Chapter 109

109 I was born to protect my brother, not to govern anyone Part II

“Mmm!”

In the next moment, her lips were captured. Bai Yu’s eyes widened. She never expected Ouyang Mingxian to do this to her at all. He was turning her into a real easy woman now!

Ouyang Mingxian pressed his lips against hers in anger. The more she struggled, the more he applied pressure on their kiss, telling her that she was his!

His significant pawn had no rights to decide its own move!

Bai Yu tried to turn her face away and escape his hot lips, but his hand held her chin so tightly that her mouth inadvertently opened up.

“You solely belong to Benwang” His cold, whispering voice was close to her lips. His eyes bore into her, as if he wanted to burn her to ashes. Then he came down to kiss her once more. Bai Yu opened her mouth and bit down on his lip as hard as she could.

“You!”

Ouyang Mingxian moved away as he yelled at her. Bai Yu huffed, shaking off his restraint that was loosened because of the pain.

Slap!

.....

Her palm, imbued with martial essence, slapped his face before the man could recover. Ouyang Mingxian’s face instantly turned to the side in response to her slap. Blood oozed from the corner of his mouth.

Bai Yu took a deep breath before slowly letting out a long exhale. She sneered, showing contempt that equaled the tone in her voice. “What will happen if I tell my third sister about this?”

Ouyang Mingxian was stunned. He stared at her with wide eyes. “You’ve considerably changed.”

Bai Yu accepted his words with a smile. She smoothed her hair, then moved to adjust her clothes in a calm manner, even though she actually wanted to run out and find some water to wash her mouth. In her last life, she had kissed men who were not her lovers countless times in her acting scenes, but none had disgusted her as much as this time.

“Wangye has not changed at all.” As heartless as ever. In the eyes of a villainess like her, this man was not a hero at all!

Love had blinded her all along. It had fooled her into thinking of him as a hero, making her heart raced every time she saw him. The old Bai Yu was willing to do anything to receive even a slightest bit of attention from him. Ouyang Mingxian must have thought that the kiss would change her mind and make her madly in love with him again. That did not work on Bai Yu, who no longer loved him.

“Wangye will have to find a new pawn.”

“You...”

“I have to excuse myself here. I hope Wangye will be gracious enough to not leave the carriage and taint my reputation.” Though she was excusing herself, she did not wait for a reply or give him a single glance before getting out of the carriage.

Suddenly, her left hand was held. Bai Yu stopped but did not turn back to him.

“In your eyes, what has Benwang become?” In his voice was an emotion that she could not decipher. Bai Yu could interpret people’s feelings from their eyes. She only had to turn back.

But she did not want to look at Ouyang Mingxian. She feared that she might lose control over her heart. And so, her voice that replied to him was firm and indifferent. “Only a childhood friend.”

Bai Yu pulled her hand away before stepping out, her demeanor was impeccable as ever. Her face carried a slight smile under the curious eyes of the crowd that had gathered after noticing that Qin Wang’s horse carriage had been parked for a suspiciously long while.

Ouyang Mingxian still held his hand in the air, even after Bai Yu’s smaller one had escaped from his grasp. He slowly moved to wipe away the blood on the corner of his mouth, his gaze fixed on the red stain on his fingertip. Those irises held only calmness as his eyes casted down. No one could know what thoughts he had in his mind.

After getting out of the carriage, Bai Yu carefully put her right hand over her left, which was trembling. The warmth of that man still lingered there. She pressed her hand against her body, holding herself in the normal noble lady posture. She stepped through Yue Mansion’s front gate with the same grace.

As soon as the doors closed, her heart started beating faster, out of control. A drop of tear fell from the corner of her eye. She walked forward without caring to wipe it away. Bai Yu ignored her two maids who were going to greet her and headed straight to her bedroom. She sat down on the bed where her brother was still sleeping. The tears had already dried on her way here. A sincere smile replaced the pretended one as dimples appeared on her cheeks.

“Brother...” There was no sob in her voice as she called her brother. Her trembling left hand was placed on Bai He’s. Bai Yu squeezed his larger hand, and then the tremor slowly subsided. The racing heart returned to its normal rhythm again.

“You don’t have to protect me from him anymore.”

——————-

In the royal study, the silence continued for over one ke after Bai Yu had left. Neither of the two brothers uttered a sound. Ouyang Hongxian’s golden eyes studied his younger brother’s face, which he kept lowered as he remained in the same kneeling position on the floor, insisting on his plea.

Originally, both Ouyang Hongxian and Ouyang Feilong knew the intention behind the diplomatic marriage proposal. The citizens saw that Da Chu and Da Yang were at peace for many years, when in truth, the rift between the two nations was only deeper as time went by, hidden by the peaceful facade. They had once agreed on an alliance, but because Ouyang Feilong was born a male, the treaty was nullified and their ties were severed.

This was not his or his younger brother’s fault in the first place. Hundreds of years ago, Da Chu and Da Yang were one and the same. However, a hundred year ago, Da Chu separated themselves because the Chu family wanted to take hold of the divine valley, the hotspot for magic-users. The separation of the Chu family and the Ouyang family then resulted in Da Chu and Da Yang of today.

Da Chu was in possession of the sacred valley, the place where all magic-users respect and revere. Its citizens might be small in number, but the condensation of magic in the sacred valley blessed them with high magic power. The Chu dynasty ruled over their land with different customs and traditions from their old homeland. Still, despite its magical prowess, Da Chu was weak because of the internal conflicts that resulted from the newfound tradition.

Da Yang owned the larger piece of land, full of valuable natural resources and population, including the grand army of the original nation. The Ouyang dynasty ruled Da Yang on the ground of the old tradition, thus having a stable foundation for harmony to prosper. Da Yang’s citizens might not all possess magic, but Da Yang was larger and more peaceful than Da Chu.

Throughout the one hundred years after their separation, the two nations kept their peace through diplomatic marriage, which served to tie them as close allies, preventing other nations from seizing the chance of momentary weakness.

However, the last time Da Yang did not send a princess born of Empress Wei to marry into the Chu dynasty, other states took it as a chance to invade Da Chu. Though Da Chu successfully trumped them in the end, it was also weakened in the process. In the last ten years, Da Chu’s army appeared to regain strength, indicating a willingness to invade Da Yang.

While the Chu dynasty might have never outwardly expressed enmity, they often sent men to stir up trouble in Da Yang. The plague in the village, Ouyang Feilong’s injury, and even the ambush on Ouyang Mingxian could all be traced back to spies from Da Chu. It was clear that the marriage proposal this time was also a ploy to upset Da Yang.

If they chose to send Bai Yu, it would mean that Da Yang feared Da Chu. But if they did not, then that would mean Da Yang was willing to go to war against Da Chu. Truthfully, there was no need for the Emperor to ask for anyone’s opinion. He only summoned so many people here today to find an answer. And now he had found it.

Ouyang Hongxian straightened his back. With all his strength, he struck the study table.

Slam!

“You’re challenging Zhen’s rule?!”