Chapter 62: Trying to Seduce Me with That Ugly Face?
"You’re the one pulling the strings. You want to go after the Lu family?"
Xiao Li had just gotten home when she found Lu Yanzhi waiting at her door. Clearly, a certain Princess Consort had woken up and rushed to tattle on her.
Xiao Li was suddenly curious. "Wasn’t Liu Xueyin frightened?"
’That can’t be right. She clearly fainted.’
Lu Yanzhi stared at her. Of course Xue Yin had been frightened. She had run to him covered in blood, her face deathly pale, and told him that Xiao Li had killed her handmaiden. It was yet another demonstration of Xiao Li’s ruthlessness.
But the death of a mere handmaiden wasn’t worth confronting Xiao Li over.
"Framing the Lu family for what happened at the birthday banquet, spreading a few rumors... did you really think that would be enough to bring them down?"
His expression, as if he were looking at a buffoon, successfully infuriated Xiao Li.
"So? Do you have a better idea?"
It’s a good thing when your enemy underestimates you. The more they look down on you, the easier it is to find a weakness and strike them down.
But that didn’t mean it wasn’t infuriating.
Lu Yanzhi sighed. "I came home today to explain the injury on my face. I was the one who forced your hand. I don’t blame you."
As he spoke, he raised a hand and took off the mask covering his face, revealing the long, ugly scar.
"You’ve already scarred me like this. Isn’t that enough to appease your anger?"
He gazed at her deeply. There wasn’t a trace of resentment in his eyes. Instead, there was a gentleness she had never seen before. For the first time, his cool, detached eyes, as if untouched by the mortal world, truly held her reflection.
"Pitting an egg against a rock is not a wise move."
’He’s so sure I’m going to lose.’
Xiao Li just watched him without speaking. ’Truth be told,’ she thought, ’his face actually looks much better with that scar.’
It was unclear what Lu Yanzhi saw in her eyes, but he suddenly took two steps closer. "You’ve caused enough trouble. Stop this. I still prefer the way you were before."
Xiao Li was speechless.
’I feel like I’ve just been hit with a critical strike from the textbook scumbag’s handbook.’
"Are you... trying to seduce me with that ugly face of yours?"
Lu Yanzhi froze as if struck by lightning, unable to recover for a long moment.
"Young Master? Young Master?"
Lu Shu couldn’t help but call out to him. The sound snapped Lu Yanzhi back to his senses. He picked up the mask, intending to put it on, but then violently threw it aside.
"Go fetch Doctor Cen."
The pressure was now on Cen An.
Cen An sighed. "It’s not that I won’t help you, but the wound is too deep. It’s impossible for it to heal completely in a short time. We have to wait for the wound to close up before applying scar-removal medicine. Even with the best medicine, it will take at least three or four months to see any effect."
"I understand... I’ve troubled you..." Lu Yanzhi deflated instantly, a palpable gloom descending over him.
Cen An looked at Lu Shu. "What’s wrong with your Young Master?"
Lu Shu shook his head stiffly.
He had a guess, but he found it hard to believe.
’The Young Master’s change in attitude toward that malicious Princess was strange enough. Today, he had even spoken up for her in front of the Lu family. And now, because of a single sentence from that wicked Princess, he was actually concerned about his own appearance.’
’Is this still the same Young Master I know?’
’Has he been possessed?’
Midnight came, and all was silent.
In his room, the person lying on the bed, who had been sleeping peacefully, suddenly seemed to be provoked by something. His breathing grew ragged.
His chest heaved with unnatural speed, his entire body tensed, and sweat soon soaked through his clothes.
In the darkness, his lips parted and closed, broken gasps that sounded like a mix of pain and pleasure escaping them. The suppressed, airy sounds formed a single title.
"Princess... Princess... Princess..."
WHOOSH!
The man on the bed shot upright. His scarred cheek looked savage and terrifying in the darkness, but the expression on his face was even more frightening than the scar.
He threw off the covers and, feeling the unfamiliar dampness, covered his face in agony and shame.
No one can be truly celibate unless that magical floodgate has never been opened.
Desire is a poison. Once tainted by it, it rushes forth like a flood, unstoppable.
Especially when that desire has a specific target. Even a cold, abstinent Immortal would breed obsessive thoughts and greed.
The next morning, when Lu Shu came to tidy the room and picked up the soiled clothes, a sense of resigned despair washed over him.
’How many times has it been now?’
’The Young Master was never like this before. What kind of curse has that wicked Princess put on him?’
--------------
Was it stupid for Xiao Li to expose herself to Liu Xueyin? Wrong. This move was called "showing weakness to the enemy."
On one hand, you have an unidentified mastermind manipulating the major aristocratic families against the Lu family. On the other, you have a malicious Princess whom they know inside and out—powerless, prone to fits of madness, and capable only of spreading rumors. Which one is more threatening?
As long as they were certain the rumors came from Xiao Li, they would be convinced it was just one of her pathetic attempts at revenge.
The Wang family and others were simply taking the opportunity to kick the Lu family while they were down. The Lu family would only deal with the immediate situation; they wouldn’t think any deeper, and they certainly wouldn’t connect Xiao Li with the Wang family and the other families acting against them.
Because they were convinced that Xiao Li wasn’t capable of it, and that it was even more impossible for those aristocratic families to be manipulated by her.
Their confidence and arrogance made them lower their guard. For example, they had now even sent someone to invite Xiao Li over for a family dinner tonight.
Xiao Li didn’t even see the messenger. She wasn’t about to debase herself by going to the Lu family just to be subjected to their scornful looks. She would only grace them with her presence when the Lu family finally fell, so she could witness their despair firsthand.
She reached out for a register, tugged twice, but it didn’t budge.
She lazily lifted her eyes to the person in front of her. "Lord Chief Incense, what is the meaning of this?"
Seeing that she was finally looking at him, Lou Yan at last let go. He stood naturally at her side, his tall frame casting a shadow over her.
Xiao Li flipped through the register, searching for the information she wanted. Lou Yan simply stood there with her, his lowered gaze never shifting.
Only when Xiao Li had finished reading and closed the booklet did he speak, his voice like a phantom’s. "This servant can bring the Princess anything she desires. But if this servant is to be so obedient, surely I must be after something, no?"
Xiao Li raised an eyebrow. ’So he wants his payment!’
"You know where my storerooms are. Take whatever you like."
Lou Yan’s gaze was dark and predatory. "The Princess knows that is not what this servant wants."
Xiao Li rolled up the register in her hand and pressed it lightly against his chest as he drew ever closer. A faint smile played on her lips as she looked at him. "Then what does the Lord Chief Incense want? And even if you got it, what could you do?"
This was as good as saying outright: ’You’re a eunuch. You can’t perform.’
For a man with his deficiency, this was a blatant humiliation.
But Lou Yan was clearly no ordinary man. He didn’t see it as a humiliation, but as a provocation. He seized Xiao Li’s hand, leaned in close, his eyes dark, dangerous, and cunning. "The Princess is so certain this servant can’t do anything? Does she know that this servant specializes in punishment and is an expert at ’training’ people? I can make someone wish for death... and I can also make them unable to stop begging for more."
’This is... ahem, a little risqué.’
’Especially with him doing such wicked things with that handsome, yet abstinent-looking face of his...’
Xiao Li pressed her lips together, raised her hand, and gave him a slap that was neither light nor heavy. "Get out!"
Lou Yan raised a hand to touch his cheek. Watching Xiao Li’s retreating back, the corner of his lip curled into an almost imperceptible arc...