Chapter 75: The Little Emperor’s Villainous, Wicked Smile
"Your Majesty, shouldn’t we be heading back?"
"Your Majesty?!"
Xiao Yang snapped back to reality, her gaze falling on Xiao Lv across from her. "No rush. Let’s sit a while longer."
The storyteller downstairs hadn’t finished his story yet.
Xiao Lv looked at Xiao Yang curiously. "What on earth did the Regent King say to you? Why are you avoiding him like this, Your Majesty?"
Xiao Yang dropped a bombshell. "He wants to sleep with me."
Xiao Lv’s pupils instantly widened. "..."
The corner of his mouth twitched. It took him several seconds to recover his voice. "Your Majesty... does this mean you’re not interested in the Regent King?"
Xiao Lv found that he was quite adaptable. The shock of the Regent King wanting to sleep with the Emperor only lasted for a moment.
If one were to ignore the fist he was clenching tightly to suppress his laughter, he was actually being very calm. So what if that cold, merciless phony of a Regent King had taken a fancy to His Majesty, a man? He wasn’t taking pleasure in her misfortune at all. Really!
Xiao Lv thought he had his expression under control, but it was actually so contorted he looked like he was having a seizure. Xiao Yang shot him a disdainful look.
"I’d have to be crazy to be interested in him. Interested in him controlling me and tormenting me? Who would fall in love with a teacher who canes them?"
Even if the Regent King’s looks were exactly her type—his face and body were both top-tier—it didn’t change the fact that he was her mentor.
’Now, the Regent King is already controlling me. If I dared to agree, and he found out I was a woman, wouldn’t his control become even more terrifying then?’
’I, this Puppet Emperor, just barely escaped the Empress Dowager’s clutches, only to fall right into the Regent King’s hands. I’d still be a Puppet Emperor, and I’d end up throwing myself into the bargain.’
’I’d have to have a screw loose to agree.’
’People’s hearts are unpredictable. In the face of profit, even husband and wife are strangers, let alone the fact that we’re not married. Right now, the Regent King simply desires me.’
’If I don’t avoid him, should I just rush to hand myself over for someone to play with?’
’I’m all alone in this other world, with no one to rely on. My throne is precarious, and there are no laws to protect my interests. I can’t possibly bet my life on a man.’
But she couldn’t say any of this to Xiao Lv. He could just assume she was scared from all her studies.
It wasn’t exactly avoiding him, though. She was just giving the Regent King some time to cool down.
Xiao Lv looked at Xiao Yang with a hint of amusement, choosing to believe only a fraction of what she said.
’Our Little Emperor is so clever and cautious.’
Xiao Yang’s gaze shifted. Just as she was about to get up and leave, she saw someone sitting by the window opposite them.
Coincidentally, the other person happened to look over at the same time. Their eyes met. Xu Xingchen’s were full of delighted surprise. Xiao Yang curved her lips into a smile and waved at him.
The gesture was exactly like one she’d use to call over a puppy.
Xiao Lv watched Xiao Yang’s doting expression. There wasn’t a shred of romantic interest, only affection. She was definitely treating Xu Xingchen like a pet.
Xu Xingchen quickly came over. "Your Majesty, what are you doing here?"
He eagerly sat down next to Xiao Yang, his bright, sparkling eyes looking at her with delight, not sparing even a glance for Xiao Lv beside them.
She hadn’t seen this pretty little face for many days, and seeing it again, she was once more struck by its beauty.
Xiao Yang couldn’t resist reaching out and giving his cheek a pinch.
Just as she’d expected, it felt wonderful—soft and tender. The weather was cold now, making his face cool to the touch, like a chilled pudding.
"I’m just out for a stroll. What about you? What were you looking at?"
Just now, Xu Xingchen had been leaning halfway out the window.
Xu Xingchen didn’t feel like he was being taken advantage of at all. He let her pinch his cheek and pointed to two slowly departing carriages downstairs. "Your Majesty, is there something in those carriages?"
Xiao Yang looked over. Two unremarkable-looking carriages were passing silently through the crowd.
Xiao Yang observed for a moment. "Is there a problem?"
Xu Xingchen’s little face grew serious as he analyzed the situation. "It’s a two-horse carriage, but the carriage box itself isn’t large. That’s not normal. Just now, one of the horses was startled and stopped, and the other couldn’t pull the carriage at all. And the driver—he looks relaxed, but he’s actually on high alert."
Xu Xingchen mimicked the driver’s posture, resting his elbow lightly on his thigh. "I’ve seen people like this before. They hide a blade under the carriage shaft. This posture allows them to draw their weapon the instant danger appears."
Xiao Yang turned her head. "Brother, what do you think?"
Xiao Lv said, "Well, I have heard some news. They say some people are afraid Your Majesty will confiscate their property, so they’re secretly moving their family assets to hide them."
This way, no incriminating evidence can be found, and they can keep some wealth as a fallback to make a comeback later.
’In other words, those carriages might be full of gold, silver, and jewels?’
Xiao Yang’s eyes lit up. So that’s what was in the carriages—cold, hard cash.
Xiao Yang wasn’t short on money right now—the National Treasury had already filled several storehouses. But who would ever complain about having too much money? Besides, the money those corrupt officials took was originally her money, the Emperor’s money.
She immediately summoned a guard. "Take some men, follow them, and find out where they’re hiding their things."
"Yes."
The guard left, and Xu Xingchen asked, "Does Your Majesty want to obtain the incriminating evidence and confiscate all their property?"
Xiao Lv chuckled lightly. "Wrong. It’s the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."
Xiao Yang gave him an appreciative look. "Clever."
The moment Xu Xingchen heard about doing something wicked, his eyes lit up like stars. "When is Your Majesty going? Can this subject go too?"
Afraid Xiao Yang would refuse, he quickly added, "They’re not the only family hiding their assets. This subject saw several others leaving, too."
Xiao Yang: "..."
’These families are really unlucky to have been spotted by a little deviant like you.’
"You can."
With this new development, Xiao Yang was no longer bored. She rounded up the two brothers, Xiao Lan and Xiao Cheng, and dragged Xiao Jinsu and Xie Liuzheng back as well.
Doing bad things is more fun with more people, after all.
Besides, the courtiers weren’t suitable for this kind of task, since it was their homes they’d be robbing. This required her most trusted people to plot in secret and catch them completely by surprise.
The others had no objections to the Little Emperor’s plan, but Xie Liuzheng was very apprehensive. "Your Majesty... is it appropriate for me to participate?"
’Even though I really want to cling to this fellow transmigrator’s thigh, I’m not that close with His Majesty, am I?’
Xiao Yang couldn’t be bothered to explain and instead shot back, "You don’t want to do bad things with us?"
’Can you just say you’re doing bad things so openly like that? But it sounds so exciting!’
The rebellious genes in Xie Liuzheng’s body began to stir. She couldn’t bring herself to say a single word of refusal.
"I will follow Your Majesty’s lead."
Xiao Yang wasn’t the least bit surprised. She then assigned everyone their tasks.
"According to the information we have now, there are about a dozen families hiding their assets. Zhen has already sent people to find their hiding spots, but Zhen can’t wrongly accuse good people either. So, we will now split into two groups. One will search through the official records, and the other will go out and make inquiries to find evidence of their crimes and corruption."
"Once we confirm a family is guilty of corruption, bribery, and numerous other crimes, Zhen will issue a decree to confiscate their property."
"Let them think they’ve left themselves a way out. The looks on their faces when they finally realize there’s nothing left... heh heh heh~~~~"
The Little Emperor flashed a villainously evil smile. Oh, what a wicked laugh that was.
But the others couldn’t help but smile when they saw it. His Majesty was just too cute like this.
Xie Liuzheng was frantically shaking her system internally: ’AHHH, System, are you sure His Majesty is the male lead? How can a male lead be this cute? This mischievous look is just too adorable! I want to squeeze her to death!’
Xiao Yang, who could hear her conversation with the system: "...?"