Tan Hua - Chapter 81: Make Him Fall in Love with You
Chapter 81: Make Him Fall in Love with You
Pei Xingxu scrutinized the young man he had only encountered a few times years ago.
“Prince Su Zhao.”
Su Zhao smiled and said, “King Loulan, you’re too polite. I am now nothing more than a vagabond, unworthy of the title ‘prince.'”
“Between Loulan and Yili, we’ve been neighbors for hundreds of years. Hearing you say that really makes me sigh with emotion.”
To Pei Xingxu, Su Zhao was a stranger, so he merely exchanged polite pleasantries.
Su Zhao clicked his tongue and said, “The Yili Kingdom is already gone. How much longer can Loulan last?”
Pei Xingxu’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“You’d better restrain yourself to avoid being overheard,” he reminded kindly.
Su Zhao glanced back. Jun Qiyu sat at the banquet, mechanically drinking wine, his gaze fixed entirely on Song Liqing. To him, there was nothing else in the world but Song Liqing.
“What if someone hears? Jing is the aggressor, and he’s the chief culprit.”
“Ahem!”
Pei Xingxu didn’t want to delve deeply into this with him.
“Today is my wedding day. Did Prince Su Zhao come not to congratulate me but to sow discord between Loulan and Jing?”
“Of course, I bring a gift.”
Su Zhao had come alone and empty-handed.
“Unfortunately, now that I’ve turned to banditry, I’m too poor to offer gold or jewels. However, I have brought two gifts. Would the King of Loulan like to hear me out?”
Pei Xingxu looked at Song Liqing and patted his hand.
“Liqing, stay seated and don’t wander off. I’ll be right back.”
“Can I finish this plate of milk tofu?”
Song Liqing looked up, his pure and innocent eyes melting Pei Xingxu’s heart.
“Let’s play a game: let’s see if I return first or if you finish eating first.”
Song Liqing’s face lit up with joy. “Alright!”
Pei Xingxu and Su Zhao passed through the beaded curtain one after another to the back of the hall.
“Say what you have to say quickly,” Pei Xingxu said.
“What I have to say is something you won’t like to hear,” Su Zhao began bluntly. “You don’t seriously believe Jing would spare Loulan, do you?”
Su Zhao hit the mark, striking at Pei Xingxu’s deepest fear.
“We are already allies. Jing has promised eternal friendship,” Pei Xingxu could only reply this way.
“There’s no eternal friendship, only eternal interests. Those are the words of your Loulan ancestors,” Su Zhao continued. “Right now, relations are fine because Loulan sends Jing annual tributes of silver. But the greed of Central Plains people knows no bounds. With Loulan’s growing prosperity as a trade hub between East and West, do you think the Central Plains will let this fat piece of meat slip away?”
“You’ve misunderstood some things. Loulan’s seeming prosperity is just a fleeting bloom. Perhaps even without Jing’s invasion, Loulan will vanish in this desert, buried by the sands over time…”
Pei Xingxu’s pessimism was not just due to Jing’s looming threat. He knew the rot began from within.
“Are you referring to the curse of the Loulan royal family’s short lifespan?” Su Zhao asked.
“It’s a deadlock, unsolvable. Perhaps you don’t know enough about our royal lineage,” Pei Xingxu said with a hint of despondency. “I am the last direct descendant of the royal family. As you can see, I am dying.”
Su Zhao was not foolish and understood what he meant.
In the Western Regions, lineage was deeply valued. Society was strictly divided into hierarchies of royalty, nobility, commoners, and slaves. One’s birth determined everything.
Pei Xingxu, the final wick of the royal lineage, symbolized the extinguishing of the royal family. The collapse of the royal family would ignite internal chaos, and Loulan’s downfall would come without Jing’s invasion.
“You have no heirs. Why not marry someone, make her queen, and continue your lineage?”
Pei Xingxu didn’t answer. Instead, he shook his head with a faint smile. “You’re still young. You haven’t tasted what love feels like.”
“What does love matter?! I don’t need it in my life!”
Seeing Pei Xingxu resign himself, Su Zhao became agitated.
“No one needs it, but everyone goes through it willingly.”
These were Pei Xingxu’s heartfelt words.
“Don’t you want to restore Loulan to the glory it had a thousand years ago? It once ruled the entire Western Regions! It wasn’t any weaker than Jing is today!”
“If I could live longer, I might give it a try… cough, cough!”
Pei Xingxu covered his mouth with a handkerchief, muffling the sound of his coughing.
Su Zhao, seeing his persuasion fail, revealed a glint of coldness in his eyes.
“No, you’re not entirely without a chance. Don’t forget, Jing only has one crown prince. If the crown prince of Jing dies, Jing will be too preoccupied to meddle, giving surrounding nations a chance to breathe.”
Pei Xingxu was startled.
“There are countless people who want him dead,” Pei Xingxu said with a faint smile. “But they all end up killed by him.”
Su Zhao was momentarily speechless.
“Do you have the ability to kill him?” Pei Xingxu asked in return.
“Whether I do or not, let’s wait and see. When the opportunity arises, I hope the King of Loulan seizes it!” Su Zhao declared confidently. “That’s the first gift I’m offering you.”
“This gift is quite heavy.”
Pei Xingxu took a deep breath, suppressing his urge to cough.
Su Zhao stepped closer and looked Pei Xingxu over with an unrestrained gaze.
“I can’t imagine a royal lineage obsessed with romance. Truly a sentimental soul… Do you love Song Liqing?”
Pei Xingxu replied firmly, “To the end of my days.”
“But does he love you?”
“I was simply not the first to arrive,” Pei Xingxu said unaffectedly. “I am willing to wait.”
Clenching his fists, Su Zhao shouted, “I can’t understand why! No matter how good Song Liqing is, he was once Jing’s crown princess consort—Jun Qiyu’s discarded possession. What makes him so precious to you?”
For the first time, the always calm Pei Xingxu frowned, his expression growing stern.
“Take that back, or you’ll never step foot in Loulan again.”
“Oh, so you do mind… ha!”
Su Zhao burst into laughter.
Pei Xingxu’s face darkened. Could he really not care that Song Liqing was once the crown princess consort, Jun Qiyu’s partner? He wasn’t a saint. How he wished he’d met Song Liqing first!
But fate had decided otherwise, and Pei Xingxu could only accept it.
If Jun Qiyu had brought Song Liqing happiness, Pei Xingxu could have tolerated it. But seeing the suffering Song Liqing endured under Jun Qiyu’s hand broke Pei Xingxu’s heart.
He never cared what others thought of him, but he couldn’t bear any criticism of Song Liqing. This was why he became angry.
“I thought you truly didn’t mind that he was once the crown princess consort, Jun Qiyu’s partner.”
“Enough!”
“Alright, alright, my mistake,” Su Zhao said, retracting his mockery. “Don’t get angry. My second gift is this: I’ll make Song Liqing fall in love with you.”
“What?”
Pei Xingxu’s first reaction was disbelief.
“I’ll make Song Liqing forget Jun Qiyu and love only you. Isn’t that a thoughtful gift?”
“Ridiculous. Love comes from the heart. Do you think a few words of persuasion can make someone fall in love with someone else?”
Pei Xingxu’s cold retort hid the trembling excitement that arose from the mere thought of receiving all of Song Liqing’s love.
“I’ll prove it to you.”
Su Zhao smiled like a sly little fox, his blue eyes shining with mysterious cunning.
He lifted the beaded curtain and returned to the hall.
Approaching Song Liqing without any threatening gestures, Su Zhao’s actions didn’t immediately alarm Pei Xingxu. Through the curtain, Pei Xingxu watched to see what confidence Su Zhao had in his words.
To receive Song Liqing’s love…
That temptation outweighed any power, wealth, or beauty.
“Crown Princess, do you remember me?”
Su Zhao stopped in front of Song Liqing.
Song Liqing recognized his voice and nodded.
“I do.” He held out the plate of remaining milk tofu. “Want some?”
“So you’ve really gone stupid, huh.”
Su Zhao was well aware of Song Liqing’s impaired state of mind and had come prepared.
“What a pity. The last time we met, you were so smart and meticulous, easily uncovering my identity. Now you’re like a silly child. Such a waste of that brilliant mind of yours.”
Su Zhao wanted to mock him but refrained from using particularly harsh words.
After all… he was the only person from Jing Kingdom who bore even a shred of goodwill toward his brother.
“Being stupid has its perks… it makes things easier…”
“You’re the stupid one.”
Hearing Su Zhao mutter about “stupid,” Song Liqing realized he was being insulted.
Frustrated, Song Liqing decided not to share his milk tofu with him anymore and pulled the offering back in a huff.
“Hey, can you see me?” Su Zhao asked.
Song Liqing, chewing on a piece of milk curd, his cheeks puffed up, replied, “I don’t want to talk to you.”
His vision was blurry—at night, everything was shrouded in a gray haze; during the day, it was a white misty brightness, where only faint outlines of people could be discerned.
Su Zhao deliberately teased, “Whoever doesn’t talk is a pig.”
Song Liqing immediately retorted, “Whoever talks is a pig.”
And then he realized he had fallen for it. “…”
As soon as Su Zhao spoke, Song Liqing instinctively looked in his direction and happened to catch sight of a white light—more accurately, a pale blue glow. In his dim vision, bright, sparkling things were rare, so he was instantly captivated.
That pale blue light seemed almost magical, drawing his gaze irresistibly.
“You love him… don’t you?”
Su Zhao’s voice echoed in his ears.
Even though Su Zhao was right in front of him, the voice sounded so distant.
“You love him… you love him…”
The ethereal voice repeated in his ears, lingering like a chant, mesmerizing Song Liqing and making him feel dizzy.
The pale blue glow flickered and swayed, plunging him into a dreamy haze.
“I… love him…”
The light before Song Liqing’s eyes grew brighter and brighter until it resembled the sun at its zenith. Facing the dazzling radiance, he saw nothing but a blinding white glow before falling into an infinite void.
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