Chapter 9 Suffocation He choked Zhao Liangxu

When Zhao Liangxu returned, she found that Zhu Mu was still waiting for her with half a candle burning.

Seeing that Princess Zhao had returned fully clothed, Zhu Mu cautiously and discreetly examined Zhao Liangxu for any new injuries.

She felt that "Nine Thousand Years Old" was definitely not someone to be trifled with, and Princess Zhao was probably going to suffer again.

Zhao Liangxu noticed Zhu Mu's little actions and found them a bit amusing. This maid, who had been crying and whining during the day, had now composed herself and was wholeheartedly devoted to Princess Zhao, whose temperament had drastically changed.

However, everyone was speculating that Anhe had done something to her; the image of "Nine Thousand Years Old" was truly deeply ingrained in people's minds.

She personally experienced the eunuch's unpredictable mood swings; dealing with such a guy who could be smiling one second and turning hostile the next was quite mentally taxing.

Zhao Liangxu stretched and comforted Zhu Mu with a few words to put her mind at ease before yawning and going to sleep.

In the following days, Anhe seemed to have forgotten about Zhao Liangxu's outburst that night, and allowed Zhao Liangxu to continue going to the study to find and read books every night.

Of course, he kept his word and half-forced Zhao Liangxu to learn to read.

Zhao Liangxu: "......"

He took this matter very seriously.

Zhao Liangxu was, after all, a normal person who had received nine years of compulsory education, and she was also familiar with some traditional Chinese characters, so she was not completely illiterate. The process of learning to read was not difficult. What was difficult was that Anhe couldn't stand Zhao Liangxu's calligraphy and insisted that she practice writing.

An He, holding a high position, instructed Zhao Liangxu in a commanding manner, casually pulling out a transcribed calligraphy book and handing it to Zhao Liangxu.

"Finish this calligraphy practice book tonight."

After flipping through the calligraphy book, which was still smelling of ink, Zhao Liangxu could no longer bear it.

"I can't finish writing it." Zhao Liangxu pushed the calligraphy copybook back, crossed her legs, and turned her face away to indicate her refusal.

Out of interest, Anhe added a lacquered wooden chair to the study, which usually only had a table and a chair, so that Zhao Liangxu could sit in a corner.

She remembered that she came to the study to read, not to study, but Anhe got carried away with being a teacher, assigning tasks all day long to satisfy his desire to be a teacher, completely ignoring Zhao Liangxu's opinions.

"Not practicing calligraphy? Then your head is in danger too."

Anhe, who was busy writing something with his head down, didn't even look up and casually uttered a threat.

After spending several days together, Zhao Liangxu had gained a better understanding of An He's personality.

He is indeed unpredictable most of the time, but when he encounters something that excites him, many of the shocking things he says can be taken as just catchphrases.

Watching her learn to read and practice calligraphy has become his recent passion.

This is something Zhao Liangxu has put into practice these past few days, demonstrating her excellent spirit of not being afraid of death. Others are unaware of this because of An He's "bad reputation," and they dare not easily disobey An He.

So Zhao Liangxu propped herself up on the corner of the desk with one arm, lightly tapping the paper of the calligraphy copybook with the other hand, leaning against the desk, and retorted nonchalantly, "There are too many calligraphy copybooks; I can't finish writing them all. Even if I finished them hastily, it would be rough work and wouldn't help me much, would it? Why don't I tell you more interesting stories today, and that will be my way of writing this calligraphy copybook."

An He glanced at Zhao Liangxu. Her extremely relaxed demeanor made anyone who didn't know better think that the Ninth Prince was very easy to talk to.

Fortunately, he was in a good mood recently. The various unexpected things Zhao Liangxu talked about these days, such as "cell phones," "airplanes," and "the Internet," were quite interesting. Even if he didn't know whether they were true or not, Zhao Liangxu's detailed descriptions and self-consistent logic were quite impressive. Even if they were made up, they were still good for entertaining.

However, it is obviously not feasible for Zhao Liangxu to use such an ambiguous matter as a long-term bargaining chip. It has only been a few days and she has already made terms with him. If she waits any longer, won't she start to act wildly on his head?

Ultimately, Zhao Liangxu is nothing more than a source of amusement and amusement for him right now.

Anhe put down her brush, took a damp handkerchief from the side and wiped her hands. She leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and said in a cold tone, "Princess Zhao, have we been too nice to you these past few days? Have you come to think you can negotiate with us?"

Zhao Liangxu has always been very perceptive of changes in other people's emotions, and she naturally noticed the change in An He's tone.

The eunuch, for some unknown reason, suddenly changed his attitude.

Zhao Liangxu thought for a moment, then picked up a fine brush and casually wrote a few characters on the calligraphy template before pushing it to Anhe for review.

“Please take a look, Eunuch An. It’s not that I’m lazy, but I just feel that writing this whole book of calligraphy is not very useful.”

An He picked up the thin calligraphy book with his well-defined fingers, glanced at the few places Zhao Liangxu had casually written, and suddenly paused, glancing at Zhao Liangxu with some surprise.

The handwriting is indeed quite good.

But in just a few days, her previously light and shallow black ink blots transformed into such delicate regular script, which is truly astonishing.

Noticing An He's surprised expression, a smug smile appeared on Zhao Liangxu's usually indifferent face. She narrowed her right eye and smiled, looking like a teasing cat: "Eunuch An, although I am not a genius, my learning ability is not bad."

No wonder she didn't want to write this calligraphy copybook; it really wasn't of much use to her.

Anhe glanced at her a few times. If Zhao Liangxu's talent was truly so great, with more time and practice, she might very well become a highly accomplished calligrapher.

That foolish Princess Zhao wouldn't do that.

He often heard the young emperor, who was then the thirteenth prince, complain to him about Zhao Liangxu's stupidity and obsequiousness.

Speaking of the emperor... Anhe's eyes darkened.

I don't know who Li Ying heard this from, but he insisted that he and Princess Zhao were classmates and missed each other very much after not seeing each other for a long time, and wanted to summon Zhao Liangxu to the palace to reminisce.

Given Anhe's current status, he could certainly refuse Li Ying's request. After all, the current emperor, Li Ying, favored him, and if he explained his reasoning, Li Ying would not refute him.

Although Li Ying enjoyed the status of emperor, he was too young, and the affairs of the court were complicated, with constant factional struggles among the ministers, which Li Ying was not yet capable of handling.

In addition, he had rescued Li Ying from a corner of the palace and helped him become emperor, so Li Ying trusted him exceptionally.

However, he initially had no intention of having a puppet emperor under his command. His becoming the Nine Thousand Years Old, who was above the imperial power, was due to his own scheming, as well as the fact that Li Ying had dumped all the affairs on him. Despite being the ruler of a country, he was unwilling to spend any time in court and only liked to seek pleasure. At a young age, he already showed the signs of a foolish ruler.

He also wanted to know what the young emperor's true intentions were in seeking out Zhao Liangxu.

An He chuckled inwardly and glanced at Zhao Liangxu, who was lost in thought.

He tapped on the table to bring Zhao Liangxu back to her senses.

"This is to inform you not to try to make up any excuses for refusing."

Zhao Liangxu was searching her mind for the Emperor that An He had mentioned. Given Zhao Liangxu's status, even if she wasn't close to those royal relatives and nobles, she should have at least met them before.

However, those memories were too vague. Zhao Liangxu could only know that the current emperor was the youngest prince of the late emperor, and was only ten years old at the time.

Zhao Liangxu gave An He a friendly wink:

"Eunuch An, why does His Majesty the Emperor want to see me? Is it inappropriate for someone of my status as a criminal to meet him?"

Information from memory is useless, so why not use the readily available Anhe?

"You still know you're a criminal, but we see you living a carefree life and don't worry about your criminal status at all."

An He retorted sarcastically, and he had seen that slightly upturned expression on his lips and narrowed eyes quite often these past few days. It was clear that Zhao Liangxu wanted to play a verbal game with him.

“Eunuch An hasn’t been as terrifying as people say these days. I suppose he’s not acting without a sense of right and wrong. If His Majesty summons me to the palace to hold someone accountable, and I’m killed, at the very least you’ll never hear my interesting stories again. At worst, you’ve been harboring members of a fallen royal family these past few days, and you might be implicated.”

Zhao Liangxu's words sounded nice, every word seemed to be for Anhe's sake, but in reality, they sounded like a threat to Anhe.

How could she dare?

How could such a childish threat possibly have any effect on him?

That's what Anhe was thinking.

The child on the throne is now nothing more than a paper dragon, with only a playful heart and no ambition inside, so he can be easily manipulated.

And those people in the imperial court...

An He suddenly stood up and approached Zhao Liangxu step by step, his coldness gradually eroding the fake smile on his face.

He grabbed Zhao Liangxu by the neck. His face, unpainted and youthful, carried a chilling aura unbecoming of his age. His grip was firm, his pale, slender fingers tightly encircling Zhao Liangxu's neck, compressing the air in her throat and forcing her to struggle instinctively.

"Zhao Liangxu, do you know that countless people in the court are eager to curry favor with me? Whether they are talented scholars who have passed the imperial examinations or those shrewd old fogies in the Six Ministries, they all have to show me some respect. Regardless of what they really think, they've certainly put on a good show. And now you, a useless princess of Northern Zhou, dare to threaten me?"

Anhe tightened his grip, his eyes turning icy with mockery.

Even if he kills Zhao Liangxu here today, the young emperor won't blame him tomorrow.

At worst... at worst, we can use Zhao Liangxu's plan to change things up and cause him more trouble.

Zhao Liangxu tremblingly placed one hand on the hand that was gripping her neck, her eyelashes fluttering, and then a smile appeared on her face.

Even in this situation, Zhao Liangxu didn't seem afraid; her voice squeezed out from her throat:

"You kept me here... not just... because you think I'm interesting... right?"

"If the eldest prince of the Northern Zhou, who fled there, knew that his younger sister, a hostage, was being raised in the capital, she might even have... contact with the Grand Prince... and the young emperor..."

Anhe gradually loosened his grip.

"What will his reaction be? He must be heartbroken to part with his sister and racking his brains... hoping for a family reunion."

Anhe loosened her grip, but her slender fingers continued to caress Zhao Liangxu's neck.

"Perhaps, my dear brother, also longs to have some private words with his sister."

Yeah, right.

How could someone who abandons their own sister without hesitation during wartime possibly care about family ties?

But what can Zhao Liangxu, a woman from a fallen kingdom who lives in the private residence of the emperor and has the opportunity to meet him, offer to this lost sheep who longs to restore her kingdom and seek revenge?

Information? Opportunity?

It's worth pondering.

Her presence in the capital is a signal.

This, of course, is why Zhao Liangxu was certain that An He would not kill her.

Anhe must know these principles.

So, he was just threatening Zhao Liangxu.

His murderous intent flashed by, but reason told him that keeping Zhao Liangxu alive was the best course of action at present.

He hoped that the near-death experience he had just had would prompt Zhao Liangxu to show something.

Whether it will be a tearful plea or a calm, inhuman response, that's what Anhe is waiting for next.

And those indifferent eyes hidden beneath his eyelashes, and that smile.

An He admitted that Zhao Liangxu had not disappointed him.