Chapter 70 Ah Xun, what should I do with you...?

What kind of girl would Your Highness like?

Isn't it obvious right in front of us?

Huo Lu only thought about it in his heart, but didn't say it out loud. After all, there was a difference between men and women with Chi Yangqing, and it was rather embarrassing to discuss these romantic matters.

Yang Qing said, "Oh, don't be so coy. This is our little secret. I won't tell anyone, and you're not allowed to tell anyone either."

Huo Lu then said, "Isn't this exactly what His Highness likes?"

Yang Qing snorted coldly, feeling that he was very dishonest.

"Tell me the truth, what's wrong with him lately?"

Huo Lu feigned ignorance: "What? What exactly happened?"

He looked distressed. "I'm not a mind reader, so I have no idea what he's thinking."

Yang Qing thought it made sense, so she let him off the hook for the time being. She then swallowed the small wonton fiercely, chewed it thoroughly, and swallowed it down her throat.

Huo Lu felt he should also say a few kind words, "Although His Highness hasn't seen you these days, his heart is full of you, Miss. The wedding is just around the corner, so even if you come out, you should bring more people with you. Otherwise, what if something unexpected happens?"

Yang Qing was about to retort, "The capital is full of your Imperial Guards, what kind of accidents could we possibly encounter?"

But last year, an accident happened to her, and she had no choice but to keep quiet.

That damned Li Heyun! So much time has passed and I still haven't heard any news of his death. It's so annoying.

Li Shangxuan is also a good-for-nothing. For so long, I've always said I'd teach him a lesson, but Li Heyun is still perfectly fine, without any problems.

Yang Qing sneered, "Don't say such things. I haven't seen him treat me any better than I have."

Now that things have come to this, what else can she do?

As long as he doesn't break off the engagement, she has no choice but to obediently marry him. It's so unfair.

Huo Lu was such a long-winded person, insisting on sending her back. Yang Qing knew what he meant; he was simply afraid that something might happen to her outside.

It's fine if you crawl through a dog hole yourself, but it's embarrassing if someone else sees you doing it...

Huo Lu was dumbfounded, and Yang Qing said irritably, "Why are your eyes so wide open? I'm not like your prince, who has the ability to fly over walls."

Huo Lu dared not speak.

Yang Qing returned to her room, which was in complete chaos.

Lili rushed over, her face streaked with tears, "Miss, you're finally back."

Yang Qing patted her back to comfort her, and asked curiously, "Why are you crying for no reason? Didn't I tell you before I went out that I was just going for a walk?"

Lili hurriedly said, "This servant knows, but Xiaoman doesn't. She couldn't find Miss, so she immediately went out, saying that she was going to see the Crown Prince, and she kept saying that Miss had run away."

Yang Qing asked, "Why didn't you tell her?"

Lili said, "I wanted to say that, but with her personality, she runs out like the wind, and I can't stop her even if I want to."

Yang Qing's heart began to pound. Before she could ask anything else, someone came in with a message that the Second Madam wanted her to go out because the Crown Prince had suddenly come to the Chi residence.

Yang Qing's heart skipped a beat as Li Li pushed her to change her clothes.

In a hurry, she quickly dressed and dressed, then almost ran ahead. Sure enough, Li Shangxuan was standing there. When he saw her, his face was as calm as ice in winter. When he saw her, he was slightly stunned, and then the ice melted away.

Although the second wife felt bewildered and couldn't understand what was going on, seeing her daughter find a good home was also her wish.

The two hadn't seen each other for a long time, and although their upcoming wedding was somewhat improper, it didn't really matter, as long as the two children got along well.

Looking left and right, the two men's expressions were strange, not like they were eager to express their feelings.

The second wife assumed that perhaps she was too embarrassed to be there.

Look at this good-for-nothing youngest daughter, she ran like this as soon as she heard she was going to see her lover, her hair all disheveled. She smiled and scolded her, "Are you in such a hurry? Aren't you afraid His Highness will laugh at you?"

Yang Qing blushed. What were the Second Madam saying? It was as if she was so excited when she heard he was coming.

She said discontentedly, "Mother..."

The second wife laughed and said, "Forget it, I won't be the one to be annoying. His Highness needs your help, so you can stay and give him your answer. I have other things to attend to."

Yang Qing blushed even more; she didn't want to talk to Li Shangxuan right now.

A man's heart is truly unfathomable.

She, Chi Yangqing, wasn't someone he could manipulate however he wanted.

Li Shangxuan said, "No need. I just remembered that I still have matters to attend to at the Crown Prince's Palace, so I'll head back first."

After saying that, he took his leave, leaving the second wife, who was still standing there, even more confused. She asked curiously, "What's going on between you two?"

They came in such a hurry, and left in such a hurry; it was quite strange.

Yang Qing pouted and said, "How would I know what he wants to do? He's the Crown Prince, so naturally he can do whatever he wants. Why would he care what we think? If Mother wants to know, she should interrogate him instead of making things difficult for your daughter here."

The second wife had only asked one question, but unexpectedly, it provoked a series of questions in return. She asked in surprise, "Did you eat gunpowder today?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than Yang Qing had already left.

The second wife felt helpless, truly unaware of what conflict had arisen between the two. Yang Qing appeared as soft as dough, yet possessed a considerable amount of stubbornness.

Husband and wife are just living together, why make things so complicated, sometimes good and sometimes bad?

She truly couldn't understand it.

*****

Yang Qing stormed back into the house, and a short while later Xiao Man returned, panting heavily.

Yang Qing was already angry, and seeing her only made her angrier. She sneered, "Why did you come back? My place is too small to accommodate a great deity like you."

Xiaoman was equally furious: "Miss, how could you make such a joke? Aren't you deliberately trying to trick me?"

She even turned the tables on him, and Yang Qing chuckled, "How did I trick you?"

Xiaoman argued vehemently: "You suddenly disappeared without a word, weren't you trying to elope? Of course I had to report such an important matter to His Highness. He hurriedly sealed off the city gates, but when he came to the Chi family, he was all right here. Weren't you just going to take your anger out on me? He had me beaten with ten lashes. It hurt so much, my buttocks are practically bleeding."

Yang Qing sneered, "You're already secretly happy with just ten strokes of the cane. You just wait, when I become the Crown Princess, if you fall into my hands, I'll give you ten strokes of the cane every day until your buttocks are truly bleeding."

Xiaoman's eyes widened in disbelief. "Miss! I follow you around every day. I've worked hard, even if I haven't done anything special. How could you treat me like this!"

Yang Qing snorted, "You have no hard work to speak of. You just wait and see, or you'd better run away quickly, otherwise you'll be really finished once I become the Crown Princess!"

Xiaoman angrily retorted, "I did nothing wrong! I was just following orders. Why are you two throwing a tantrum and both want to hit me? I quit!"

After saying that, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Lili had just found the ointment when she said with a smile, "Miss, you really are something. Why did you have to scare her like that? Xiaoman is so stubborn and can't understand things."

Yang Qing's lips curved slightly, but she didn't say anything.

As night fell and darkness deepened, she lay on her bed, her mind filled with thoughts of Li Shangxuan's reaction earlier that day, growing angrier with each passing moment.

She should have done as he wished, really run away from the wedding, and ideally never see him again, to see if he would still give her the cold shoulder.

Suddenly the curtain was lifted, and she was slightly startled. In the dead of night, there was no way a maid would lift her curtain without a word.

When a hand touched her face, Yang Qing immediately realized it was a man's hand.

That damned Li Shangxuan! He suddenly touched her face by her bedside in the middle of the night. It's only because she's brave that she did it. If it were someone as timid as Chu Ying, she probably would have been scared to death.

She could only keep her eyes closed and try to keep her breathing steady.

Li Shangxuan remained silent, as if he were a blind man touching an elephant, his palm gently brushing from his chin to his ears, across his eyes and nose.

His movements were extremely delicate and gentle, as if he were afraid of waking her.

After an unknown amount of time, his fingers stopped at his lips, gently caressing them, and finally he spoke.

"You're quite sensible. If you really dare to run away from the wedding, I'll break your legs."

Yang Qing closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, while cursing people in her mind.

This pervert even wanted to break her legs.

If he really dared to do that, he was finished. Even without a knife, she would stab him to death with a hairpin.

After a while, Li Shangxuan said again, "Forget it, I'll just tie you up and have you wait for me to come back in the bedroom every day."

Yang Qing thought to herself, "You're smart enough to know what's good for you, but there's no way you can tie her up. She's already bored enough in the palace. If she's tied up again, she might as well be dead."

However, before she died, she couldn't let Li Shangxuan have an easy time.

But if he's tied up, you can't even stab him with a hairpin.

As she was lost in thought, the man's warm breath brushed against her face, causing her heart to skip a beat. She tried to relax.

In the darkness, his sense of touch seemed even more acute. He kissed her lips and bit her lip maliciously, but not with much force, so the pain was very slight.

After taking a bite, he stuck out the tip of his tongue and licked it in a flattering manner.

Yang Qing's face quickly flushed. This lecher, hypocrite, lecherous scoundrel, ignored her during the day, but at night he would sneak into her room and kiss her while she was asleep.

What a scoundrel, I absolutely hate him.

She was hesitating whether to "wake up" now, expose his true colors, and then give him a good mocking. Li Shangxuan had already ended the brief kiss, but he hadn't gotten up yet. He was still leaning over and staring at her, and she could still feel his breath.

Yang Qing's heart was pounding in her throat. In the pitch black, what was he looking at? Did he realize that he hadn't slept at all?

Li Shangxuan murmured softly, "Ah Xun, Ah Xun, what should I do with you?"

Yang Qing was stunned. What should she do with her?

Is there even a question?

Of course, we should treat her with the same respect as in our previous life, but we cannot bully her as we did in our previous life, and we certainly cannot suddenly bring back another woman and child.

Li Shangxuan got up and covered her with the blanket. The autumn daytime still felt like summer, but the nighttime had already become chilly.

Yang Qing didn't know how long he sat by the bed after that. While pretending to be asleep, she unknowingly fell asleep and even had a dream.

She vaguely dreamt of the scene of their wedding in her past life, with its heavy headdresses and wedding dress, and its elaborate rituals.

Perhaps because it happened so long ago, she can no longer remember the specific procedures.

All people and objects are illusory; only Li Shangxuan's face is real.

On the emperor's wedding night, everything was blindingly red.

He was still quite inexperienced, and carefully pulled her into his arms, whispering "Ah Xun" to her.

Just like tonight.