NoGift 119 Preparing A Surprise

AURUM was being led by two palace maid towards one of the rooms in Fenghua Palace. Being the Empress' palace, it had a lot of extra rooms. Now those extra rooms would be utilized for the young ladies who attended the banquet. Because the Empress invited the girls to stay, they didn't go home even if they could. After all, it's not everyday they could stay at Fenghua Palace.

It's slightly different in Aurum's case. Because even if she wanted to return to the Zhang household, she's pretty certain that she would be stopped someway or another. Good for them she didn't have the idea of going back. Well, at least not until the good show ended.

"Here we are, my lady," one of the palace maids said when they stopped in front of a room.

The two palace maids opened the door and Aurum and Black entered. The room was wide with gorgeous design. It was quite obvious that the Empress didn't hesitate to spend money for the decoration of these rooms.

"We'll be serving you dinner. Is there anything particular you would like to eat, my lady?" asked one of the maids.

Aurum smiled. "No. Anything's fine except for spicy dishes."

"Understood."

The two maids left, leaving Aurum and Black inside. Aurum walked towards a chair and sat on it.

"Are there any guards around?" she asked Black.

"There were some guards patrolling the grounds but none that's particularly stationed near here."

Aurum's smile widened. "Good. That makes things easier."

The dishes those two maids would bring would probably be sprinkled with spring medicine. After the medicine took effect, she would then be stealthily brought to the fifth prince's palace. Out of all the prince's, he was the only one who still lived at the Imperial Palace. The others already had their own households outside. Probably because he still hadn't had his adult ceremony.

Once she was put in the fifth prince's palace, she would be alone with him in his room. As someone who was also affected by spring medicine, he would have no choice but to attack her so he could get over the effect of the medicine. Then the next morning, the Empress would go there together with some other people and would 'accidentaly' discover them.

Being seen by a lot of people in that kind of situation, Aurum would have no choice but to marry the fifth prince if she wanted to save her reputation. Since she was found in the prince's palace, it would give the illusion that she went there herself. And if two or more palace maids gave a statement that she did go there by herself, then it would be of no use even if she complain. Because the fault would be on her head and no one else.

That's just how most society worked. If a man and a woman was found in a very compromising situation, most of the faults would be put on the woman especially if the man involved was in a powerful position. Instead of blaming the man for being a perverted pig, the woman would be blamed instead. Telling the woman that it's her fault for being flirtatious, for wearing improper clothes, for being too open, or even for being too beautiful. That's just how things went especially in a country with such stiffling society such as this.

With that, the only choice that would be left for Aurum was to marry. Or at least that was what the Empress expected to happen.

But since she talked with the fifth prince and they already agreed with a plan, those things would never happen. And even without that, her brother would never allow her to be scammed into marriage. Argent would probably not hesitate to fight with the whole Xing royalty just to get revenge for her. But Aurum wouldn't let things go that far. Especially when she could just solve the problem herself. A silly thing like this, she could easily handle.

Soon, the two maids entered again with trays of food with them. They carefully put the dishes on the table in front of Aurum.

"We'll be outside, my lady. If you need anything, just give us a call," one of the maids said when they're done putting the dishes on the table.

Then the two went out.Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

Aurum turned to Black. "My little maid, come and eat. Make sure to taste every dish."

"But didn't you say that they're laced with drugs? What if they taste weird?" Black said, scrunching up his nose.

"Don't worry, it won't affect the taste. So stop being such a wuss and just eat."

Black pouted. "Fine."

Then he went and started tasting everything. Not even ten minutes later, he already ate all the dishes. Aurum just shook her head. She just knew this kid wouldn't be able to resist any food. Despite it being sprinkled with an unknown drug. Good thing he wasn't human.

"Now go out. The maids would probably lead you somewhere, just follow them. But be sure that you'll be at the fifth prince's palace to get me later."

"Yes, Black knows. No need to remind him constantly," he said and then he walked outside.

Aurum pinched both her cheeks to give herself a faint blush, creating an illusion that she was affected by the medicine. Then she walked towards the bed and lay down. And then she waited.

After a while, the door opened and two older palace maids entered. She was expecting a guard or even a eunuch to at least take her to the prince's palace. But she guessed that would be too conspicuous. Now that she thought about it, using palace maids was a better idea. That way, it wouldn't appear like she was forced to go to the prince's palace.

"My lady, come with us," one said.

"It's hot... why is it so hot?" she said, acting perfectly like someone who drank a spring medicine.

The two palace maids looked at each other and seemed very satisfied by her reaction. Then they helped her stood up. They put a cloak on her, hiding her face and the state she was in. And probably to further add to the illusion that she had a secret rendezvous with the fifth prince. Then they led her outside. Aurum immediately noticed that the two maids who brought her food were no longer there, even Black was not there. Not really surprising since she already expected it.

Then the two older maids, while supporting both her arms, slowly made their way towards the prince's palace. When they arrived there, some of the maids noticed their arrival but none stopped them. Because they immediately recognized the two palace maids. They were the Empress' confidants, her most loyal servants. So even when they went straight to the prince's living quarters, no one stopped them.

The two maids led Aurum inside a big room. The prince was lying on the big bed, his clothes in a wild disarray as if he'd been trying to get it off him.

"How dare you... enter my room?" Li Ren said, his face red, his breathing uneven.

"Pardon us, Your Highness," one of the maids said.

Then the two put Aurum on the bed and then immediately went out of the room.

"Hey, get up," the prince's said after a while, no longer acting.

Aurum stood up. "So, where is he?" she asked while looking around.

Li Ren also stood up and walked towards a divider screen. "In here."

She followed and behind the screen, she saw the unconcious son of the Left Prime Minister - Zhao Shang. Aurum didn't ask how the prince got him here. That's not her problem and honestly, she didn't really care.

"Will this plan really work?" Li Ren couldn't help but ask. He was afraid that if Brother Shang woke up tomorrow he would immediately hate him. He's not sure if he could handle that.

"Well, if this unrequited love of yours is a responsible and honest man. Then he would be guilty, take responsibility for what he did, and then take you in as a male wife." Aurum was still quite surprised to know that for such a conservative society, they allowed men to take in male wives. "Whether he'll return your feelings, well, that's your problem, not mine."

Brother Shang was a responsible and honest man. He would definitely take responsibility for Li Ren. He would, no doubt, do it out of guilt. That, Li Ren could handle. He'd rather bind him with guilt than have him marry some woman. "Then get to it."

Aurum crouched down in front of the unconcious man and then put both her hands on his temple. According to the prince, this man had an A level Gift. She could definitely use her Gift on him. But just to make sure, she still turned off her limiter. Then she started putting her Mana inside Zhao Shang.

She's planning to create a false memory. She had never done it before, this was the first time she would ever try it. At her level right now, she could only do this to people with A level Gifts and below. And even then, she couldn't do it without turning off her limiter. She knew instinctively that she couldn't create a long memory. Only a very, very short one. Like a scene that would only last for a minute. But that was enough for this plan.

The false memory she would put was that of Zhao Shang being drunk and entering the prince's room. Which would lead to the things that would happen later. When he woke up and found that memory, he would probably be confused as to why he would suddenly appear there drunk. But there was no doubt that he did. So he would have no choice but to believe.

Aurum furrowed her brows, cold sweat dripping down her forehead. It lasted for about three minutes but she did manage what she was supposed to do. Then she immediately turned off her limiter and stood up. "It's done."

"Is that your Gift, to mess with people's head?" Li Ren asked. When this foreign girl proposed this plan to him, he was still skeptical. But now that he felt her Mana up close, his doubt completely disappeared. He was only an A level Gift user but he could still feel how powerful her Mana was.

"Sort of. So don't you dare reveal my Gift to others because I could easily reverse what I put in your lover boy's head," Aurum said, smiling.

Li Ren snorted. "I'm not that stupid to do that. If you're done, then go. I don't want to have an audience."

"Who wants to be your audience? Unlike you, I'm a pure girl who doesn't have any dirty thoughts," she said proudly and then walked out of the divider.

Li Ren ignored her and kneeled down in front of his Brother Shang. He took a bottle with a clear liquid inside from his sleeve. It was an aphrodisiac he bought from Zhi Qing Hua. Then he made Zhao Shang drink it. He stared at the handsome face of the man he had loved for almost ten years. Then he slowly bowed his head and kissed him.

[I'm sorry, Brother Shang. I just love you too much to let you go.]

Outside, Aurum heard soft knocks from the window. She opened it and Black jumped inside.

"Did anyone see you?" she asked.

"Of course not. Are you doubting Black's ability?" Black said indignantly.

"No, I'm just asking. Stop being so sensitive. Now let's go."

Black easily lifted her in a princess carry style and then jumped out of the window.

Aurum smiled. She couldn't wait to see what the Empress' reaction would be once she saw this surprise.