Lan Zhai believed that what happened between him and Yun Yin concerned only the two of them. Everyone and everything else was merely part of a narrow-minded world, obstacles in the path of their love!!!
The king’s gentle, persuasive expression gradually faded. He looked at his son anew, his gaze growing colder.
Lan Tang and Lan Zhai were both children of the king and queen. He had raised them both with the same care. How had they turned out so utterly different?
A profound weariness settled over the king’s aging heart. He no longer had the energy to be angry with Lan Zhai. He merely stared at him kneeling there, earnest-faced yet faintly defiant, and asked in a calm, detached voice, “It has to be him? No matter what, you insist on being with that mute boy?”
The king’s voice was quiet and devoid of emotion, as though he were discussing something of no consequence.
Lan Zhai thought his determination had finally softened his father’s heart. He nodded quickly, declaring his resolve even more firmly. “Yes, Father. Yun Yin is the only person I will ever marry.”
“Very well. I’ll give you my blessing.”
Lan Zhai’s eyes lit up, joy surging through him. He bowed his head to the floor before the king and said eagerly, “Thank you, Father! Yun Yin will be just as devoted to you as I am.”
Devoted?
Perhaps Lan Zhai had once deserved that word. Now it was almost laughable to hear him say it.
If he were truly devoted to his father, how could he think only of his own feelings and place the royal family in such a position?
There was no place for his father in Lan Zhai’s heart, or even for the royal family. There was room only for his love.
The king sighed softly. His eyes were cold, his tone exceedingly distant. “There’s no need for that. From now on, you will no longer be a member of the royal family. Go and make a good life for yourself with your Yun Yin.”
No longer… a member of the royal family?
Lan Zhai’s smile froze. He thought he must have misheard. What did that mean? He did not understand.
“Father, I don’t understand. What do you mean I’ll no longer be part of the palace?”
The king looked at him without expression on his aged face. He no longer looked at Lan Zhai as a father looking at his son. The authority of a king settled over him.
“I cannot watch the royal family be placed in danger because of your personal feelings, nor can I force you to part from the one you love. So, Lan Zhai, from this moment on, you are no longer a prince of this kingdom. That way, you can be with the person you love.”
It was the only way to give them both what they wanted.
If Lan Tang had not awakened, the king would ultimately have yielded to Lan Zhai’s insistence. But things were different now. Lan Tang was awake, and his eldest son had always been better suited than Lan Zhai to become this kingdom’s next ruler. With a better choice available, the king would naturally avoid any danger to the royal family.
If Lan Zhai wanted to be with Yun Yin, he would have to leave the royal family. Then there would be no scandal. Someone who could not light the Sea God’s Lamp marrying an ordinary person would pose no threat to the royal family.
“Father!!! You’re expelling me from the royal family?”
Lan Zhai sprang to his feet, disbelief blazing in his eyes. He had never imagined his father would drive him out of the palace because he insisted on being with the person he loved.
“Lan Zhai, this is the path you chose. Have you forgotten saying that if I refused, you would give up your title as prince, along with all its power and wealth, to be with Yun Yin? I’m not driving you away. I’m giving you what you asked for.”
Lan Zhai’s expression shifted, caught between embarrassment and resentment. He had indeed said those words, but only because he had been the royal family’s sole remaining heir at the time. He had known his father would never send him away. He had not expected his father to oppose them so strongly…
No. That was not it. Before, his father would never have sent him away. It was because of Lan Tang. His brilliant elder brother had awakened, so their father had nothing left to fear.
Lan Zhai had known since childhood that he was not the successor his father truly wanted, but back then he had not…
Perhaps because Lan Zhai had known there was no hope, he had never allowed himself to imagine becoming king before.
But things were different now. For three years, he had been raised as this kingdom’s heir. He had long since come to see himself as its future ruler.
Now Lan Tang had awakened, and everything had changed. His father no longer had to choose him. Perhaps, from the moment Lan Tang opened his eyes, Lan Zhai would not have become king even if he had given up Yun Yin.
A flicker of panic passed through him. A thought crept into his mind: which mattered more, love or power?
But he cast it aside at once. Yun Yin had saved his life. Without Yun Yin, sharks would have eaten him long ago. How could he even consider such a choice?!
Lan Zhai looked at the king. His father was cruel enough to force him to choose between love and power.
The king’s heart grew colder at the sight of him. His son seemed to have begun to resent him. Even so, Lan Zhai was still his own flesh and blood. As Lan Zhai turned to leave, the king spoke again.
“I’ll give you three days to think it over. If you change your mind, I’ll send Yun Yin away from the palace and give him the money I promised. You will remain a prince of this kingdom.”
Lan Zhai turned back. His eyes were cold and resolute.
“I don’t need to think about it. I’ll take Yun Yin out of the palace at once. I don’t want to spend another second in a place with no warmth or affection!!!”
With that, he left without looking back.
The king’s face flushed with anger. An attendant hurriedly brought him a glass of water and watched the king, now past fifty, afraid he might be too upset to catch his breath.
The scene ended there. Wen Sheng’s lips curved into a cold, mocking smile. It was ridiculous that such a fool could be the chosen one of this small world.
“The Lord God is here.”
Balala’s voice suddenly sounded. Wen Sheng acknowledged it faintly. Instead of getting out of the tub, he removed his soaked pajama top, leaving only his pajama pants on. His beautiful back was exposed as he leaned over the rim of the tub and pretended to be half asleep.
The first thing Lan Tang saw when he entered was a dazzling expanse of pale skin. His pupils contracted slightly as the salty scent of seawater reached him. As the Sea God, he was acutely sensitive to it.
Wen Sheng was soaking in seawater…
So Wen Sheng really was a being of the deep sea…
Few creatures beneath the sea could take human form. He discreetly examined Wen Sheng’s aura.
There was no spiritual power around him at all…
That left only one possibility.
He was a merperson…
Merfolk were famed for their beauty, but they possessed no spiritual power. To turn a tail into human legs, they had to use a witch’s potion that ate away at the tail.
The potion required one essential ingredient: merfolk blood. It could only be made with the blood of a merperson who had someone they loved deeply.
So throughout history, there had been only one reason for a merperson to gain legs and come ashore: they had fallen in love.
Wen Sheng had someone he loved. He had even endured the agony of the potion eating away at his tail so he could come ashore and reunite with that person.
No wonder…
No wonder Wen Sheng had said he still had something to finish…
Was it that person called A-Yan?
Wen Sheng had come to the palace, so A-Yan must be there too…
Coming ashore meant gambling with one’s life. If it were any other merperson, Lan Tang would have thought them foolish. But Wen Sheng was different.
No one could resist Wen Sheng. Not even him.
Legs and tail exchanged, with a hundred days as the limit.
That A-Yan…
He would kill him after the hundred days were up.
Lan Tang had set his sights on Wen Sheng. Wen Sheng could only belong to him.
Besides, merfolk belonged to the deep sea. He would kill A-Yan and take Wen Sheng back beneath the waves.
A flash of hostility crossed Lan Tang’s eyes, then vanished. His usual gentle expression returned as he walked toward Wen Sheng. Droplets of seawater still clung to Wen Sheng’s beautiful back.
Perhaps because it had been so long since he had touched seawater, Lan Tang suddenly felt thirsty. He wanted to lick every drop from Wen Sheng’s back, then swallow him whole.
But Lan Tang suppressed those dark thoughts and lifted Wen Sheng out of the bathtub. Seawater dripped onto the floor. Half awake, Wen Sheng nuzzled against his chest. His voice was husky with sleep, and his arms tightened around Lan Tang’s neck. “Mmm… What time is it?”
“Late enough for the sun to shine on your backside, my boyfriend.”
Lan Tang teased him as he set him on the edge of the bed, then took a towel and dried his hair, though it was already half dry.
Wen Sheng seemed like an enormous mystery to him. He had come ashore for the person he loved, yet he had entered a relationship with Lan Tang.
One thing, however, was certain: there was no trace of Wen Sheng in Lan Tang’s memories. The person Wen Sheng loved could not be Lan Tang.
Had the person Wen Sheng loved fallen in love with him, only for Wen Sheng to reject him? Was Wen Sheng now simply waiting for the hundred days to pass so he could return to the deep sea?
Once a merperson’s hundred-day period had passed, they could live both on land and in the sea: out of water, they had legs; when they touched water, their tail returned. Lan Tang had just lifted Wen Sheng from a tub full of seawater. Clearly, that period had not yet passed.
No matter how he thought about it, he could not make sense of things. What was the unfinished business Wen Sheng had mentioned? Lan Tang was genuinely curious…
Lan Tang waited outside while Wen Sheng changed. In Wen Sheng’s eyes, he was a gentle, courteous man. If Wen Sheng liked that, Lan Tang did not mind playing the part.
The door opened behind him. Lan Tang turned with a warm, composed smile, but before he could speak, an attendant came hurrying toward them. It was one of Lan Zhai’s personal servants.
“Prince Lan Tang, Lord Wen Sheng, my prince has been driven from the palace because he insists on marrying Yun Yin. Please save him!”
A flash of irritation crossed Lan Tang’s eyes when his exchange of glances with Wen Sheng was interrupted. Outwardly, though, he showed just the right amount of surprise. He looked at Lan Zhai’s personal attendant and asked with concern, “How could that happen?”
“It’s true, Prince Lan Tang. My prince is already packing his things.”
The attendant looked anxious. Lan Tang, however, wanted nothing more than to make him disappear. Suppressing his irritation, he asked, “Where is Lan Zhai now?”
“In his own chambers.”
By the time Lan Tang and Wen Sheng arrived, Lan Zhai had finished packing. He was holding the hand of a pale, distressed-looking Yun Yin.
Yun Yin flinched the instant he saw Wen Sheng. But when he felt Lan Zhai tighten his grip on his hand, he suddenly felt reassured.
Lan Zhai loved him now. This merperson could not take him away.
A moment ago, Yun Yin had been panicking because Lan Zhai was being driven from the palace. Seeing Lan Tang and Wen Sheng calmed him.
Wen Sheng loved Lan Zhai. Otherwise, he would never have come ashore. Since he loved him, he surely could not bear to watch Lan Zhai leave the palace and suffer.
And then there was Lan Tang. Yun Yin had spent long enough in the palace to understand its politics. Lan Tang had been the king’s preferred heir from the beginning. Now that he had awakened, and Lan Zhai had angered the king by insisting on marrying Yun Yin, Lan Zhai had almost no chance of becoming the next king.
Yun Yin no longer expected to become queen. As a prince’s consort, he could still enjoy wealth and status for life. What mattered now was staying in the palace.
Wen Sheng loved Lan Zhai, while Lan Tang was beloved by the king. If the two of them pleaded on Lan Zhai’s behalf, Yun Yin would surely be allowed to stay.
Lan Zhai was deeply in love with him right now. As long as Lan Zhai stayed, he could stay too.
And if he stayed, he would still have a chance to compete for more. Even if he failed, he could still become a prince’s consort.
“Brother. Lord Wen Sheng.”
Lan Zhai resented Lan Tang. He knew his brother had done nothing wrong from beginning to end, yet he still found the sight of him unbearable.
If not for Lan Tang, he would not be getting expelled from the palace.
Lan Tang had already fallen into a coma, so why had he woken up? Could he not have stayed asleep? Why come back and fight him for everything?!
All his life, Lan Tang’s brilliance had been so dazzling that Lan Zhai could barely open his eyes beneath it. When they did the same thing, their father praised Lan Tang, while offering Lan Zhai only a smile and a few perfunctory words.
Lan Zhai was no worse than Lan Tang. In looks, ability, or conduct, he believed he fell short in none of them!!!
So why did Lan Tang’s awakening mean that Lan Zhai had to be expelled from the palace for wanting to remain with the person he loved?
Was he being pushed aside to make room for Lan Tang?
The moment Lan Tang woke, Lan Zhai lost everything!!!
Once that thought took root, it grew so quickly that he could no longer rid himself of it. He could hardly bear to look at Lan Tang’s face.
And yet Lan Tang was speaking to him with that falsely concerned expression.
“Lan Zhai, don’t act rashly. What exactly happened?”
Wen Sheng stood to one side without saying a word. He was an outsider and had no wish to involve himself in royal affairs. Besides, he did not want to interfere. He would be delighted if Lan Zhai left the palace.
“It’s exactly what you see. Father has driven me from the palace because I want to be with Yun Yin. Brother, from now on, this kingdom belongs entirely to you.”
Lan Zhai was smiling, but his words had gone too far. Jealousy threatened to burst from his eyes, impossible to contain.
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