Chapter 8
A Luo looked refreshed, with a faint smile playing on her lips.
He was even eager to move up the negotiation time. He had originally planned to stay here for about three days, but now he felt it was unnecessary. He wanted to go back early to arrange Pei Jian's accommodations and all aspects of his life.
Ze Yi attended the negotiations.
Because of the failed assassination attempt, he had injured his left leg, and his gait was somewhat strange, with one foot heavier than the other. He also had a very noticeable abrasion on his face.
She looked fragile and vulnerable, as well as tense and helpless.
Pei Jian was being closely watched by A Luo. Seeing this, she angrily questioned him, "You promised me you wouldn't do anything to them, so why is Ze Yi so badly injured?"
Having experienced the previous assassination attempt, Alo naturally knew that the so-called 'Castan' was Pei Jian's nominal fiancé. Since he was her fiancé, perhaps out of jealousy, he acted somewhat recklessly.
“It was just a bump,” A Luo said, not understanding why Pei Jian had liked such a skeletal man before, who couldn’t even protect her from harm.
Otherwise, why would they have given him an opportunity to take advantage of the situation?
"You call this a bump or bruise?" Pei Jian exclaimed. Ze Yi had come from afar to save her, defying all objections. Perhaps he hadn't fully recovered yet, so how could she not worry?
He must be feeling terrible, she thought, and she would make him a pot of bone broth herself when she got back.
Seeing this caring expression, A Luo could only regret that he hadn't crippled the man last time, so that he wouldn't be able to appear in front of Pei Jian and play the victim now.
Pei Jian glared at A Luo and then walked away to a place further away from him.
“Hey,” A Luo tried to stop her but failed, and turned to instruct the maid, “Keep an eye on A-Jian.”
Negotiation room.
They randomly chose an abandoned thatched hut. The space was cramped, and the presence of a fully armed army standing behind each side made the atmosphere particularly oppressive.
Pei Jian sat behind A Luo, intentionally or unintentionally blocking most of her view. Pei Jian's gaze passed over A Luo and landed on Ze Yi opposite him.
Ze Yi received her gaze and gave her a reassuring look, indicating that she didn't need to worry and that he would take care of everything.
"Your Highness, since you were not satisfied with the previous regulations, we have made some adjustments after returning. What do you think of this now?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a stack of papers slid over from the other side.
The paper clearly states that the boundary is not the Pinghe River, but the Changhe River, which is closer to the human race. This concession is not insignificant.
This action also demonstrates their determination to rescue Pei Jian.
Their people already outnumbered the dragons, and their current proposal was already the biggest concession they could make, which also showed their sincerity.
After careful consideration, the Dragon Clan deemed it feasible.
Their aim was simply to teach humanity a lesson so they wouldn't dare invade again; acquiring so much land was pointless. They lived a rather rustic life, barely able to use up their own land, let alone this extra.
However, Alo returned the agreement intact.
“With such a division, your lives will inevitably be stifling,” he said casually, glancing at Ze Yi, and 'mercifully' reminding him, “Has Your Highness Ze Yi asked your people for their opinions, whether they would like to move inward?”
With the Changhe River as the boundary, people living near the boundary must relocate inwards.
"This has nothing to do with Your Highness. Why not consider the present?" Ze pushed the words back.
“Actually, it’s not that my clan can’t agree to the request to use Pinghe as the boundary,” A Luo said mysteriously, causing Pei Jian, who was sitting behind him, to shiver inexplicably.
I have a bad feeling...
“Tell me,” said a human minister with a bad temper, a stout man with a voice as powerful as a gong, “are all dragons hypocrites?”
"Hey—, don't rush, we still need to ask His Highness Ze Yi's opinion."
"What do you want to say?" As time dragged on for too long, Ze Yi gradually began to show unease and restlessness.
"I'd like to say that we agree to use Pinghe as the boundary, but Pei Jian should stay with the Dragon Clan, what do you say?"
Upon hearing this, Pei took a short breath.
Ze Yi slammed his fist on the table and stood up, staring at A Luo with bloodshot eyes. If he hadn't been stopped, his tightly clenched fist would have landed on A Luo's face.
He roared, "How is this possible?! A-Jian is my fiancée, how could she possibly stay in the Dragon Clan?!"
Compared to Ze Yi's excitement, A Luo seemed calm and composed. He glanced lightly at Ze Yi, then turned to Pei Jian and said with deep affection, "But A Jian has already promised me."
Pei Jian lowered his head like an ostrich, as if that would allow him to escape this predicament where he had no way to advance or retreat.
"No! Impossible!" Ze Yi retorted, then coughed shakily while leaning on the table, saying intermittently, "Ah Jian won't agree."
The room was filled with Ze's broken coughing.
"Of course she would, ask her yourself."
Ze Yi leaned on the table, looking at her pleadingly, his voice as gentle as ever, "Ah Jian?" hoping she would give a firm no.
Pei Jian sat on the wooden chair, feeling as if the flow of blood in his body had slowed down considerably, and his limbs gradually became numb.
She doesn't know how things have developed to this 'irreversible' state.
Yes, Alo did ask her last night if she wanted to stay in the Dragon Clan, and she answered yes.
As a strategist, 'want' is the only answer.
Pei Jian can stay here, but not immediately.
Everything has a gradual process. She had only known A Luo for a short time. Even though he was changing his attitude and behavior towards her, the harm he caused was real. It wasn't a nightmare that was just a figment of her imagination.
"Ah Jian?"
Pei Jian remained silent for so long, and every second of her silence filled Ze Yi with an unprecedented sense of bewilderment and helplessness.
At this moment, Pei Jian could neither deny it nor admit it against his conscience.
Her silence seemed like a silent acquiescence.
“See?” Alo breathed a sigh of relief. “Jane wants to stay here.”
"Pei Jian!" Ze Yi stared intently at Pei Jian's face, trying to see through her disguise. "What are you thinking?! If you think I haven't been good enough to you, you can say so. If it's because of me, I can grant your every request indefinitely. If it's because of your father, I can even try to persuade him. But... you can't do this..."
System: [Host, you can only complete the mission by staying by Alo's side. Please weigh the pros and cons yourself.]
The system's emotionless voice gradually cleared Pei Jian's chaotic thoughts.
She wanted to go back.
She wants to go back.
"Zeyi, I'm sorry, I stayed here voluntarily."
"Pei Jian!"
This was the second time Ze Yi had called her by her full name; he had never called her that before, and his tone was stiff and disappointed.
"I'm sorry," Pei Jian said helplessly, repeating these three useless words.
“If you really feel sorry for me, then come back with me,” Ze Yi walked straight up to Pei Jian, but was blocked by A Luo’s men, like a wild beast caught in a trap, struggling desperately.
"I brought you your favorite pastries. Shall we go back to the car together?"
Pei Jian shook his head and got up first, leaving the negotiation room accompanied by his guards.
-
"It's my fault."
System: [It's rare to have it all in this world; you've already done more than enough.]
For a first-time attempt, it's already quite good that you were able to stay calm, actively cooperate with the task, and neither run away nor back down.
"But I let Zeyi down."
System: [That's just an NPC in the game who drives the plot forward; host, don't worry about it too much.]
Pei Jian sighed and looked forlornly into the distance.
Because of the Dragon Clan's flat management system, and because Alo's parents had already delegated authority to him, whatever he said went, and the matter was quickly settled.
On the human side, the loss of a duke's daughter... that's hardly a loss at all.
A scene that made everyone happy.
Besides Ze Yi, who lost his fiancée, and Duke Pedersen, who lost his daughter.
-
“It’s windy,” A Luo leaned over and covered Pei Jian’s side window. “Be careful not to catch a cold.”
To this day, Pei Jian still doesn't understand why A Luo would be interested in her, even to the point of making a deal with humans.
“I’m sorry,” Alo seemed to have guessed what she was thinking, “I don’t want to use you as a bargaining chip, nor do I want to treat you as an object to be traded. This is just a ‘despicable’ way of keeping you by my side. If you’re angry, you can return it.”
"Return it? How do you return it?" Pei Jian asked, puzzled.
“You can hit me,” Alo grabbed her wrist and lightly slapped himself across the face, “like this.”
Pei Jian withdrew his hand and awkwardly looked away.
It must be said that Alo is very good-looking, with a very aggressive appearance. When he deliberately acts weak, his eyebrows and eyes droop, giving him a somewhat dog-like air.
Yes, it's dog-like.
Pei Jian couldn't find a second word that better suited him.
"What are you thinking about?"
"It's nothing," Pei Jian replied dismissively.
"I bet you're thinking about that human prince."
Pei Jian is most reluctant to mention Ze Yi right now; she feels her conscience is being constantly whipped.
"What's it to you?" she retorted angrily to the culprit. "It's all because of you!"
If it weren't for Alo's inexplicable feelings for her, she wouldn't have stayed here, but it was precisely because of his inexplicable feelings that the strategy was able to proceed smoothly.
Thinking of this, Pei Jian really wanted to go back to her own home.
She turned away, tears streaming down her cheeks, unwilling to let Alo see her weakness.
A Luo lacked empathy and could calmly accept Pei Jian's accusations. Pei Jian and the human prince had only been together for a little over ten years, and he and Pei Jian had a very, very long future ahead of them.
One day we will surpass it.
But when he saw Pei Jian's stubborn profile, and saw the clear tear tracks and large teardrops dripping down her face, the world came to a standstill. The sounds of the wind, the carriages, and the servants' conversations all disappeared, leaving only Pei Jian's sobbing.
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