the one hand, my health holds me back. No matter which young girl I might marry, I would be a burden to her," he said. "On the other hand, the girl I love is not one of those high-born ladies confined to their luxurious homes in Ye Cheng."

Lou Wanjun looked at him immediately, her eyes shining.

"Why?" Huo Yuyan asked with an innocent expression.

After a moment of silence, Lou Wanjun asked with difficulty, "So... what kind of girl do you like?"

Huo Yuyan looked out the window, his gaze distant, as if longing for something.

"I like free-spirited and passionate girls," he said in a soft voice, but the emotion in his words was palpable. "Such a girl is always righteous and bold. Maybe I’ve been too accustomed to following rules since childhood, but when I see a girl like that, I always admire her."

After saying this, he looked at Lou Wanjun with a resigned smile.

"But... as the crown prince, thinking like this is, after all, a luxury. I bear the weight of the kingdom. Not only can I not afford to be careless, but my marriage must naturally align with my status," he said.

"But I..." Lou Wanjun murmured.

Her voice trailed off abruptly, as did Huo Yuyan's.

The two stared at each other, and for a moment, neither of them spoke.

When Lou Wanjun began to show her embarrassment, Huo Yuyan smiled faintly.

"Wanjun, did you notice that the description I gave of the girl I like sounds a lot like you?" he said.

Lou Wanjun opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Huo Yuyan glanced upwards with a resigned smile. "But I also know that Uncle Lou is aligned with Nanjing and is now loyal to Huo Wuji. I don't want to put him in a difficult situation, so it's more appropriate for us to be brother and sister," he said, looking up and seriously meeting Lou Wanjun's gaze.

"Recently, I've hesitated, but two days ago, I made a decision. Wanjun, you just need to know that, even as a brother, I can protect you forever," he said, seeing Lou Wanjun's eyes redden.

After a moment, she sobbed, "But why didn't you ask for my opinion?"

Huo Yuyan remained silent for a moment.

Lou Wanjun continued, "You are legitimately the crown prince. My father is now loyal to Bei Liang. There’s no reason he wouldn’t listen to your orders and follow Huo Wuji. Though these 300,000 soldiers aren't many, they can still support you. And although I am just an ordinary woman, I have a say in matters like this."

As she spoke, the boat slowly approached the shore.

Lou Wanjun suddenly stood up, her eyes burning, looking at Huo Yuyan. "... Huo ge, wait for me," she said.

After saying that, she turned around and, before the boat reached the shore, walked with determined steps, quickly crossing the shore with absolute resolve, moving away swiftly.

Huo Yuyan remained seated, smiling faintly.

He took a quiet sip of tea.

The fish was hooked, it was done.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lou Wanjun, who had moved out of Huo Yuyan's sight, suddenly stopped, displaying visible disdain as she rubbed her arm.

It was because of Huo Wuji, she thought.

He had given her such a laborious task, and he, Huo Wuji, was reaping the benefits without doing anything, leaving her to argue with Huo Yuyan in such a bitter situation.

*

Throughout this time, Huo Wuji was aware of Huo Yuyan's movements and situation.

Wasn't it obvious? Lou Wanjun had a straightforward temperament, and she was not well-equipped to deal with Huo Yuyan, let alone confront him face to face.

Every time before she met with Huo Yuyan, Huo Wuji would receive updates and explain to her how to handle the situation with Huo Yuyan.

Huo Wuji's familiarity with the situation and his knowledge of Huo Yuyan even left Jiang Suizhou perplexed.

Until the day when Lou Wanjun had just left the West Lake, Huo Wuji’s men had already brought news about Lou Wanjun and Huo Yuyan. With such a brilliant outcome, Jiang Suizhou couldn't help but reconsider Huo Wuji.

Jiang Suizhou's gaze made Huo Wuji a little uncomfortable, and he took him in his arms.

Huo Wuji expressed his displeasure. "What a look."

Jiang Suizhou sighed. "I just thought that when we were in the royal residence, not giving you the opportunity to compete with the other concubines was truly a waste of talent."

Huo Wuji’s gaze turned threatening. "What do you mean by that?" His voice carried a subtle threat.

Jiang Suizhou, who had already irritated him the previous night, did not dare provoke him further now. He quickly changed the subject. "I mean you're clever, you know how to maneuver."

"What's so difficult about it?" Huo Wuji sneered and snatched the letter Jiang Suizhou was holding. "Does he think he's the only one with brains? He just relies on the fact that others are too lazy to compete with him."

His posture resembled that of a peacock spreading its tail.

Jiang Suizhou couldn't help but laugh openly.

Huo Wuji let him laugh for a moment, but when he began to get excited, he turned to tease him. Jiang Suizhou quickly stopped laughing.

"Well, the plan concerning Miss Lou is almost ready. Can't we act now?" he said.

Huo Wuji kissed him hard twice and said, "Let’s wait for two more days."

*

Indeed, a few days later, the city of Lin'an became agitated.

This agitation was caused by Lou Yue. Since he had pledged allegiance to Huo Wuji, Lou Yue had always obeyed Huo Wuji's orders, but in recent days, something strange was happening.

Lou Yue had started to disobey Huo Wuji's orders and even oppose them.

At first, Huo Wuji had asked Lou Yue to guard a border region with weak defenses, but Lou Yue found the location too isolated and hard to access. He also criticized the lack of provisions Huo Wuji had provided him with, openly expressing his dissatisfaction and saying that he refused to go there.

The two men had a violent argument over this.

Furious, Huo Wuji reprimanded him for not following military orders, but Lou Yue retorted: "Military orders? I only follow the emperor’s orders. Why don’t you send someone else to that remote place? Besides, did the emperor give instructions? Has the crown prince spoken? As soon as he says so, I will send my troops!"

Huo Wuji slammed the door as he left.

After that, it took both Huo Yuyan and the two sides to ease the situation and calm the tensions between them.

And the reason for this anomaly was finally revealed.

It was said that Lou Yue was not loyal to Huo Wuji because of his daughter, Lou Wanjun. It was rumored that Lou Wanjun had her sights set on the position of crown princess and had had a violent argument with her father. Apparently, she wanted to use the 300,000 soldiers that had once belonged to Nanjing as her dowry.

This dowry could obviously not be taken lightly by Huo Wuji.

Rumors were spreading rapidly. Huo Yuyan remained calm as if he hadn’t heard anything, but Lou Wanjun, on the other hand, openly displayed her frustration within the army due to this matter.

This eventually confirmed the rumors.

Huo Yuyan was delighted.

After all, in these rumors, he was always in the passive position; everything was being done by Lou Wanjun and Lou Yue. And these rumors, of course, had a disruptive effect on the army, prompting the generals to reconsider the identities of Huo Wuji and Huo Yuyan.

Subsequently, it became clear who was legitimate and to whom they should truly obey.

Huo Yuyan was pleased, simply waiting for the right moment to offer Lou Wanjun some advantages. He planned to then pressure her into making Lou Yue comply with his request for her to actively ask to marry him.

Lou Wanjun was seen as the daughter of a traitor from Nanjing, and his father, the emperor, would certainly not allow her to marry the crown prince. Coincidentally, Huo Yuyan also didn’t want to easily give up the position of crown princess in exchange. At that moment, with some display of distress, Lou Wanjun would be ready to become his concubine.

As the great plan was about to unfold, Huo Yuyan also felt relieved. It was the fifteenth of the month, and he hypocritically invited Huo Wuji to meet in the palace that evening.

After all, before the big plans were set into motion, he had to appease Huo Wuji.

Huo Wuji gladly accepted.

Thus, that day, before the sky darkened, the palace where the banquet was held became lively. Palace servants came and went, the hall was brightly lit, and exquisite fruits and dishes were brought in abundance.

Huo Yuyan waited, as usual, for the banquet hour before making his entrance.

When he arrived, there were already people seated. Since it was a family banquet, there weren’t many people in the hall; apart from Huo Wuji, there were only a few of his favored courtiers.

However...

Huo Yuyan’s gaze swept across the room and noticed an unwelcome guest had returned.

... Prince Jing, who had been elusive until now, was seated next to Huo Wuji, his eyes like waves, watching him with a smile.

When their gazes met, Prince Jing spoke.

"The crown prince has arrived rather late," he said.

"A few minor matters delayed me," Huo Yuyan replied indifferently, throwing him a glance before looking away and giving a faint smile.

But Prince Jing, as slender as a reed, lazily leaned back in his chair, smiling languidly but unwilling to drop the topic.

"Was it the young lady from the Lou family who kept you?" he asked with a laugh. "But I wonder, why is the so-called future princess of the Lou family not present at this family banquet today?"

 

Translator : DarNan