The inner chamber of the Imperial Study in the Imperial Palace.
Su Qingcai followed the emperor into the inner chamber, a vague sense of unease creeping into his heart. He stood there restless, the thought of leaving written all over his face.
"What, you're so eager to leave?" The emperor glanced at Su Qingcai indifferently, his tone devoid of emotion. "Do you know why I've asked you to stay?"
"I do not know." Su Qingcai lowered his head, the uneasy premonition in his heart growing stronger and stronger, making him want to rush out the door right now.
The emperor was in no hurry. He even had the leisure to call in a palace maid to pour him a cup of tea before sitting down, taking a sip of the warm tea, and leisurely saying, "You might wonder why I agreed to that beggar's suggestion. Actually, this was a good opportunity to observe whether Su Xiaoning has the qualities of a lucky charm."
"Your Majesty, if Xiao Ning doesn't satisfy you, do you intend to discard her as a pawn?" Su Qingcai said with some displeasure, his brows furrowing deeply.
The emperor answered readily: "Yes."
"Xiao Jiu, you know what I'm thinking. I was never happy about you being with Su Xiaoning. You made a solemn vow to me, even saying that her lucky charm would help you succeed. But now there's another so-called lucky charm saintess in the capital. Do you know what that means? Xiao Jiu, don't be willful and reckless."
The emperor's meaning was crystal clear: he still hadn't given up on getting Su Qingcai to follow his wishes and marry a powerful woman who was truly worthy of him.
However, Su Qingcai remained steadfast.
He clenched his fists, slowly knelt down, and bowed his head deeply: "Your Majesty, I have already said that my heart will not change. I only wish to be with Su Xiaoning for life."
"One life, one love, one partner? Ha..." The emperor suddenly chuckled lightly, the meaning of which was ambiguous.
He looked at Su Qingcai with a hint of pity, who had almost humbled herself to the dust, and slowly said, "She herself is willing to let you marry someone else, so what are you still insisting on for her?"
"What do you mean?" Su Qingcai was stunned, her face suddenly turning pale. "This...this is impossible."
"I thought you knew about this, but I didn't expect that girl to have kept it from you." The emperor sighed slightly, recalling the secret conversation he had with Su Xiaoning on the day he secretly summoned her.
"To tell you the truth, she has already agreed to let you marry another daughter of a powerful and wealthy family..."
The entire conversation from that day was repeated verbatim, which struck Su Qingcai like a thunderbolt.
His heart felt as if it had been doused with a bucket of cold water, so cold that he shivered all over, his vision blurred, and he couldn't even hear what the emperor was saying.
Why? Why would Su Xiaoning agree to all this? They clearly promised to stay together forever, how could she bear to give him to someone else?
Su Qingcai was in a daze, his face was deathly pale, and his straight back collapsed as if it were carrying a thousand pounds.
The emperor glanced at Su Qingcai with a look of pity, and tried to help him up, but Su Qingcai slapped away his outstretched hand.
This was a very disrespectful gesture, but the emperor didn't care. He put his hands behind his back and shook his head: "You are still stubbornly unrepentant. Why bother?"
Su Qingcai remained silent, kneeling quietly on the ground, his head bowed, seemingly lost in thought. His loose hair cast a shadow on his face, obscuring his expression.
After a long silence, he finally spoke softly.
"Your Majesty, I am tired."
"You..." The emperor was silent for a while, but then felt that it would be inappropriate to say anything, so he waved his hand helplessly, "Never mind, you should go back first, and remember to think carefully about what I told you."
"Your subject takes his leave." Su Qingcai nodded slightly, stood up, turned and walked out of the inner room without looking back.
...
When Su Xiaoning returned to the palace in a daze, her voice came from the courtyard.
"This room is for you. It's close to my room, so we can discuss things together."
Su Qingcai's eyes darkened as he walked through the courtyard gate. At a glance, he saw Su Xiaoning walking with the beggar, pointing to a room, seemingly to arrange for the beggar to stay.
A suspect from the Ministry of Justice is living in his palace? Is Su Xiaoning really that unconcerned?
A sudden surge of anger welled up in Su Qingcai's heart, and he shouted, "Stop!"
The beggar and Su Xiaoning paused slightly. Su Xiaoning turned to look at Su Qingcai, not noticing his unusual behavior. She hurriedly stepped forward to explain, but to her surprise, Su Qingcai took a step back.
He gave Su Xiaoning a cold look, and his indifferent gaze made Su Xiaoning feel as if the person in front of her was a stranger.
"How could you..." Su Xiaoning frowned slightly, about to ask, when Su Qingcai interrupted her.
"He can't live here."
"Why not? He's the key figure in this case. Without him, how am I supposed to investigate?" Su Xiaoning's eyes widened, and she suddenly became anxious.
"Besides him, can't I help you? Why do you insist on relying on a suspect from the Ministry of Justice?" Su Qingcai said coldly, his gaze fixed on the beggar with particular hostility. "He is still a suspect. General Jiang should be in charge of him. What gives you the right to decide his fate?"
His eyes and brows were cold and hard, completely devoid of his usual gentleness and tenderness.
Su Xiaoning felt inexplicably scared. She bit her lip and tried to speak gently, "General Jiang also wants to investigate this case, doesn't he? Don't worry, I'll send someone to tell him. Don't make things difficult for him. My competition with Qin Yunyun still depends on him. Aren't you also very concerned about this matter?"
"Do you care?" Su Qingcai stared intently into Su Xiaoning's eyes, those bloodshot eyes were inexplicably frightening.
He wanted to ask her if she really cared about the identity of the Koi Fairy. If she did care, why did she push him out? If she lost the competition, wouldn't it be more logical for him to marry another woman?
Su Xiaoning had no idea what the Emperor and Su Qingcai had discussed. She couldn't read the emotions in Su Qingcai's eyes and assumed he was just jealous. She said helplessly, "Of course I care. Otherwise, why would I invite him to the Prince's Mansion? Don't misunderstand. I'm just here to investigate the case."
"Heh..." Su Qingcai's face gradually turned pale. He loosened his clenched fists, and his eyes gradually became vacant. "Fine, whatever."
He no longer wanted to concern himself with anything about her. Since she wanted to sever ties with him, he would grant her wish.
Su Qingcai turned and left without saying a word, his resolute back making Su Xiaoning's heart skip a beat.
Su Xiaoning then realized that something seemed amiss. Without bothering to arrange things with the beggar, she hurriedly chased after him.
Su Qingcai returned to his room. Su Xiaoning opened her mouth, but before she could call out his name, the door slammed shut. She stood silently at his door, at a loss.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
