NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4:
Chapter 4: Father, Your Son’s Life Is So Bitter!
What the hell?!
Wasn’t the Seventh Princess always against this engagement?
The whole capital knew that! And now she had personally acknowledged Zhao Wujian as her imperial consort? What was going on?
Long Zhan’s heart was in turmoil. He had always believed he was good at dealing with women.
But after what Li Yunrui had just done, he truly couldn’t figure her out.
“Your Highness, I’m just following His Majesty’s decree…” Long Zhan tried to invoke the Emperor.
But that only enraged Li Yunrui even more.
With a swift motion, she raised her hand and slapped Long Zhan squarely across the face.
Smack—
The sound echoed loudly, instantly silencing the entire Northern Guardian Prince’s Residence.
“My Imperial Father and the Northern Guardian Prince were sworn brothers! How dare you act so presumptuously here? If you dare slander my father again, I’ll have your entire clan executed!”
Li Yunrui was seething with anger.
This damn Commander of the Imperial Cavalry, Long Zhan, was clearly trying to trap the Li Royal Family!
He wanted to drive a wedge between them and Zhao Wujian?
Was he trying to provoke a rebellion and force the Northern Guardian Prince’s army to march on the capital?
Disgusting!
Li Yunrui’s slap left Long Zhan clenching his fists tightly in his sleeves. He gripped them so hard that his fingertips dug into his palms, drawing drops of blood.
But Long Zhan didn’t dare get angry at Li Yunrui.
He had to endure it. At least until he reached the pinnacle of power—he had to swallow his pride!
One day, when he held sway over the entire court, he would have Li Yunrui kneel beneath him and beg for mercy, and make Zhao Wujian carry him like a horse.
But for now…
“It was a slip of the tongue, Your Highness. Please forgive me.”
“You know it was a slip of the tongue, and yet you still haven’t left?!”
“Yes, ma’am…”
Forcing a smile, Long Zhan turned and led the Imperial Cavalry out of the Northern Guardian Prince’s Residence.
This only made Zhao Wujian more uneasy.
Everyone knew—protagonists who could endure humiliation were the most terrifying.
Although he had managed to change the plot, Long Zhan probably hated him even more than before now.
[Damn it! It’s all that foolish princess’s fault! My perfect plan to live quietly and stay low—ruined!]
[No, I still need to keep a low profile. Only when my father returns with the army will I truly have a chance to rise again!]
Zhao Wujian thought as he looked at Li Yunrui.
Before he could speak, she gave him a knowing look. “Then, I’ll leave now?”
[Huh???]
Zhao Wujian was stunned. This Seventh Princess was nothing like the one from the original plot!
She acted like she could read his mind.
“You must have important matters to handle, so I’ll take my leave. Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything to the Emperor.”
With that, Li Yunrui really left.
Just like that, the death-flag scenario had passed?
Zhao Wujian sorted out his thoughts. Li Yunrui’s attitude toward him had clearly changed.
But that didn’t guarantee his survival.
When Long Zhan came for trouble again, he’d have to be ready.
Got it!
A flash of inspiration struck Zhao Wujian, and he headed into the study.
There was a top-secret letter that had just arrived from the northern frontier.
The previous Zhao Wujian had been too indulgent to even read it. But after he was killed by Long Zhan, it was Long Zhan who discovered it.
Zhao Wujian opened the letter—it was a personal letter from the Northern Guardian Prince.
The letter explained that his death was faked, and urged Zhao Wujian not to be saddened.
Clearly, the Northern Guardian Prince cherished his son dearly and didn’t want him to suffer because of the ruse.
Unfortunately, the original Zhao Wujian was just a Minor Villain in the Novel, meant to die for the plot—hopeless and beyond saving.
But that letter had let Long Zhan know the prince was alive, allowing him to set up a scheme to frame the Zhao family for rebellion.
With that in mind, Zhao Wujian immediately began writing back:
Father, your son’s life is bitter!
Since your faked death, the court officials have revealed their true faces, trampling all over our Zhao family.
The current Royal Family has allowed the Imperial Cavalry to disgrace our name!
I wanted to bring you honor, but I was brutally beaten, nearly breaking our ancestral weak spot!
Fortunately, I remembered your teachings: the Zhao family line has only me to carry it forward for future generations—so I’ve endured.
But now, I’m surrounded by enemies. Father, please return with our army quickly and stand behind your pitiful son!
—Your miserable child, Zhao Wujian, written in tears.
After finishing, even Zhao Wujian was moved by his own words.
He was sure that his doting father, who always placed him first, would immediately march back with the army once he read this letter.
However, the return journey would take at least ten days.
Including the time to send the letter out…
It would take at least half a month before the Northern Guardian Prince could return.
Endure!
If Long Zhan could endure, why couldn’t Zhao Wujian?
“As long as I make it through this half-month, I’ll have survived,” Zhao Wujian muttered. “Now, how do I send this letter out?”
He didn’t trust anyone else.
After everything—his father’s supposed death and the broken engagement—every move he made was being watched.
The capital gates were heavily guarded. If he could’ve escaped, he would’ve run already—why bother hiding from Long Zhan?
If the letter were intercepted, it would spell disaster.
To play it safe, Zhao Wujian decided to sneak out at night and send it from a hidden corner of the capital. He would use a trained falcon from the Northern Guardian Prince’s Residence. These falcons were extremely fast and difficult to shoot down.
“That’s the plan… but it still isn’t safe enough.”
There could still be danger along the way.
Zhao Wujian went straight to the pill chamber.
This was where the Northern Guardian Prince had once commissioned famous doctors and poison masters to create antidotes and poisons.
“Why is the Heir hiding in the pill room?” a servant asked.
The Old Housekeeper looked touched. “The Heir is finally taking charge of his life! He must be studying medical texts! Quick—prepare a few beautiful women to help him relax later.”
Medical texts, my ass… Zhao Wujian grumbled inwardly upon hearing this.
He stood before a row of green bottles.
Sleeping powder, aphrodisiac mist, bone-softening powder, muscle-weakening incense…
Whatever could disable an enemy—he took it all.
Before leaving the room, he looked at a servant behind the housekeeper and said, “You—take off your clothes!”
The housekeeper blinked in confusion. “Your Highness, there are women! I’ve already prepared women for you!”
“What would I need women for?”
Zhao Wujian was speechless.
But the housekeeper thought he had changed tastes.
The servant panicked. “Your Highness… I-I’m not ready for this…”
“Cut the crap. Strip.”
Zhao Wujian knew these servants had been corrupted by the old him—filthy thoughts filled their heads.
He only took the servant’s outer robe and a bundle of poisons, then returned to his room.
He waited for nightfall—to sneak out under the cover of darkness.
…
Meanwhile.
At the Imperial Cavalry Commander’s Residence.
Long Zhan returned with a dark expression and went straight to the deepest room.
Inside, the sound of a flute echoed—melancholic and haunting.
But amidst the melody, Long Zhan heard a trace of loneliness.
The door wasn’t shut. When Long Zhan entered, he saw a woman in a purple sheer robe, its skirt split high to reveal long, slender legs.
She held a long flute in both hands. As her delicate lips played the tune, her slender fingers danced rhythmically—enticing and seductive.
When she saw Long Zhan enter, the woman even flicked her tongue and gently licked the flute’s mouthpiece.
Seeing that, the frustration Long Zhan had suffered at Zhao Wujian’s residence surged again, and his throat felt parched.
“Fifth Senior Sister, I’m in a terrible mood.”
As he spoke, Long Zhan stepped forward and picked up the woman, tossing her onto the bed.
The woman didn’t resist. Instead, her eyes shimmered with charm and anticipation.
“Then let me help you relieve that fire.”