It got to the point that they entered a half decade cold war . Neither spoke to the other outside of official functions and if they ever needed anything, either their closest servant or their son would be the messenger . It wasn't as if the Crown Prince didn't try to bring them back together but it never went well . In addition, he understood that the n.o.ble Consort was there as a chess piece in order to better the lives of the people so they couldn't get rid of her . On better days, Jing Lan would send some flowers or extra presents with his closest eunuch and on her better days, she would also accept but their relations.h.i.+p was already beyond repair . Perhaps him yelling at her at the Goodwill Tournament, something that he had never done before, had been the last straw .

The quiet sobbing echoed in the empty bedroom but no one was there to witness it nor wipe his tears away . While Jing Lan was being heartbroken, his son was trying to manage the court for him . Being the son raised by his mother, how could Jing Yiqiu not be upset? But he understood that his father was in no condition to manage the country and he couldn't abandon the people too . He kept questioning why some people will only regret things they've done when things went too far .

Due to being friends, Luo Yenmu also tried to help out despite still recovering from injuries . And in order for his son not to work too hard, his father also lent his a.s.sistance . Thanks to that, they were able to lock down the court officials from causing unnecessary incidents with only some trouble . Even so, the three were too busy to have much time to rest .

. . .

The Next Night

A shadow flitted over the rooftops of the city . Dressed in all black, the figure was hard to see but if one looked close enough one could make out that the figure was smaller than the typical male a.s.sa.s.sin and it's movements were also slightly smoother . It ran across the rooftops to the north of the city but swerved left before it reached the Imperial Palace . It headed for the Bellflower Palace, the residence granted by the Emperor to the Junzhu Wen Ya when he had t.i.tled her . Her parents lived with her there, though in a different part than her .

It easily flipped over the high walls and landed on the nearest roof . It looked down at the patrolling guards and followed them with soundless footsteps on the roofs . She finally stopped on a roof in front of one of the courtyards . This one was bigger than the others and situated in the center, albeit it was closer to the back than the front of the Palace . It was also the one decorated with more gaudy designs and objects than the others . One would guess this was the main residence, the courtyard where the master of this Palace sleeps and one would be right . The shadow waited until the guards were no longer near the courtyard before it flipped from the roof and landed in the gra.s.s, which m.u.f.fled the sounds of their landing . It then strode into the courtyard, directly to the bedroom chambers of Wen Ya .

. . .

The Junzhu Wen Ya was having a sleepless night . She wasn't having nightmares or worrying much about anything but she just couldn't sleep . Still, she laid in bed looking up at the ceiling of her bed, her hands on top of her covers and the drapes to her bed let down .

Creak!

The door to her bedroom opened with a squeak of the wooden doors . She immediately bolted up and grabbed the sword she kept next to her in her bed, unsheathing it an inch before she shouted to the intruder .

"Who's there?!" This wasn't the first time someone had managed to get into her room, much less her residence . Her usual behavior outside wasn't exactly likeable after all .

"Ah? You're awake at this hour?" A female voice sounded outside her bed drapes as the sounds of the door closing echoed through the room .

"Aren't you awake at this hour as well?" She answered back . The voice sounded somewhat familiar but she decided to ignore it . People she had met were one of the groups of people that wanted her dead . What does it matter that the voice sounded familiar?

Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting .

"Ah~ Don't be so alarmed, I'm not here to harm you . " The voice, now a black silhouette waved it's hands, showing it didn't have any weapons in hand . But Wen Ya still held her sword in front of her, showing no sign of relenting . The figure then reached up to it's face, and the Junzhu pulled out more of her sword, tense .

It pulled off the black cloth mask covering it's face and sighed . "Am I that forgettable? How sad . Well, whatever . I'm here to hear your answer, Junzhu Wen Ya . "

Wen Ya widened her eyes in surprise when she saw the unveiled face outside her thin, silk drapes . She then sheathed her sword again and properly got out of bed . The other helped her with tying the drapes to the bed posts on the ends of the bed . She then sat back down on her bed, her hair having been combed through with her hand to make sure there weren't any weird looking strands . She still kept her sword within arm's reach, though, and within clear view this time, but the other didn't comment on it . whether it was because she didn't bother or didn't care, she wasn't sure .

The female shadow found a chair nearby and, carrying it over her head so it didn't make any unnecessary sound, brought it to across from the bed . She sat down, facing the Junzhu, her hands in her lap .

"So . " Shen Tianyu started . "I gave you an offer before, have you thought about it?"

"That's exactly what I was just thinking about . " Wen Ya said calmly . Her current demeanor was completely unlike her usual untamed behavior . If it wasn't that she still looked the same, other people might have mistaken her for someone else .