Chapter 69: This person... Is there something wrong with his head?
Xiao Li had absolutely no desire to see the Emperor. ’How can someone destined for greatness have so little patience?’
’Always rushing, rushing, rushing!’
’It’s only the twentieth day. There’s still over a month left. If he was in such a hurry, what was he doing before?’
Before she even reached the Imperial Study Room, she saw Dong Changrui standing by the entrance from a distance.
"Princess."
Dong Changrui approached with that familiar, saccharine smile of his. His face was as deathly pale as ever, his smile just as creepy and insincere.
"Mr. Dong, you couldn’t have been waiting here just for me, could you?"
Dong Changrui’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. "Upon learning the Princess was entering the palace, this old servant made a point to await you here."
"His Majesty is weighed down by worries and his mood is unstable. Soothing His Majesty should be the responsibility of the Empress and the concubines. How can we continue to trouble the Princess?"
Xiao Li mimicked his fake smile. "I’m afraid I don’t quite understand what you mean, Mr. Dong."
Dong Changrui said, "As long as the Princess refrains from giving His Majesty any reckless ideas, His Majesty will naturally be calm and free of worries."
’So he’s trying to lecture me again.’
Xiao Li desperately wanted to slap him across the face, but she was afraid of getting a handful of his face powder and disgusting herself for no reason.
Suppressing her anger, she stepped into the Imperial Study Room. Xiao Jingyun was reviewing memorials, seemingly so busy that he didn’t even have time to stand. He just waved frantically at Xiao Li.
"Come here, quickly."
As soon as Xiao Li walked over, he immediately shoved a pile of memorials toward her, fuming, "Look at these! They’re all cursing me! Every single one!"
Xiao Li opened two of them. "Where are they cursing you? They’re just speaking up for the Lu family."
Xiao Jingyun slammed his hand on the desk, his neck flushing red with agitation. "Speaking up for the Lu family isn’t the same as cursing me? They’ve stopped just short of pointing at my nose and calling me a fatuous ruler."
"They go on and on about the Lu family’s great contributions to the realm, how incorruptible they are, how righteous and magnanimous. Anyone who knows better can see they’re just bootlicking, but those who don’t would think our dynasty is about to produce a saint!"
"Writing so many memorials to praise him—isn’t that just a roundabout way of calling me blind and ignorant? Maybe I should just let Lu Cang be the Emperor instead."
Lu Cang. Chief Minister Lu, who also held the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. The head of all civil servants and the leader of all scholars in the land. Lu Yanzhi’s grandfather.
Xiao Li flipped through a few more memorials. It was true. From the Emperor’s perspective, the more one read, the angrier one would get.
But that wasn’t a good enough reason for him to rush her relentlessly just because he was anxious.
"Brother, if you find them vexing, just don’t read them. It’s only for about a month, anyway. You just have to endure it a little longer, Brother."
The Emperor snorted. If he weren’t holding on to the thought of that one-month deadline, he wouldn’t just be here complaining.
"What exactly are you doing? Can’t you just let me in on it? The Lu family has already extricated themselves from this matter. It’ll be much harder to find another chance to deal with them in the future."
The resurgence of the Lu family’s prestige after being suppressed had left him, the Emperor, terrified. During morning court, he could even feel his own dragon throne trembling.
He also felt a pang of regret. Maybe he shouldn’t have listened to Xiao Li’s nonsense from the start. What could a mere Princess possibly understand?
But Xiao Li had sounded so sure of herself, and she had helped him gain advantages before. He couldn’t resist giving it a try, and now he was caught in a dilemma.
As the Emperor, he couldn’t possibly bow his head to an aristocratic family. If he set that precedent, he feared the world would soon know only of the Lu family, and not of their Emperor.
Things having come to this, he had no choice but to see it through with Xiao Li to the bitter end. But she wouldn’t tell him anything, leaving him to wait in the dark. How could he not be anxious?
Xiao Li sighed in resignation. ’This is exactly why I don’t tell him anything. It’s his personality.’
"Two months. I am a woman of my word. Please stop rushing me, Brother. That Mr. Dong has already practically pointed at my nose and cursed me out."
The Emperor glanced toward the door. "What does this have to do with him?"
Xiao Li let out a soft laugh, leaned closer to the Emperor, and whispered, "They say a new ruler brings in his own court. Old servants may be useful, but one must fear that an old servant still harbors old allegiances, treating Your Majesty like a child."
The Emperor’s gaze turned sharp as he looked at her. Xiao Li simply smiled without a word.
As she was about to leave, Xiao Li glanced at the pastries on the desk. "If you don’t care for these pastries, Brother, don’t let them go to waste. Why not bestow them upon Chen Pingting?"
The Emperor was completely bewildered. He stared at the pastries for a good while, unable to figure it out, but in the end, he still had someone send them out.
Whatever Xiao Li’s profound meaning was, it was just a plate of pastries, after all.
Chen Pingting, who suddenly received the pastries: QAQ ...’It’s over. My cousin can’t really be planning to make me a concubine, can he?’
’It’s over, it’s over!’
When Xiao Li returned from the palace, Lu Yanzhi was waiting to block her at the entrance.
Xiao Li ignored him and tried to walk past, but Lu Yanzhi took a step forward, blocking her path.
"Princess, what will it take for you to send that actor away?"
Xiao Li remained silent. Lu Yanzhi’s attitude softened. "I’ve already gone back to persuade my mother. She was just momentarily possessed. It won’t happen again. If the Princess harbors any resentment, you can direct it all at me."
Xiao Li had no desire to deal with him, but Lu Yanzhi’s current attitude was truly intriguing.
She stared at Lu Yanzhi’s face, trying to see past his exterior and figure out what he was planning now.
Lu Yanzhi thought Xiao Li was looking at his mask. Remembering how she had once called the wound beneath it ugly, he turned away in embarrassment. "This wound will heal. It just needs a little time."
Xiao Li seemed to have confirmed something. Her expression was one of disbelief, and then she said something astonishing.
"Lu Yanzhi, you haven’t developed feelings for me, have you?"
Lu Yanzhi’s expression stiffened. He looked a bit unnatural but didn’t evade the question. He said, "We are husband and wife. It is only right and proper for us to have a harmonious relationship."
He mustered the courage to look at Xiao Li, only to be stung by the shock and mockery in her eyes.
Lu Yanzhi didn’t want to admit that he had fallen for Xiao Li either, but he couldn’t control the thoughts in his heart. This strange feeling was different from what he felt for Liu Xueyin. It wasn’t about tolerance and care, but torment and suffering, along with an irrepressible desire.
The tragedy was that when the Princess was once deeply in love with him, he hadn’t cherished her. Now that he had developed feelings, she couldn’t care less.
"Princess, why do you look at me like that? I was just ignorant in the past, but I am a man of flesh and blood, with emotions and desires. Isn’t it natural that I would develop feelings for the Princess?"
Xiao Li: "..."
The situation was so horrifying that she didn’t even know where to begin.
’Isn’t Lu Yanzhi supposed to be deeply in love with Liu Xueyin?’
’He would do anything for Liu Xueyin without asking for anything in return, only wishing for her well-being, even remaining chaste his entire life.’
’Such a devoted, one-of-a-kind second male lead, and he’s saying he has feelings for *me*?’
’Where did things go wrong?’
Xiao Li asked herself: she had hit Lu Yanzhi, nearly killed Lu Yanzhi, cursed him countless times, never once given him a pleasant look, and had even disfigured his face.
All of these things were meant to hurt him. Lu Yanzhi should hate her to the bone, pursuing her relentlessly until one of them was dead. How could he possibly have developed feelings for her instead?
’This person... is he sick in the head?’
’Falling for your abuser after being tormented... isn’t that the mindset of a female lead in a tragic, angsty novel?’
’Can being love-struck actually be contagious?’
Xiao Li took two steps back. "Don’t talk to me like that. It’s disgusting."
Pain flickered across Lu Yanzhi’s face. He knew the Princess’s current indifference toward him was the bitter fruit of his own sowing. ’I can’t be hasty,’ he told himself.
"I beg the Princess to send that actor away."
Xiao Li refused flatly. "No. Your mother has better taste than you do. This actor is much better-looking than that guard."
BOOM!
Lu Yanzhi looked as if he had been struck by lightning.
The blade he had wielded in the past had finally stabbed him.