Seeing Lu Chun's suddenly enlightened expression, the county princess couldn't help but bend her lips in relief and waved her hand. "No need for such formalities."
Her gaze fell on Lu Chun's delicate yet haggard face, and her tone became even more sincere.
"You're still so young, and it's even rarer that you're so skillful at making pastries. As a woman in this world, why tie your whole life to a husband who doesn't cherish you? Wasting your time like this would be a great waste of your talents and this wonderful youth!"
Hearing this, Lu Chun's heart skipped a beat.
All her life, she had only been taught that "a woman should follow her husband wherever he goes." Now, hearing these words, it was as if a window that had been tightly shut was suddenly cracked open, letting in a ray of light she had never thought of.
After hesitating for a moment, she finally couldn't help but softly inquire, "Your Highness, I've heard that the prince is recently looking for a suitable match for you... I wonder what kind of gentleman you have in mind?"
Hearing this, a flash of pride passed through the county princess's eyes. She slightly raised her chin and looked out at the vast sky beyond the courtyard.
"Why be in a hurry to get married? I haven't even set foot on all the lands of the Great Xia Dynasty. My ambition is to be a free and unfettered female knight-errant, to see all the scenery in the world and travel across the nine continents!"
Lu Chun stared blankly at the county princess, feeling that her confident and calm demeanor was different from all the other women she had ever met. An indescribable thrill quietly welled up in her heart, as if a long-dormant seed had finally seen the possibility of breaking through the soil.
For the first time, a vivid and lively light flashed in her eyes.
.........
Outside the villa, seeing his carriage return, Wang Jingxuan immediately quickened his steps to greet it.
As soon as Lu Chun got off the carriage, he nervously grabbed her arm.
"What did the county princess talk to you about today?"
Lu Chun remained calm and walked straight into the courtyard, her tone flat.
"It was just some idle talk among women. I brought some pastries I made myself, and the county princess seemed to like them quite a lot."
Seeing that Lu Chun looked calm and there seemed to be nothing wrong, the stone in Wang Jingxuan's heart finally dropped. He then put on his usual gentle smile.
"Xiao Chun, you've worked hard today. To have a wife like you, what more could I ask for?"
Looking at his flawless and gentle face, Lu Chun felt a chill in her heart. If she hadn't known the truth earlier, she might still be沉溺 in this false affection...
As the night grew deeper, Wang Jingxuan had no intention of sleeping.
Lying on his side on the couch, he stared at Lu Chun's sleeping profile in the dim light filtering in from outside the window, lost in thought.
The original plan was to keep Lu Chun in the dark and use the power of the snake demon to get close to the county princess. After it was done, he would then find a way to keep Lu Chun as his concubine and enjoy the pleasure of having two wives.
In his opinion, this was already showing mercy to Lu Chun out of old feelings.
But in the past two days, Wang Jingxuan had been feeling a bit anxious...
Firstly, the snake demon seemed to be getting weaker and weaker. The power it gave him was also fluctuating, far from what it used to be. This made him a bit panicked. He was eager to squeeze out the last bit of use from the snake demon before it died. He needed to marry the county princess as soon as possible!
What made him even more uneasy was Lu Chun's change.
She no longer focused all her attention on him. There was less dependence and more calmness that he couldn't understand in her eyes when she looked at him.
What surprised him the most was that today she was able to meet the county princess alone, and she looked calm when she came back... This feeling of being out of control was like a tiny thorn pricking his heart.
An uncontrollable thought popped up in his mind: What if Lu Chun no longer existed?
His hand gently touched Lu Chun's neck and then quickly withdrew. He was startled by his own thought and broke out in a cold sweat!
But immediately, all the benefits began to entangle him like poisonous vines:
The biggest obstacle for the county princess to reject him was that he had a wife. If Lu Chun died unexpectedly, he would be a widower. He could not only win the sympathy of the county princess and the prince but also directly pursue the county princess.
Moreover, the power of the snake demon was declining. He had to complete the most crucial step before it became completely useless.
As for Lu Chun...
She had no parents, only a brother. Even if she died unexpectedly, who would investigate deeply?
Thinking of this, the last trace of warmth in his eyes when he looked at Lu Chun disappeared, leaving only cold determination.
Little did he know that in a corner he couldn't see, Lu Chun was already covered in cold sweat...
The next day, as soon as Wang Jingxuan left the house, Lu Chun, looking pale, went to find Shen Cuiyu and told her everything that had happened last night in detail.
Shen Cuiyu's face turned solemn. She didn't expect that Wang Jingxuan would actually have the intention to kill.
They had to strike first before Wang Jingxuan took action.
After the healing of the celestial masters during this period, the snake demon had finally recovered some of its vitality and could try to retrieve the divine power it had been forced to give to Wang Jingxuan.
However, the method of retrieval was quite tricky - the little snake in its original form had to coil around Wang Jingxuan's neck while he was awake for it to work.
How could this be easy? Wang Jingxuan already disliked snakes, and now that he had the great strength of the snake demon, Lu Chun didn't dare to act rashly.
After much thought, Shen Cuiyu found the county princess.
"There's one more thing I hope Your Highness can help with." She said in a low voice. After Shen Cuiyu leaned over and whispered in her ear, the county princess's almond eyes slowly widened. First, there was surprise in her eyes, and then a look of understanding and determination flashed across...
Three days later, a grand banquet was held in the prince's mansion. Both Wang Jingxuan and Lu Chun were among the invited guests. Shen Cuiyu and several other celestial masters also came to the banquet as honored guests of the county princess.
Amid the music and drums, the county princess slowly made her appearance. To everyone's surprise, there was a small black snake on her wrist!
The county princess smiled brightly at everyone. "This is my newly acquired snake pet. It has the gentlest and friendliest nature."
As soon as Wang Jingxuan saw the snake, he felt disgusted. If it weren't for the fact that the snake demon was still trapped in his mansion, he would almost have thought that the little snake in front of him was the snake demon!
"Since there are so many talented people here today, why don't we play a game?" The county princess's eyes sparkled, and her smile was mischievous. "I'll let this little snake go and see in front of whom it wants to stay. The person chosen by it will be handsomely rewarded by me!"
Everyone present thought it was a novel and interesting idea. With the intention of currying favor with the county princess, they all chimed in and said it was wonderful. Only Wang Jingxuan turned pale and felt extremely uncomfortable sitting there.
The prince had always doted on his daughter. Seeing this, he just stroked his beard and smiled without stopping her - after all, the snake was small and delicate, and it didn't look dangerous at all.
The county princess gave a charming smile and let go of her hand. After the little snake landed, it didn't panic and run away. Instead, it slowly swayed its body in time with the rhythm of the music at the banquet. Its graceful movements amazed everyone around.
"I've long heard that there are spiritual snakes in India that can dance to music. Only after seeing Your Highness's snake today do I know that the rumor is true!" The exclamations from the guests made the county princess even more proud.
Wang Jingxuan's eyes were fixed on the slowly moving little snake. An inexplicable chill rose from the soles of his feet.
Under everyone's curious gazes, the little black snake wriggled straight towards Wang Jingxuan and finally stopped steadily in front of his seat.