Chapter 249 Never
Here, Jue La Yun Dan finished the entire bowl of wontons before finally putting down her bowl with satisfaction.
Seeing this, Li Yuanzhao asked, "Do you want more?"
Jue La Yun Dan's eyes lit up. "Is there more?"
Li Yuanzhao: "Of course."
Then, he ordered someone to bring out another basin.
After eating another bowl of wontons, Jue La Yun Dan finally let out a satisfied burp.
He slumped into his chair, exclaiming with a satisfied expression, "Daqi is so great! There's so much delicious food! And so many wonderful storybooks!"
Upon hearing this, Li Yuanzhao looked at him with a half-smile.
It seemed to be a reminder that this wasn't what they had said before.
Jue La Yun Dan's cheeks flushed when she saw that look, and she instantly remembered her "bold words" from not long ago.
He cleared his throat, forcing himself to save face, and said, "But don't think that I'll marry you just because you give me a little favor! I'm not that easily bought off!"
Li Yuanzhao nodded lightly, said nothing more, stood up, and straightened his sleeves.
Jue La Yun Dan asked instinctively, "Where are you going?"
"Go back to the palace to sleep."
Jue La Yun Dan was stunned for a moment, then blurted out, "Aren't you going to sleep with me?"
In Tibet, his father and mother slept in the same bed, and he thought that since they had already done that, they should naturally sleep together.
Li Yuanzhao looked at him leisurely, "What? You want me to sleep with you?"
Jue La Yun Dan was taken aback, and quickly refused, "No! I don't want to! You go, I want to go to sleep too."
Seeing his insincere expression, Li Yuanzhao chuckled softly and turned to leave.
He waved casually as he walked away, saying, "Goodnight."
As Jue La Yun Dan watched her retreating figure, she muttered to herself: This princess of Da Qi isn't as cold-blooded and ruthless as the legends say; she seems like a pretty nice person.
But as soon as the thought popped into his head, he shook it violently.
No! This is a trap!
Jue La Yun Dan, you must not be tempted by these small favors!
But when he turned his head and saw the half-bowl of fish soup left on the table, he still picked it up and took a sip.
The delicious flavor spread across his tongue, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "So delicious..."
The previous wariness vanished instantly.
After Li Yuanzhao returned to his own palace, he dismissed all the palace servants.
She didn't stay in Jue La Yun Dan's side hall, not because she was afraid he would take advantage of her while she was asleep.
He doesn't have the guts, nor the ability.
She was truly misled by beauty, and feared that she might not be able to control herself at night and would miss important matters the next day.
After passing the screen painted with a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
In the very center of the sleeping quarters, Chen Yanqing stood dressed in white.
Her clothes were spotless, and she was as light as mist, yet she was surrounded by an inescapable sense of loneliness and solitude.
This scene seemed strangely familiar.
She looked like this when she first brought him back to the palace.
"What are you doing here?" Li Yuanzhao frowned. "Go back, I'm fine here."
She walked straight past him to the bedside and sat down. Her fingertips had just touched the brocade quilt when she caught a glimpse of him still standing there, motionless.
Instead of leaving, he stared at her with a deep look in his eyes.
His eyes were unfathomable, churning with grievance, resentment, and a hint of almost insane stubbornness, staring straight at her.
"What is it?" Li Yuanzhao's voice turned cold.
As if he had made up his mind, Chen Yanqing suddenly stepped forward and knelt down at her feet with a thud.
"Your Highness..." His voice was thick with nasal tone, filled with sorrow and grievance.
Li Yuanzhao looked at him without saying a word.
She wanted to see what he was up to tonight, given his unusual behavior.
Chen Yanqing wanted to fight for himself like last time, but the words he had been holding back got stuck in his throat and he couldn't say them.
Words have long since become pale and powerless; all that he has endured and waited for so long has left him with only the impulse to gamble everything.
After hesitating for a moment, he suddenly reached out and grabbed one of her feet, then lowered his head to kiss her.
Li Yuanzhao's pupils contracted, and he abruptly pulled his foot out of his hand, then kicked him in the chest.
The kick was so powerful that it sent him staggering backward several steps before he fell to the ground.
"How dare you!" she shouted sharply, her eyes instantly flashing with anger.
Chen Yanqing lay on the ground, his chest heaving violently.
The kick he had just received left him with a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath; even breathing was painful.
When he looked up again, his face was full of hurt and disbelief.
She truly loathed him to this extent! She felt offended even by his presence!
Chen Yanqing clenched his fists, unable to hold back any longer, and asked the question.
"Pei Huaijin, Shen Churong, Lin Xuean... and now a Tibetan prince! You want all of them, but why don't you want me? Why?"
Li Yuanzhao said coldly, "They are useful to me."
Chen Yanqing's eyes were already red, and she asked in a trembling voice, "Then I'm completely useless to you, right?"
"What do you think?" Li Yuanzhao retorted, his tone laced with sarcasm.
Chen Yanqing was suddenly stunned, as if he had been stabbed in the heart.
He didn't understand; he was clearly the one who was most useful to her!
His status as a true prince could solidify her throne and help her eliminate the hidden dangers that questioned the royal bloodline, but why couldn't she see it?
But why, even so, did she still look down on him?
With one last burst of courage, Chen Yanqing fixed her gaze on Li Yuanzhao and asked with a do-or-die attitude, "Have you ever felt even the slightest bit for me?"
Li Yuanzhao answered without hesitation, "Never."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yanqing first tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing a bitter smile that was even more unsightly than crying.
Then the smile widened uncontrollably until he burst out laughing.
"I knew it... Hahahaha... I should have known!"
But the laughter sounded chilling, full of shrillness and sorrow.
What was he hoping for? Was he hoping that this woman, whose eyes were only on power and territory, would fall in love with him?
He still hoped that he, the one imprisoned and used by her, yet willing to give up his princely status to fulfill her wishes, could earn even a sliver of her true affection.
Li Yuanzhao was already extremely impatient, and he frowned and scolded, "Chen Yanqing, what exactly are you doing?"
In the past, if he had overstepped his bounds and acted so recklessly, she should have immediately ordered someone to drag him away and give him a hundred lashes.
But Chen Yanqing today always seemed strange to her.
The madness and determination in his eyes suggested that he knew something.
That's why she held back, wanting to test him further to see how much he actually knew.
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