ITF Chapter50

Bai Heting had always been acutely aware that the position he occupied allowed no room for any flaws.

But…

Saving the six-year-old Pei Yan from the hands of that Alpha soldier was the first mistake he made.

Allowing him to remain by his side as a personal bodyguard was the second mistake he made.

Taking the risk to go to Bai Yi and press for the truth about Pei Ming’s case was the third mistake he made.

He was now riddled with flaws.

The speech just now was the best defense he could think of in the heat of the moment. Although it could temporarily bluff Shao Yixiao, Bai Heting had absolutely no confidence in whether Bai Yi would be willing to believe it.

He could only pin his hopes on the weight of blood ties.

If he truly was Bai Yi’s illegitimate son, then the blood flowing through his veins belonged to Bai Yi.

Compared to Shao Cheng and Shao Yixiao, he and Bai Yi were bound to be closer, weren’t they?

Moreover, Bai Yi still needed him as a pawn right now.

Bai Heting was not religious, but at this very moment, all he could seemingly do was pray.

*

Shao Yixiao had indeed been bluffed by Bai Heting.

He had failed to find any flaws in Bai Heting’s reaction just now; not only that, but he had also nearly lost his mind to shame and anger.

Although the king did not explicitly voice any reproach toward him, the nobles had clearly begun whispering among themselves. Some were even pointing and staring at him, and Shao Cheng’s face had grown dark as well.

What angered him even more was the attitude Bai Jiashu had just displayed.

Shao Yixiao had known for three days that Bai Heting shared an unspeakable relationship with that Alpha bodyguard; it was a spy he planted in Bai Heting’s residence who told him. He had relayed those words to Bai Jiashu immediately. Bai Jiashu was incredulous at first but quickly fell into a rage.

Under the influence of the Xili Religion, the entire continent consisted of monogamous nations, yet noble Alphas often kept several public or private mistresses. They had a set of justifications for this—an Omega could only be marked by one Alpha, and without a doubt, an Omega had to be completely loyal and faithful to their Alpha; this was the Lord’s will.

But the Lord had never commanded that an Alpha could only mark one Omega.

Yet Bai Jiashu was different from them. He was extremely conservative regarding the concept of marriage, firmly believing that intimacy should only occur between partners approved by the Lord. Bai Heting appeared cold and abstinent in public, but behind closed doors, he copulated with a low-status bodyguard and even barged into the servants’ quarters at night; these actions completely crossed his line.

But when this disappointing Omega was exposed to danger, he still could not help but show concern.

This struck Shao Yixiao as utterly laughable.

The other party didn’t care about his concern at all.

Bai Jiashu also seemed vexed by his earlier display of genuine emotion. He stopped looking in Bai Heting’s direction and casually chatted with Shao Yixiao in a low voice, “But I heard that although those rebels have never seen the commander himself, they have verified his identity. That person wrote many things about himself and his mother in the letters, and those details were all confirmed by Urdan people who knew the truth.”

Shao Yixiao let out a cold laugh, “That’s because he is indeed intimately familiar with everything that happened during that illegitimate son’s childhood.”

Shao Yixiao catching Zhou Chengbei was actually an accident.

Bai Heting was currently a favorite of the king, and Shao Yixiao could not casually accuse him of harboring rebels without any basis. As a result, he had quietly dispatched new spies to infiltrate the man’s mansion to investigate the guard’s background. This time, he was far more cautious, ordering them to report every detail back to him, no matter how minor.

There was nothing new happening at the mansion, but an Omega soon caught his attention.

That Omega often complained to others saying that her husband always went to see Physician Zhou under the pretext of feeling unwell, yet during his daily farm work, no abnormality could be seen at all.

The subtext in this Omega’s words was glaringly obvious. However, one was a lowly peasant and the other was the general’s physician; Shao Yixiao truly found it hard to imagine what kind of affair could possibly exist between the two.

But when a person cannot figure something out, they must trust their intuition.

In the subsequent investigation, they successfully intercepted several messages that the peasant had sent out to the Urdan rebels.

However, Shao Yixiao did not confess any of this to Bai Jiashu.

“I captured that rebel’s parents.” He regained his composure amidst Shao Cheng’s steady pheromones. “To be precise, the foster parents he lived with in the capital. Then, I used a few minor methods…”

“Shut up.” Bai Jiashu was already feeling irritable, and hearing this, he quickly spoke up to interrupt. “I don’t want to hear you talk about those stomach-turning interrogation details.”

Shao Yixiao raised an eyebrow, omitting the overly bloody parts just as the crown prince wished, “Fine. In any case, I made them talk. His real name isn’t Zhou Chengbei at all, it’s…” He turned his head to look behind Bai Heting, his lips moving as he slowly spat out three words—

“Bei Chengzhou.”

Luo Congye kept his eyes lowered, his face devoid of expression, seemingly uninterested in their conversation. Shao Yixiao narrowed his eyes to size up this Alpha, who was a few years younger than himself, before shifting his gaze back to Bai Heting’s handsome face, “This Bei Chengzhou used to be inseparable childhood best friends with that illegitimate son. It’s said that when they were little, they were even closer than real brothers.”

Bai Heting swallowed the food in his mouth without changing his expression. However, the veins bulging on his right hand holding the dinner knife did not escape Luo Congye’s eyes.

“Ah, let’s not talk about those boring things anymore.” Shao Yixiao leaned closer to Bai Jiashu and threw an arm around his shoulders, regaining his previous high spirits.

“Look down there.” He lifted his chin, prompting Bai Jiashu to look toward the exact center of the colosseum. “The grand finale I meticulously arranged is here.”

*

Bai Heting also looked up and over.

The last time he had seen Zhou Chengbei was a week ago, but at this moment, it was already difficult to discern the Beta’s original appearance from his blood-soaked body. Taking advantage of the brief moment when the attendant poured wine, he cast a glance backward. Luo Congye appeared even more composed than he was as if he had long been mentally prepared to face this scene.

This allowed Bai Heting to completely confirm that these two had already secretively made their true identities known to each other behind his back.

An enemy, a massive threat, was lurking right by his side, and Luo Congye had never revealed a single shred of it to him.

In fact, it was highly likely that Luo Congye was actively involved in the rebellion.

Perhaps he really was the commander behind the scenes of the Urdan rebel army.

Bai Heting silently recalled Luo Congye’s past actions, yet he found himself unable to judge exactly when the man had established contact with the Urdan rebels.

Perhaps it was after Zhou Chengbei came to the General’s Mansion, or perhaps even earlier, during the autumn hunt…

Zhou Chengbei was a physician; had the two of them played a part in his being drugged during the autumn hunt?

Was the timing of Luo Congye’s appearance at the hunting grounds a mere coincidence?

Just how much truth and falsehood lay within the loyalty and concern he had displayed toward him?

Bai Heting could not be certain of any of it.

But what he could be certain of was that during this period of intimate, daily contact with Luo Congye, he had been blind, arrogant, obtuse, and even foolish; played like a fool by Luo Congye’s consummate acting skills.

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