Doomed to be Cannon Fodder

“It’s no matter,” Long Heng shook his hand. “Your Majesty, now that the truth is revealed, may this subject take my leave?”

“Wait a moment, beloved subject Long. This emperor understands that Bai Xiangxiu has suffered a lot due to this matter. I had no idea that Née Lin had such a past and so there is no possibility of her remaining in the palace any longer. With this, Née Lin is hereby sentenced to become a slave. She will be taken in by the Prince Li Manor for training and may be punished in any way you wish to. How about that?”

“This...”

“Then this matter is settled! Men, please bring Née Lin to the Li Manor. Moreover, I’m certain that Née Bai has missed the young prince. Escort the old madame home to the Li Manor tomorrow!”

It was no longer possible to continue the Autumn Hunt. The emperor waved his hand and the crowd quickly dispersed, returning home. In the horse carriage, Bai Xiangxiu was frowning while Long Heng was helping her out of her wet clothes. “I can’t believe that the emperor has thrown that hot potato into our hands. What should we do?”

“It’s up to you,” Long Heng used this opportunity to take a small advantage of her, which made him quite happy on this inside.

“Why don’t we make her your bedwarmer?” Long Heng pinched Bai Xiangxiu almost immediately after those words escaped her mouth. She immediately yelped in pain and glared at Long Heng and his playful hands. “Then what do you suggest we do? Trouble follows her around like the plague!”

Long Heng kept looking at her until she was done changing. After that, he faced outside and yelled, “Tell that person who’s following us to come in!”

“What person?” Bam! Something landed on the roof of their carriage right after Bai Xiangxiu was done talking. It wasn’t too loud, but one could definitely tell that it was a person who’d landed on the roof.

“You should’ve heard everything. Why are you still following us? Do you intend to beg us to spare her? Or do you want us to kill her?” Long Heng sounded little cold. Bai Xiangxiu still had no idea who Long Heng was talking to.

“Neither of those. I just want to tell you that that woman and I are no longer related. You may do whatever you want to her. However, I wish to know where the child is buried.”

It’s Luo Yunzheng! He probably wants to make a grave for the child. “The child was buried By Commander Lu. Nobody knows where it is, so...”

She doesn’t know either? “Is that so? Then no matter.” The child and I are simply not fated to cross paths again.

Bai Xiangxiu didn’t tell anyone that the child and Luo Yunzheng actually looked very much alike. There was no need to do such a thing since the child was already dead. However, she suddenly seemed to realize something. “It was you who slapped Lin Qianzi?”

“Yes. I never imagined that it’d implicate you. But no matter, you were able to resolve the issue anyways. I will now take my leave. I shall owe you a favor the next time we meet in the jianghu. I never thought that you’d truly want to save that child.” Luo Yunzheng pushed off his feet after he was done talking and disappeared without a trace.

“Amongst the few men around her, Ji Zhangshu was too weak but loved her with all his heart. However, she decided to feign ignorance and took advantage of him. Luo Yunzheng also loved her with all his heart, but she doubted the love between them, all because he didn’t love her the way she wanted him to. Only Duan Yunying fulfilled her requirements in the end, but that man was only trying to use her. As for the emperor, I’m sure even the slightest pity he has over her has now turned into smoke.” Bai Xiangxiu heaved a long sigh. Why did the plot have to move in such a way?

Thinking back on everything, the plot seemed to have begin changing from the moment Long Heng’s heart changed. Was the male lead halo much stronger than the female lead halo? Upon further thought, Bai Xiangxiu realized that there was always a main ship for every single female lead in novels. The male lead would always clean up the mess made by the female lead after she was done creating trouble. Thus, the reason why the female lead ended up this way was likely because she’d ended up with only the male supporting characters, and not the male lead.

As for Bai Xiangxiu, she’d only wanted to charm the male supporting character, but somehow ended up getting together with the male lead. This was probably the smartest decision she’d made, but she still had no idea how she managed to charm Long Heng.

They immediately threw Lin Qianzi into a cell upon their arrival at the Prince Li Manor. They had no choice but to do that, since they had no idea what to do with her for now. Were they really going to make her their servant? She’d probably turn the entire manor upside down!

The old madame and the young prince arrived right before nightfall too! The old madame was elated when he heard that the emperor had decided to let her go. So, she’d tried using a failing health as an excuse to leave the palace a little earlier. The emperor was so furious at Lin Qianzi that he’d fallen ill, and was more than happy to let them leave so that they wouldn’t pester him. So, the old madame decided to take her grandson along and travel overnight back to the Prince Li Manor.

She originally thought that the manor would be in shambles when she returned, but surprisingly, nothing seemed to have changed, except there was now one more woman in of the household. She’d wanted Bai Xiangxiu to be the princess consort as well, but her mind seemed to have changed again when she was in the palace due to the whispers and sidelong glances she’d received. She couldn’t help but think that elevating a concubine into the main wife was a little shameful.

But that made her feel heartache for her grandson instead. He was cute and well-behaved, and slowly looking more and more like her son! It wouldn’t be appropriate for such a child to bear the status of a concubine-born son either. Oh well, I’ll just leave them be! Moreover, her son might still be trapped in Tranquil City if it wasn’t for Bai Xiangxiu! She’d heard about the incident today. Bai Xiangxiu had suffered through quite an ordeal for the sake of Long Heng. She was definitely worthy of the position.

When the old madame alighted from the horse carriage, the first thing she saw was Bai Xiangxiu, who was currently a sobbing mess. She must’ve missed Lin’er a lot.

“We will speak inside!” The old madame felt that Bai Xiangxiu still required some training. A princess consort should be dignified and calm.

The crowd followed the old madame into the manor. Bai Xiangxiu was finally able to hold her son! She clasped Lin’er tightly to her chest. The little fella seemed to have gained quite a bit of weight. His skin was so fair and tender that it almost seemed like water would seep out when squeezed. Lin’er was quite charming as he reached out a small hand towards Bai Xiangxiu, his little face scrunched up into a smile. He seemed to still recognize his mother.

“Your Highness, Look! He still recognizes me!”

“Yes. He’s grown quite a lot.”

“He’s so heavy. Do you want to hold him?”

“Hold? ...I’ll hurt him.”

“No you won’t. He’s not that weak. He’s your son after all! Come! Hold him.”

“Fine,” Long Heng held his son in his arms and panicked a little.

Bai Xiangxiu broke into laughter when she saw how clumsy he was. Even the old madame couldn’t help but laugh a little. She then coughed a little to regain composure, as though she wanted to put up an example for her daughter-in-law and teach her how to be dignified. However, what was this warm and content feeling she was feeling? Wasn’t this an entirely inappropriate time to dfeelo such a thing? However, she didn’t want to destroy this moment for the family. So, she waited until they were inside before speaking her mind.

After that, Long Heng brought Bai Xiangxiu with him to serve the old madame tea. “The banquet still has to be held. One must not be stingy when it comes to matters like this. Your family is quite reputable even though they lack high status. You should attend more banquets with the noble ladies in the capital and mingle a little more with them.”

“I understand, mother,” Bai Xiangxiu replied in a reserved manner. She then asked, “Mother, how was life in the palace?”

“We were quite well taken care of there.

“You should rest now that you’ve returned.” Long Heng was staring at his son, showing a glimmer of tenderness in his eyes.

“I will do that of course, but there is one thing I still need to do.”

“What is it?”