Chapter 101: Then, You Are My Trump Card.
Although she respected Jiang Qingwan’s fighting spirit, Xie Qiang still refused her suggestion. “ I won’t go.”
“Why?” Jiang Qingwan asked, perplexed. “If you personally visit the battlefields to destroy wormholes, you would surely gain the full support of the Sentinels in every major war zone. At that time, even if Your Highness ascends the throne as a Guide, you wouldn’t have to worry about Sentinels revolting. The First Prince…”
Jiang Qingwan’s words came to an abrupt halt.
“You’re one of the First Prince’s people, right?” Xie Qiang caught the slip. “But you don’t seem satisfied with him.”
“The First Prince and I were only in a cooperative relationship before.” Jiang Qingwan bit her lip and slowly revealed the truth. “He asked me to monitor you. If I saw any signs of you improving, I was to find a way to suppress it.”
“But you didn’t want to suppress it, did you?” Xie Qiang was satisfied with her honesty. In the novel, the villainess had always been wicked, so the heroine hadn’t taken much action, even hoping she would change for the better.
“The First Prince said your nature was hard to change. I believed him for a time, which is why I told the Sentinels you weren’t sincerely purifying them.” Jiang Qingwan said guiltily, “I am truly sorry, Your Highness.”
“It’s fine; it’s in the past.” From the beginning, Xie Qiang believed the heroine would pull back from the brink and make the right choice. She had simply cleared her head ahead of time.
Seeing that Xie Qiang wasn’t disappointed in her, Jiang Qingwan felt a warmth in her heart. She said sincerely, “It would be an excellent choice for Your Highness to visit the battlefield personally to set an example for the Sentinels.”
“As long as I visit the battlefield and perform thorough purifications for them, they will follow me just the same. Why take an extra step?” Xie Qiang patted Jiang Qingwan’s shoulder with a serious air. “Guide Jiang, one must learn to hide their brilliance. Otherwise, it’s easy to incur jealousy and meet an untimely end.”
She looked up. On her beautiful, exquisite face, her clear, harmless ice-blue cat eyes gazed at Jiang Qingwan. The expectation and appreciation revealed within them made one instinctively want to protect and indulge her, and consequently, follow her every word.
“Regarding the fact that I have such powerful combat ability, I hope Guide Jiang won’t spread the word. I only revealed my trump card to you because I trust you deeply and want you to stand on my side.”
The small hand on her shoulder slid down Jiang Qingwan’s arms and took her wrist. Xie Qiang’s expression was full of trust as she smiled softly. “If it were anyone else, I absolutely wouldn’t be this way.”
Jiang Qingwan’s eyes widened, her graceful features filled with disbelief. She never expected the Princess to trust her so much.
But quickly, remembering something, Jiang Qingwan bit her lip and asked cautiously, “Your Highness… you aren’t lying to me again, are you?”
Last time, the Princess had told the Sentinels that it was because of Jiang Qingwan that she wouldn’t perform thorough purifications for them.
And the result was…
“How could I?” Xie Qiang’s face was the picture of sincerity. “Last time was a small punishment because you lied. Seeing you treated that way by the Sentinels, my heart ached terribly!”
“But I knew that temporary pain would lead to a more rational and excellent Guide Jiang. I cherish you so much and hope you will become my right-hand woman. You wouldn’t resent me for my coldness back then, would you?”
After speaking, Xie Qiang couldn’t help but give herself a mental thumbs-up.
She had learned this set of rhetoric by chance; it was how her adoptive father talked to subordinates who were capable but occasionally had a wandering heart.
Sure enough, Jiang Qingwan was moved to tears. “How could I resent Your Highness! I was indeed in the wrong back then. I won’t be that way again!”
She had mistakenly believed the First Prince was the only one who could improve Sentinel benefits and the Empire’s status. Fearing the Princess, who loathed Sentinels, would ignore their lives after ascending the throne, she had used unscrupulous means to slander her.
But after seeing the Princess’s superior reform methods, she knew she had been completely and utterly wrong.
Her past efforts had only added to the Guides’ workload and gained her worthless fame; they hadn’t solved the Empire’s problems at the root.
It was the Princess who had knocked her senses back into her, making her realize her own stupidity and shortcomings.
“Your Highness, I will stand on your side.”
Jiang Qingwan took Xie Qiang’s hand and devoutly kissed the back of it.
As long as you can lead the Empire to prosperity.
Having obtained Jiang Qingwan’s promise, Xie Qiang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This fish has finally been hooked.
She opened Jiang Qingwan’s palm and wrote a sentence: You, too, are a trump card.
Jiang Qingwan’s eyes widened as she looked at Xie Qiang in surprise. Xie Qiang responded with a soft smile. “Guide Jiang understands my meaning, right?”
the woman nodded, her eyes bright.
She would certainly hide her identity well.
The Zerg flying out of the wormhole grew more numerous. The chaotic buzzing of wings and screeching gave Sen Ji—whose five senses surpassed even S-class Sentinels—a splitting headache, and his mood grew increasingly agitated.
The Zerg Empress had escaped under the cover of the swarm. Sen Ji had pursued with all his might but ultimately lost track of her.
Although he had expected this outcome, Sen Ji couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
He had originally thought that if he could cut off the Empress’s head as a trophy for Xie Qiang, she might be willing to talk about their current awkward relationship.
“Forget it. At least we know her current location. Next, I’ll request the Emperor to take over the surrounding war zones and clear out the Zerg here first.”
Sen Ji spoke to Mo Yin, who had caught up behind him. “You clear the Zerg; I’ll make a contact.”
With that, he opened his light-brain and contacted Cang Jiu. “Send your coordinates. I’m coming right away.”
The coordinates were sent quickly. Sen Ji took Mo Yin and rushed to where Xie Qiang’s group was located.
Seeing Xie Qiang unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief. He stepped forward to report the result. “The Zerg Empress escaped. I didn’t catch her.”
Hong Que, who was killing Zerg nearby, heard this and stole a glance at Sen Ji. His tone was full of disdain. “The Zerg Empress was practically in your face, and you still lost her?”
Although he knew perfectly well that the Empress wasn’t easy to catch, it didn’t stop him from criticizing Sen Ji. After all, he still remembered—this tiger-headed guy had secretly marked Xie Qiang!
Sen Ji bit his lip. Looking at Xie Qiang, who had grown much thinner over the past few days, he clenched his fists and knelt on one knee, saying coldly, “It is due to my lack of ability. Your Highness may punish me as you see fit.”
Hearing him address her so formally and even kneeling—clearly showing he had grievances against her—Xie Qiang’s cat-like eyes lowered, and her voice became cold as well. “No need. Get up. Prepare to return to the Imperial City immediately.”
Every extra minute here was another minute of danger.
Seeing that Xie Qiang wasn’t even willing to look at him, Sen Ji’s heart felt a sting. He couldn’t tell from her cold expression if she was disappointed in his incompetence or if she simply didn’t care whether the Empress was killed.
Thus, he could only slowly rise and take command, directing everyone toward the starship’s location.
As they drew near the starship, the dense insect tide gradually retreated, revealing the piles of Zerg corpses previously slain by Sen Ji and Cang Jiu. The stench of blood was overwhelming. Xie Qiang couldn’t help but cover her nose and mouth, her face showing distress.
Sen Ji was constantly watching Xie Qiang’s expression. Seeing this, he was about to step forward to give her a mask when Hong Que scooped her into his arms, burying her face in his chest.
“It smells bad, right? Hold your breath for a bit; I’ll take you somewhere clean to rest.” With that, Hong Que yelled at Sen Ji and the others, “Hey, you guys fix the starship here. I’m taking her to a clean spot nearby to rest.”
Sen Ji’s hand holding the mask froze in mid-air. His gaze swept over the prominent temporary mark on Hong Que’s cheek. Seeing Xie Qiang nestled in Hong Que’s arms without rejecting his proposal, he lowered his eyelids and gripped the mask, retracting his hand. “Mm. Protect Her Highness well.”
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