Chapter 88: A Bargaining Chip to Move Her Heart
"Young Master." As soon as Xiao Li left, Manager Jiang hurried upstairs. "What did she say?"
Only the two of them knew she was a Princess. The Young Master had been hitting walls everywhere; the Princess was his only remaining chance.
Rumors were swirling outside about the Princess murdering her husband. Everyone was saying Princess Xuanyang was a deranged, venomous snake of a princess. But if the person they just met truly was the Princess, then the rumors couldn’t be trusted.
There had to be more to the story, but for some reason, neither the Princess nor the Royal Family had offered any explanation.
Song Junzhan furrowed his brow slightly. "She wants leverage. Something that will truly move her."
"Besides money, I can’t think of anything else I have to offer. And as a Princess, she doesn’t lack for that."
He had wanted to persuade the Princess. He could talk at length about the civil service examinations without any preparation, and he believed a woman of her insight would surely understand the significance of his words. But she didn’t mention any of that. Instead, she presented him with a difficult problem.
’On second thought, no matter how good the examinations are, they have nothing to do with the Princess. I knew this path was perilous, yet I tried to drag her into it with nothing but passionate ideals and empty words. It was indeed quite presumptuous of me.’
But he truly did need her help. And his intuition told him she was capable of providing it.
’So, what is it that would actually move her?’
Manager Jiang was also troubled. ’She’s a Princess. What could she possibly not have?’
Suddenly, the expression Miss Xiao had when looking at his Young Master at the door flashed through his mind. How to describe it? At first glance, it was just a faint smile, but upon reflection, he felt there was an indescribable undertone to it.
The Shopkeeper gave the Young Master a strange look, hesitating to speak. Finally, he just muttered in a voice only he could hear, ’Who says we have no leverage...?’
’Our Young Master has a handsome face. Plenty of young ladies blush just from looking at him.’
Song Junzhan asked, "What are you talking about?"
Manager Jiang shook his head vigorously. "Nothing at all."
’Although what the Young Master is doing is important, I absolutely cannot let him sacrifice his... physical charms.’
’Something that would compromise his integrity is out of the question.’
’Hmm, although that Princess Xuanyang is indeed beautiful. If I’m being honest, the Young Master wouldn’t be getting the short end of the stick at all.’
HISS... ’No, the more I think about it, the more wrong it feels. My brain must be broken.’
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Xiao Li had been awake for several days when the Emperor finally remembered her, specifically summoning her to the palace.
This time, the Emperor was more composed. He didn’t rush out to greet her, but instead sat primly on his chair, waiting for her to bow.
The Emperor’s face was glowing, and he was beaming with success. The taste of being in complete control must be especially intoxicating. It was said he had even taken two new concubines recently.
’While I was in a coma for the past month, he seems to have had a pretty good time.’
"Xuanyang, you’re here. Are you feeling better?"
he asked with a caring smile.
Xiao Li nodded. "I’m mostly recovered."
The Emperor nodded. "That’s good to hear. You were unconscious for so long, it gave me quite a scare."
’I can’t tell,’ Xiao Li thought.
The Emperor beckoned to her. "Come here."
Xiao Li walked over, confused. The Emperor took out an imperial edict. "Take a look at this."
Xiao Li opened it. It was a list of rewards for her. As she was already a Princess, she couldn’t be granted a new title, so he gave her the two prefectures adjacent to her original fiefdom.
’They’re both on the border. Two godforsaken places where even birds won’t shit... How generous of him.’
Perhaps he also felt they were a bit too poor, so in addition, he also bestowed gifts of gold and silver, as well as a hot spring manor.
"Brother, why are you suddenly giving me these things?"
The Emperor chuckled. "You were a great contributor this time. I would never mistreat my own sister."
Xiao Li accepted with a smile. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The Emperor, perhaps because he’d been bottling it all up, insisted on pulling Xiao Li into a chat, which was really just him bragging.
He said that sparing the Lu family was a decision born from benevolence and righteousness; he wanted to be a virtuous King who repays grievance with virtue.
He said the court was now completely under his control, that his word was law, and his orders were followed without question.
He said the world was at peace, and he had not failed the teachings of the late Emperor.
Xiao Li: "..."
’What crime did I commit to deserve having to sit here and listen to this moron boast?’
’Every single second is an ordeal.’
When he paused to drink his tea, Xiao Li pretended to ask casually, "Brother, what are your thoughts on the civil service examinations?"
The Emperor, who had been looking pleased just a moment ago, instantly turned cold. "Why do you bring that up?"
’His attitude is a bit strange, isn’t it?’
Xiao Li said, "I was flipping through a book by chance and saw that an emperor of the previous dynasty established the civil service examinations, which all scholars in the realm could participate in. I was just wondering, why is it something that can’t be mentioned?"
The Emperor’s expression softened slightly. "It’s one thing to mention it to me, but don’t go around clamoring about the old affairs of a past dynasty."
"You’re young and don’t know. Back then, a group of remnants from the previous dynasty wanted to revive the civil service examinations. Father was furious about it and even had many people killed."
Xiao Li asked, "But isn’t selecting capable children from poor families a good thing for the Emperor?"
The Emperor rebuked her with simmering anger, "You don’t understand court politics. Stop your nonsense, or don’t blame your Brother for being merciless."
Xiao Li shut her mouth. ’That was stupid of me. To think I actually tried to discuss these things with him.’
The Emperor was like a beast just released from its cage, thinking the entire world belonged to him. At this moment, his control over the court had reached its peak, and he had absolutely no desire for any more changes.
Perhaps he also looked down on those from poor families.
Arrogant and obstinate. His limited perspective meant he would never see the drawbacks of having the great aristocratic families in power.
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When Xiao Li finally emerged from the Imperial Study Room, two hours had already passed. Heaven knows what kind of assault she had endured in those two hours; she looked completely drained.
Her gaze swept over the purple-robed eunuch at the door, and she suddenly asked, "Why don’t I see the Chief Eunuch?"
The middle-aged eunuch looked up, a little surprised. "Reporting to the Princess, this servant is the Chief Eunuch."
Xiao Li was silent for a moment. "I’m asking about Lou Yan."
The man seemed to finally recall that this Princess had been in a coma for a month and was unaware of the palace’s recent affairs.
"In reply to the Princess, Mr. Lou has been promoted; he is now the Chief Eunuch. As for what he is doing, this servant does not know."
’Lou Yan is the Chief Eunuch?’
Xiao Li raised an eyebrow. ’He actually managed to do it.’
The eunuch asked, "Should this servant pass a message along?"
Xiao Li shook her head. "No need. It was just a casual question."
It truly was a casual question from Xiao Li, but the Emperor was surrounded by Lou Yan’s eyes and ears. The news quickly reached the Imprisonment Department.
Before the messenger even entered, the thick stench of blood nearly made him vomit. He looked down and saw he was already stepping in sticky, blackened blood. For the past month, rivers of blood had flowed through the Imprisonment Department.
’I’m incredibly thankful that I decisively chose to follow Mr. Lou back then; otherwise, I fear I too would have been carried out of this place horizontally.’
Avoiding the pools of blood, he walked inside. The interior was dim. On racks lined up side-by-side hung mangled, bloody figures, a sight so terrifying it made one’s heart pound and hair stand on end.
He suppressed his terror and walked to the very back, where he saw only the familiar hem of a dark robe, its jacquard patterns gleaming with a bloody luster.
"My lord, Princess Xuanyang was with His Majesty in the palace for two hours. As she was leaving just now, she asked about you."
In a dark corner where the sun never reached, a pair of sinister eyes slowly opened.