Chapter 56: Wife and Master

Even with Nian Tu’s slow-witted nature, she could feel the intense hostility radiating from the female in the red dress.

Nian Tu: “……”

A look of bewilderment crossed her face, completely clueless as to when she might have offended the other party.

If her memory served her right, she definitely did not know this female at all.

Ferry’s expression suddenly darkened as he pulled Nian Tu behind him, shielding her. “Your Excellency, please show some respect.”

“Oh?” Duan Qianqian curled her lip. “She isn’t even your mate, why are you being so protective of her?”

Watching Ferry act like this, she felt as sour and bitter in her heart as if she had swallowed several lemons whole.

Having pursued Ferry for many years, Ferry could not even remember her name, addressing her only as “Your Excellency” as if he had no impression of her whatsoever and had never even deigned to look at her.

Yet looking at that little female, not only was she fortunate enough to be held in Ferry’s arms and being ungrateful, but she was also blatantly harboring delusions about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. And not only did Ferry not blame her, but he was actually protecting her like this!

Duan Qianqian had never seen Ferry so unwaveringly partial to a female before, nor could she ever have imagined that such vivid emotions would one day appear on him.

Not only did Duan Qianqian find it absurd, but everyone else thought it was unbelievable as well. The people dancing even stopped their movements, quietly watching this farce unfold.

Duan Qianqian looked Nian Tu up and down coldly. “She doesn’t even have spiritual power, yet her appetite is quite large.”

She had just investigated Nian Tu and discovered that she was merely a female without spiritual power. Heaven knows how this inferior trash had managed to sneak into the royal ball!

Someone with such deficient spiritual power had somehow seduced all the top-tier males! Zion, Lu Zhan, all of them were the cream of the crop among S-class males, not to mention Marshal Ferry.

“Are you still unsatisfied after latching onto Lord Marshal? And you still harbor delusional thoughts of seducing His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?” Duan Qianqian covered her mouth with a light chuckle. “You should look in the mirror and see if you’re worthy!”

The originally harmonious atmosphere of the ballroom became unusually stagnant. The guests looked at each other in dismay, stopping their dancing to whisper softly.

“Why is a female without spiritual power able to attend the ball?”

“I was almost going to ask her for her contact info! Good thing I hadn’t gotten around to it yet!”

“She’s so pretty, what a pity……”

Someone immediately checked their optical computer, wanting to find out if what Duan Qianqian said was true.

Nian Tu’s personal profile indeed recorded that she had unawakened spiritual power.

Upon discovering this, the crowd began to whisper even more animatedly.

“How could the Marshal be together with a female who has no spiritual power?”

“He must just be playing around with her, he definitely won't bond with her.”

“With such a pure aura, I really never expected her to be such an ambitious female……”

……

Surrounded by the whispering crowd, Duan Qianqian stood there as if she had achieved a complete victory, staring smugly at Nian Tu, eager to see her feel humiliated and heartbroken amidst all these gossiping voices.

The Empress anxiously stood up and walked over toward this direction, intending to drag away this niece who was constantly causing trouble for her.

Knowing it would turn out like this, she definitely would not have allowed Duan Qianqian to attend this ball!

Amidst the uproar, Ferry’s face was as cold as water as he tightly held Nian Tu’s hand.

His usually steady and unchanging voice was now as piercingly cold as freezing ice, directed straight at Duan Qianqian: “Please apologize to my mate immediately.”

Otherwise—

“I will issue a challenge of duel to your mate.”

Males could not attack females, but in order to protect their mates, they could issue a duel challenge to the other party’s mate.

This was one of the empire’s oldest traditions, where males would stake their lives to fight for their respective mates in order to uphold their dignity.

While it outwardly appeared to be a challenge issued to a male, it was actually a slap in the face of the female standing behind him.

If one’s partner were to lose the duel, the female would never be able to hold her head high again.

Duan Qianqian trembled all over, staring at Ferry in shock.

Could a male who was so impulsively protective and ruthless really be that cold-blooded Marshal?

“You, you……” Her lips trembled, unable to utter a word as she suffered a devastating blow.

The onlookers were dumbfounded, utterly incapable of uttering malicious speculations like “the Marshal just wants to play with her” ever again.

This could not possibly be just a game; it was obvious he was completely devoted to her heart and soul……

Nian Tu also widened her eyes, suspecting that her ears were broken.

What did she just hear? Uncle called her “mate”?

The hands intertwined together suddenly possessed an overwhelming and intensely vivid presence. Her palms slowly grew hot, and the tips of her ears turned red.

No way……

Uncle, whom she had always regarded as an elder, actually viewed her as a future partner?

The surrounding gossip did not register in Nian Tu’s ears at all; her entire mind was filled with Ferry’s single word: “Mate.”

Suddenly, someone let out a soft gasp: “His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived—!”

Following this exclamation, a man walked over with elegant strides. His perfect physique was encased in a crisp uniform, and a pair of long, slender legs were particularly striking. With white hair and blue eyes, incomparably handsome, he radiated an overwhelming aura of dominance and undeniable charisma.

Amidst the attention of the crowd, he bypassed the heavy encirclement and walked straight toward Nian Tu.

For a moment, everyone held their breath, almost unable to bear watching what was about to happen.

Although this little female attempting to seduce the Crown Prince was hopelessly overestimating herself, she was bound to cry miserably when publicly rejected……

In the midst of the silence, the Crown Prince removed his glove, took a smooth, adorable pearl ear stud from his breast pocket, and said gently to Nian Tu: “Your belongings were left behind with me.”

Everyone gasped sharply.

！！！

Duan Qianqian’s triumphant smile had just formed before it froze entirely on her face.

For such a intimately worn personal item like an ear stud to fall into someone else’s hands undoubtedly signaled a unique kind of intimacy.

What was the Crown Prince doing? Was he backing Nian Tu up?

Were these males all losing their minds over Nian Tu? Had they all been slipped some kind of love potion?!

The Emperor and Empress looked at each other in dismay, completely failing to understand why Tan Konglin, who had previously gone out of his way to avoid Nian Tu, had suddenly turned into such an attentive and eager state.

Nian Tu subconsciously touched her ear, finding that one of her ear studs was indeed missing. She must have accidentally bumped it off during the time she was unconscious.

She accepted the pearl ear stud from the man’s hand, her gaze falling upon that familiar face.

Marshmallow…… was the Crown Prince?!

Under a wave of extreme shock, she remained speechless for a long time.

If she remembered correctly, the beast form of imperial males should be tigers. Why on earth was the Crown Prince’s beast form an adorable little white cat……?

Countless memories flashed through her mind. Nian Tu recalled the distinct character “King” marked on the little white cat’s forehead, the dream filled with the scent of roses, and also…… the feeling of being pressed down by a large animal a few times while she was asleep.

Her complexion turned pale, then flushed, then pale again, shifting continuously.

So she had once been so close to the truth, only to choose to ignore it time and time again.

By now, Tan Konglin finally knew the name of the female he loved was none other than…… Nian Tu.

Recalling his rejection and pushing her away in the past days, a complex mix of regret flooded his heart, making him wish he could travel back in time to a few days ago and slap some sense into his stubborn self.

If he had relented just a bit earlier, would they have been able to meet much sooner?

Of course, it was still not too late now. Fate had ultimately guided them to cross paths once again.

Tan Konglin’s deep voice was infused with tenderness: “It is my honor to share such a deep bond with you.”

Nian Tu gave a light cough.

It seemed…… they really did have quite a bond……

“May I have the honor of this dance with you, Your Excellency Nian Tu?” Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the Crown Prince adopted his most sincere posture, extending an invitation to the little female.

This was not just a mating ball; it was also the Crown Prince’s bride-selection ball!

For the Crown Prince to personally invite Nian Tu to dance…… the implication was crystal clear.

Duan Qianqian’s expression turned utterly hideous as she shrieked, “I object!”

How could a female with such deficient spiritual power as Nian Tu ever be worthy of becoming the Crown Princess!