Chapter 48: The Imperial Bargain
LXiao Qingyue lips stretched into a faint smirk at how Wanqing sounded. She didn’t respond immediately though.
Instead, she calmly allowed her gaze to move over Wanqing’s face before trailing it down her body. She took her time taking in Wanqing’s appearance, from how curvy she looked in her clothes to how indifferent she stood at that moment.
Anning standing beside Wanqing noticed everything. Heck, everyone in the room watched as the imperial princess literally oggled over Wanqing.
For some reason, she found herself glaring at Xiao Qingyue.
Only after what felt like an eternity did Xiao Qingyue finally decide to speak.
"It’s good to see you too, Wanqing." Her voice sounded smooth, pleasant but to Anning, it felt disgustingly sweet.
Then she raised her goblet slightly and pointed it at Wanqing, before softly saying, "Come sit with me."
Anning rolled her eyes at her words. The way the imperial princess had spoken was far from being respectful.
She sounded familiar and oddly, the way she spoke reminded her of Wanqing. With a subtle frown on her face, she glanced toward Wanqing.
But sadly, Wanqing ignored her completely, something that Anning was starting to see as a habit. Especially since that kiss they shared minutes ago.
Then without hesitating, she walked toward Xiao Qingyue side of the room and took a seat beside her on the empty cushion.
Anning didn’t follow her, she remained rooted in spot. For a moment, she genuinely didn’t know what she was supposed to do.
Should she follow Wanqing? After all, Wanqing had not asked her to follow her.
Or should she just go stand beside Lanzhin?
Maybe she should just remain exactly where she was? But she was literally standing in the center of this large room.
Anning felt sweat forming on her palms. She could feel eyes on her from every direction and it made her stomach feel slightly queasy.
Anning swallowed hard, cocking her head to the side so she could stare at Wanqing. She took a moment to think about it, before taking the store toward where Wanqing sat.
"Stop."
That single word echoed through the already quiet room.
Xiao Qingyue had been the one to speak, her voice sounded cold and authoritative. It made Anning go stiff immediately.
Qingyue hadn’t even moved from her seat. One long, pale hand rested beneath her chin while the other held her goblet loosely.
Her pale blue eyes remained fixed on Anning.
At that point, Anning could feel her self control slowly thinning out. She slowly closed her eyes, took in a deep breath.
Released it and when she finally opened her eyes, she had a calm expression on her face.
"Do you need something, Your Highness?" She said softly. The annoyance and defiance in her tone was impossible to miss.
Xiao Qingyue merely smiled at her words before turning toward General Gu
"My displeasure with this situation cannot be expressed through words. The moment word reached the palace that Wanqing had acquired a lover, I was forced to make a trip here myself." She said, her gaze flickering to Anning.
’Lover, what lover was the imperial princess talking about?’ Anning wondered inwardly.
General Gu took a sip of his drink and then let out a small chuckle. "Your Highness worries too much."
Even though he was saying this as a joke, his tone still remained respectful.
"There is no possibility Wanqing would involve herself with a slave, or anyone else."
Xiao Qingyue hummed thoughtfully, glancing at Wanqing that was yet to say a single word.
"Is that so?" said Qingyue as she stared into her goblet. "Then perhaps the Gu family has grown careless in training its servants."
She then turned to fully face Anning before adding, "This one appears to be foreign. She does not seem to understand the meaning of respect."
The room went silent the second the imperial princess finished speaking until...
"Ha!"
The sound escaped Anning’s mouth before she could even stop herself. Several heads turned toward her and even Wanqing had shifted her gaze back to her.
"Behave." She warned, her voice coming out low that it sounded almost like a growl.
But she still sounded indifferent, like she wasn’t even interested in the conversation at all. Anning felt something snap inside her at Wanqing’s words.
She ran a hand through her silver hair, took another step forward before looking directly at Wanqing.
"Who are you speaking to?" She asked, her voice remained surprisingly calm. "Last time I checked, there wasn’t a dog in this room."
Han Luo who was on the other side of the room slapped a hand over his eyes. Other than that, no one moved nor said a word.
Before anyone could stop Anning, she continued speaking. "Everything being discussed has absolutely nothing to do with me."
She folded her arms against her chest before continuing, "So if nobody requires my presence, I would like to return back to the room."
The words had barely left her mouth when someone from the Gu family’s side suddenly moved.
Gu Ruiqing didn’t hesitate to grab the stem of her goblet on the table, then she threw it towards Anning. Hard.
Anning didn’t even see it coming, she had been too busy glaring at Wanqing till the metal goblet struck her at the center of her forehead.
Pain spread through her skull instantly as her head fell backward due to the impact and the goblet clattered loudly the moment it hit the floor.
What followed after that was silence. If the tension in the air earlier had been bad. Now, it was only getting worse.
Xiao Qingyue stared at Anning with a hint of amusement in her eyes. When she first heard rumors of a silver haired slave belonging to Wanqing, she hadn’t believed it at first.
Or at least expected someone obedient, someone that would follow Wanqing’s orders without blinking and someone boring.
But seeing Anning standing there with her eyes squeezed shut and her hand beside her body trembling... She knew coming here wasn’t a waste of time.
The thought of her breaking that stubborn spirit in Anning apart made her feel...warm?
Slowly, Xiao Qingyue turned to Wanqing whose face had gone pale. She smiled at the sight and chose not to comment on it...yet.
"Wanqing, let’s make a deal." She said, her voice dropping lower. It made her sound awfully dangerous.
She lifted her goblet and calmly pointed it toward Anning.
"Hand that servant over to me and I’ll hand you that Feifa you’ve always wanted." Qingyue said, her smile widening.
This time, even General Gu’s expression changed. A few servants glanced at Anning with nothing but pity in their eyes.
Anning had no idea what they were speaking about but she managed to catch the words, ’Hand over’ and ’feifa’.
She was slightly confused but judging from the way everyone’s face had suddenly changed, it was nothing good.
"You slave!" Gu Ruiqing finally said. "You don’t speak to royalty in such a manner!"
