Chapter 54 The Empress's Confidence

That afternoon, the heat subsided slightly.

The two were enjoying the cool air in the pavilion by the lotus pond in the mansion.

A cool breeze carries the delicate fragrance of lotus leaves.

On a whim, Tang Xiaoning insisted on painting a portrait of Li Minghua.

"Don't move! Just lean against this pillar and hold your sword!" Tang Xiaoning excitedly gestured to Li Minghua, who was leaning against the vermilion pillar with his sword in his arms, holding a charcoal pencil.

"Yes! That's the pose! Turn your face slightly to the side... It's perfect! It really gives off the dignified and heroic air of a female knight-errant!"

Li Minghua maintained the posture as instructed, his body lines smooth and upright, the scabbard gleaming with a cold, hard luster in his arm.

But on that handsome face, there was an obvious sense of helplessness and indulgence.

She didn't look at the lotus flowers outside the pavilion; her deep eyes remained fixed on Tang Xiaoning, who was a few feet away, engrossed in painting on a stone table.

Watching her sometimes furrow her delicate brows, biting her pen as she pondered deeply;

At other times, as if he had captured some kind of essence, a silly smile would unconsciously appear on his lips;

Sometimes he would quickly scribble a few strokes on the rough paper...

Li Minghua felt that the focused look on the person in front of her was so captivating that she couldn't get enough of it; it was a hundred times more lively and adorable than any pose she could strike.

Just then, a servant led a well-dressed and respectful middle-aged steward through the moon gate and quickly arrived outside the pavilion.

“Miss, Miss Li,” the steward bowed and presented a beautifully wrapped gift box and a letter sealed with sealing wax.

“The steward from the young master’s residence in the capital has just arrived. On the young master’s orders, he has specially brought extra Mid-Autumn Festival gifts for the young lady. And…” He paused, his voice steady, “a letter written in the young master’s own handwriting.”

He respectfully handed over the gift box and letter.

here we go again!

Li Minghua leaned against the pillar and straightened up almost imperceptibly, like a cheetah poised to pounce.

Her gentle gaze, which had been fixed on Tang Xiaoning, instantly turned sharp as lightning, locking precisely onto the letter sealed with wax, her brows furrowing slightly involuntarily.

It's that cousin again! This time he even included a handwritten letter?

Tang Xiaoning put down her charcoal pencil, snapping out of her focused drawing, and took the gift box and letter, her expression somewhat surprised:

"Cousin, you're too kind. Didn't you just send a big gift a few days ago?" she said casually, as she deftly used a small silver knife to cut open the sealing wax of the envelope and pulled out the letter.

For a moment, only the chirping of cicadas by the pond and the rustling of the wind through the lotus leaves remained in the pavilion.

Li Minghua's gaze was fixed on Tang Xiaoning's face, not missing a single change in her expression.

Tang Xiaoning's gaze swept quickly across the letter, her face first showing surprise, which was then quickly replaced by an expression of suppressed amusement.

Her lips couldn't help but curve upwards, and she even let out a soft "pfft".

"What's wrong?" Li Minghua couldn't help but ask, his voice slightly faster than usual, carrying a hint of urgent inquiry.

Tang Xiaoning looked up, a smile still lingering on her face, and casually handed the letter to Li Minghua:

"Look for yourself, my cousin... he really does things on a whim, making decisions on a whim."

Her tone carried a familiar helplessness, revealing little sign of distress.

Li Minghua immediately stepped forward and took the thin letter.

She quickly skimmed the neat handwriting; the gist of the letter was:

My cousin is about to be transferred to a neighboring province to take up an important position. He will be passing through this place on his way there and plans to stop for a day or two to visit my aunt and see my cousin whom I haven't seen in a long time.

The last line of the letter, the ink seemingly exceptionally clear: "...Also, please give my regards to the highly skilled Miss Li."

He's coming in person? That cousin of his is coming to pay a visit? And he's even going to make a point of greeting her?

Li Minghua put down the letter, his fingertip unconsciously stroking the line "Please convey my regards to Miss Li," leaving a tiny sweat stain.

She tried to keep her tone calm and even, but her eyes were so sharp that they seemed to pierce through the letter to see who was behind it: "He...is coming in person?"

Those four short words were almost squeezed out of his throat.

“Yes,” Tang Xiaoning replied, completely oblivious, her tone even carrying a hint of anticipation for their long-awaited reunion.

She picked up the charcoal pencil again, thought for a moment while looking at the drawing paper, added a few more strokes, and casually said:

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen him for many years since his family moved to the capital. I wonder if he has changed."

She looked up with great interest, her smile bright: "Minghua, when he arrives, I'll introduce you two! You two will definitely get along well!"

Introduce us? Did we get along well?

Looking at Tang Xiaoning's completely unguarded and even slightly expectant expression as she looked at her distant cousin, Li Minghua felt that familiar bittersweet feeling welling up inside her again, surging and choking her, making it hard for her to breathe.

She still remembered the gifts and the "greetings" specifically mentioned in the letter.

This cousin is definitely more than just a "relative"!

She pressed her thin lips together into a straight line, forcefully suppressing the refusal or question that was about to spill out.

In the end, she simply placed the letter, which still smelled faintly of ink, back on the stone table in silence, her gaze fixed on the lotus leaves swaying in the wind outside the pavilion, and said nothing more.

Only the arm holding the sword seemed to be tightened even more, and the knuckles were slightly white.

A chilling aura, imbued with a strong sense of territoriality, quietly spread around Li Minghua.

For the next half day, Li Minghua was noticeably distracted. His swordplay was stiff, and he remained silent during meals.

Tang Xiaoning finally realized that something was wrong with her.

That night, she hugged her pillow and, familiar with the place, made her way to Li Minghua's room, squeezed onto her bed, and ostensibly to "discuss sword techniques."

Then she poked the person who was facing away from her and pretending to be asleep.

"Hey, Minghua, are you asleep?"

"……Um."

"You're lying, your breathing sounds off." Tang Xiaoning crawled into her blanket, hugged her slender waist from behind, and pressed her face against her warm back. "Are you... secretly jealous again?"

Li Minghua stiffened, but did not deny it.

Tang Xiaoning sighed, turned her around, and looked into her eyes, which were flickering with awkwardness and unease, in the dim light. She said seriously, "Minghua, look at me."

Li Minghua looked at her as instructed.

“I, Tang Xiaoning,” she said, pointing to her nose, enunciating each word clearly, “like you, Li Minghua. I only like you, do you understand?”

Li Minghua's heart skipped a beat, and her cheeks burned in the darkness.

"My cousin, he's just a relative, we only see each other once every few years."

I've always treated Zhou Wenyuan like an older brother, and I've never had any other thoughts about him.

Tang Xiaoning continued to explain, her tone more serious than ever before: "It didn't exist before, and now that you're here, it's even less likely. Do you understand?"

Looking into her clear and firm eyes, Li Minghua felt a slight ache in his heart caused by unease.

She reached out and pulled Tang Xiaoning into her arms, holding her tightly, her chin gently resting on the top of her head.

"Mmm," she responded softly, tightening her grip on her arms. "I understand."

She understood, but the thought of her cousin, whom she had never met but who had sent countless gifts and was about to visit, still made her feel... a little annoyed.

Tang Xiaoning felt the strength of her embrace and knew that she had listened to her, which made her feel sweet inside.

She tilted her head back, gently pecked Li Minghua's chin, and said with a grin:

"So, my dear Lady Li, put your mind at ease!"

You're officially recognized now! You need to act like the rightful wife!

When you meet my cousin, you'd better act confidently and not embarrass me, understand?

"The Empress?" Li Minghua was unfamiliar with this term.

"It means... the most important thing!" Tang Xiaoning explained haphazardly, then yawned, "Okay, okay, time to sleep. I still need to draw your portrait tomorrow..."

She mumbled something, found a comfortable position in Li Minghua's arms, and soon her breathing became even as she drifted off to sleep.

Li Minghua, however, couldn't fall asleep.

The important one...

People with "official status"...

We need to show our confidence...

She pondered Tang Xiaoning's words repeatedly, and a sense of joyful courage quietly grew in her heart.

That's right, she is now Xiaoning's "beloved," and that's officially confirmed.

That cousin... was just a guest who came from afar.

Thinking this way, Li Wuxia suddenly felt enlightened, and her inexplicable jealousy and unease transformed into a kind of composure as if she were "fighting on her home turf".

She looked down at the peaceful sleeping face of the person in her arms and couldn't help but gently kiss her forehead.

"Okay," she silently replied in her heart, "I definitely won't embarrass you."

However, this female warrior, who is used to solving problems with a sword, seems to need some practical experience in how to "generously" deal with potential "love rivals".

Her soon-to-arrive cousin will undoubtedly be the first touchstone for her to learn the "confidence of an empress".