TRWSB – Chapter 190 Why the Last Name Qi ?

Qi Heng walked out of the room and saw Zuo Yunfei blocking the doorway.

“Something you need?” Qi Heng asked impatiently.

Zuo Yunfei looked him up and down and said, “Can’t I come chat even if there’s nothing urgent?”

“Of course you can. Just that I’m a pretty boring person. I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed if you try to chat with me,” Qi Heng replied.

“Don’t worry, I know exactly what kind of person you are, so I didn’t have high expectations to begin with,” Zuo Yunfei said.

Qi Heng took a deep breath and sneered, “I’m sure there are many people who’d love to chat with you. Since you know what kind of person I am, why not go find someone more interesting?”

“They’re too noisy. I don’t like that. Plenty of people want to talk to me, but I came to talk to you personally. Shouldn’t you feel honored?” Zuo Yunfei asked arrogantly, hands behind his back.

“Sure,” Qi Heng replied perfunctorily.

“I heard you were a little thief growing up. Sounds like your character was pretty rotten back then,” Zuo Yunfei said, clicking his tongue.

Qi Heng closed his eyes, took a deep breath, turned his head, and said grimly, “Didn’t you know? I had a bad character as a child, and I’m even worse now.”

Zuo Yunfei nodded, “I can tell. Hard to believe someone with your awful character is doing this well. Heaven must be blind.”

Qi Heng clenched his fists and said, “Exactly! If Heaven had eyes, it would’ve struck you down with lightning long ago.”

Zuo Yunfei chuckled, “That’s a strange thing to say. Why would Heaven strike down a good person like me?”

“Oh, so you’re a good person now?” Qi Heng turned his face away with disdain.

Zuo Yunfei ignored the sarcasm. “Why do you have the surname Qi?”

“My young master’s surname is Qi. I follow him, so I use the same surname. Is that strange?” Qi Heng said naturally.

“Of course it’s strange! Qi Shaorong isn’t even related to you. Why are you using his surname?” Zuo Yunfei asked excitedly.

Qi Heng turned to look at him and said helplessly, “Zuo Yunfei, you’re being weird. If I don’t take his surname, should I take yours instead?”

Zuo Yunfei paused, looked away, and muttered, “If you want to take the surname Zuo, that’s fine too.”

Qi Heng looked at him and said, “You’re not serious, are you? What’s your angle? What are you thinking? Don’t tell me you want to marry me?”

Zuo Yunfei glared at him, embarrassed and angry, “Who would want to marry someone like you?”

Qi Heng nodded, “That’s good. I didn’t plan on marrying anyway.”

“What, you’re planning to remain chaste for Qi Shaorong?” Zuo Yunfei mocked.

“You’re overthinking. With my looks and charm, I could easily marry a dozen beautiful women. Why would I need to get married at all?” Qi Heng said.

Zuo Yunfei sneered, “With what you’ve got? You still want to get married? You’ve got some nerve. You’d struggle to land even one woman. Marrying several? Don’t be surprised if they all laugh at your lack of… ability.”

Qi Heng glared at him and snapped, “You have no idea how bold I am. Marrying ten or eight women is easy. Even a hundred wouldn’t be a problem. No need for you to worry about it.”

Zuo Yunfei: “…”

Qi Heng and Zuo Yunfei had a heated argument and parted on bad terms.

In the side courtyard:

“Ah Heng, didn’t you say you were going for a walk to relax? Why didn’t you go?” Qi Shaorong asked as he watched Qi Heng picking flowers nonstop.

Qi Heng was standing in front of a crabapple tree. It had once been full of blossoms, but now it was nearly bare, petals covering the ground.

“Zuo Yunfei is camping outside the door. Wherever I go, he follows. That guy’s so annoying. I don’t want to go out anymore,” Qi Heng said.

“Actually, Zuo Yunfei is kind of adorable. Don’t be so prejudiced against him,” Qi Shaorong said lazily, lying in a rocking chair.

Qi Heng looked at Qi Shaorong irritably, “Young Master, I can’t believe you’re defending someone like him.”

Just then, a commotion sounded outside.

Tang Tianying was helped in by a guard.

“Fourth Prince, are you okay?” Qi Shaorong asked.

Tang Tianying shook his head, “I’m fine.”

Qi Shaorong rubbed his nose and said, “You look like you got beaten up pretty badly.”

“You noticed?” Tang Tianying said.

Qi Shaorong: “…” He had heard Princess Yueting had a fiery temper—looks like the rumors were true.

“Young Master, the guard who brought the Fourth Prince just now called Zhuang Shao away,” Qi Heng informed.

Qi Shaorong nodded, “Got it.”

“Young Master, what do you think that guard called Zhuang Shao for?” Qi Heng asked.

Qi Shaorong shook his head, “How would I know? We’ll find out when Zhuang Hao comes back.”

Inside the palace:

“Princess, you asked for me?” Zhuang Hao inquired.

Princess Yueting nodded, “Meeting you in person is better than hearing the rumors. I’ve long heard that Zhuang Shao is the most outstanding of the younger generation from your country. Looks like the rumors are true.”

“You’re too kind, Your Highness.”

Princess Yueting smiled, “Zhuang Shao has been here for a few days. What do you think of our Yun Nation?”

“The scenery here is beautiful, and the land is full of talent. Of course, it’s wonderful,” Zhuang Hao replied.

Princess Yueting smiled again, “If Zhuang Shao is willing, I would gladly share these lands and rivers with you.”

Zhuang Hao smiled calmly, “Thank you for the honor, Princess. But this land is too vast, too heavy a burden—I cannot bear it.”

“It seems that in your heart, Qi Shao weighs more than this whole land?” she asked.

Zhuang Hao answered solemnly, “Shaorong means more to me than anything else in this world.”

Princess Yueting smiled, “Qi Shao is very lucky to have caught your eye.”

Zhuang Hao replied nonchalantly, “Rather than say he’s lucky, I’d say I’m the lucky one.”

Zhuang Hao returned two hours after he had left.

Qi Shaorong looked at Zhuang Hao as he entered and turned his head to ask, “Did Princess Yueting ask to see you?”

Zhuang Hao nodded and said, “Yes.”

“What did she say?” Qi Shaorong asked.

Zhuang Hao raised his head and said, “Nothing much. She asked me if I was willing to become her husband. If I agreed, the entire kingdom of Yun would be mine.”

“You agreed?” Qi Shaorong asked.

“Of course not,” Zhuang Hao replied without hesitation. “Although a vast kingdom is appealing, it’s not where my heart lies. I rejected her without much thought.”

Qi Shaorong smiled and said, “Is that so?”

“My self-control is pretty good, isn’t it? But…”

“But what? Are you regretting it now?” Qi Shaorong asked.

Zhuang Hao shook his head. “Not at all. It’s just that Princess Yueting didn’t only seek me out—she also approached Zuo Yunfei. I could resist the temptation of a throne, but I wonder if that Zuo Yunfei can do the same.”

Qi Shaorong looked toward the door. Just as Zhuang Hao mentioned Zuo Yunfei, Qi Heng happened to walk in—he probably heard everything.

“A Heng,” Qi Shaorong called out with some concern.

Qi Heng walked in and asked, “Young Master, why are you looking at me like that?”

Qi Shaorong smiled and said, “Qi Heng, you don’t mind, do you?”

Qi Heng looked at Qi Shaorong with helplessness and replied, “Young Master, Zuo Yunfei and I are not what you think. If he can accept Princess Yueting, that would be great. But… he won’t.”

Qi Shaorong looked confused and said, “You really have that much confidence in him?”

“Zuo Yunfei is a very proud person. He wouldn’t allow others to say he lives off a woman,” Qi Heng said.

Qi Shaorong: “…”

“The Fourth Prince got beaten up so badly. It seems Princess Yueting isn’t very interested in him. If that’s the case, we’ll probably be returning to Yuan soon. Qi Heng, do you have any plans?” Qi Shaorong asked.

Qi Heng lifted his gaze and said, “I’m afraid I’ll need to make a trip to Jin.”

“To the Zuos’ territory?” Qi Shaorong asked.

Qi Heng nodded. “You could say that.”

Qi Shaorong’s eyes twitched. Seeing his expression, Qi Heng took a deep breath and said, “Young Master, don’t overthink it. I’m not going because of Zuo Yunfei. I just have some personal matters to take care of.”

Qi Shaorong nodded. “I know, I know you and Zuo Yunfei have nothing going on.”

Seeing Qi Shaorong’s obviously unconvincing expression, Qi Heng turned his head away with a look of resignation.

+++++

In the palace.

“Your Highness,” a guard called to Princess Yueting.

Princess Yueting opened her eyes and glanced at him. “What is it?”

“Princess, it’s time for dinner,” the guard replied.

“Got it,” Princess Yueting said impatiently.

She clenched her fists. She had been prepared—if either Zhuang Hao or Zuo Yunfei had accepted her proposal, she was willing to risk offending the royal families of other nations and reject all their princes to marry one of them. But in the end, neither Zhuang Hao nor Zuo Yunfei showed the slightest interest in her.

If Zhuang Hao rejected her for that brilliant and eccentric physician Qi Shaorong, then for whom did Zuo Yunfei turn her down?

“Zuo-shao really has no interest in the Yun Kingdom’s throne?”

“None at all.”

“Zhuang Hao rejected me for Qi Shaorong. I wonder, Zuo-shao, who did you reject me for? Would you be willing to share, to resolve my doubts?”

“No one. I’m just genuinely not interested.”

+++++

For the throne of Yun, the royal family had been dragged into brutal infighting multiple times. Her two elder brothers had, in fact, killed each other.

And yet… to some people, does this vast kingdom really hold no appeal?

Though she held the lofty title of princess, she still couldn’t find a kindred soul like Zhuang Hao.

Princess Yueting held her forehead and couldn’t help but feel a little desolate.