In the middle of the night, Lin Cheng felt parched. He got up several times to drink water. He was already feeling glum, and after getting up several times, whatever little desire to sleep he had left was completely ruined.
He called his cat over, hugged his cat while sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window and watched the night view for half the night, with a very old photo of his parents placed on the table next to him. It was a photo that Lin Cheng hardly ever looked at, which he took out from a drawer.
Early next morning,
Old King sent someone to invite Lin Cheng to discuss the engagement.
Lin Guli said, "Let's go together."
Lin Cheng coughed a little but didn't say much. "Let's go," he said.
Hearing his cough, Lin Guli asked the servant to bring another coat for Lin Cheng from upstairs. Then he personally helped Lin Cheng put it on.
Lin Cheng smiled and stretched out his arms to put them into the sleeves.
When uncle and nephew arrived, Old King and several members of the royal family were already seated and waiting for them. One of them had gone home the previous night but rushed back upon receiving the news...
Seeing Lin Cheng, they were as pleased as if seeing their own son. Gone was the sharpness they had when previously forcing him up the mountain.
They were courteous and even fawning over the uncle and nephew.
Apparently except for Old King's family, nobody else knew about Lin Cheng being "green hat-ed." Everybody thought Lin Cheng had a "change of heart for the greater good."
Everybody discussed the engagement together. But Lin Cheng was completely listless and absentminded throughout, not giving any opinions.
Nobody picked on Lin Cheng who had lost love either.
Old King completely understood Lin Cheng's feelings after being cheated on.
The already reluctant Lin Cheng just acted out the heartbreak of losing his lovegirl to the end. He was preoccupied with his cat the entire time, leaving Lin Guli and Old King’s group to handle the discussions.
In the end, the engagement date was set for ten days later. Not only would Old King hold a grand banquet, he would also make an national announcement.
Hearing about the national announcement, Lin Cheng's heart sank inevitably, even though he knew it would happen. With the whole world informed, even if he eventually left everything behind and walked away, it would still be very hard to detach himself.
Lin Guli asked, "The date is so soon? What about Karina's injury?"
Old King said, "The engagement is more important."
Just then, Lin Cheng's coughing sounded: "Cough, cough cough..." He coughed quite badly.
Everyone looked at him. They had heard Lin Cheng cough several times over the past half hour of discussion.
Lin Guli asked, "Caught a cold?"
Old King also voiced his concern.
Lin Cheng managed to stop his coughing spell with great difficulty and took a breath to recover: "Maybe I caught a chill from the cold wind these days."
Old King told his assistant, "Go find a doctor to come over."
Lin Cheng declined, "No need, cough..."
Lin Guli insisted, "Just let the doctor take a look."
The doctor examined Lin Cheng swiftly and diagnosed him with a minor cold. He prescribed some medication and advised Lin Cheng to keep warm and eat light.
Old King would arrange for someone to take full responsibility of the engagement preparations so Lin Cheng didn't need to worry. He only needed to prepare an engagement ring.
On the way back to the castle midway, a car blocked Lin Cheng's way.
Then someone appeared at Lin Cheng's car window, "Duke Lin, my Duke has invited you."
Lin Cheng went to meet alone.
It was the same high-end private club with excellent confidentiality as last time, the same private room. Lin Cheng saw Lai En.
Lai En asked, "Duke Lin, take a seat—just came back from the palace?"
Lin Cheng said, "The Duke knows very clearly. Why bother asking? Has the Duke recovered from his injuries? And Duke Lafeier as well, cough—"
Lin Cheng gestured to ask the server for a cup of hot water.
Lai En smiled, "My little injury won't stop me from attending Duke Lin and Karina's engagement banquet. Speaking of which, when will the engagement banquet happen?"
Lin Cheng answered, "In ten days."
Lai En offered his blessings, "Congratulations."
As he looked at Lin Cheng, his expression gradually faded.
Lin Cheng returned his gaze, "The Duke wouldn't have asked me here just to ask about the engagement date, would you? Say what you really want to tell me."
Seeing Lin Cheng's attitude, Lai En was displeased. "Shouldn't it be Duke Lin who does the talking? Or has Duke Lin forgotten what we talked about in this private room last time?"
Lin Cheng said, "To be honest, I prefer the atmosphere of our last meeting. At least back then, I thought I had a choice."
Lin Cheng put down the water in his hand, "But I'm just a minister who listens to orders and does his best. What I want to do is not up to me to decide. Even if I have my own beloved girl, even if I don't love Karina, even if I'm not interested in that position, they won't let me be. "
Lin Cheng continued, "If Duke Lai En can make the King change his mind, I, Lin Cheng, will thank you first."
Lai En said in displeasure, "Both good guy and bad guy roles were left for Duke Lin to act out, and all the benefits went to you too. And now you're telling me this?"
Lin Cheng stood up, "In everyone's eyes, I'm indeed as lucky as I can be." Lin Cheng's eyes flicked slightly and he asked back before Lai En could respond, "Duke Lai En wouldn't have asked me here just to get an explanation from me, would you?"
Seeing Lai En's increasingly ugly expression, Lin Cheng smiled.
"Since I have to take that position no matter what, I won't struggle anymore. These days, so many people have been pressuring me in turns, it's really annoying. But I've also realized one thing—the only way to stop them from pestering me is to have the power to shut them up. And that means I have to sit higher than them. So now I actually look forward to experiencing what it feels like to be worshipped by tens of thousands of people. I'm even impatient for it." Lin Cheng looked at Lai En with a smile as he spoke. His attitude towards that position had completely changed.
Lin Cheng got up, "I won't stay for the meal. I'll invite Duke Lai En to my engagement banquet in ten days. Cough— Duke Lai En must show up, you hear?"
Lai En's voice was cold and heavy, "Duke Lin had better take good care of his health. Don't end up celebrating prematurely only to run into sorrow."
Lin Cheng bid farewell, "Thank you for your concern, Duke. I'll take my leave now."
Lai En's hand on the table had already clenched into a fist when Lin Cheng spoke of wanting to experience the worship of tens of thousands. The moment Lin Cheng stepped out of the private room, Lai En slammed his fist heavily onto the table.
At this time, Lai En strongly agreed with what his father said—they should have killed Lin Cheng long ago.
He even suspected that Lin Cheng had brought Jiao Ying to pretend to discuss cooperation last time just to probe him, and had deliberately offered to give up the throne and support Lai En, which was fake all along.
Everything, including Lin Cheng asking Jiao Ying to pretend to be his girlfriend, was part of his elaborate scheme just to deceive Lai En and keep some evidence to deal with Lai En and the entire Howard Family.
It was evident that Lin Cheng had wanted that position from the very start.
The more Lai En thought about it, the more he felt that was the case, and the more he felt he had been duped. Once Lin Cheng succeeded to the throne, Lai En feared that he would immediately take action against him, his family, and the royal members who supported Lai En.
Lai En returned to the hospital with a heavy heart.
His father Lafeier asked, "Did you meet Lin Cheng?"
Lai En answered tersely, "Feeling vexed. Just went out for some fresh air."
Lafeier said, "Judging from your restless state, I already said not to worry. They can't see this marriage through."
That night,
Old King called the media and held a press conference. Facing the cameras, he announced the joyous news to the people nationwide that Lin Cheng and Princess Karina of the royal family were engaged to be married. This was equivalent to an implicit announcement that Lin Cheng was the heir to the throne.
Initially thinking that it was just a minor chill, Lin Cheng didn't even plan on taking medication. But unexpectedly, his condition deteriorated...
