A Disguised Scum Alpha Marked Her Aloof Ex-Wife - Chapter 24

The second Zhu Yu burrowed under the quilt, the door was pushed open.

The visitor’s politeness was limited to those three unhurried knocks. Rather than a request, they sounded more like the end of a countdown.

Her shoes struck the floor with crisp clicks, carrying a powerful sense of oppression.

“Your Highness Zhu Yu?” A voice as sweet as an aria.

Zhu Yu nervously pinched the corner of the quilt and decided to pretend she was asleep.

The original body’s memories were incomplete, and when Zhu Yu had read the original work, she had skipped over many of the early abusive parts. Even so, she guessed the visitor’s identity at once.

—The fox, Feng Jiyan.

Her voice and style were simply too distinctive.

She was the heir to the Feng family of the Southern District, the youngest noble councilor, the only daughter of the head of the Royal Academy of Sciences, and also Bai Shuzhou’s future most capable—and most dangerous—favored minister.

Countless people coveted the bright moon hanging high above, and Feng Jiyan was one of them.

Before Bai Shuzhou revealed power enough to crush all ambition, they had all arrogantly wanted to take her for themselves, along with the overwhelming authority attached to her.

Beneath Feng Jiyan’s elegant skin was a venomous heart, and hidden beneath her extreme cleanliness were the filthiest thoughts.

Moreover, Zhu Yu remembered that Feng Jiyan had been the one to suggest using captured sinners to grow flowers. However, Bai Shuzhou was very kind, so this punishment was only used on the scummy Alpha.

They would cut open the wound, bury specially made seeds into the flesh, let them draw nourishment, take root and sprout, then water them with nutrient solution to keep the person alive…

That was true life worse than death.

Zhu Yu shivered.

Just thinking about it was terrifying. Feng Jiyan was practically as deranged as the boss of Paradis!

Paradis.

Zhu Yu thought again of Xiao Shan and the white bird who had been modified into a phoenix. She wondered how they were now.

Her identity, her ability—those absolutely, absolutely could not be discovered. Otherwise, her fate would probably only be even worse.

“She’s actually still sleeping?”

“This is my first time seeing an Alpha sleep longer than an Omega after a sensitive period.” The woman sighed lightly. “As expected… an inferior product.”

Zhu Yu also felt wronged for waking later than Bai Shuzhou. She had not wanted to sleep this deeply either. The moment she woke up, her wife had vanished before she could even cuddle or confirm anything, and then she immediately ran into Feng Jiyan. It was like a nightmare nested inside a beautiful dream.

Too awful.

Footsteps sounded again.

Click…

Had the door closed?

After who knew how long, Zhu Yu listened carefully. The entire room was so quiet that only her own heartbeat remained. So she secretly opened her eyes a crack, silently touched the gemstones with her fingertips, and slowly let out a breath of relief.

After that tiny exhale, a laugh came from behind her.

“Your Highness Zhu Yu.”

That sweet, chilly voice suddenly came very close, as if blowing against the root of her ear from behind.

“Are you… hiding from me?”

Her hair stood on end, and a chill shot up from her neck. Zhu Yu had to try very hard not to bounce up.

However long she had pretended, Feng Jiyan had watched for just as long, very patiently waiting for her prey to take the bait.

Looking at that smiling face suddenly enlarged before her, Zhu Yu inhaled deeply.

Feng Jiyan had gone through all this trouble just to scare her?

Under the quilt, Zhu Yu’s hand clenched those painful diamonds even tighter.

One.

Two.

Their sharp edges dug into her palm. They surrounded her and, strangely enough, gave her a bit of courage.

So-called politicians were only like this.

So-called love rivals were only like this.

Childish!!

Zhu Yu imitated Bai Shuzhou’s calm indifference and revealed a merciful expression of divine love for all mankind.

Unfortunately, such an expression required great skill and control over the features. Zhu Yu learned only thirty percent of it. She had the shape, but not the charm.

In short, a smile that did not reach her eyes.

Feng Jiyan, who had been waiting at the side for half a day, watched Zhu Yu lift her eyelids, glance at her, and sneer. Her messy hair even had a silly tuft sticking up, swaying lightly.

Extremely mocking.

Was she…

Provoking her?

Feng Jiyan’s perfectly maintained smile almost failed to stay in place. The corner of her lips twitched, and the arc widened, but her eyes went completely cold.

“What? Being favored by the princess once has made you so smug that you’ve forgotten your own status?”

If she had not said it, that would have been fine. But the moment she did, Zhu Yu’s mind exploded with those unspeakable, blush-inducing fragments of memory…

Her stiff fake smile instantly became sincere and brilliantly radiant.

Ah, yes!

She had forgotten to be smug.

She would make up for it now.

Looking at Zhu Yu’s increasingly glaring smile, Feng Jiyan grew even gloomier. “Should I congratulate you, then? You finally got what you wished for.”

That night at the auction, Feng Jiyan had planned so much, yet Zhu Yu had become the final beneficiary. How could she not hate her?

Hearing this, Zhu Yu actually nodded very seriously and sincerely.

“Thank you.”

Feng Jiyan: “…”

Her punch had landed on cotton, and the leftover force became internal injury. Suppressing her anger, she revealed an expression of certain victory and sneered lightly:

“Don’t celebrate too early. You probably still don’t know, do you?”

Zhu Yu was staying in the bedchamber. In name, it was for recuperation. In reality, it was house arrest. The effects of the auction were still fermenting constantly.

In recent years, the Empire and Federation had been at odds. Trafficking beastfolk was already an extremely sensitive topic, and this auction, livestreamed across the entire interstellar world, had undoubtedly pushed the conflict to its peak.

As someone of mixed Empire and Federation blood, Zhu Yu’s stance was inherently delicate.

Back then, when the princess chose her as a partner, it had already caused a huge uproar. If not for the Tree of Life’s matching report showing one hundred percent compatibility, the emperor would never have agreed to let them be together.

Dragon genes were superior, but continuing their bloodline was extremely difficult. In an entire lifetime, they might not encounter a suitable partner at all.

Emperor Bai Qianze was also the dream Alpha of countless Omegas, but her Tree of Life match database was actually empty. Not a single person could match with her.

The heavy responsibility of continuing the dragon bloodline naturally fell upon Bai Shuzhou.

The emperor had once made countless selections for Bai Shuzhou’s future partner, investigating three generations back. Only sufficiently outstanding Alphas were allowed to meet the princess.

Unfortunately, after thousands of calculations, they had missed the variable called Zhu Yu.

Feng Jiyan had never believed she would lose. She preferred to believe Bai Shuzhou had taken a fancy to this inferior Alpha purely to rebel against Bai Qianze’s arrangements.

The canary imprisoned in the name of protection had pecked through her chains for the first time in her life.

Unfortunately, the treasure chest she had pecked open contained trash.

A hidden scumbag prize.

Others might have been bewitched by the sunny, cheerful disguise of the “star of the common people,” but Feng Jiyan had known from the first glance that this person, too, was someone who would stop at nothing to climb upward.

From the slums to the imperial capital star, she had started as a bottom-rung soldier and won Izelia’s appreciation, receiving a promotion beyond her rank. Then she had stepped on Izelia, her benefactor, to climb onto the great tree that was Bai Shuzhou, rising rapidly from then on.

So despicable that even Feng Jiyan somewhat admired her.

With such a terrible hand, Zhu Yu had forcefully killed her way into the upper class.

But that was all.

The fact that Zhu Yu had been able to smoothly abduct the princess was full of doubts if investigated carefully. That day, they had gone to the border for a condolence visit. According to regulations and procedure, Bai Shuzhou could not possibly have had only Zhu Yu by her side.

Feng Jiyan had been appointed to thoroughly investigate this matter.

One could say they were “old friends.”

Like a fated confrontation, the hunting instinct hidden in her blood excited Feng Jiyan enough.

This was what made things interesting, was it not?

A prize obtained too easily had no fun at all.

Thinking of this, Feng Jiyan’s twisted mood finally improved a little. Although the young woman before her had no intention of responding at all, leaving the suspense Feng Jiyan had thrown out hanging empty in a somewhat awkward silence.

She exhaled a turbid breath and smiled.

“The matter of you colluding with the Federation has long since been reported by the princess. She is only waiting to gather all the evidence before handing you over to a military court.”

“You should know very well what your fate will be once the two nations go to war, correct?”

Although there was a small time gap, the truth was not important. What mattered was the result under political bargaining.

Zhu Yu had fought with everything she had only to obtain an entrance ticket. She was completely relying on Bai Shuzhou and did not have the qualifications to truly compete with Feng Jiyan.

A genius, that was all. The imperial capital lacked no geniuses. There would always be one chess piece after another rushing forward.

The auction that night had been forced to stop midway. Izelia had been ordered to chase the fleeing guests, pursuing them all the way to the Federation defense line. If not for a red Super-S-rank mecha appearing out of nowhere to intercept her, she probably would have captured something astonishing.

This was already interesting enough, was it not?

If handled properly, it would be even more useful than capturing a prisoner.

Since that mysterious person had escaped, then in the future, “it” could be anyone.

Feng Jiyan looked forward to war. The Empire’s system had been rigid for far too long and urgently needed a revolution, a reshuffling.

During the three days and two nights Zhu Yu and Bai Shuzhou had spent together in the confinement room, the public opinion of the two nations had long since erupted into chaos.

In Feng Jiyan’s original plan, Bai Shuzhou should have joined hands with her and made good use of this public opinion wave.

She had not expected everything to be disrupted by Zhu Yu!

What right did she have?

A mere inferior commoner had actually made a dignified princess lose her composure.

Seeing Zhu Yu briefly reveal a thoughtful expression, Feng Jiyan pressed her advantage and whispered:

“The princess did not allow you to permanently mark her. She was only playing around. Someone like you, with such lowly pheromones, would only contaminate the noble princess.”

Zhu Yu’s pheromones were as faint as plain water, almost unworthy of being called an Alpha’s. Feng Jiyan had once maliciously guessed whether she was incapable of marking.

Zhu Yu liked spraying perfume to cover her thin aura. Unfortunately, such petty tricks only made the nobles look down on her even more.

Pheromones could also distinguish strong from weak. Top predators like dragons and tigers naturally suppressed lower creatures.

Feng Jiyan elegantly released her own pheromones. A gorgeous, rich violet fragrance instantly filled the room.

Bai Shuzhou was SSS-rank, yes, but Feng Jiyan was also an extremely rare SS-rank. No matter how one weighed the options, she was far more suitable than Zhu Yu, a D-rank.

But as she advanced step by step, Feng Jiyan slowly frowned.

She sensed a very unusual clean fragrance coming from Zhu Yu.

Not perfume.

What scent was this?

Something slowly floated up from sealed memories. Feng Jiyan kept feeling it was familiar.

The fox’s tail lifted. She slowly stretched her white-gloved hand toward Zhu Yu. For one instant, a faint purple glow seemed to seep through the gaps of the glove.

Zhu Yu was already sitting tightly against the pillow, with nowhere left to hide. She sensed an abnormally dangerous aura, and her heart beat violently. She instinctively wanted to stop Feng Jiyan from approaching.

Warm yellow gathered in her palm. Even the gems clenched tightly in her hand were lit up.

No. She could not use mental power. If her ability were exposed in front of Feng Jiyan, she would be dead for sure!!

In desperation, Zhu Yu could only throw the gemstones in her hand at Feng Jiyan, her heart dripping blood.

And she only bore to throw a few.

These were gifts from Bai Shuzhou!

Even though there were many, many of them.

Why was there nothing cheap on this bed that she could use as a weapon?

Zhu Yu grabbed the quilt, and her eyes lit up.

The instant the gems flew toward Feng Jiyan, a rich and powerful rose scent surged out overwhelmingly, instantly covering the strands of clean fragrance on Zhu Yu’s body. Together with Feng Jiyan’s violets, it was completely crushed and buried.

Feng Jiyan’s expression stiffened. Bullying Zhu Yu a little was fine, but before Bai Shuzhou’s pheromones, she was absolutely not enough.

Her knees went weak, and Feng Jiyan hurriedly supported herself against the edge of the bed. Only then did she avoid falling to her knees in humiliation.

Bai Shuzhou really had grown much stronger.

Even at this moment, Feng Jiyan still found it unbelievable.

The Royal Academy of Sciences had a department dedicated to studying pheromones and mental power. No one knew better than her how strict changes in these things were.

Bai Shuzhou was still lying in the Academy receiving treatment. They had given her a full-body examination immediately, but even under the stimulation of the most precise instruments, the princess had still not released many pheromones for research.

Feng Jiyan’s white-gloved hand was still trembling uncontrollably. This was the first time she realized an Omega’s pheromones could also have such powerful aggression.

They silently declared sovereignty over territory, allowing no one to invade.

Cold sweat rose on her forehead.

This aura…

The first person to appear before Feng Jiyan’s eyes was not Bai Shuzhou, but Bai Qianze, the emperor who despised and crushed everything.

As expected of sisters.

As expected of the dragon race.

A strange, excited light flickered in Feng Jiyan’s eyes. She almost laughed aloud.

Forcing down her trembling, Feng Jiyan raised her hand to pick up the gemstone that had fallen onto the pure-white bedsheet.

Such a precious thing.

Such a thing with research value…

She had to obtain it!

Feng Jiyan murmured, “Love truly does make people stupid, my dear princess.”

Zhu Yu knew nothing of her schemes. She only watched this fox reveal a crazed smile while muttering love and princess, crawling forward to steal her love token.

No matter how good-tempered she was, this was not something she could tolerate.

Go die, psycho!

Don’t you have your own?!

Hey, she really didn’t.

Zhu Yu did not believe a single word from a love rival. She knew perfectly well that these outsiders were simply jealous to the point of madness.

These outsiders did not understand anything.

Nothing at all.

The word “outsiders” needed to be bolded and capitalized.

Just as the white glove was about to touch the gem, the quilt suddenly flipped up and covered Feng Jiyan’s head, wrapping her into a rice dumpling and kicking her down.

“Someone come! There’s a robbery!”

Battle instinct drove Zhu Yu to jump down and press the wriggling quilt to the floor, taking advantage of the chaos to punch her several times.

She did not dare let go, afraid Feng Jiyan would spring up the moment she did and kill her. She simply used every bit of strength she had to suppress her.

And so when the guards rushed in, what they saw was Zhu Yu kneeling on one knee over Feng Jiyan.

This favored child of heaven had probably never suffered such an extraordinary humiliation in her life.

As for Zhu Yu, she was only wearing a loose silk sleeping robe. There was no need for any deliberate display. With a simple swing of her fist and the movement of those clean lines, everyone could see the overlapping, ambiguous kiss marks and bite marks on her arms and shoulders—especially the rose-like imprint beneath her collarbone…

In the dead silence, the scent of roses spread.

Someone truly could not hold back and whispered:

“Wow.”

It was not only the gems.

The pheromones on Zhu Yu were even stronger.

She was covered entirely in the scent left behind by the princess who had always been cold and indifferent.

It seemed she would no longer need to spray perfume.

In any case, she could not cover it.