Chapter 1185: The Princess Consort Whose Memories Were Altered (60)

 Yan Huo filled the ruler of Chen Kingdom's cup to the brim and raised his own with a smile. "Come, King Chen, let me offer you a toast. Congratulations."

"Haha, congratulations to you as well! I didn't expect Lord Yan to be so courteous."

The ruler of Chen Kingdom assumed Yan Huo intended to establish friendly relations and perhaps exchange goods with him. Northern Yan was famed for producing fine jade. Now that he had acquired a peerless beauty, obtaining precious jade as well would make things even better.

Thus, without realizing it, he was repeatedly plied with wine by Yan Huo.

By the time the banquet ended, the ruler of Chen Kingdom was drunk into a puddle of mud and hadn't managed to gain a single additional benefit. Only then did Yan Huo feel some of the anger in his heart dissipate.

As he withdrew, his voice drifted into Tang Guo's ears.

"I'll take you away."

Seeing her lift her head and look at him in confusion, he continued in a voice that only she could hear.

"I will definitely take you away. I won't let anyone bully you again."

The moment those words left his mouth, Yan Huo felt an indescribable sense of relief.

Of course, that wasn't enough. He still needed to make arrangements and station men around her, lest that fat pig take advantage of her.

When the exchange banquet came to an end, Tang Guo left the palace together with the entourage of the ruler of Chen Kingdom.

The envoys from every nation departed one after another. The ministers exchanged glances with complicated expressions. Knowing that Shangguan Yi could no longer be persuaded and that the matter had reached the point of no return, they had no choice but to sigh and leave.

Shangguan Jing, however, remained behind.

Once only the two brothers were left, he walked up to Shangguan Yi and said, "Imperial Brother, you've gone too far."

"Too far?" Shangguan Yi held his wine cup and let out a mocking laugh. "She didn't have to be taken away, Prince Jing. As long as you agreed to my condition, I would never have accepted King Chen's proposal to trade her for treasure."

Seeing Shangguan Jing's face turn pale, Shangguan Yi downed the wine in one gulp and stood up.

"Prince Jing, you and I are the same kind of people. We're brothers. We like the same things and think alike. So don't call me excessive. Aren't you excessive too? Have you forgotten? You were the one who sent her into the palace. You abandoned her first. I have no affection whatsoever for her. In my eyes, she's worth less than a single chest of jewels. And the treasures King Chen brought with him—there were far more than one chest."

"You—"

"Prince Jing," Shangguan Yi said, lowering his voice as he stepped closer, "if you send Jiao Fei back to me, I'll find a way to return her to your side. What do you think?"

"Impossible!"

The words escaped Shangguan Jing almost instinctively.

In response, Shangguan Yi burst out laughing.

"Go back, Prince Jing. This matter is over. Don't bring it up again."

"Since Prince Jing doesn't care about her, why harm the brotherhood between us because of her?"

With that, Shangguan Yi left.

Shangguan Jing remained rooted in place, momentarily speechless as he stared blankly around him.

Her figure was nowhere to be seen.

Of course.

She already belonged to the ruler of Chen Kingdom now.

The one he loved was Jiao'er. His attempts to stop this had merely been out of consideration for their past marriage. He had only wanted to help her.

There was absolutely no way he would give up Jiao'er.

Since Imperial Brother refused, there was nothing more he could do.

In a daze, Shangguan Jing returned to his manor. For the first time, he did not immediately go to see Tang Jiao. Instead, he locked himself inside his study.

Then, he suddenly realized that traces of her still remained everywhere.

The brush he used.

The inkstone on his desk.

All of them had been carefully chosen by her.

Even the ornaments displayed nearby had been carved from the batch of rough stones she had purchased and had cut open herself.

Some of the paintings and calligraphy hanging around the room were also hers.

Shangguan Jing hurriedly rose to his feet and fled from the suffocating study.

But even outside—

He still could not erase the traces she had left behind.