Chapter 44: A Tragic Life
Su Wen turned around and saw the Seventh Princess standing behind him with a wine glass in her hand. Her big eyes seemed to be smiling at him.
Su Wen turned to Wu Muyu and smiled. "Lend me your wine cup!"
Wu Muyu quickly whispered, "I've already used this wine glass."
Su Wen smiled and said, "It's fine, I don't mind."
Without waiting for Wu Muyu's reply, he picked up the wine glass on the table and poured a glass of wine. He smiled at the Seventh Princess and said, " *Happy Birthday to You.* "
(TL Note: I'm putting the * * to differentiate since he spoke in English instead of Chinese)
The Seventh Princess was dumbfounded. What was this person talking about?
Su Wen saw that she did not understand and tried once more, " *How are you?* "
She blankly asked, "What is Brother Su saying?"
Su Wen smiled and said, "I had a teacher who taught me foreign languages for more than 10 years. However, I only remembered three sentences and it seems like I've even remembered them wrongly."
He was not lying. After so many years of learning English, he only remembered these few words.
Zhao Wanrou also smiled. "Then I must have remembered wrongly. My mother taught me some of her language before, but it's different from what Young Master Su said."
This time, Su Wen said seriously, "I wish Your Highness the best of luck and longevity."
After all, it was her birthday today. He should not be rude.
Seeing Su Wen drink the wine, Wu Muyu's face turned red again. No one knew what her brain was thinking.
As for Zhao Wanrou, she said, "Tomorrow, Brother Su and Xue Meng will be competing in wealth. Everyone in the capital knows about this. Even I, who was in the palace, had heard about it. It's just that I also want to go out and take a look, so I wonder if Brother Su can bring me along?"
Su Wen narrowed his eyes. Bring her there?
It was not difficult for the princesses to leave the palace. The Fifth Princess, Zhao Xuanxuan, would always run out of the palace. Otherwise, how would her name be so resounding in the capital?
So why did the Seventh Princess want him to bring her along?
Seeing Su Wen's hesitation, Zhao Wanrou said in a low voice, "If it's not convenient for Brother Su, then forget it." As she spoke, the light in her eyes dimmed.
Zhao Wanrou was different from the other princesses. Her mother was a foreigner and had no one to rely on in the Great Zhou Dynasty. She followed her mother and had never left the palace gates.
As for her brothers and sisters, although they appeared friendly to her in front of the Emperor, in private, they despised her.
They thought that she had an impure bloodline and wasn't worthy of being called a princess.
Hence, she chose to speak to Su Wen.
A girl like Zhao Wanrou was actually the most sensitive. When Su Wen hesitated, she thought that Su Wen was the same as the others and looked down on her foreigner bloodline. Hence, she took the initiative to give Su Wen a way to decline her.
Zhao Wanrou suppressed the disappointment in her heart and turned to leave.
At this moment, Su Wen's voice sounded. "Princess, what are you talking about? There's nothing inconvenient about it. It just so happens that I would like to ask Your Highness for a favor. Your Highness can leave the palace with me in a while."
At that moment, the Crown Prince returned with Wu Lie.
Although Wu Lie had an indignant expression on his face, it was obvious that after being brought away by the Crown Prince, he didn't want to continue causing trouble. He sat back down and picked up his wine glass to drink.
With the banquet in full swing after the Emperor left, the young people were gathered in twos and threes. Zhao Rui also went to Su Wen's side.
Even though Su Wen had given him a hard time before, the Second Prince had given him some pointers, allowing him to let bygones be bygones.
He went to Su Wen's side and looked at Wu Lie who was drinking alone. He chuckled and said, "Young Master Su, do you know why that person was so hostile towards you?"
Su Wen asked curiously, "You know?"
Zhao Rui nodded and said, "His name is Wu Lie, and he is the son of General Wu Kunhu. A few years ago, he followed General Wu to battle in the northern borders, and got to know Yan Luoying at that time. Later on, he heard that his father proposed a marriage to Yan Ze, but he was rejected. As a result, the relationship between the two of them became much more distant. Originally, Wu Kunhu would speak up for Yan Ze in court, but in the past few years, he no longer does this."
Su Wen burst into laughter.
"Oh my god, so that's how it is. I was wondering why this person stared at me the moment he heard my name. So it's because of the hatred of stealing his wife. But you can't blame me for this, it's none of my business if the other party did not agree to his proposal in the first place.
Besides, if he has the ability to look for His Majesty and allow him to betroth Yan Luoying to him, then I'll really thank his eight generations of ancestors."
At this moment, Su Wen glanced at Wu Muyu with his eyes and continued with a smile, "Brother Zhao, I didn't listen carefully to the introductions just now. Would you happen to know whose family this lady is from?"
Su Wen was rather interested in Wu Muyu.
Zhao Rui said, "She is Wu Lie's younger sister and the only daughter of General Wu Kunhu. She is the apple of his eye!"
"Heh heh! Life is so f*cking nonsensical!" Su Wen spat out in ridicule.
"What's wrong, Brother Su?"
"I'm fine, just a little dizzy!"
...
It was already past noon when the banquet came to an end. Before Wu Muyu left, she glanced at Su Wen once more but realized that he did not notice her. The little girl felt a strange sense of disappointment in her heart.
At this moment, Wu Lie walked to her side and said, "Don't look at that bastard. He's merely a shameless prick."
Wu Muyu said in a low voice, "I think he's quite interesting."
How should he put it? Su Wen always had the aura of a hooligan. He might not be that decent, but he was extremely attractive to some girls.
Especially Wu Muyu, in her entire life, she had never met anyone like Su Wen.
"Oh?" Wu Lie lowered his head to look at his sister beside him. He noticed that she had a smile on her lips and a blush on her face.
"F*ck, something's wrong!"
He cursed inwardly.
"Alright, stop looking. Let's hurry home."
He grabbed Wu Muyu's arm and forcibly dragged her away.
Everyone left. Su Wen waited for Zhao Wanrou for a while before she went back to change her clothes. After a while, Zhao Wanrou reappeared, dressed in a casual outfit. She wore a light yellow dress that was elegant and classy. It looked extremely bright on her.
Su Wen's eyes lit up.
As the two of them walked out of the Royal Palace together, Su Wen happened to notice that Zhao Jin was still there and smiled. "Why hasn't Brother Zhao left?"
Zhao Jin smiled and said, "I have nothing to do if I return to the residence, so I might as well wait here for the young master." He had also noticed the Seventh Princess, but he didn't take another glance at her, nor did he ask.
Su Wen smiled. "This is the Seventh Princess."
Zhao Jincai hurriedly bowed before Su Wen and Zhao Wanrou boarded the carriage and headed straight for the Su Residence.
On the other side, the Zhou Emperor also received the news.
"Hehe, I didn't expect Wanrou to leave the palace with Su Wen. Initially, I was planning to use this opportunity to let Su Wen get closer to the princesses so that I could choose one to marry him. I didn't expect this brat to be so quick."
The old eunuch continued, "Although this Su Wen is a bit absurd, when it comes to martial arts and appearance, they are all top class. He might be a young and flirtatious man, but he is the most attractive to young girls."
The Zhou Emperor shook his head, "Although Wanrou is of my bloodline, she has been ostracized by the other princes and princesses since she was young. Although I know this, it's hard for me to say it. I cannot bear to marry her off to Su Wen now."
The old eunuch knew that the Emperor was lamenting that Su Wen did not have much time left.
He consoled her, "Your Majesty, this is fate. If the Seventh Princess and Su Wen really have feelings for each other, perhaps this is what the Seventh Princess wants the most."
"That's true. Let them be!" The Emperor sighed.
No matter how regretful he sounded, his actions and thoughts remained unchanged.
The most heartless family was indeed the Royal Family.