Masquerade in Bridal Attire and Marry the Prince

206. A Watertight Plan

Translator: Bryan

A smile touched Du Chuxuan’s lips as he said with a shake of his head. “Father, please.” He was a member of the Du family, but he had never brought any good luck to his family. The only thing that he had done for the Du family was marrying into the imperial family in his sister’s stead, but now he was about to put the Du family in great danger. It could be said that he had done his family more harm than good.

Resigned, Du Chuxuan’s father let out a sigh and instructed the old butler to lead Du Chuxuan to the ancestral hall. Du Chuxuan’s social status was different now, so they naturally had to keep his visit secret, otherwise the Du family might be faced with the danger of extermination.

He had to handle this matter with efficiency. Du Chuxuan knelt in the ancestral hall to compose himself. Firstly, he did feel guilty and wanted to atone for his crime in this place; secondly, he wanted to collect his thoughts and finalize every step of his plan. In order to become Yuxing Tianrui’s prop, he had to elaborately devise every part of his plan.

However, the thought of the hardships that Yuxing Tianrui might be suffering made it impossible for him to calm down.

“What are you doing? Since when did you become such a dutiful apprentice?” Startled, Du Chuxuan flung up his hand and threw a palm strike at the speaker, but the latter deflected his blow with great ease. Only then did Du Chuxuan notice that the man was none other than Jiu Dengdan who had bidden him farewell not long ago.

“It surprises me how well-informed you are.” Du Chuxuan frowned slightly. Nobody in the palace except for the imperial couple knew about Yuxing Tianrui’s departure from the city. Although the man in front of him was his mentor, he still couldn’t help but wonder from whom he had heard the news.

His eyes glinted dangerously as he suspected that someone had divulged the secret. Jiu Dengdan, naturally, perceived the change in Du Chuxuan’s facial expression. He gave a little sigh and said, “I thought you’d undergone the misfortune you’re destined to suffer, but after I left the city, I performed divination and found out that was just a smokescreen.”

Du Chuxuan made no reply, his face still wary. Clearly, he wouldn’t say anything unless Jiu Dengdan told him how he had come to know about it. Having noticed the reaction of his favorite apprentice, Jiu Dengdan was rather resigned. “You brat. Do you think I enjoy wading into your troublesome issues? I talked to your stupid marriage partner because I found out that the misfortune you’re fated to suffer hadn’t arrived yet.”

“It was Zizheng who told you?” Du Chuxuan lowered his guard somewhat after hearing his words. “You don’t fool me. He’s always a cautious man. There’s no way he could’ve confided to you something of such great importance.”

Jiu Dengdan sniffled, gave a snort and abruptly flicked the horsetail whisk in his hand. “You seriously think I got involved because I wanted to? I told him that the misfortune you’re predestined to suffer hadn’t arrived yet, and then he got nervous and told me everything. He requested me to come here to keep an eye on you. I would never have made such a long journey back here were it not for him.”

Having finished speaking, Jiu Dengdan pulled a jade pendant from his bosom. “That guy knows you well. He told me to give you this lest you distrust me.” Having noticed that Du Chuxuan appeared greatly relieved at the sight of the pendant, Jiu Dengdan protested, “I wonder why I took you as my apprentice. You’re risking everything you have for nothing.”

It had been after arriving at the capital city that he made contact with Sect Luo. He knew his apprentice very well. Although the disciple of Sect Luo who led him here hadn’t disclosed anything, he had guessed it. Who would be so stupid as to give up all his family fortune?

Du Chuxuan was not annoyed. He snatched the jade pendant and stuffed it into his bosom. “Was it because of your words that he refused to let me go to the battlefield with him?”

“Stop flattering yourself,” Jiu Dengdan snorted hotly and then added sourly, “The Emperor is clearly using you and the two concubines to make sure the Crown Prince toes the line. He’s not as simple as you think he is. You guys have always believed he won’t take action on the prestigious families in this city, right? Well, he’s biding his time.”

On hearing that, Du Chuxuan couldn’t help but frown. After finding out about the existence of the seventh prince, he had been having an intuition that this was the case, which was why he was unsurprised by Jiu Dengdan’s words. All parents look out for their children’s best interests. The Emperor’s plan was, in a sense, beyond reproach.

However, the Emperor wanted his son to ascend the throne and become the new emperor. If  the Emperor’s tactics were so shrewd that the other princes didn’t stand a chance of winning, they would give up. But now that they had a chance of defeating the Emperor, they would naturally give it their best shot. It would be a fair fight. After all, the Emperor had never gone public with any of that.

“I suggest you think twice before making a decision.” Having noticed that Du Chuxuan was unsurprised, Jiu Dengdan made no more remarks on that. “There’s not much I can do to help. If there’s anything you need me to do for you, now is the time to say it.”

“Thank you, Shifu.” A faint smile touched Du Chuxuan’s lips. He said no more. Jiu Dengdan, however, found himself rather unaccustomed to the form of address. He waved his hand and left the ancestral hall without a word.

Surprisingly, owing to Jiu Dengdan’s visit, Du Chuxuan calmed down. He closed his eyes, identified the imperfect parts of his plan one by one and fixed them by deducing the possible outcome repeatedly. He was lost in thought for three days. He would probably have lost track of time if his father hadn’t come to the hall to check on him.

“I told you guys to watch over His Highness, and this is how you perform your duty?!” Luo Yi angrily gave Luo Er and Luo San each a kick. Nobody except for members of the Du family were allowed to enter the ancestral hall. Though Luo Er and Luo San had orders to protect Du Chuxuan, they could only wait outside.

The butler personally went into the hall to deliver meals to Du Chuxuan every day. Du Chuxuan had not come out for three days, and the others had mistakenly believed that he was dealing with something, and they didn’t think much about it. Unexpectedly, on this day, Du Chuxuan’s father hurriedly went into the hall, and he had Du Chuxuan in his arms when he hastened out.

If the old butler hadn’t discovered that all Du Chuxuan’s meals remained untouched, they would probably have still been unaware of it.

Du Chuxuan opened his eyes groggily and heard Luo Yi’s angry voice. His head still ached. “Water!”

His voice wasn’t very loud, but Luo Yi and the others who had consummate kung fu skills instantly caught on. “You’re awake, Your Highness!”

Luo Yi held a bowl of warm water to Du Chuxuan’s lips. After watching him slowly drink it, Luo Yi was relieved. Luo Er promptly turned around to send for Luo Qing. In these circumstances, Luo Qing was the only one they could trust to treat Du Chuxuan.

After Du Chuxuan drank the water, the burning pain in his throat finally ebbed away. “Why am I here?” He opened his eyes only to find that he was no longer in the ancestral hall but in his own dwelling, which was why he asked them about it.

Luo Yi’s face became somewhat frustrated at the question.