Free Web NovelChapter 56: Chapter 56: Who Will Be the Main Husband?
Jiang Xia tilted his head back. "Then why don’t you enlighten me? Am I wrong? Shi Lan likes me the most."
The sarcastic curl of Mu Tangfeng’s lips deepened. Even though he also liked Shi Lan, as a die-hard fan of He Hanshi, he felt he was the most qualified to become her primary husband.
He said, "Have you forgotten? Who do you think you have to thank for getting to eat Shi Lan’s cooking? If she wasn’t making meals for Vice Admiral He, when would it ever have been our turn?"
At his words, Jiang Xia was momentarily speechless. He stammered for a good while before saying, "Fine, even if I can’t be, what about the Eldest Prince? As the heir to the Imperial Family, can’t he be the primary husband?"
"Oh, times are different now. The Eldest Prince’s status as heir is about to be passed on to the Second Prince, I’m afraid."
Mu Tangfeng had always had a vicious tongue. Other than He Hanshi, he looked down on just about everyone. "That S-level piece of trash, the Second Prince, just happened to pick up the title of Crown Prince."
He let out a pair of cold chuckles. The memory of the prince stepping on his meticulously groomed feathers sparked fresh anger in his eyes.
’That bastard really got lucky!’
With both the Eldest and Second Princes being indiscriminately attacked by him, Ye Ming didn’t get angry. After all, what Mu Tangfeng said was true. His status as heir was gone, and his half-brother was indeed a good-for-nothing who couldn’t be shown in public. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
But Mu Tangfeng’s words made everyone suddenly realize something.
He Hanshi’s gaze fell, concealing the gloom in his eyes. "Enough. What’s the point of arguing about this now? With our spiritual power collapsing, can we really protect Shi Lan?"
’We’ll just be unworthy Beast Husbands. We don’t even have the power to leave this prison. What right do we have to stand by her side?’
At his words, the prison fell silent once more.
After a good while, Yan Huoshui finally asked, "Then are you willing to let other males get close to Shi Lan? Like Leo, or Chen Xiong, or even Levito..."
Even though Yan Huoshui admitted to himself that he didn’t have strong feelings for Shi Lan, this thought still left him feeling uneasy, as if someone he had taken under his wing was being snatched away.
With every name Yan Huoshui spoke, the hearts of the men ached a little more.
Interstellar law stipulated that a female must have a minimum of five Beast Husbands. Even just among the few of them, despite the camaraderie they’d built in prison, their hearts ached with jealousy over the others capturing her attention—let alone the thought of anyone else.
’Besides, Shi Lan was the one who chose to come to this prison. She was the one who stirred their hearts. How could they willingly give up now?’
This time, they contemplated for much longer before He Hanshi finally said, "If we can endure the spiritual power rejection, perhaps we can allow other females to perform the treatment."
’He couldn’t die. He had to stand proudly by Shi Lan’s side.’
He Hanshi thought he could try again. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Although the Interstellar Empire had them locked away here with no hope of leaving, specialized medics still came to treat them every six months. It was just that, in the past, they had always refused.
It wasn’t so much that they had accepted their situation as it was that they knew spiritual power collapse ended in death, and they had lost the will to survive.
But Shi Lan’s arrival had given them a reason to live.
After He Hanshi spoke, the men mulled it over for a long moment before nodding in unison.
"We can try."
’We have to at least try to do something. Only then could we stomach the thought of backing down...’
And so, the Imperial Central Hospital unexpectedly received a medical request from the prison.
This request threw the entire hospital into a panic. Why had the men who always refused treatment suddenly agreed? Were they already beyond hope?
The hospital staff imagined the absolute worst, contacting the families of these important figures to give them a heads-up and avoid liability in case something went wrong.
The families were so scared they nearly flew to Black Star that very night. They made one call after another, only relaxing slightly after confirming that everyone was relatively stable and just wanted to give the treatment a try.
"No matter what, take care of yourselves. You have to think about us..."
The prison cells filled with the concerned words of family, but He Hanshi’s room remained empty and silent.
’He came from the slums. His parents had died long ago. He had no family left...’
He listened to the others’ conversations, a hint of envy hiding in his eyes as he sat curled up alone on his bed, legs crossed.
Mu Tangfeng seemed to notice something and said impatiently, "Okay, okay, that’s enough. I know."
With that, he quickly ended the call and flopped onto his bed, complaining, "It’s so late and you’re all still yapping. It’s too noisy. I’m going to sleep."
At his words, the others also began to end their calls one by one.
...
Shi Lan was still oblivious to what had transpired in the prison. That night, back in her room, she opened the gift from Jiang Xia. Inside was a shimmery, iridescent beige gown. It was designed to look like a two-piece dress, with an outer layer of what seemed like luminous, sheer fabric.
She looked it up and found that the sheer outer layer was supposedly woven with materials from the wings of the Insect Clan, making it resistant to both cold and heat. Naturally, it was also incredibly expensive.
Shi Lan took it out and held it up to herself in the mirror. The dress was gorgeous; she loved it.
She couldn’t resist striking a slightly vain pose in the mirror before carefully putting it away.
She knew she couldn’t possibly return the gift. She could only make a mental note to repay him later by making more of Jiang Xia’s favorite dishes.
Shi Lan sorted through the previous owner’s clothes, placing them in one corner, and arranged her own clothes in another.
Between what she had bought herself and the gifts from Jiang Yan and Jiang Xia, she now had over a dozen outfits in total.
Among the outfits Jiang Yan had given her, three or four were too revealing for everyday wear, but the rest, along with the dress from Jiang Xia, were perfect. Shi Lan was especially intrigued by the cold- and heat-resistant properties.
’I’ll wear it tomorrow,’ she decided.
「The next morning」
Early in the day, to go with her new dress, Shi Lan took the rare occasion to put on some makeup.
She studied her reflection, thinking the lipstick was a bit too red. After wiping some off, she felt her eyeshadow was off, too.
It had really been too long since she’d properly dressed up. Everything felt awkward. Even at Jiang Yan’s recent wedding, she had only worn a simple swipe of lipstick so as not to upstage the bride.
Shi Lan stared at her reflection for a long time. She was about to wash it all off when she realized it was already 8:40. She had to make breakfast for everyone in the next twenty minutes. Time was tight, so she didn’t dawdle any longer.
She hurried to the kitchen and managed to prepare and deliver everyone’s breakfast just before nine.
But today, no one was paying attention to breakfast. Instead, their gazes were irresistibly drawn to her face.
"You look beautiful today."
He Hanshi approached the protective barrier, his gaze fixed on her. Through the door, a faint blue light reflected in his eyes, as if a clear spring had been poured into them, making his azure pupils shimmer with a soft, deep affection.
Shi Lan met his eyes. She wasn’t sure if it was his compliment or his intense gaze, but her face instantly flushed a very noticeable red. The blush was a perfect match for her pink eyeshadow, making her look even more enchantingly beautiful.
For a moment, He Hanshi felt his throat go dry.
He restrained himself and looked away.
