In the shallow hours of the late evening, a single bristle wolf driven carriage arrived at the red stone serpentine palace entrance.
From the luxurious royal carriage carrying the crescent moon symbol, the insignia of the Elven Empire, a tall lanky elf stepped out.
Unlike the serpentine clan members, the elf had pale white skin. The man's long slender ears reddened in the presence of numerous eyes staring intently at him.
Though the elf was appropriately dressed in formal combat clothes, including shiny armor, and a dazzling long sword hilted on his hips, it was clear that he didn't belong to the royal family.
The elf who arrived in the land of snakes was merely an escort.
Amidst the lavish decorations and celebratory gathering of the snakes, the awkward-looking elf sauntered in casually and politely bowed in front of the Emperor.
From his mannerisms, it was exceedingly clear that even the small gesture was more of a customary greeting rather than one out of respect!
"Umm... I am Xable. I am here to escort the princess to the Elven palace." The elf murmured.
He then looked around trying to identify his target among the seated beauties.
Though the snake princesses looked quite elegant and beautiful, the elf still thought that they were a notch lower when compared to their royal elven princesses.
As soon as Xable uttered the words, immediately the entire crowd started murmuring loudly. The haughty look on the elf's face was also not helping the situation.
This was a clear disrespect to the snake clan. Several royal members had an ugly frown on their faces.
But before anything got out of hand, the Emperor quickly intervened, "Ha Ha. Very well. Very well. I hope your journey was pleasant Xable."
Xable simply nodded. Though he had just arrived, for some reason, he was already visibly impatient.
The Emperor again chuckled and quickly called for Tang Yue.
"Our dear princess is right here. She is anxiously waiting to meet the esteemed royal highness."
Xable nodded satisfactorily.
He again bowed politely and already began bidding his farewell.
"The crown prince has asked me to convey his sincerest gratitude. If nothing else is there, we should take our leave now, your highness."
The Emperor nodded and gently patted Tang Yue. He didn't offer the impatient elf any further hospitality greetings.
If the crown prince didn't want to make a big deal out of this betrothal, then he as well was fine with that decision. No use disguising this as anything more than what it was.
Tang Yue chuckled. She quite liked this slap the crown prince inadvertently gifted her traitorous family.
She took one last look at the family, that had suffocated her for her entire life. Her cold smile hidden behind her delicate veil was unfathomably deep.
She could already hear Tang Zuelo chatting with her daughters. "The trash is finally gone!!"
Tang Yue clenched her fists and smiled.
"One day... Just maybe one day. I will definitely pay them back for their kindness." Her crescent eyes sparkled with unknown mirth.
She stepped into the carriage and didn't look back. She could feel the wolves starting to run, quickening their pace and pulling the carriage with their agile strong bodies.
A crisp evening wind assaulted her face. But for some reason, it felt freeing and refreshing.
Tang Yue smiled.
The carriage ride was nothing extraordinary.
The elf Xable leisurely directed the bristle wolves on a familiar route, while Tang Yue absent-mindedly stared at the changing scenery.
Bristle wolves were speedy ferocious creatures known for their strength and agility.
The very fact that the elves were able to tame these beasts and use them for transportation demonstrated their strength and power.
Just as Tang Yue was sighing in relief at the disappearing sight of the familiar serpentine lands, the elf as well sighed similarly.
Xable was relieved that everything went well so far without any hitch. He had almost completed his mission for the evening.
Now all he had to do was drop the princess at the elven palace and his mission would be finished. Well, and one more thing...
Unbeknownst to Tang Yue, and even the crown prince, this inconspicuous escort elf had another secret mission to complete...
As he pondered about this secret mission, an evil glint appeared on Xable's face.
A little while later, the elf turned around and smiled at Tang Yue, interrupting the awkward silence in the carriage.
"Miss, you must be parched. Please drink this." He then graciously handed over a can of water.
Tang Yue smiled kindly and accepted the polite gesture. It was just some water, so she didn't read too much into it.
But little did she know that this sweet and kind hospitality was actually deadly!
As soon as she gulped a few mouthfuls of water from the can, Tang Yue's entire body started twitching in pain.
She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. Her entire body burned in agony.
It was clear that she had been poisoned.
She tried to reach out to the elf sitting in the front. But the man seemed to not care.
She could swear that he even turned around and sneered in contempt or maybe she was hallucinating due to the poison side-effects.
Tang Yue was intensely writhing in pain and agony. She had long since reverted to her serpentine form to try and control the damning pain.
Her life ended up being a classic case of dropping from the frying pan into the fire!
At least her pathetic family didn't try to kill her off, but these elven assholes didn't even let off a trash like her?!!
Who would even bother dealing with someone like her??
Tang Yue's mind and body convulsed with pain, as she cursed her miserable fate.