...
After hearing Xuan Hao's explanation, Dugu Yan slammed her fork heavily on the table.
Her chest heaved violently, and her once alluring face was now flushed red with anger and humiliation.
Although she really wanted to scold Xuan Hao for talking nonsense and sowing discord.
But reason told her... every word that bastard said might be true!
Over the years, she had gained some understanding of the coldness and warmth of the royal family.
Although Prince Xuexing was usually polite to her grandfather, the calculating look in his eyes was undeniable.
Now that Xuan Hao had so bluntly dissected her, Dugu Yan felt a chill run from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.
So... this is what they call the game for "big shots"?
And in the eyes of these power-hungry people, even though his grandfather possessed the strength of a Title Douluo, he was just a useful pawn?
"What? You're not convinced?"
Xuan Hao looked at her, her expression one of wanting to kill but being powerless to do so, shook his head, and said earnestly:
"With your brains, grandfather and grandson, trying to survive in Tiandou City where everyone is cunning, you'll be sold out sooner or later and still be helping the seller count the money."
"If you can't win, then stay out of these messy, trivial matters."
"It's lucky that you ran into someone as kind-hearted as me.
If it were someone more ruthless... you might get played to death one day and not even know how you died."
Dugu Yan's chest heaved violently, clearly indicating that she was extremely angry.
But she knew even more clearly that Xuan Hao was right.
In this situation, she is both a hostage and a bargaining chip.
"Do you have any ideas...?"
Dugu Yan bit her lip. "To prevent my grandfather from being framed?"
"A solution?" Xuan Hao raised an eyebrow, looking at her as if she were an idiot.
"Big sister, are you mistaken? I'm the kidnapper, and you're the hostage. You want me to help you?"
"Besides, why should I help?"
Xuan Hao leaned back in his chair. "Don't forget, it was your grandfather who came looking for trouble with me first.
I didn't do anything to him, which is already because... cough, because I'm a good person."
"Besides, if things continue as they are, I can not only make a clean getaway, but also make the royal family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School owe me a favor.
Why would I bother to cause trouble?"
"You!" Dugu Yan was speechless with anger, but unable to refute.
She took a deep breath, trying to regain some of the initiative:
"After all that trouble, is it really just for that insignificant favor?
Aren't you afraid of completely offending my grandfather?
Can you handle the retaliation of a Title Douluo?"
"I told you, I was forced to retaliate." Xuan Hao shrugged, looking completely innocent.
"I'm a very simple person.
I don't offend others unless they offend me. Now that you've bullied me, I'm just retaliating a little bit."
"Enough with the nonsense!"
Dugu Yan suddenly stood up, placed her hands on the table, and leaned forward.
"Tell me, what do you want in return for this favor?
I don't want my grandfather to be used as a pawn, and I don't want him to owe those people favors!"
"Helping others requires compensation." Xuan Hao looked her up and down.
"Transactions are about equal exchange. What do you think you have that can compare to the favors of the Heavenly Dou Royal Family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School?"
"Could it be... that you're going to sell yourself?"
"You!" Dugu Yan's face flushed instantly, filled with shame and indignation. She laughed angrily, "Fine! Even if I dared to sell myself, would you dare to take it?!"
"I wouldn't dare."
Xuan Hao answered instantly, shaking his head with a look of disgust, "The Azure Phosphorous Serpent Soul Master is covered in poison. I'm afraid I'll die on the spot if I get bitten."
"You!!" Dugu Yan felt like her lungs were about to explode.
"So what exactly do you want?!"
"That's what I should be asking you," Xuan Hao retorted. "What can you give me?
If I ask for an exorbitant amount and you can't provide it, wouldn't that be awkward for both of us?"
Dugu Yan took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
"Is my grandfather's favor enough?"
"If I can get Grandpa to owe you a favor, is that enough of a bargaining chip?"
"Oh?" Xuan Hao raised an eyebrow. "You can make decisions for your grandfather?"
"Yes!" Dugu Yan said decisively, "I am his only family, and he loves me the most. He will never go back on his word if I promise!"
"and..."
Dugu Yan looked directly into Xuan Hao's eyes and said, word by word:
"You should know very well that the favors between the royal family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School sound nice, but they're really just for show.
When it comes to crucial moments, or when core interests are involved, those political players will have a million reasons to shirk their responsibilities."
"But my grandfather was different."
"Although he has an eccentric temper, he is a Title Douluo and a man of his word!
If he says he owes you a favor, then he really does!
Even if you ask him to rob, kill, or commit arson, as long as it doesn't violate his principles, he will do it!"
"Isn't a genuine promise from a Title Douluo more valuable than those empty favors from those two families?"
Xuan Hao stroked his chin, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.
This girl may have a bit of a temper, but she's still clear-headed when it really matters.
really.
He wants favors from the royal family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, but at most he'll just need a protective charm or some resources in exchange.
But Dugu Bo's personal connections... could really be used as thugs, or even for certain "special transactions".
"make a deal."
Xuan Hao snapped his fingers, and his smile instantly brightened. "Since Miss Dugu is so sincere, then I'll lend you a hand."
"What are you going to do?" Dugu Yan asked anxiously.
"It's very simple." Xuan Hao pointed out the window, "The royal family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School are making such a big fuss because of the fact that I kidnapped you.
They're here to rescue you, which is why your grandfather owes them a favor."
"but..."
Xuan Hao's lips curled slightly. "What if you weren't kidnapped at all?"
Dugu Yan was taken aback: "What do you mean?"
"What if you came with me voluntarily?" Xuan Hao shrugged.
"If your grandfather bursts in later and sees the two of us sitting together like this, eating, drinking, and chatting happily, then you tell him that we became friends after a fight, and that you came here specifically to discuss the mysteries of dragon-type martial souls with me… well, to discuss them."
"Therefore, this so-called kidnapping does not exist."
"Since there is no kidnapping, the royal guards' siege is an overreaction, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's mediation is meddling."
"Not only will your grandfather not owe them a favor, he can even turn the tables and question them:
'My granddaughter is just having dinner with friends, why are you making such a big fuss?
What if you scare the child?'"
Dugu Yan was stunned.
Is that... all it takes?
How could she not have thought of such a simple way to break the deadlock?
But then, looking at Xuan Hao's smiling face, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, and an extremely strange feeling welled up in her heart.
"etc..."
Dugu Yan stared at Xuan Hao, "You untied me from the start, even treated me to dinner... and just now you analyzed so many pros and cons with me..."
"Could it be..."
Dugu Yan swallowed hard. "Was this something you planned all along?"
"You're a promising student." Xuan Hao nodded approvingly.
"It seems the venom of the Jade Phosphorus Snake hasn't completely ruined your brain; you still have some intelligence."
Dugu Yan felt a sudden darkness before her eyes and almost fainted from anger.
Do you still want the people of Tiandou City to have eight hundred schemes?
You're more cunning than everyone in this city combined!
So it turns out this guy was plotting against her from the very beginning!
First, they kidnapped her to create a crisis, then they analyzed the pros and cons for her so she could see the true colors of the royal family, and finally they induced her to propose a deal...
This whole scheme was interconnected, involving her, her grandfather, and even the royal family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School!
"What...what are you after?"
Dugu Yan looked at Xuan Hao with a hint of despair, "Since you schemed against me, why did you tell me so clearly?"
"Wouldn't it be better if you didn't tell me this, so I could think you were being kind and helping me out of compassion?"
"What's the point?" Xuan Hao leaned back in his chair, twirling a teacup in his hand.
"Intrigues and schemes are ultimately just that—intrigues and schemes.
They can't be brought into the open or seen in the light.
They're like rats in the gutter, only able to survive in the dark. Once exposed to the sunlight, all their filth will be revealed."
"I'm not a good person, and I don't have any so-called pride or bottom line.
If necessary, in order to survive and to protect the people I care about, I'm willing to use any shameless and despicable tricks, and I will never hesitate."
"I kidnapped you, threatened your grandfather, schemed against the royal family…
I did all of these things, and I don't regret it or feel ashamed."
"But I will not rely on these things, much less be proud of them."
"I can be a bad guy, but I don't want to be the kind of rat that can only live in the gutter and dare not even see the sun."
"Let's be frank. I'm telling you this is a deal, and I'm telling you I'm scheming against you.
This is my honesty, and it's also my confidence."
"I just want to have a clear conscience."
Dugu Yan looked at the young man in front of her, her eyes becoming extremely complicated.
He was only eight or nine years old, and just moments ago he was manipulating people's hearts and plotting schemes, yet at this moment, he exuded an undeniable clarity and openness.
These contradictory qualities have strangely blended together.
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