Chapter 236 What should we do with him?
Two days later, Li Yuanzhao was handling government affairs when Ru Mo suddenly came to report.
"Your Highness, the person has been found."
Li Yuanzhao didn't react for a moment, "Who found it?"
Ru Mo, "Chen Yanqing".
Li Yuanzhao has been too busy lately. Since Chen Yanqing did not appear at the New Year's Eve banquet, it has relieved her of a great worry.
She was so busy with the ceremony of establishing the heir apparent, the reshuffling of the court, and preparations for her succession that she gradually forgot about this person's existence.
Li Yuanzhao put down his pen and asked calmly, "How did you find it?"
Ru Mo replied truthfully, "It wasn't my men who found him; he came back on his own. This morning, the Imperial Guards on patrol found him outside the Princess's residence."
Li Yuanzhao tapped his knuckles lightly on the table, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Where is he?"
"Wait outside the hall."
"Let him in."
The door opened, and Chen Yanqing walked into Yanying Hall against the light.
I hadn't seen him for a month and a half, and he had clearly lost a lot of weight. His face was pale from recovering from a serious illness, and his lips were also pale.
Li Yuanzhao's gaze fell on his face, and a strange sense of irritation swept through his heart.
The more she looked at the real face behind that mask, the more she disliked it.
Now that her position is secure, even her father is imprisoned by her and can't cause any trouble.
She naturally no longer needed to fear the influence brought by Chen Yanqing's face.
Therefore, her dislike for Chen Yanqing was simply because she didn't like him as a person.
Chen Yanqing was also secretly observing Li Yuanzhao.
She sat upright behind the imperial desk, dressed in a black robe with python patterns.
Compared to before, she exuded an even stronger aura of quiet authority, her brows furrowed with a deep sense of aloofness and majesty—the very essence of power.
But there were faint dark circles under her eyes. Was it from working hard for days, or... was she worried about him?
Meeting Li Yuanzhao's probing gaze, he walked step by step to the center of the main hall. After hesitating for a moment, he subconsciously knelt down.
"Your subordinate Chen Yanqing greets Your Highness."
He clearly knew his background and clearly had the right to be her equal.
But when he actually stood in front of her, most of his pre-set composure and calmness disappeared, leaving only the habits ingrained in his bones and a trace of awe that even he himself was unwilling to admit.
Li Yuanzhao sat in the chair, tapping the table with his knuckles.
She neither spoke nor asked him to get up; she simply looked at him quietly with a scrutinizing and inquisitive gaze.
Chen Yanqing felt uneasy under her gaze, and his composure gradually crumbled. He didn't even dare to meet her eyes anymore and could only lower his head awkwardly.
Li Yuanzhao keenly sensed that something had changed about Chen Yanqing.
She no longer felt completely fearful and submissive, which she disliked.
After about half a cup of tea's time, she slowly stood up from her chair and walked step by step to Chen Yanqing.
Chen Yanqing subconsciously looked up at her.
The two, one standing and the other kneeling, met each other unexpectedly.
Li Yuanzhao asked expressionlessly, "Where have you been all this time?"
"After I was injured and fell to the ground that day, I was unconscious in the snow and was later rescued by a passing woodcutter."
Liu Jinzhang said that now is not the time to let Li Yuanzhao know that he is not dead. He will wait until she ascends the throne and is firmly on the throne before he appears in front of her in person and tells her.
Therefore, he lied and claimed that he had been rescued by a woodcutter.
"woodcutter?"
Li Yuanzhao naturally didn't believe it. The entire mountain had been searched by soldiers. What woodcutter had such great ability to rescue someone right under her nose?
Chen Yanqing sensed her undisguised suspicion and panicked slightly, but still forced himself to continue, "Yes, the woodcutter took me home, and I was unconscious for a whole month before I woke up. Now that I'm feeling a little better, I came to see Your Highness immediately."
Li Yuanzhao's gaze fell on his chest. "You're all better now?"
She heard it from that dog Li Yuanshu: he was the one who stabbed Chen Yanqing in the heart.
Such a fatal wound would have killed an ordinary person long ago, yet he "recovered" in just over a month.
Upon hearing this, Chen Yanqing assumed it was Li Yuanzhao's concern, and a warm feeling instantly welled up in her heart.
"The wound has barely healed, but... it still hurts a lot. The doctor said it may take six months to a year to fully recover."
He deliberately lowered his voice, with a hint of barely perceptible grievance in it.
The next instant, Li Yuanzhao reached out and grabbed his chin, lifting his head slightly.
"If I heard correctly, you are blaming me?"
Chen Yanqing's heart tightened, and he quickly said, "This subordinate dares not."
He wasn't complaining; he just wanted her to feel sorry for him.
Can't she tell?
Li Yuanzhao was still pondering what to do with him now.
They can't die, they can't be killed.
The simplest way would have been to just chop off his head.
She didn't believe he could grow back taller.
But when she thought of what the time traveler had said, "Once the protagonist of the story dies, this world will collapse and cease to exist," she had to suppress her impulse.
With the throne within her grasp, she couldn't afford to gamble, nor could she.
When she kept him alive, she had considered even crueler ideas.
For example, they could use a branding iron to ruin his unsightly face, or castrate him to make him infertile.
But at that time she was cautious, afraid that such extreme harm would completely enrage him.
After all, there are too many unknowns about him. If we force him to give up and drag us down with him, it would be a loss for us.
From beginning to end, her feelings for Chen Yanqing never changed.
He is a hidden danger, a pawn, a variable on her path to the top, but he will never be a companion, much less a lover.
The two are destined to be mortal enemies, locked in a life-or-death struggle.
Just like at the bottom of the cliff, she knew that turning away would chill his heart and might even make him hate her from then on.
But so what?
She doesn't even care about his love, so why would she care about his hate?
So she originally thought that Chen Yanqing should be able to sense her hatred and indifference towards him.
Unexpectedly, he found it himself.
For a moment, she didn't know what to do with him.
Just as planned, they disfigured his face, cut off his genitals, and threw him into a dark, sunless dungeon.
Should we keep them by our side to avoid any unforeseen accidents?
Li Yuanzhao lowered his eyes to look at the person kneeling at his feet, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the person's chin, his eyes deepening.
"Now that you have returned, go back to serve me. But without my orders, you are not allowed to leave my side even for a moment."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yanqing's eyes lit up instantly. "Yes, sir!"
Although this was not the "royal consort" position he had hoped for, it at least proved that she did have a place for him in her heart and did not entirely regard him as an enemy.
In this way, the position of the imperial consort doesn't seem to be entirely his delusion.
"Go down." Li Yuanzhao withdrew his hand, turned around and sat back down in his seat.
Chen Yanqing quickly responded and stood up to leave.
But just as they reached the palace gate, they heard Li Yuanzhao lazily say, "I don't need you to serve me today. Summon Physician Lin to give you a proper check-up."
Chen Yanqing was overjoyed upon hearing this, "Thank you, Your Highness."
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