"Let me understand this properly," Zhang Fengxi said after he managed to drag Xie Jianyu to an inconspicuous corner of Qifeng Palace. "Why are you going around and proposing to omegas?"
"It is time for me to seek a wife," Xie Jianyu said curtly.
"Xie Jianyu, aren’t you being too hasty? You are still very young."
Xie Jianyu scoffed.
"It is never too early in my situation."
Zhang Fengxi grabbed Xie Jianyu’s arm and pulled him closer.
"It is impossible between the two of you," he said with a raised eyebrow.
"Technically, it is possible, but the probability is rather low," Xie Jianyu corrected him.
"Don’t tell me that you will keep trying until you get her pregnant."
"..."
Xie Jianyu pushed Zhang Fengxi away and turned away from him.
"I won’t abuse her, if that is your greatest fear. She will be my wife, so I will naturally cherish her."
Zhang Fengxi heaved a sigh. From behind, Xie Jianyu did not look as confident and strong. He looked lonely. The heavy burden of the Dragon Throne pressed down on his delicate shoulders, threatening to crush him every day.
The poor Crown Prince.
Zhang Fengxi extended his arms unconsciously, intending to wrap Xie Jianyu in his arms, trying to alleviate the pain that no one could see.
Until his arms were smacked ruthlessly by his own mother.
"..."
"Fengxi!" Lady Song hissed at her son before she turned toward Xie Jianyu and performed a curtsy. "Your Majesty!!! Long time no see, has Your Majesty been well?"
Xie Jianyu nodded.
"En. Lady Song, has Longjing Palace Master recovered from his injuries?"
"Hohohohoho~! Just a few scratches, nothing of importance!!!" she laughed as if she did not spill buckets of tears when Zhang Zhiyuan came home with half of his body immobilized by thick bandages.
"That is good," Xie Jianyu smiled. "Excuse me, I will return to the Great Hall."
"Of course! Please enjoy yourself, Your Majesty! Have a taste of Qifeng City’s famed Phoenix Plum Wine...! Fengxi!!!" All smiles disappeared from Lady Song’s face as soon as Xie Jianyu disappeared from sight.
"Have we not punished you enough? Why do you keep rolling around with the Crown Prince???"
Zhang Fengxi stared at his mother.
"Mother, I did not roll around..."
"Oh, roll around, stand around, what difference does it make??? Don’t deny that you tried to..."
Lady Song sucked air into her lungs with a sharp sound. She refused to put her thought into words.
"Fengxi, ah... let Mother ask you one thing, hmm?"
When Lady Song pulled Zhang Fengxi to sit on a stone bench and patted his arm gently, Zhang Fengxi could sense that an unpleasant conversation was coming up.
"Mother won’t be angry. Or sad. I am asking this out of concern. Fengxi, are you..."
Lady Song swallowed hard.
"Are you possibly in love with the Crown Prince?"
Zhang Fengxi stared at his mother with a face carved out of ice.
"Mother heard that some young, adventurous alphas develop ehh, a liking for fellow alphas. It is most definitely the strong pheromones in your body. It is not your fault at all."
"If you are open to suggestions, our palace physician recently came up with a solution. A herbal tea to slowly regulate your pheromones. Surely omegas will become interesting by then."
Zhang Fengxi’s head throbbed painfully.
First Xie Jianyu, and now his own mother.
"Mother, you misunderstand me. I did not approach Xie Jianyu because I have an abnormal liking toward alphas."
Besides, Xie Jianyu was an omega.
"He is not a good fit for Wanrong."
Lady Song put both hands against her waist and pinned her son with a stare.
"And why not?"
"Because he is an omega!!!" Zhang Fengxi cried out in his heart.
Taking the Gu Worm in his heart into consideration, he naturally could not say those words out loud.
"He is a playboy," Zhang Fengxi said helplessly.
The crease between Lady Song’s brows relaxed when she heard her son’s answer.
"Fengxi, ah... you misunderstood him. The Crown Prince is a sweet, gentle boy."
As sweet and gentle as an omega, Mother!
"He has been going around and proposing to omegas indeed, but he keeps bailing out on them due to many reasons."
"Oh, such as?"
Lady Song patted Zhang Fengxi’s back and gave him one of her pitiful smiles.
"Well, he stopped courting Liu Wenyuan because of you."
"..."
"And he stopped courting Shi Qingyue because of Jiang Muchen."
Zhang Fengxi raised an eyebrow at the news.
"Jiang Muchen likes Shi Qingyue?"
Now that was unexpected. If anyone liked alphas, it would be Jiang Muchen.
"No, no, no..."
Lady Song wagged a finger at her son’s face.
"Shuiran Palace is thinking of matchmaking Jiang Muchen with Shi Qingyue. The Crown Prince is also helping out. That is why they hang out together a lot."
Oh.
Thinking back, Shi Qingyue was there when Zhang Fengxi accused Xie Jianyu of reporting Liu Wenyuan to the Golden Dragon Palace. Maybe Shi Qingyue was not the only person around. Maybe that brat, Jiang Muchen, was also around.
"Jiang Muchen does not like Shi Qingyue," Zhang Fengxi said.
Lady Song rolled with her eyes.
"The way I see it, Shi Qingyue has her eyes on the Crown Prince. The foxes are known to be ambitious," she said the last sentence in a low voice. The Empress hailed from Ling’an Palace. Lady Song did not want to incur her wrath by speaking ill of her birth clan.
It was not only Shi Qingyue. Even Liu Wenyuan had his eyes set on Xie Jianyu. Everyone wanted to become the next empress.
Zhang Fengxi pulled his lips into a thin line.
Anyway, Xie Jianyu was indeed a good person. He would make a doting husband to Song Wanrong, a definitely much better option than Zhou Guiying.
Now that Song Wanrong and Xie Jianyu found their happiness in each other’s arms, Zhang Fengxi needed to focus on his own forgotten romance.
The one-year time period was slowly running out. Should he rekindle his relationship with Liu Wenyuan?
The thought barely settled in his mind before the shocking news arrived at Longjing Palace. Liu Wenyuan had been abducted.