Chapter 16: See? Cat Got Your Tongue?
Lu Shu and Lu Qi reluctantly moved their belongings. Lu Qi, completely unable to hide his emotions, grumbled, "Young Master, we finally managed to get out of this place. Why are we coming back?"
"I could live with coming back, but you even brought your most beloved books and qin. Are you really planning to make this place your home from now on?"
The two had been beaten with planks by Xiao Li before. Lu Qi, in particular, had been struck across the mouth, losing two teeth. His feelings for Xiao Li had now gone beyond resentment into genuine hatred.
But having to follow their master back to this place, all while hating her, was just too suffocating.
Lu Yanzhi didn’t answer Lu Qi, but neither did he scold or stop him. Evidently, he was just as unwilling.
He had a long talk with his grandfather last night. His grandfather told him that the key to breaking the stalemate still lay with the Princess.
The Princess was already infatuated with him. The more she targeted him now, the more it proved she couldn’t let him go.
The Lu family was one of the great aristocratic families, while the Princess was merely a pawn fostered under the Empress Dowager’s name—someone who could be discarded at any moment. If this entanglement continued, the Lu family would be the one to truly suffer.
Divorce was impossible, but ignoring her was also not an option. Therefore, he had to return.
He had to lower the Princess’s guard and make her believe he’d had a change of heart. If he could get her pregnant, all their problems would be solved.
The Princess’s love for him, and a child, would both serve as leverage to control her.
Lu Yanzhi could sense the scheming in his grandfather’s eyes, but the old man said nothing.
However, he had his own plans as well. He did need to get control over the Princess, to stop her from harming Xue Yin again.
His ruined reputation, the pain of her beatings, and Xue Yin’s child—he would make her pay for it all.
And so, Lu Yanzhi presented himself at Xiao Li’s dining table.
Xiao Li arched an eyebrow, then went back to her soup.
The table was set for only one person: Xiao Li. Lu Yanzhi sat down, but no one brought him a place setting.
In the end, it was Lu Shu who hurried to bring Lu Yanzhi a place setting.
Lu Yanzhi kept his eyes downcast, his expression impassive. Adopting a submissive posture, he picked up his chopsticks to serve Xiao Li a piece of food before starting to eat himself.
Xiao Li glanced up. ’Is this... a peace offering?’
’The sun must have risen in the west.’
Xiao Li stared openly at Lu Yanzhi, her gaze unwavering. A cryptic smile played on her lips, and to any observer, it would seem she was utterly smitten with him.
Xiao Li set down her bowl, finished with her meal. Lu Yanzhi, who had barely eaten a few bites, also put down his chopsticks. He hadn’t come here to eat anyway.
His gaze swept to the side. She hadn’t touched the food he had served her.
"Princess, since you won’t agree to a divorce, let’s let bygones be bygones. From now on, I will learn to treat you well."
"Hah!" Xiao Li scoffed. "Now isn’t that an interesting thing to say."
’If the original host had heard that, she’d probably have been moved to tears, wouldn’t she?’
"So we’re just forgetting about me beating you?"
Lu Yanzhi put on a magnanimous expression. "It’s all in the past."
Xiao Li asked again, "And what if I beat you in the future?"
Lu Yanzhi: "..."
’See? Now he’s speechless.’
"Hahahaha!" His hypocritical facade hadn’t even lasted fifteen minutes. Xiao Li mocked him without mercy. "Don’t torture yourself, and don’t torture my eyes. You’re far more interesting when you put on that aloof and unyielding act."
Lu Qi couldn’t hold back any longer. He stepped forward and said angrily, "Our Young Master was beaten so badly by you, and now he’s willing to let it go and reconcile. Don’t take it too far!"
Before Xiao Li could even open her mouth, Nanny Qian stepped forward and chided him with a stern expression. "When the master is speaking, what right does a mere servant have to interrupt?"
Xiao Li’s emotionless gaze swept over them as her long, slender, pale fingers tapped lazily on the tabletop. "A mere attendant dares to yell at me, the Princess. Is this the Prince Consort’s sincerity? Do you still take me for the pushover I used to be?"
Lu Yanzhi’s hands tightened inside his sleeves as he hissed, "Lu Qi, hold your tongue."
Xiao Li clapped her hands, and Yang Jun immediately stepped forward. "Your Highness, what are your orders?"
Xiao Li pointed at Lu Qi. "Drag him away and teach him some manners."
Just as Lu Yanzhi was about to speak, Xiao Li’s expression turned cold and merciless. "This is the Princess Mansion. He dares to scream at me on my own territory? It is only by my mercy that I don’t kill him. Prince Consort, if you can’t control your people, then I will control them for you."
Lu Yanzhi finally looked up, his gaze meeting Xiao Li’s. Staring into those cold, pitiless eyes, his heart sank even further.
He could no longer see a trace of the adoration and love she once held for him. They say love can turn to hate, but in Xiao Li’s eyes, he saw no hatred—only an endless, chilling cold.
’Was coming back here the right move?’
Xiao Li wanted to kill Lu Yanzhi, but he couldn’t die in the Princess Mansion.
Otherwise, the Lu family would not spare her, and the Emperor would not protect her.
She couldn’t care less about the attitudes of these "ancients," but she couldn’t allow herself to become a pariah everyone wanted to strike. She had no desire to suffer.
Therefore, Lu Yanzhi had to die outside the mansion. Ideally, his death would appear completely aboveboard, in a way that couldn’t be traced back to her.
Her mind raced. It wasn’t that she didn’t have ideas, but... she had no one to help her.
But a small matter like this wasn’t enough to stop her.
"Go and tell the Prince Consort he is to accompany me on an outing."
’On the surface, at least, she had tamed the Prince Consort. So why not drag him out and show him off?’
Lu Yanzhi felt utterly stifled, but he still came, albeit reluctantly.
"Where does Your Highness wish to go?"
"We’re going out. Where else but the streets?" Xiao Li replied, glancing at him nonchalantly.
Today, Lu Yanzhi wore a long, front-fastening robe of gray-green plain brocade. The color was rare, and such plain clothes were the truest test of one’s bearing, yet on him, the effect was striking.
His hair was bound in a jade coronet, and he stood tall and elegant. His figure was like slender bamboo, and while his complexion was pale, he possessed a cool beauty like autumn frost or a jade bamboo stalk—unassuming, yet with a unique charm all his own.
’He’s the second male lead and the heroine’s "white moonlight" love. He certainly has the looks for the part.’
Lu Yanzhi looked up, his gaze meeting Xiao Li’s smiling eyes. ’That smile... is it fondness?’
’What’s the point of shopping? To buy, buy, buy, of course.’
’Things from this ancient era held little appeal for Xiao Li. Even if they were priceless antiques, she couldn’t take them with her. It was all meaningless.’
So: "This one, this one, and this one... wrap them all up for me. The Prince Consort is paying."
"This one, this one, and that one... no, those three are too ugly, I don’t want them. Prince Consort, pay up."
"Ooh, this one’s nice, I’ll take it! That one’s good too, wrap it up!"
"Prince Consort, are you going to pay or not?"
Lu Yanzhi: "..."
Lu Shu and the other attendants were with them, but Lu Yanzhi hadn’t brought much silver. It was gone in no time. The rest of the purchases were put on the Prince Consort’s tab, to be paid upon delivery.
Lu Shu did a quick mental calculation. In just a short while, she had already spent a full twenty thousand taels of silver.
’If the Princess keeps shopping like this, it’ll be the death of us.’
"Young Master, you have to stop her, quickly."
Even with the Lu family’s great wealth, they couldn’t afford to squander money like this.
Lu Yanzhi stepped forward. "Your Highness, you must be tired after walking for so long. There is a teahouse up ahead. Shall we go and rest for a while?"