Chapter 172
Tao Tao lay in his arms, her face against his neck, her fingers playing with his cool, smooth long hair.
The bright moon reappeared from the dark clouds at some point, its light pouring down like flowing water, scattering across the windowpanes as if draped in a light veil.
It emitted a faint, mottled silver glow in the dim environment.
In the quiet surroundings, the two nestled together, enjoying a rare moment of tenderness.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, she looked up at him and asked, "Have you had any contact with the Princess?"
Duan Gan lowered his head, meeting her bright, sparkling eyes. He frowned and said sarcastically, "What? The Crown Prince isn't enough for you, so you've set your sights on the Princess?"
"What are you saying!" Tao Tao glared at him.
He's acting crazy, like he's sick. I really don't know what's going on in his head.
He looked down at her small hand, which kept pinching the back of his hand until it was red, but she seemed oblivious. He felt no pain or itch, so he let her do as she pleased.
"You mean the eldest princess who returned from a political marriage?"
She nodded: "Yes, it's her, but she seems to have a bad temper. I met her at the banquet the other day."
"She's just an insignificant person. What did she do to offend you?"
He turned his hand over and enveloped her hand in his palm. She noticed this, looked down, and embarrassingly discovered a bruise on the back of his hand, which looked like a crescent moon.
Hearing his question, she shook her head: "No, I'm just a little curious."
"Back then, the Celestial Empire was at war everywhere, and the Xia Kingdom took advantage of the situation to invade. We had no choice but to choose to make peace through marriage and sent the eldest princess to marry the Xia Kingdom. Half a year ago, the Xia Kingdom's emperor passed away and a new emperor ascended the throne. The eldest princess asked the new emperor for permission before returning here."
"Since it's a marriage alliance for the Celestial Empire, shouldn't they have taken the initiative to bring the Princess back after learning of the late Emperor's death? Why did they make her go and request permission herself?"
"The eldest princess is the current emperor's own sister. Isn't this old emperor being far too heartless?"
Tao Tao frowned, her tone full of dissatisfaction, as if she were standing up for the eldest princess.
"You seem quite concerned about her? If you knew that she strangled her own infant child to prevent her from raising the Xia Emperor's child, would you still feel sorry for her?"
Duan Gan reached out and pinched her chin, bringing his face close to hers. His icy breath brushed against her cheek, and his sinister gaze seemed to be trying to scare her.
It's clear that Tao Tao, who is used to seeing dead people, would not be frightened by this little thing. On the contrary, she would feel even more sorry for the princess.
"How could I not pity her? Since she did this, she must have suffered great humiliation and was forced to give birth to the enemy's child."
"The moment she saw the bastard, she must have felt immense pain and torment. Only by killing the bastard with her own hands could she find peace of mind, which was also a way of protecting herself."
These unorthodox and heretical ideas seemed to become reasonable in her words.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise on his face, followed by a touch of admiration.
After a moment of silence, she asked again, "I heard that it was the current Empress who suggested sending the eldest princess away for a political marriage?"
He nodded and hummed in agreement.
"That princess must hate her terribly; no wonder she dared to be so disrespectful to the Empress at the banquet. However, judging from the fact that His Majesty didn't take the initiative to bring her back, it seems that His Majesty..."
She paused for a moment, then he picked up the thread, "I don't value her because she has no use to me at the moment."
"But she is the eldest princess, one of the most noble in the world besides the empress and the emperor. Her contributions are obvious to all. If the emperor wants to gain a good reputation, he must do a good job of putting on a good show."
"Don't you think so?" Tao Tao stood up, wrapped her arms around his waist, and stared straight at him.
Her words were loaded with meaning. He stared at her blankly and said, "You mean to use her to deal with the Empress? Or to use words to deal with the two of them?"
"It's not about using him. Didn't you want to bring down the Emperor? But doing so is treason. Even if you have absolute power and control over the court, the spittle of the world will drown you."
"You can cooperate with the princess at the right time, so that she can get her revenge and you can also accomplish your goal. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?"
He frowned, his expression turning serious, his gaze deep as he scanned her face.
How could a common girl know these tricks?
"You are truly my good disciple."
She blinked her big eyes and mumbled, "Then you have to teach me something, right? You're the one who had others teach me martial arts."
He mimicked her blinking and said innocently, "Didn't I teach you?"
"What did you teach me?" She herself had no idea.
Duan Gan stared at her for a while, then leaned down and pecked her still red lips before looking at her again.
Tao Tao frowned, not understanding what he meant. What did teaching her martial arts have to do with this kiss? Or was it just an excuse for him to take advantage of her?
Seeing that she really didn't react, he suddenly chuckled, realizing that she really could be quite dense when she was being silly.
She smiled at him, then suddenly realized the meaning behind his words. She reached out and shoved him playfully, saying reproachfully, "Shameless..."
"It's almost dawn, you should go back now."
She glanced at the sky outside the window; a faint glimmer of dawn seemed to appear in the distance.
He didn't reply, but lowered his head and played with her slender fingers, his expression indifferent, but she could sense his displeasure.
What could he possibly be unhappy about?
Tao Tao abruptly pulled her hand back and said coldly, "Are you crazy? What if my mother finds out?"
"What? Am I that shameful to be seen by others?"
Duan Gan looked up at her, his face cold and his words tinged with resentment.
"Are you sick in the head? She's already shameful enough to be seen in public, and now a man suddenly appears in my room, a perfectly fine unmarried young woman. Are you trying to drive her crazy?"
She let go of his hand, suddenly stood up, and was about to get out of bed when someone behind her grabbed her wrist.
She turned to look at him impatiently, and he stared straight at her with an unreadable expression.
"Tao'er, I can..."
"Get up quickly, I'll come to your place another day."
Tao Tao interrupted him, extending her palm in front of him, her tone carrying a hint of coaxing.
"and you……"
"If I had no interest in you, I wouldn't bother with you."
Although she interrupted him again, he felt a sweet feeling rise in his heart. He nodded and hummed in agreement, his face seemingly calm, but the look in his eyes betrayed his true feelings.
Duan Gan placed his hand on her palm, but ultimately couldn't bear to pull it too hard. Instead, he propped himself up on the bed.
The two stood at the door, still clinging to each other affectionately.
She tiptoed and gently kissed his chin. "I'll come find you after I've taken care of my business."
"good."
He had initially thought she might have something to say, but then he remembered the Tu family she had visited that day, and swallowed his words.
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