Chapter Forty-Seven: Severance of Sibling Bond

On the other side.

Seeing Li Yan follow that so-called imperial advisor into a side room, Li Zhou immediately followed and closed the door tightly.

This sudden action startled Li Yan so much that she almost cried out. Turning around, she saw that it was her brother and immediately asked with displeasure, "Brother, what is it?"

Fang Xu, who was sitting in the main seat behind Li Yan, was quietly enjoying the show between the brother and sister.

Li Zhou grabbed her wrist tightly, leaving a red mark instantly. Suppressing his anger, he asked, "I'm asking you! What's the deal with that peony birthmark of yours? What are you and this Imperial Advisor plotting? Does your mother know?"

Seeing Li Yan's still proud and delighted expression, Li Zhou was furious. "You've stepped into a fire pit, do you even know that?!"

Li Yan winced in pain and struggled, but saw a fury in her brother's eyes that she had never seen before. She suddenly sneered and flung his hand away: "What? Now you know how to act like an older brother?"

She rubbed her wrist, which had been pinched red, and a mocking look appeared in her eyes: "From childhood to adulthood, you've only ever had eyes for Li Bao'er! When have you ever truly cared about me?!" "Shut up!" Li Zhou's expression changed drastically.

Li Yan's voice suddenly rose, "I insist on saying it! That year, she made a mistake and sneaked out of the mansion. She was punished by her father and locked in the kitchen. You personally went to her father to plead for her."

She suddenly laughed eerily, "And when Li Yu pushed me into the lotus pond, you told Father it was my fault!"

Li Zhou was struck dumb, but he immediately retorted, "That's clearly because you couldn't stand Li Yu's new ruyi and wanted to snatch it from him, which is why he pushed you into the water!"

Fang Xu, sitting in the main seat, clicked his tongue softly; his curiosity could be felt even through the veil.

Li Yan slammed the teacup to the ground, shards of porcelain flying everywhere: "Why is Li Bao'er born a legitimate daughter? Why is she so beautiful? Why does she enjoy the pampering from her maternal family?"

"But I am merely a concubine's daughter born into a brothel! In what ways am I inferior to her in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting? Why can't I enjoy wealth and honor!"

Li Yan became increasingly agitated as she spoke, even revealing her past without any attempt to conceal it: "The whole street is buzzing with rumors that she's arrogant and domineering, all show and no substance, and all she knows is chasing after Mu Yuan all day long. Li Zhou, do you know that? These are all rumors I had spread."

“You’re insane…” Li Zhou took two steps back. “You’re absolutely insane!”

"Am I crazy?" Li Yan suddenly ripped open her collar, revealing a peony that glowed with an eerie red light. "Brother, do you know what this is? It was inserted by the Imperial Preceptor using a silver needle dipped in vermilion."

She stroked the pattern with fascination, "The Grand Preceptor would bless me to gradually attain the power and status I desire, but what about you? You would only accuse me of self-degradation!"

"You are not worthy to be my brother! You are nothing but a stray dog, hiding in the shadows and coveting your own sister!"

As soon as these words were spoken, a loud "slap" resounded across the face like a thunderclap.

Li Yan's head suddenly tilted to one side, her carefully styled hair instantly became disheveled, and her pearl hairpin fell to the ground, breaking into two pieces at her feet.

She touched her burning cheek in disbelief, her fingertips brushing against a swollen patch.

"You dare hit me?" Tears welled up in her eyes, her eyes filled with boundless hatred. "You actually hit me for her sake?"

Li Zhou's hands were still numb. He looked at the finger marks on his sister's face and said in a terribly hoarse voice, "I'm saying this for the last time: put away your filthy fantasies."

Fang Xu tapped his fingertips lightly on the tea table. He stared at Li Zhou's tense back and suddenly chuckled, "Young Master Li has served His Highness the Third Prince for many years, yet he hasn't even obtained a proper official position, has he?"

Li Zhou turned around abruptly, a look of shock flashing in his eyes.

Almost no one knew that he was Mu Yuan's man!

"You managed his smuggled salt business and cultivated relationships with powerful figures in the capital." Fang Xu slowly poured a cup of tea. "And what was the result? You didn't even get a single decent benefit." The teacup was pushed in front of Li Zhou, and his distorted face was reflected in the water.

“Young Master Li, in truth, you and I are the same kind of people.” Fang Xu stared intently at Li Zhou through the veil.

The hoarse voice rang out again: "Both of us are people who will stop at nothing to achieve our goals."

Li Zhou's pupils suddenly contracted.

Fang Xu walked slowly closer, and with each step, the candlelight in the room dimmed a little: "The portrait in the hidden box in the third compartment of your study, and the red beans you secretly hid in the Dragon Boat Festival sachet you gave her last year."

"Are you human or a monster?" Li Zhou suddenly stepped back, his back hitting the screen.

Those secrets he thought would never see the light of day were now being dissected without reservation, and now he truly believed in the abilities of this imperial advisor.

"What's the panic? That's why I can let you have her openly and legitimately."

Li Yan screamed in disbelief, "Grand Preceptor! You promised to take me and let me ride on Li Bao'er's head for the rest of my life!"

"Shut up." Fang Xu waved his sleeve without turning his head, and Li Yan froze on the spot, her eyes rolling in fear.

In the darkness where the candlelight had completely died out, the Grand Preceptor's voice coiled around Li Zhou's neck like a venomous snake: "What Mu Yuan can give, I can give you double. What she cannot give you, I can also give. For example, I can make her willingly kneel and beg for your pity."

Suddenly, Li Zhou recalled that spring rain, with Li Bao'er holding an oil-paper umbrella and smiling so brightly at him.

"The price?" His voice was hoarse, unlike his own.

Fang Xu's lips curled up in a strange way: "It's very simple..."

On the other side, Li Xiangyuan kicked open the study door. He hadn't changed out of his official robes, and the jade belt hook gleamed coldly in the twilight, clearly indicating that he had gone straight back to his residence after court.

Seeing that there was no one in the mansion, Li Xiangyuan asked the steward and learned what had just happened. He was both shocked and furious!

He immediately rushed into Qingfeng Courtyard, where he saw Li Bao'er leisurely painting under the pear tree, and Li Yu practicing swordsmanship on the side, but Mu Cenlin was nowhere to be seen.

Li Xiangyuan then whispered angrily, "What exactly happened today?"

Li Bao'er picked at her ear: "Father is so angry today, could it be that Aunt Zhang has whispered something in his ear again? Or did he get so angry at his colleagues in court?" She didn't move an inch, not even lifting her eyelashes or eyelids.

"You still remember I'm your father?!" Li Xiangyuan's beard trembled with rage. "Tell me the truth about today's farce at Longhua Temple and Yan'er becoming the Crown Prince's concubine."

"Your sister has been colluding with the Imperial Advisor without authorization, and now she has become the Crown Prince's concubine. If His Majesty suspects that my Li family is forming a faction..."

"What is Father afraid of?" Li Bao'er suddenly chuckled. "You are a well-known opportunist in the court."

Li Yu burst out laughing, then quickly covered her mouth.

Li Xiangyuan's face instantly turned ashen.

He could certainly hear the sarcasm in those words. Over the years, he had neither dared to offend Prince Jing nor secretly supported the Third Prince. Wasn't he playing both sides perfectly?

Li Bao'er suddenly stood up straight, her gaze passing over Li Xiangyuan's shoulder, "Instead of lecturing me here, why don't you wait until Li Yan comes back and ask her carefully?"

She parted her red lips slightly, speaking slowly and deliberately: "After all, I'm not the one who was examined by the Imperial Preceptor in public."

"Oh, you'd better ask your favorite concubine. Judging from her reaction just now, she probably already knew about this."