My name is Li Xingyu. I am very young. My father, the emperor, made me a king. Not only that, they also gave each of us ten secret guards, two of whom are women.

We named them.

The first time I met them, I gave them names: Black One, Black Two, Black Three, Black Four, Black Five, Black Six, Black Seven, and Black Eight.

Why are there only eight?

Because the other two are women, I felt that calling them that was too unpleasant, so I gave them different names.

One is named Qingjiu, and the other is named Qinghuan.

They were only two years older than me, and not only were they all more mature than me, but their martial arts skills were also better than mine, which made me, as their master, feel a little embarrassed.

When I was fifteen, I had no interest in working in the imperial court, so I told my older brother that I would leave the palace early and open a self-service hot pot restaurant in the capital.

Because we communicated in advance.

Furthermore, since Nangong Ying also had a stake in the company, none of them had any objections.

I'm good-looking, and given my status, many women want to get close to me, but I don't like any of them.

All he thinks about is making money.

Five years.

My self-service hot pot restaurants have spread across several countries, mostly in big cities; I haven't opened any in small towns.

Throughout this time, Hei Yi and the others stayed by my side.

That night.

I couldn't sleep after taking a shower, so I went for a walk in the yard. I happened to see Qingjiu and the others coming out of the shower. They usually wear all black, but I thought they looked quite nice in white dresses. I told them to wear that from now on.

Qinghuan didn't say anything.

Qingjiu stepped forward and said, "Master, this is not appropriate."

"What's wrong with it?"

I asked her.

Qing Jiu said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "We are your bodyguards. We are supposed to work in the shadows. If we dress like this in the open now, people will gossip."

It was these words of hers that made me feel differently about her.

From that day onwards.

I look at her every now and then.

Qingjiu must have noticed, because she started getting very close to Heiyi, which made me inexplicably uncomfortable.

Not two days later.

I couldn't resist, so after I finished showering, I called her to my room.

"What are your orders, Master?"

"Come on up!"

I patted the bed.

Qingjiu stood there, stunned.

I said coldly, "What? Am I your master? Can't I order you around?"

"Of course I can be ordered around, but I am your subordinate, not your woman."

Qingjiu met my gaze and said.

I stood up, walked up to her, and grabbed her chin: "Qingjiu, have I ever told you that you're very bold?"

Qingjiu remained silent.

I took a bite.

Qingjiu's brows furrowed in pain, but she didn't say anything more.

"roll!"

I felt inexplicably irritated and didn't want to see her anymore.

Qingjiu seemed to be avoiding me from then on, and unless there was something else going on, she wouldn't show up in front of me all day.

Her actions made me even more irritable.

I ultimately held on and took her.

afterwards.

Qingjiu is still the same as before.

This made me even more unhappy, so I went to my mother and told her that I wanted to take her as a concubine.

When An Wanwan heard about this, she was quite surprised: "Are you sure you want to take Qingjiu as your concubine?"

"right!"

I didn't hesitate at all.

An Wanwan did not immediately agree. She had someone summon Qingjiu: "Qingjiu, I ask you, are you willing to be Prince Ning's woman?"

Qing Jiu raised her eyes and asked, "Your Majesty, do I have a choice?"