Prince Yi felt a shift in the atmosphere of his bedroom, he immediately sat up, reaching for his sword but then he heard a familiar calm voice speak. One he had once spent a whole night anticipating.

"Relax...I have come to say my farewell as a friend." Chun Hai calmly said walking forward from the corner of the room.

Prince Yi's hand remained on the sword as he scoffed and said, "I have heard that the entire city is an uproar searching for "enemies of the state"...I thought you would be too busy have the time to come to say a farewell to such a casual acquaintance...My manor is no place for a fugitive." Prince Yi said that last line with irritation.

"Ahh, I should, first of all, apologize for my absence the other day. As you probably now know, the situation has been changing very rapidly. Things escalated out of hand and I did not want to endanger Your highness with my problems. So I had no choice but to stay away...Today I naturally came to apologize and naturally came with a farewell gift." Chun Hai leisurely said.

"Your highness, who are you talking to?" A groggy female voice suddenly went from behind Prince Yi. Prince Yi swiftly turned to the woman and before she could sit up and see the visitor, he hit the woman on the back of her neck and knocked her out.

It was not that he did not trust his concubines, he just could not take any risks here. Especially considering the Emperor was currently raising the entire capital most likely in search of this person here.

Although Prince Yi was not fully convinced of Chun Hai's reason for missing their appointment, he was still open to negotiations. Especially, when someone was here to grovel for his help. He could indulge him a bit.

Prince Yi got up and asked, "And what is this gift?" As he leisurely reached for his robe and put it on.

Prince Yi turned back to Chun Hai and it was only then that he noticed that there was someone else in the room besides Chun Hai. There was a woman at Chun Hai's side frowning at him, seemingly displeased about something. Perhaps it was about him walking around n.a.k.e.d, but it was his bedroom and they interrupted his sleep. Therefore, he was not going to apologize for that.

Prince Yi raised an unamused eyebrow at Chun Hai and asked, "Is that the gift?" as his eyes went back to Chun Hua, looking her over.

Chun Hai frowned, but before he could respond, Chun Hua spoke up, "Enough of this. We are here to consolidate our alliance. You want the Long throne and we want the Long Emperor dead...Therefore, we should be able to help each other."

"And who are you supposed to be?" Prince Yi asked with knit eyebrows, not liking her tone.

"Prince Houyi's future princess..." Chun Hua proudly responded, raising her chin.

"Ahhh, one of his concubines..." Prince Yi offhandedly commented. It now made sense why Haiyan was so eager and willing to run into the lion's den to retrieve her.

"My sister is no one's concubine! Watch your mouth." Chun Hai irritatedly warned, he was already ready to leave at this point. But since they were, they had better make the trip worthwhile. Otherwise, the waste would be too tragic and so he had to endure.

"Sister?" Prince Yi exclaimed, wide-eyed.

Chun Hua frowned and irritatedly went, "Please focus on what's important here. I would like you to-"

"I am no longer interested in an alliance with you people." Prince Yi interjected, picking up his sword and walking over to sit at his desk on the side, where a jar of wine sat.

"He's not interested, let's go." Chun Hai promptly said as he grabbed his sister's arm. Chun Hua shrugged him off and turned back to Prince Yi and asked, "Why not? Don't you want to be the Long Emperor?"

Prince Yi frowned but then he quickly replaced it with a nonchalant expression. He filled up his cup of wine as he offhandedly explained, "You Zou people are obviously untrustworthy...Also your champion Prince, Prince Houyi is too ambitious. I cannot trade one evil for a greater one. I can manage my own affairs, you should leave now while I am still being hospitable." He finished, picking up the cup and sipping leisurely.

Chun Hai reached for Chun Hua's hand again for them to leave, but she shrugged him off and blurted out, "Marry Nalan!"

Prince Yi stopped and then blinked up at her with a frown, "Do you take me for a fool?" The Zou king wanted Princess Nalan to be the Emperor's wife so there was no way he would settle for a prince.

Not to mention, the Emperor would never approve of the union as it will give him more power and connections. Asking for such a union was a foolish move, one begging for trouble.

Chun Hua ignored the question and clarified, "Obviously, I don't mean you should go to request her hand in marriage. Her father and your Emperor will naturally not agree, even Houyi would disagree. What I mean is that you should make her fall in love with you...Make it so that she has to marry you." She glanced towards the bed and flatly said, "I believe you should be quite capable of the endeavor..."

Prince Yi knit his brows in thought as he mulled over her words and what she implied. He had not thought of this before. As absurd as it sounded, as troublesome as it could be...It was not so bleak.

Chun Hua's mouth lightly rose in a sly smile as she continued to persuade him, "Nalan will be a very strategic piece for you. She is close to the heart of all her siblings. Her two sisters are married to kings of their own nations, Baiya and Jing country. Most importantly, Houyi has always felt immense guilt for not being there for her when she was growing up. No matter how ambitious he is, he would never hurt her or what is hers. Get her and I promise your throne will be secure. You will have not only Houyi, but you will also have the alliance of Zou kingdom, regardless of which brother later sits on the throne..."

Chun Hau glanced at her brother, wanting him to assist her. Chun Hai inwardly sighed and then said, "There is no loss to you with this deal. We both grew up with Prince Houyi so we know him best...You will have an ally in him with Nalan at your side."

{...Probably, I can't really tell these days ...}

Prince Yi dropped his wine cup and scrutinized the two of them. It truly sounded like a good offer and he could use them.

Prince Rui had failed him, but Prince Houyi could deliver. What's more, he would have a prime hostage against them. This would be a much better situation for him if it worked. But then something still felt strange and so he asked, "Why would Houyi want to help me get a throne he won't have?"

Chun Hua frowned in irritation, "As I just said, he loves his sister and will naturally want her to have the best. At most, he may want a city or two and a some little other things as a show of gratitude for his aid. But those will be nothing to one who has an Empire, especially one of this magnitude. Houyi will not attack you, none of the princes will."

Prince Yi quietly contemplated for a while and then asked, "Wouldn't it be easier to simply deal with my brother?... Or is it that you consider me a pushover, someone you can more easily manipulate?" Prince Yi asked narrowing his eyes menacingly at the pair, as his anger surged at the thought of being underestimated...at the thought of being looked down upon by his brother.

Chun Hai grabbed Chun Hua's arm, sensing the dangerous aura and was ready to flee at a moment's notice.

But then Chun Hua went and said something that he did not expect her to say, "We are the inheritors of Dong country and therefore, have a long enmity with the Xia empire, specifically against the Xia royal family's bloodline. Seeing them alive and on a throne, ruling what was once ours is an eyesore that cannot be overlooked. That is why it is you and can never be your brother..."

Prince Yi blinked in surprise and observed the pair with knit eyebrows as he digested her declaration. But before he could react, they suddenly loud footsteps coming from outside, and the three in the room froze, suddenly on high alert.

Next thing, Tian Ji called from outside, "Your highness, the Imperial guards are here on the order of the Emperor..."

The three in the room looked at each other and then Prince Yi swiftly got up and whispered, "Hide."

Instead of moving to hide, Chun Hua urgently said some last words, "Once you make Nalan yours Houyi and the Zou lords will naturally feel inclined to want to see you succeed...Do this if you want to be victorious." She said as her brother pulled her towards one of the inner rooms.

"Prince Yi, we are sorry to disturb your sleep but we are under the Emperor's orders to search every residence...With no exemption." Commander An's voice carried over.

They had searched all over the city to no avail. And now they were truly going into every home waking the city up to search. Commander An had specifically come here to oversee this search, to be respectful of Prince Yi's status as well as to handle any problems that may come up.

Prince Yi frowned and took a deep breath and then walked towards the door, thinking of how he could send them away or at least, distract them a little until the pair inside could escape. But just as he was about to open the doors, Commander An noticed a little flash of blue light coming from inside so he promptly threw open the doors and raced inside with his men following, brushing past Prince Yi.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Prince Yi barked in anger.

"Search!" Commander An ordered and the men proceeded to ransack the room, as Commander An turned to Prince Yi and bowed, "Your highness, I apologize but we are under the strict orders of the Emperor -"

"Is it the Emperor's order for you to barge into my own bedroom so brazenly?" Prince Yi interjected, "You and your men get out this instant!"

"We cannot do that." Commander An firmly responded as he looked at Prince Yi suspiciously and added, "You can bring whatever complaints you have against me before the Emperor, but for now, I must carry out my duty."

Prince Yi knit his brows and remained silent, not knowing what else to say or do as his heart pounded rapidly. If he continued to protest even with that, he would look even more suspicious.

{...I should have just captured them and presented them to the guards myself...How foolish!...}

But then to his complete surprise, the men came back and reported that they found nothing suspicious.

"Hmph! Of course, there is nothing." Prince Yi haughtily said, playing the insulted role.

Commander An knit his brows and then looked at the bed which was obscured by the canopy curtains. They could see the shape of someone there, but none of the guards had dared to open it, "Your highness, who -"

Before Commander An could finish his words, Prince Yi irritatedly stormed over to the bed and drew back the curtain to reveal the half-n.a.k.e.d woman passed out on his bed.

The men all quickly averted their gazes and Commander An promptly cupped his hands and bowed, "I apologize for disturbing your night, Your highness...Withdraw." He ordered and he and the men all gave a final bow and swiftly rushed out of the room.

Once the doors were closed, Prince Yi let out a sigh of relief. He dis a quick survey of the room and decided that the pair must have somehow made their escape, luckily. He went back to sit at his desk and picked up his cup of wine again with a slight smile.

{...Nalan...This is quite the interesting offer...}

Now that he thought about it, he had wondered why the Emperor had let her do as she wished. Especially since she was such a useful pawn. But then again, he believed the Emperor must have thought himself too great and important to waste his energy on pursuing a woman.

{...He is just a fool is what he is...A conceited fool...}