"P—Please, please spare this servant!!"
The young girl who was silent during the whole ordeal screamed. She placed herself in front of the frozen eunuch and bowed deeply. Childish and inexperienced, her tone of voice tremored. Stuttering, yet she tried to hold her ground to defend her people.
"Crown Prince Wu, this servant of mine is ignorant. I apologize for his words and deeds. He will be punished rightfully according to his dreadful actions. I will make sure he instropect his faults thoroughly. I hope Crown Prince Wu can let go of your anger." She bowed her head low, her eyes not even meeting his to show submission, that she wouldn't dare go against him.
"Let go? How naive of you." The Southern Prince raised his voice. Before Wu Jiangfeng could utter another word, Li Fantong hurriedly added, her voice quivered in fear she might anger the redhead prince. "I know it is his fault. I'll throw him in the prison myself, but please just forgive him this time."
The indigo eyes of the prince glinted dangerously, looking at both the princess and eunuch, who was still so out of it, back and forth, debating whether or not to let this matter go.. That old man had to be grateful that the princess had stepped up to defend his petty ass. The princess' words calmed his anger by a tiny bit, but it was not enough to suppress the burning fire.
"There are circumstances," Wu Jiangfeng said, looking Li Fantong in the face, "Where you cannot expect others to go exactly your way."
"That servant of yours," He emphasized the word 'servant', "Has done nothing but hurl insults and ridicule my people. It's nearly impossible for me to condone and pretend none of these happened. Today, I have no more intention of talking with the people of Northern Li about anything else but the breaching of any ties we ever held. I, Crown Prince of Southern Wu, will ask you one question. How do you plan to punish him?"
"I—I…" The little girl trembled and appeared confused, unsure of what to do or what to say. Wu Jiangfeng knew he shouldn't be making a lot of demands, especially to a girl so young that didn't even reach his waist. The redhead decided to spare her.
"A sewed mouth and a broken leg, leave him to introspect his mistakes in the prison for a year. Do this and I'll let this matter go. The betrothal contract shall no longer be valid as well. If the Emperor Li is unwilling, then from today onwards, the South and North will go separate ways. Do you understand?" There was a deathly hush after Wu Jiangfeng finished speaking. Even Bai Lun swallowed nervously on the side.
Breaking a leg without giving any immediate treatment would leave any man crippled, not even a spiritual stone might help improve the severed bones and muscle tissues. However, the princess of Northern Li rapidly nodded her head in agreement, no negotiation was done or needed. Bai Lun could only look at the eunuch with much sympathy. His princess probably didn't understand the consequences the old eunuch would face later on.
Thereupon seeing her agreeing, only then did the rage in him die down. He looked at the old eunuch, who was sweating profusely and didn't seem to be able to comprehend what the future held for him.
Wu Jiangfeng glared at the dumbfounded eunuch icily before turning to leave. However, before he took another step, he felt a light tug on one of his sleeves.
"Wait… Wait a minute, Crown Prince Wu!"
Bai Lun's arms were outstretched midway, anticipating any attacks. Looks could be deceiving. Just because she was a kid, didn't mean she was harmless at all. The dagger hidden in his long sleeves that had been twirled lazily was poised in an offensive manner, ready to strike.
"Ninth Princess, what are you doing?!" Eunuch Zhang, who finally regained his bearings, chided the young girl. The eunuch blatantly showed his displeasure, yet the ninth princess paid no mind, as if she was used to it like it was a normal occurrence. "Damn little brat— Blood! Blood! Oh heavens…! So much blood…!" His cursing was cut short when he noticed droplets of blood leaked through the opening of his wound.
He fumbled about, searching for his precious handkerchief and dabbed at the bloody injury. The old eunuch looked so devastated that Wu Jiangfeng rolled his eyes at his pathetic antics.
The Southern Prince waved a hand to tell Bai Lun not to worry. The redhead looked down until his neck ached from it. This so-called ninth princess was really short! He thought it was due to her bowing to him in the first place, in fact, she really was only a meter tall.
He was met with huge eyes with yellow iris, huge and a little watery. Her small and tender lips trembled slightly before she spoke in a high-pitched tone. "Crown… Prince Wu doesn't desire Fantong at all?"
Well, Wu Jiangfeng had to admit it. If he hadn't seen her the first time, he would have been utterly captivated by Li Fantong's appearance. She was breathtakingly gorgeous, her face held a strange and special kind of appeal. Her face was an oval-shaped, buttoned nose that had yet to fully transform, pouty lips and small in length. Her facial features were perfect.
Those yellow slitted eyes were huge, staring and blinking innocently at him, there was also curiosity swimming along inside, like she was wondering why she was brought here and all.
Once confused, now the twin golden orbs seemed to scream at him for attention. If he wasn't already captivated with a pair of cerulean ones, he would find himself being hypnotized by these.
The redhead didn't give any response, only glancing at those tiny fingers grasping the sleeves of his robes. The ninth princess seemed to interpret the situation wrongly and pulled her hand away.
"D— Deep apologizes, Crown Prince Wu!"