Just as Qiu Susu said, Crown Prince Adrian is a fool. Perhaps he has more schemes than most, but compared to Prince Ethan and Damien Gray, he falls far short. If Emperor Alexander didn’t want to keep him around, Prince Ethan would have eliminated him long ago. Having him ascend the throne would certainly benefit the Azure Kingdom.
In fact, Adrian Yarrow could use Crown Prince Adrian, and after eliminating Prince Ethan and Damien Gray, get rid of Adrian as well. Then the two remaining young princes would pose no threat at all!
It would be best if this struggle for the throne grew even fiercer, and even Emperor Alexander was swept up in the outcome. Wouldn’t the Silvermoon Kingdom then be ripe for the Azure Kingdom’s taking?
Though that’s the hope, none of the others are fools either. Emperor Alexander keeps a close watch on him, wanting to use his ambition to fulfill his own. Who will win or lose remains to be seen!
Morgan Shangguan curved her lips in a smile. Everyone wanted to use her—did she really look so easy to use?
Suddenly pulled into someone’s arms, Morgan Shangguan nuzzled against the chest behind her and asked, "Did you hear?"
Damien Gray placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head and softly asked, "What does my Princess Consort plan to do?"
Morgan Shangguan looked up at him, raising her brows. "If I decide what to do, will you always let me do it?"
Damien Gray smiled and said, "I trust my Princess Consort knows her limits."
Morgan Shangguan turned, wrapped her arms around his neck, and laughed softly. "Damien..." She called his name, but didn’t say anything more.
Damien Gray could be terribly petty at times, jealous over the smallest things—yet sometimes, he seemed more magnanimous than anyone.
He kissed her lips and said softly, "Though I want to keep you by my side every moment, hide you away so you belong only to me and no one else can see you, if you’re unhappy, I won’t be happy either. I don’t want my love to suffocate you—if it did, I wouldn’t survive either. So, I’ll remember to let you breathe once in a while." If the bonds are too tight, there are only two outcomes: suffocation, or breaking free and leaving for good.
Morgan Shangguan buried her face in the crook of his neck and laughed softly. "Who taught you such sweet words?"
Damien Gray raised his brows. "These are my true feelings—worth far more than sweet words."
"Hehe..."
Damien Gray paused, then murmured, "Sometimes, letting you go a little makes you come closer on your own. It’s not a loss at all."
Morgan Shangguan’s laughter faded. She looked at him and shook her head. "I almost forgot how cunning you are, Your Highness."
She gazed at him for a moment, then whispered, "But I like your cunning." With that, she kissed his smiling lips.
Though Damien Gray’s cunning could be infuriating, without it, they might never have come this far—at least, not so quickly.
Ethan Gu woke up and opened his eyes to find someone clinging to him like an octopus. He sighed and said softly, "Why are you still like a child?"
He gently pried one hand off his body, then tried to remove the other. Before he could, the first hand wrapped around him again. Ethan Gu frowned.
Maxwell Jing nuzzled into the crook of his neck, muttering, "My head hurts. Let me sleep a little longer."
Ethan Gu nudged him with his foot. "You drank so much, sleeping won’t help. Get up!"
Maxwell Jing froze, then suddenly jumped up and pointed at him, voice trembling. "You... why are you in my bed?"
Ethan Gu glanced at him coolly. "You wouldn’t let me leave, so I stayed with you out of kindness. Besides, it’s not like we haven’t slept together before. Why are you so surprised?"
Maxwell Jing snapped back to his senses, scratched his head, and said, "It’s different, okay? Last time I was prepared for it!"
"Prepared?" Ethan Gu looked him up and down, half-smiling. "You’re not a woman—what’s there to prepare for? Even if you were, you wouldn’t need to worry. I’m a gentleman!"
He expected Maxwell Jing to retort, but instead Maxwell just stared at him blankly. Ethan Gu frowned and asked, "Are you alright? Did you drink too much?" As he spoke, he checked Maxwell’s pulse.
Maxwell Jing snapped back, withdrew his hand, and said, "I'm fine. It’s just... you suddenly reminded me of someone." That teasing, half-smiling look was so familiar, he almost thought...
He laughed at himself. That was impossible. He shouldn’t let his thoughts wander.
Ethan Gu frowned at him, but Maxwell Jing didn’t look back. The room fell silent. Maxwell Jing collected his thoughts and sighed inwardly. Why had he been so sentimental lately? Was he... getting old?
His face darkened as he pushed the thought aside. Suddenly remembering something, he asked worriedly, "Last night... did I..."
Seeing Maxwell Jing’s awkward, worried expression, Ethan Gu sat up and said, "Don’t worry, I didn’t do anything to you!"
Maxwell Jing froze, then jumped up again. "Who said I was asking about that? I wanted to know if I said anything strange when I was drunk!"
Ethan Gu slowly got out of bed, speaking calmly. "You kept calling for Lily Xia, asking her to go to Snow Mountain with you. Does that count?"
Maxwell Jing paused. "Anything else?"
"That’s all!"
Maxwell Jing let out a sigh of relief, then seemed to fall into thought again. He really should visit Lily Xia when he had time. Even if hope was slim, he didn’t want to give up.
Yesterday, because Sophie Qiu twisted her ankle, no one made it to the mountaintop. So this morning, a group came to invite Damien Gray and Morgan Shangguan to climb again. They didn’t refuse.
Mona Shangguan looked at Sophie Qiu, her face full of concern. "Sister Qiu, you only twisted your ankle yesterday. Are you sure you want to go climbing today? Don’t push yourself too hard." But inwardly, she was scornful—she knew Sophie Qiu was faking it, trying to get close to Adrian Yarrow. As if! She knew Adrian Yarrow would never have just one woman, but Sophie Qiu made her feel threatened, so she couldn’t help but reject her.
Sophie Qiu smiled softly and, as usual, gazed affectionately at Adrian Yarrow. "I’m fine." Twisted her ankle yesterday, recovered today—anyone would be suspicious, but she didn’t seem to care.
This chapter isn’t over yet~ Please click next page to continue reading!