"I……"

Lan Sai's face turned ashen instantly, and he stared wide-eyed at Lan Que.

Impossible, where did things go wrong? Lan Que had never said this before when he retraced his steps.

“A slave is a slave. The smell on you disgusts me!” Lan Que released his grip, leaned against the wall, and made no attempt to hide his mockery. “What makes you think I would acknowledge our relationship? What makes you think I would accept you? And what makes you think your lowly bloodline is qualified to taint the noble royal bloodline?”

"Do you think that just because you married Princess Lanting and became her consort, you have the right to have your hands on the royal bloodline?"

The disdain in Lan Que's eyes deeply stung Lan Sai. He had always thought that Lan Que was different; he respected equality and yearned for freedom, and he wouldn't care about these things.

"You don't really think Princess Lanting married you because she loves you, do you? You don't really think the child in her womb is your bloodline, do you? Hahahaha..." Lan Que burst into laughter, bending forward and backward, and said between laughs, "Let me tell you, the child in Lanting's womb is the child of the eldest son of the Boren family."

The eldest son of the Duke of Beren is the future heir to the Beren family. He is also a womanizer who has a beautiful wife at home, as well as countless lovers and many illegitimate children.

Princess Lanting's feelings for him were not deep; it was merely a fleeting affair. She simply hadn't expected to become pregnant. She shouldn't have kept the child, but she was infertile, and abortion could potentially leave her unable to have children. To avoid damaging the royal family's reputation, she had no choice but to marry just anyone.

"I thought...I thought..."

"What did you think?" Lan Que mocked. "Did you think I was deeply in love with you? Did you think you sided with the princess and the emperor for my own good? Did you think that after all you've done, I should see you, agree to your terms, and become your lover?"

The words, though light as a feather, weigh a ton; even the burning fireplace inside cannot melt the coldness in my heart.

Lansel was devastated; his lips trembled uncontrollably.

"You think too highly of yourself." Lan Que stretched out his hand, admiring his beautiful fingers, and said disdainfully, "You're just a toy I picked up from the mud, something to look at when I'm bored and pass the time."

"Of course, if it can bring me some benefits while passing the time, I'd be happy to do something."

He was unwilling to join the struggle for imperial power, but that doesn't mean he was a fool.

In this palace, only two kinds of people can survive: those with powerful families, such as the eldest prince, and those with a far-reaching reputation, such as the second prince and him.

The former had the protection of his family, the latter had the attention of the public, and what he had to do was to portray himself as an incompetent person who loved poetry more than power, and was kind, benevolent, and foolish.

"You're lying! If you don't like me, why sacrifice Morde's reputation to protect me?"

Lansel knelt on the ground, head bowed, shoulders trembling.

"Protect you?" Lan Que heard the biggest joke in the world and couldn't help but laugh out loud, shaking his head as he laughed: "You really know how to make a scene."

Lan Que put away her smile, sat on the bay window covered with a thick carpet, leaned against the wall, and rested her chin on her hand, saying, "Don't you understand? The reason I didn't expose you is for the sake of my reputation. Compared to having premarital sex with my fiancé, having an affair with a slave disgusts me more."

Most nobles, especially the new nobles, no longer follow these old rules. It is common for unmarried Alphas and Omegas to have relationships, not to mention those who are already engaged.

"Morde will never accept you! He'll only find you disgusting!"

"So what? Whether he admits it or not, our marriage is a done deal. Even if he doesn't want to accept it, he will still choose to marry me in the end."

Lan Que knew very well that the reason why Duke Mekalu did not agree was that he intended to bargain with the emperor in order to gain more benefits.

As for family honor, it's just talk. After all, he has a lot of romantic entanglements, his illegitimate children cause trouble every day, and the family honor has long been ruined by him.

His marriage to Mode was merely the result of a power struggle between the royal family and the nobility; the only saving grace was that he and Mode were mutually in love.

Zhou Siyu was speechless. Wasn't this Third Prince supposed to be a love-struck fool? How come he's different from the rumors?

But upon closer reflection, how could anyone who survived in the palace be a kind person?

"No, this isn't true, you're lying to me! You're bluffing!"

Lancer, disregarding all decorum, knelt and shuffled forward a few steps, pleading, "What you're saying is all lies, isn't it? You're only saying these things to protect me, to make me leave you and leave you to face the gossip alone..."

"You really know how to make excuses for yourself." Lan Que kicked him to the ground, grabbed his chin, looked down at Lan Sai, and chuckled disdainfully, "Fools are always good at fantasizing and numbing themselves."

“You lowly slave, even if you wear a shiny and beautiful skin, you cannot change your lowly bloodline. Even if you spray the most expensive perfume, you cannot cover up the stench of horse manure on your body.”

Commoners enjoy watching princesses fall in love with beggars and fairies become devoted to poor scholars, unaware that it is actually the beggar who covets the princess and spreads rumors, while the poor scholar indulges in fantasies about the fairy, unable to extricate himself from his delusions.

People love the story of the prince falling in love with Cinderella, but they forget that Cinderella herself was also an aristocrat. She had the qualifications to stand beside the prince, and her background was the best calling card.

Zhou Siyu couldn't help but give Lan Que a thumbs up. "Wow, my prince!"

As expected, appearances can be deceiving. The Third Prince and the Duke of Meccalu are both black-hearted devils and smiling tigers.

At the same time, he couldn't help but feel fortunate that he lived in a democratic era under the rule of the alliance, otherwise he would have been that slave who worked himself to death like a beast of burden.

After all, during the imperial era, merchants were practically slaves, with no status whatsoever.