Chapter 11: The Cold Mask
The fish intestine walked into the princess's mansion, from the door to the inner courtyard, and there were guards on every walkway. A female Jiaoren took fish intestines to the residence of the Jiao princess Ao Ji. The fish intestines passed by the guard, who looked at him with a vicious look that made him stand up like a man's back and stand up his hairs. Then he felt depressed about his timidity, and slapped himself in the face to regain his strength, and the female Jiaoren also wondered that this guy was weird and slapped himself inexplicably. Soon, they made their way through the airtight guards and arrived at Ao Ji's residence.
The maid asked the fish intestine to wait at the door, she went in to report, and then the door opened, and the fish intestine entered Ao Ji's room.
In the room, a beautiful female Jiaoren sat at a small table in front of the window, looking out the window, her deep eyes and slender hair are so dazzling, especially there are a few glowing scales under the corners of her eyes, like blue teardrops to hold people's heartstrings, even if the fish intestines are young, they are also fascinated by such beauty, when Ao Ji walked towards him, he was still staring at Ao Ji's face of sinking fish and geese, until the maid next to him reminded him, he came back to his senses, knelt down on one knee, and asked Ao Ji to say goodbye.
Ao Ji told him not to be polite, because he was a friend of his brother, and she would treat him equally. The fish intestines were still trapped in Ao Ji's beauty, but in Ao Ji's flickering eyes, he found that there was always sadness in the eyes of this beautiful woman. Of course, Yu Gu didn't have the courage to say such things without authorization, and he didn't allow himself to get too close to Ao Ji, Ao Ji's gestures were all knowledgeable people, kind and generous, but Jiaoren's insidiousness had left an indelible impression in his heart, and he wouldn't change his mind so easily. Although Ao Guang arranged him here, but she may not be as upright as Ao Guang, everyone in the palace is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, no one would have thought that the king of a country would do such a thing to a human woman in his room.
Ao Ji didn't seem to have seen outsiders for a long time, she didn't shy away from the fish intestines, and let the fish intestines stay in the room to talk to her. The maid brought some desserts, some of which were obviously not food from the sea, like food from the world, and should be a tribute to the people of Laiguo. Yu Gu introduced him to his life, how he spent the past twelve years in the world, and how he accompanied the demon to the Lai Kingdom, and was finally brought back by Ao Guang, the third prince of Jiao Kingdom, in the sea of mist. Every detail of the story fascinates Ao Ji, as if as a princess of a kingdom, she knows nothing about the outside world, strictly speaking, she doesn't even know anything outside the palace. The colorful glazed stones that can burn in the water, the huge sea beasts, are all such novelties in her eyes, and finally the fish intestines that can't help but wonder finally ask her.
"Has the princess never been out?"
Hearing Yu Gu's words, Ao Ji fell into deep thought, the expression on her face was indescribable, and then she said to Yu Gu as if she had looked out of the window in the room at the beginning, "My knowledge of the outside is limited to this window. β
"Why, can't you even move around your own palace at will?"
"Do you see the security outside, in fact, in addition to preventing outsiders from entering, the more reason is not to let me out. After so many years, I know that the outside world is so bizarre that people can't help but want to go out and see, but it's a pity that I only have the opportunity to go out until the moment I die in my life. β
"Why does the princess say that? As the most noble princess of the hidden dragon, you can't even fulfill your own wishes? What is the difference between such a luxurious but lonely life and a prisoner in a prison? Who the hell locked you up here, is it the crown prince?"
Ao Ji shook his head: "He doesn't have that much ability, although he is the crown prince of the Jiao clan and the heir of the future king, but his father did not give him any real power, just let him deal with the garrison of the Hidden Dragon King City, and he can't leave the royal city yet, I, a weak woman, is still his sister, what is there to be afraid of." β
"It can't be the third prince either...... Could it be that Jiaoren Wang is just boiling?" Yu Gu said his guess in disbelief, and after seeing Ao Ji's eyes not evading, he confirmed his guess even more. But as the king of a country, and the Jiaoren race is the most powerful race among the three major races in the sea, sitting on the birthplace of the original god of Gonggong, protected by the god of water, and the dragon shark of the sea as a sacred beast that protects the country, defeating the demons in the sea war a hundred years ago, it is really difficult to understand why a father wants to put his daughter under house arrest.
The dΓ©cor in the room is young and vibrant, but the atmosphere in the room is lifeless. At this time, Yu Gu saw a crystal necklace on Ao Ji's chest, the crystal was dazzling, like a mirror. Suddenly, a strange appearance appeared from the crystal, as if a woman's face appeared in the crystal. Startled, he fell out of his chair and said that he had seen a woman's face from the crystal, probably because he was a little tired and nervous and hallucinating. But Ogie told him it wasn't a hallucination. After Jiaoren dies, her body will become a crystal, and this crystal is a relic of her mother, so Ao Ji's mother has died. No wonder I didn't see the queen when I met the king today.
Ao Ji looked at the crystal on her chest and shed tears of sadness. Then she wiped away her tears and said to Yu Gu with a smile: "Only those who miss their parents the most can see the appearance of their relatives from the crystal, and it seems that you are also a child who has the deepest love for your mother." β
"I don't know, I haven't even seen my mother's appearance, my mother committed suicide in the sea after giving birth to me, it's all Jiao'......" Yu Gu felt that he was too talkative, and the rest of the words were not spoken, but Ao Ji helped him say what he didn't finish.
"Was you framed by Jiaoren? I'm sorry, I heard from my brother that your mother is a human. Thinking of the damage my clan has done to your mother, I, as a princess, have no way to compensate you. Please receive my apologies. Ao Ji was about to kneel, but was immediately stopped by the fish intestines. He didn't expect that the princess, who was the most noble person in Jiaoren, would be willing to kneel for him as an ordinary person, and his heart began to move.
"To tell you the truth, my mother was also killed by Jiaoren. β
"What!" Yu Gu couldn't believe what he heard, the queen was actually killed by Jiaoren, what kind of dark days had been experienced behind this superficially prosperous country.
"The one who killed my mother was my father. β
Ao Ji's words made the fish intestines thunder on a sunny day, and her heart was mixed, and she didn't know whether to be angry or sad. I didn't expect that two children without a mother actually had the same enemy, and they were still the highest holders of power in the underwater world.
"Do you know why the Demon Sea Clan Demon of the Demon Clan didn't defeat the Jiao Clan a hundred years ago?" Yu Gu said that the strength of the Jiao people was strong, and they had powerful sea beasts, Ao Ji shook his head, "In fact, it is because the Jiao Clan has a weapon that can destroy the heavens and the earth since ancient times, and that weapon is the woman of the royal family." β
"What do you mean by a woman of the royal family?"
"My father is in charge of the Neptune Halberd Rindong, which can control the ocean, and the Neptune Halberd also has a ray that can shoot rays that destroy all enemies, but there is a precondition that the life of a royal woman of the Jiao clan is used as a lead to trigger Winter's ability. Not long after I was born a hundred years ago, after the Great War of Gods and Demons, my father led the three major sea clans in the sea to fight with the demon sea tribe of the demons, but the battle was very anxious, and the three major sea clans did not bargain in front of the brave and warlike demon sea clan, so my father wanted to unleash the ability of cold winter and wanted to use me as a sacrifice. My mother did not want to see me die and begged my father to replace me with her life. In the end, she triggered the Neptune Halberd with her life and defeated the demons with the light of the world. I also lost my mother at that moment. As the last woman in the Jiao royal family, and the capital of the Jiao clan that can command all things in the ocean, my father locked me here forever, without anyone approaching. Even my younger brother, who usually walks in with me, can only use a maid to communicate at the door. If you can come in, I guess you're just a child, and my father is also very old, so I guess he doesn't care about these things anymore. β
"How can this be reasonable, in order to be able to hold power, you have kept your own daughter locked up? The stability in the sea is all your mother's life in exchange, that Jie Gang has not been a little sad because of the death of his wife, I just saw ...... in his bedroom"
"What do you see?" Yu Gu wanted to speak and stopped, which aroused Ao Ji's curiosity, but I am afraid that I can't tell her about this matter, and Yu Gu found that he and Ao Ji were too close, although the encounter between the two is very imaginary, it can be said that they are both fallen people at the end of the world, but Yu Gu now hates Jiaoren, which he can't change. Afraid that his purpose would be affected by his feelings, Yu Gu then left Ao Ji's room. In the empty room, Ao Ji was the only one left, and she silently leaned against the window again, looking out. She was looking forward to something, she really wanted to go outside and see, maybe one day there would be a hero who would break the barriers of this country and take her to swim freely in the ocean, to be able to poke her head out and see the sunrise and sunset on the surface of the sea that she had never seen before. But has that hero ever come?
The fish intestine returned to his room, closed the door, and he fell into deep thought on the coral bed, his body trembling uncontrollably. Is this heaven or hell, and why are there cannibalistic faces behind people's happiness? Fish intestines tossing and turning on the coral bed, he even began to doubt Ao Guang, because everyone here wore cold masks, and it was impossible to know what kind of face was under that mask.
Ao Guang and Haizhong were about to return to the barracks in the open sea, and they were already out of the city at this moment. On the way, the two of them each rode a seahorse, and Haizhong couldn't help but ask Ao Guang in confusion: "Third prince, why do you care so much about that kid, and put him next to Princess Ao Ji? It stands to reason that you can find any family." β
"You don't understand, my sister has been locked up in the princess's mansion by her father, staying at home, and the people around her are the eyes and ears of her father, observing her every move. After all, as a necessary condition for the trigger of winter, it is also the key to becoming the king in the sea of Jiaoren, so he naturally won't let her move around at will. Moreover, there is nothing wrong with the identity of that fish intestine with my sister. β
"I don't understand what you're saying, he's just a wild Jiaoren, or was he born to a human woman, what does it have to do with the princess?"
"You told me all the reasons yourself, and you still don't understand?"
"I said it myself, what is it? The third prince should not sell it. β
"Didn't you say that he was born to a human woman? You think, if an ordinary Jiaoren catches a human woman into the sea, and the human cannot breathe in the sea, how can he get pregnant and climb back to the shore to give birth at the same time? If any Jiaoren insults a human woman, the woman's corpse will sink into the sea, and only a place like the Hidden Dragon that has a protective shield and a royal palace where humans can live. β
"The palace? Indeed, the palace is set up with a field where human beings can live, and it was set up by the Jiaowang, according to what you say, the fish intestine was born to a human woman and a Jiaoren, so that Jiaoren must be the Jiaoren in the palace. β
"I ask you, is there a woman in the palace who can be lifted to a human being?"
"The women in the royal palace are the annual tribute of the kingdom of Lai, and forty-nine women are paid every year, all of them are given to ...... Could it be that Lord Jiao is the child of Lord Jiaogang? He is the child of Lord Jiaogang! So he is still the illegitimate son of the royal family!"
"Yes, from what I learned on that demon ship that he was born of humans and Jiaoren, I knew that he was my half-brother, but I am afraid that the old father himself did not expect that his own illegitimate son would appear in front of him, and he himself did not know it. β
"Why didn't you say this in front of King Jiao?"
"It's not time yet. Now my father is very jealous of me, although the eldest brother is nominally the official crown prince, but the people's hearts are all towards me, and he has always hoped that the two of us will maintain a balance, and there will be no situation where one side is dominant. Once the identity of the fish intestine is revealed, this balance is broken, although he is a descendant of humans, but he is indeed a descendant of the Jiaoren royal family, even if there is criticism, it is not impossible to compete for the throne. β
"Then isn't he an obstacle for you, and why do you have to put him with the princess?"
"So you don't look at people. From the first time I saw that kid, I knew that he hated Jiaoren and was bent on revenge and killed Jiaoren who insulted his mother. What do you think a child would do if he knew that his mother's enemy had killed him?"
The middle reaches of the sea seemed to suddenly open up, and Mao Sai suddenly opened: "I understand, he is a bomb you planted next to the Jiaoren King, as long as the time comes, it will subvert the entire royal power of the Jiao clan." β
"Haha, you've finally got the hang of it. Ao Chong's waste is against me everywhere, and he still wants to conquer the world, but unfortunately he doesn't know how to use the overseas halberd in winter, and only I know how to use it. When the time comes, the great cause of world domination will be completed by me. β
"But it takes the life of a royal woman of the Jiao clan to start the winter, Princess Ao Ji ......"
"How can the grand cause be affected by the personal feelings of her children, as a woman, she can dominate the world for Jiaoren, and it is her honor to sacrifice her life for me to be king. Hasn't she always wanted to go to the sea to see it, and when the time comes, it will be enough to fulfill her wishes. β
After listening to Ao Guang's words, the middle reaches of the sea had to admire Ao Guang's thoughtfulness. This seemingly young and sunny man has so much scheming in his heart that even the deputy general who fought with him couldn't see through what the ambitious man next to him was thinking. In this tranquil underwater world, there will soon be an undercurrent surging, and the most violent vibrations will erupt at the bottom of the sea.