Chapter 142 - 141: Crown Prince, Don’t

Chapter 142: Chapter 141: Crown Prince, Don’t

After finishing his cultivation, Xia Wuyang once again "eagerly" returned to his Sleeping Palace. The first thing he did was call Su Ling’Er over, pulling her into his arms and onto the bed.

Though Su Ling’Er felt helpless, she could only let him have his way when faced with his "affection."

’I have to be more careful from now on,’ she thought. ’The moment I notice anything wrong, I’ll have someone summon an Imperial Physician. I absolutely can’t let the elder Crown Prince die while he’s with me.’

Otherwise, it wouldn’t just be her; even the Su Family backing her would face disaster.

Even if she wasn’t truly to blame—the fault lying with the elder Crown Prince’s own indulgence—someone else would have to take responsibility. After all, the elder Crown Prince would have already paid the ultimate price.

Whoever the elder Crown Prince died with would likely be the one to bear the responsibility.

Su Ling’Er was no longer in the mood to observe Xia Wuyang for anything unusual. Her main focus was simply on monitoring his condition so she could react in time.

Using the Soul Capturing Technique, Xia Wuyang probed her surface thoughts. He learned that this Jiangnan Beauty with the astonishing sixth sense was no longer suspicious or observant, and he smiled faintly to himself.

’You can be a thief for a thousand days, but you can’t guard against one for a thousand days.’

’If I always have a bed partner with such a special intuition, a slip-up is inevitable. It’s better to be careful.’

The time he had collapsed on top of her had clearly terrified Su Ling’Er, making her cautious in everything she did—even in bed. She didn’t dare observe him too closely anymore.

She had even started to think her sixth sense was mistaken, or perhaps it was just warning her to be careful because the elder Crown Prince was on his last legs.

Su Ling’Er’s perspective had shifted. She no longer felt there was something strange about the elder Crown Prince. Instead, she concluded that her sixth sense had likely just sensed he was on the verge of death and was constantly warning her to be careful.

This slight shift in her thinking meant that Xia Wuyang no longer had to be so concerned.

An hour later, Xia Wuyang was carried to the Practice Room, looking completely weak and exhausted. He had even consumed two Dragon and Tiger Elixirs during their time together.

Su Ling’Er got up and dressed, a sense of helplessness washing over her. ’I used to think my stunning beauty was a blessing.’

’But after being sent here, I’m starting to think it’s not a good thing at all.’

’If I weren’t so beautiful, would the elder Crown Prince be so infatuated with me? I hope he grows tired of me soon and summons me less often.’

’That way, I can avoid having him die on me. Better he die with someone else... no, no, no. It would be best if he didn’t die with any of us. We’re all such pitiful people.’

’All of us are young, yet we have to serve such an old man and worry about him dying in our arms. It’s just too pitiful.’

’I heard he only has about half a year left. If he hadn’t drunk that aged Monkey Wine, which greatly improved his health and extended his life, he’d probably be dead already.’

’It’s not much longer, anyway. I’ll just have to endure for another six months. But these next six months are going to be agonizing.’

’And after these six months, when the elder Crown Prince dies, what will become of the beauties who served him? Who knows where we’ll be sent.’

’Most likely, no one will want us. We’ll probably spend the rest of our lives in lonely prayer. If that’s the case, I might as well just focus on cultivation.’

"Sigh..."

Su Ling’Er lamented inwardly, but there was nothing she could do. Even with the influential Su Family of Jiangnan backing her, they had little power to resist the treacherous situation within the palace.

She had been sent straight to the most shunned of places: the Eastern Palace. ’They say beauty is a curse,’ she thought. ’Am I going to die here?’

Once dressed, Su Ling’Er sighed as she returned to her quarters to wash up. She could only hope the elder Crown Prince wouldn’t summon her again that evening. ’Please, pick someone else,’ she prayed.

When the other beauties saw this, they all felt a shared sense of sorrow and fear.

"Ling’Er is so unlucky. The elder Crown Prince has summoned her for weeks on end. I can’t imagine how much she’s suffered. You can see how haggard she’s become."

"He already collapsed while with Ling’Er last time, but that old goat still hasn’t learned his lesson. Isn’t he afraid it’ll happen again? If he actually dies on her, she’ll be finished."

"What can be done? It’s because Ling’Er is so beautiful. Out of the thousand Jiangnan Beauties in our batch, she was one of the very best. She should have had a chance to be sent to Qianqing Palace, but who knew she’d end up here in the Eastern Palace, being ravaged by that old lecher."

"How else could it have happened? Someone obviously interfered and set Ling’Er up. I heard it was the Twenty-fourth Prince, Xia Baifeng. A few days ago, his Fengnian Hall was completely ransacked by a thief."

...

It wasn’t just Su Ling’Er. In Wenhua Hall, the Qiuci Dancers, the various Palace Maids, the Jiangnan Beauties, and the Demon Fox Girls all shared the same fear, worrying that the elder Crown Prince would one day die while they were the ones serving him.

Fortunately, the elder Crown Prince was no longer as wildly debauched as before and had become much more restrained. It seemed he, too, was afraid of death.

It would be even better if he would just stay in his Practice Room to rest and recuperate instead of constantly craving the company of beautiful women.

By now, there were more than three hundred beauties in the Eastern Palace. About two hundred of them were required to serve in Wenhua Hall daily, most having been summoned by Xia Wuyang just recently.

Normally, a "decrepit" and powerless Crown Prince like him would never have been able to obtain so many gorgeous beauties from various races.

However, many of the Princes and Princesses in the palace harbored ill intentions. Through their overt and covert influence—and, of course, with Emperor Xia’s tacit approval—the number of beauties in the Eastern Palace swelled, their quality exceptionally high.

For example, take this batch of six Jiangnan Beauties. Su Ling’Er, under normal circumstances, would have been sent to Qianqing Palace to serve Emperor Xia. The other five were also of a caliber to be sent to powerful Princes or Princesses.

Instead, they were all sent to Xia Wuyang for him to enjoy, a move that was clearly condoned by all sides.

Otherwise, in his current state, how could Xia Wuyang possibly have acquired so many beauties of such outstanding quality?

However, the more beauties they sent, the more it proved that certain people were growing impatient. They wanted this old man to die quickly and give up his position so they could all fight over it.

But not everyone wanted the elder Crown Prince to die quickly. A few had other plans, hoping he would remain in his position a while longer. These people, however, were a small minority, far outnumbered by those who wished for his speedy demise.

That evening, Xia Wuyang finished "recuperating" and greedily summoned more beauties. This time, he didn’t call for Su Ling’Er, but for two other Jiangnan Beauties.

This allowed Su Ling’Er to breathe a small sigh of relief, but the two summoned Jiangnan Beauties sighed in despair. They couldn’t refuse to serve him, so all they could do was be extremely cautious, lest the elder Crown Prince actually breathe his last while in their care.