Secret Alliance in the Shadows

Princess May's whole body trembled as she stared in disbelief, eyes wide: "You—you mean, the fact that I poisoned Lily Evans?"

Sophie White snorted, "Consider it a good deed. That witch Lily Evans bewitched General Hayes—she deserved what she got. Too bad Lily Evans has a powerful family, her father and brother rescued her and her child. Tsk, Princess of Chu, you went to all that trouble to poison her, but she walked away without a scratch."

Princess May froze, then gritted her teeth and said, "Lily Evans's child survived? Th-that's impossible! I used the Chu Palace Secret Elixir on her—once taken, not even the gods could cure it! How could Lily Evans's child possibly survive? I... I can't accept this!"

"I heard they used some kind of blood-sucking method. Rumors are flying all over the capital, saying Lily Evans is some sort of spirit and gave birth to a little monster. The two survived by drinking people's blood. Maybe Lily Evans really is a demon, so her child wasn't harmed by the Chu Palace Secret Elixir." Sophie White blinked at Princess May. "What's the use of being bitter? If you're truly dissatisfied, once you're back in the Chu Palace, use your head and figure out how to deal with Lily Evans."

Now Princess May understood. "Sophie White, you’re letting us go because you have a personal grudge against Lily Evans, but it’s inconvenient for you to act directly. So you want to use us to deal with her, is that it?"

Sophie White laughed. "At least you’re not completely clueless. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We may not be friends, but since we share a common enemy, let’s call ourselves half-allies."

Sophie White paused, then looked at Gregory Gu Jr.: "As for you, Lord Gu, I’m keeping you alive for another reason."

Gregory Gu Jr. raised his head and met her gaze. "Sophie White, I’m curious—why spare me?"

Sophie White sighed. "To be honest, I let you go for our general's sake. As the saying goes, when the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked; when the birds are gone, the fine bow is put away. Now that the Kingdoms of Chu and Jin are at peace, the princes of Chu are too busy fighting for the throne to bother with Jin. With peace and no crisis, the emperor of Jin may rely on our general now, but as he gets used to ruling, he won't need our general anymore. Then, he might start to fear him—and that's when the donkey at the mill gets slaughtered..."

Sophie White's eyes darted to Gregory Gu Jr.: "But if Chu grows strong again and threatens Jin, then the Hayes Army will be needed once more. Even if there’s no war, the emperor won’t dare move our general lightly. Lord Gu, I know your talent and ability well. By sending you to Chu, I want you to calm the succession struggle, restore balance between the two kingdoms, and create a new check on power."

Gregory Gu Jr. listened to Sophie White's reasoning and was speechless. "Sophie White, so you defied your general’s orders and let me go to Chu for his sake."

Sophie White smiled. "Whether it’s getting rid of that witch Lily Evans or securing our general’s position, I’m doing it all for his sake. Lord Gu, you’re a smart man. Although we stand on different sides and have different goals—you seek high office in Chu, I want lifelong glory for our general—we can still form an alliance, can’t we?"

Gregory Gu Jr. understood the implication and said to Sophie White, "Sophie White, your intention matches mine. When I become an official in Chu, I’ll make sure you get what you want."