ITF Chapter125

Applause thundered throughout the tournament arena.

The youth reined in his warhorse, tossed his broken spear out of the ring, and rode back a few paces. Across the guardrail, he asked the Alpha lying flat on the ground, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Zhong Yi’an lifted his helmet visor, shot a meaningful glance toward the grandstand, and urged, “Hurry up and go claim your reward.”

The celebration for Her Majesty the Queen’s eighteenth birthday officially kicked off today. This was the first time Pei Jing had participated in an official tournament as a knight, yet he had cleared every obstacle along the way by battling Zhong Xiao’s eldest son, Zhong Yi’an, for three grueling rounds in the finals before knocking him off his horse and seizing the crown in one fell swoop.

“A bet’s a bet.” Bei Yang stared at the wine cup in front of Zhong Xiao, tapping his fingers on the table three times. “Three cups.”

Zhong Xiao brushed it off with a smile and downed the wine in her cup. Lin Qian picked up the wine flask to refill it for her, raising her pretty brows to glare at Bei Yang, “That’s not even your son, what are you so proud of?”

“What’s wrong with me being proud?” Bei Yang said indifferently. “His skills were basically taught by me.”

Having no children of his own, he had always regarded Pei Jing as his own flesh and blood, and Pei Jing’s performance today was indeed worthy of praise—despite his young age, he stood out among a crowd of excellent knights. His defensive movements were calm and elegant, while his attacks were sharp and decisive. Most valuable of all, he was able to precisely gauge the timing and force of his strikes; every blow stopped exactly where it needed to, leaving none of his opponents injured.

With his outstanding performance, this elegant sixteen-year-old youth won the attention and praise of the entire audience. But as the martial arts instructor for the children of the royal family, Bei Yang knew better than anyone that in order to develop such superb control, Pei Jing had endured countless beatings from Bai Qinghuan when he was a child for absolutely no reason.

Zhong Xiao knocked back three cups of wine in a row. Bei Yang was about to tease her a bit more when a sudden commotion erupted among the spectators, as if some monumental event had occurred. Only then did Jiang Han look back toward the arena, asking somewhat nervously, “What’s wrong? Is someone hurt?”

“It’s nothing, Xiao Jing is asking Her Majesty for his reward.” Luo Congye waved his hand, signaling him not to worry.

The commotion in the stands had still not quieted down, making Jiang Han ask curiously, “What reward did Xiao Jing ask for?”

Luo Congye glanced at Bai Qinghuan, who sat right in the center of the grandstand, and then at Bai Heting beside him. He saw Bai Qinghuan toss something down into the arena, while Bai Heting didn’t say a single word, merely taking a sip of his wine with an unchanged expression.

Luo Congye shook his head with a smile, “He asked Her Majesty to grant him a personal item.”

Such a request was practically equivalent to a public declaration of love, and Jiang Han looked down at the arena in astonishment. By this time, Pei Jing had already removed his helmet and sat firmly upon his mount, clearly holding the Queen’s reward in his hand.

Yet not a single trace of excitement could be seen on that handsome young face.

When he was that age, even dreaming about that person felt like a crime. Looking at the expression of three parts confusion and seven parts dissatisfaction on his son’s face, Luo Congye couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion, “This brat, he isn’t very old, but he certainly has a lot of nerve.”

*

The news that Her Majesty the Queen had granted a token to the Prime Minister’s son caused no real stir within the palace. These two childhood sweethearts had grown up together from infancy and shared a profoundly deep affection; most of the court ministers believed it was merely a matter of time before they reached this stage.

What they did not know, however, was that the person involved was currently experiencing a tempest in his heart. On this very evening following the conclusion of the birthday celebration, Pei Jing stormed angrily into the small parlor Bai Qinghuan used for handling state affairs, threw the leather thumb ring onto a stack of documents, and demanded indignantly, “This was the birthday gift I gave you, yet you granted it back to me as a duel reward?”

Bai Qinghuan raised her head to glance at him, then returned her gaze to the document in her hands before explaining in an even tone, “I didn’t have any other accessories.”

This was the third year since Bai Qinghuan had taken personal control of the government. Though born a girl, she always dressed like a boy; she had never grown her hair long like other girls, nor had she ever worn beautiful formal gowns. Furthermore, unlike most nobles, she did not wear exquisite or luxurious jewelry and ornaments on her person.

Unable to counter her argument for the moment, Pei Jing had no choice but to take a seat beside the desk.

Bai Qinghuan’s mood seemed rather poor today. After keeping quiet at her side for a while, he asked in a low voice, “Did the council disagree with your proposal?”

Ever since Bai Heting began his regency, the palace had methodically issued multiple decrees regarding Omegas. Nowadays, Omegas could not only study and join the military but could even be promoted to officials and generals. This series of reforms had long since drawn quiet complaints from the conservative faction. A few days ago, Bai Qinghuan had wanted to induct a female Omega into the council, a proposal that thoroughly incited the resistance of the conservatives.

“They agreed,” Bai Qinghuan said. “However, the only reason they agreed was because they dread the Prime Minister.”

There was not shred of exaggeration in her words. Bai Heting not only held military power, but manufacturing and commerce were practically under his control as well. What kind of end one would meet by forming factions for selfish gains and defying the royal family under Bai Heting’s nose, predecessors had already demonstrated it clearly for the ministers.

“Perhaps, what I ought to return to your family isn’t just this archery thumb ring,” Bai Qinghuan said, lowering her eyes. “But also, my crown.”

Pei Jing was so startled by this latter half of the sentence that he jumped up from his chair. He glanced back toward the direction of the door, his tone becoming somewhat tense, “If these words reach my mother’s ears, you will be heavily punished.” He walked quickly to the door, closed the parlor door completely, and then hurried back. “What happened? Did someone whisper something in your ear?”

“This is an open secret in the palace; it doesn’t require anyone to tell me,” Bai Qinghuan said. “Back then, your mother personally admitted in the Bania Valley that he was Grandfather’s legitimate eldest son. Yet, I have searched through the royal archives and found no record of it. He must have ordered the historians to erase that piece of history.” She set down the document in her hand, saying without a ripple of emotion, “He erased the truth, but he cannot erase the fact that I stole his crown.”

“Watch your words,” Pei Jing hurriedly interrupted her. “Mother doing this must mean he has his reasons.”

“What reasons?” Bai Qinghuan said. “Nowadays, he barely participates in state affairs. If one day he resigns from the position of Prime Minister, I don’t even know who would still take me seriously. I…” Speaking to this point, her tone suddenly plummeted to rock bottom. “I have no way… no way to do as well as he did.”

She had never mentioned her biological parents to Pei Jing, but Pei Jing knew that she was completely clear about everything that had happened in the past. From the day she was born, she had lived amidst the idle gossip of the attendants; she knew the truth behind her parents’ deaths and knew even better what her father and maternal grandfather had done. Over these years, she had always clumsily followed behind Bai Heting, learning from him how to conduct herself and how to be a qualified ruler of a nation.

Yet, she did not dare to get too close to him.

Sometimes, Pei Jing felt that Bai Qinghuan was like a rootless duckweed. Duckweed was resilient; nothing could restrict its growth. Yet, its growth seemed to have no rationale behind it. It grew merely for the sake of growing.

Bai Qinghuan continued, “Although primogeniture has its flaws, from ancient times to the present, any dynasty that broke the system of succession ultimately paid a price. These things are all written in the history books; we learned them together.”

Pei Jing reminded her, “You should be clear about my mother’s character. The fact that he is participating less and less in politics now only proves that you are doing well enough. Besides, even if such a day truly comes, wouldn’t you still have the Royal Guard and the council ministers who are loyal to you?” He paused slightly, saying in a very low voice, “And Zhong Yi’an,” making the next two words even quieter, “and me.”

Hearing this, Bai Qinghuan raised her head.

“Even someone as powerful as my mother didn’t manage the country single-handedly.” Pei Jing’s tone lightened a fraction. “Stop overthinking. How about I play a piece for you? What do you want to hear?”

Bai Qinghuan raised her hand and rubbed her face.

“I don’t want to hear anything.” Looking at the stack of documents before her, she said in a muffled voice, “I still have quite a few matters left to handle.”

Pei Jing let out a helpless sigh, “Bai Qinghuan, can you not always push yourself so hard? Besides, there’s no need for you to keep dressing yourself up like a boy all the time.”

Bai Qinghuan said in a low voice, “If your mother finds out that you addressed me directly by name like this, you will be heavily punished too.”

“What,” Pei Jing smiled, revealing a pair of canine teeth, “are you going to complain to him?”

When the two of them were alone together, they never cared much for the etiquette between ruler and subject. Ignoring his joke, Bai Qinghuan only said seriously, “I am a girl, and an Omega at that as well. If I conduct myself like an ordinary girl, the world will find it even more impossible to accept me. I know you and Zhong Yi’an have been letting me win since we were kids. Why couldn’t I have been born like a boy, to grow a bit taller, to…”

Pei Jing didn’t let her finish her sentence, “Among boys, there are those who grow tall and those who remain short, those with great strength and those with little. But so what? No matter how we’re born, as long as we do our best to do things properly and can face everyone with a clear conscience, isn’t that enough?”

This speech of his held some truth. Looking at the tall Alpha blocking her view, Bai Qinghuan muttered softly under her breath, “You certainly make it sound easy.”

“好景吟何极，清欢尽亦难。”

Her pheromones had grown much calmer than before. Feeling at ease, Pei Jing picked up the leather thumb ring, set it back down in front of her, and instructed, “Keep it safe. Don’t lose it, and don’t give it to anyone else.”

Bai Qinghuan glanced at the item on the desk, “I have many thumb rings like this.”

Pei Jing immediately said, “This one is different from those.”

“How is it different?” Bai Qinghuan pushed the thumb ring slightly to the side, a hint of complaint entering her tone. “A birthday celebration only happens once a year, yet you gave me such a half-hearted gift with something that can be bought anywhere.”

“Half-hearted?” Pei Jing was nearly choked by her words. His eyes widened as he pointed at the thumb ring, raising his voice to ask, “Do you have any idea how long Zhong Yi’an mocked me just so I could prepare this gift for you?”

Bai Qinghuan was stunned for a moment, “Why did he mock you?”

“He…” Pei Jing opened and closed his mouth but couldn’t utter a word. Flinging his hand out forcefully, he said huffily, “Forget it, I’m going to practice the piano.”

But after taking only two steps, he turned back around, feeling uneasy, and solemnly instructed once more, “In short, you are absolutely not allowed to lose it!”

Because he spoke so vaguely, Bai Qinghuan only found it more baffling. She watched Pei Jing leave in a huff, then picked up the leather thumb ring from the desk and examined it closely.

This time, she finally felt an anomaly on the inner lining of the ring.

Turning the thumb ring inside out, she discovered that two lines of small characters had actually been embroidered on the inner layer with silver silk thread. Perhaps because the thread was too fine, she hadn’t noticed it at all when wearing it earlier.

The youth who had left in such a rush was already long gone, but a faint, subtle smile surfaced on the young girl’s face.

Bai Qinghuan ran her finger over those two lines of small characters. It was a line from a foreign poem that she was very familiar with—

“How can one ever finish praising such beauty, when even simple joy is never truly exhausted?”