Chapter 37 I am injured, why are you in such a hurry?
Su Qingci didn't understand why the eldest princess had upheld the sacrificial ceremony in the court today, and why the emperor had even bestowed many gifts upon her after the court session to celebrate the hunting ceremony.
A bow and arrows made of sandalwood, a dagger from Persia, a quiver embroidered with gold thread...
These were all extremely valuable items, and even as the daughter of a prime minister, she had never had the privilege of seeing them.
But why is the eldest princess still unhappy?
Li Yuanzhao leaned back in his chair, one hand resting on the armrest, lightly tapping his forehead.
With his other hand, he casually toyed with the dagger that the emperor had recently bestowed upon him, his fingertips repeatedly rubbing the handle.
This dagger is exquisite, with five-colored gemstones inlaid on the handle. It is polished to a smooth and warm finish, and feels wonderful to hold.
The blade gleamed with a cold, sharp light, clearly indicating its exceptional sharpness.
This knife is priceless; the pigeon-blood red gemstone on the hilt alone is enough to buy five shops in the East Market.
Only Li Yuanzhao himself knew that today's victory in the court was nothing but a superficial glory.
Her father's "However..." tone was like a fine thorn, deeply embedded in her heart.
He clearly wanted to hand over the sacrificial ceremony to Li Yuanyou. If he hadn't brought up his mother, she would probably have been the one to lose today.
Why?
She has always been favored by the emperor.
Her father bestowed upon her unparalleled favor and unbridled power, allowing her to cultivate influence in the court and act recklessly.
He also kept implying to her that she was the child he was most satisfied with.
But... he never explicitly said that he would make her the crown prince.
He never even stepped in to clear any obstacles on her path to the throne.
He knew that the Cui family was the maternal clan of the Second Prince and would definitely do everything in their power to support Li Yuanyou's ascension to the throne, yet he still allowed the Cui family and the powerful families behind them to oppose her in court.
He saw all the scheming, both overt and covert, the clamor that "women should not interfere in politics," and the rumors that "the eldest princess is extravagant and dissolute, and corrupts the palace." But at most, he would only give her a few perfunctory rebukes and rarely truly stand up for her.
But according to the time traveler, he was clearly overjoyed after learning of Chen Yanqing's existence.
Even the day after recognizing him as his son, he defied public opinion and made him crown prince, holding an extremely lavish investiture ceremony, as if he wanted to announce to the world that this was his only heir.
Regardless of whether he had a weak foundation or was capable of shouldering heavy responsibilities, they did not hesitate to place the position of crown prince in his hands.
Because he was the late empress's only son.
But isn't she now, on the surface, the late empress's only daughter?
so……
What her father cared about was never whether she was outstanding, but rather...
She was born a woman.
No wonder he has been so eager to cultivate Li Yuanyou during this period, tacitly allowing Prime Minister Cui to recruit power for him, and even deliberately balancing her and Li Yuanyou's power in the court.
He might just want to use her methods to clean up the deep-seated problems in the court, suppress the arrogance of the powerful families, and eliminate those entrenched forces before handing over a clean and tidy empire to Li Yuanyou.
Given a choice between an excellent daughter and a mediocre son, he would rather choose the mediocre son.
Once she understood this, she let out a cold laugh.
She has always been too confident.
So confident that he believed his father's favor could overcome centuries of etiquette and law, so confident that his talent could break through the male-dominated power barrier.
She should have known that a power succession system dominated by men for thousands of years was not so easily rewritten for a woman.
As a father, he could pamper her, give her gold and silver, and grant her temporary power, but he could not give her "family property".
That's just how men are; their ingrained prejudices can never be changed.
Even if he was afraid of interference from relatives of the empress and the obstruction of powerful families, and even if he was not unaware that Li Yuanyou was mediocre and untrustworthy, he still had to give him a chance and pave the way for him in the court.
Because this vast empire of Qi must ultimately be reserved for the "man" he has tacitly agreed upon in his heart.
Li Yuanzhao pressed his thumb on the blade and applied a little force; the sharp blade instantly cut his fingertip.
Blood gushed out in a rush, dripping onto the jeweled hilt of the dagger.
The pigeon-blood red gemstone was stained with an even fresher blood color, making it look eerie.
She felt no pain, her eyes filled with resentment.
Unfortunately... Father, you raised me to be too ambitious.
You personally taught me archery and horsemanship, how to ride and fight on the battlefield, and how to compete with men; you meticulously taught me the art of being an emperor, how to stand firm amidst the swordplay of the court; you gave me the confidence to look down upon all living beings, and allowed me to witness the pinnacle of power...
Now they want me to retreat to that tiny backyard and watch others sit on that dragon throne?
Is this possible?
She exerted force suddenly, and the blade sank even deeper into her flesh, causing more and more blood to flow.
Since this path was destined to be full of thorns, she would personally carve a bloody path through it.
Neither blood ties, nor the Cui family, nor even her father's wavering heart could stop her.
Her fate, Li Yuanzhao's fate, is not for anyone else to decide.
Chen Yanqing, who had just entered the room, was stunned by what he saw.
"Your Highness! Blood!"
He exclaimed in surprise, immediately walked over, and snatched the dagger from Li Yuanzhao's hand.
What's wrong?
What's wrong with this woman? It's one thing to be ruthless to others, but to be so ruthless to herself too?
Li Yuanzhao finally came to his senses, looked at his thumb, which was now a bloody mess, frowned, and seemed to finally feel a little pain.
Su Qingci, who was attending him, only then noticed that His Highness was injured, and a look of panic appeared on her face.
She rushed forward, wanting to take out the handkerchief she carried with her to stop the bleeding for His Highness, but Chen Yanqing pushed her away.
"How did you serve him? Didn't you see that His Highness was injured?"
He glared at Su Qingci, his tone full of reproach.
Su Qingci stumbled from the push, instinctively wanting to curse him, "You..."
But upon catching a glimpse of the blood gushing from Li Yuanzhao's fingertips, he swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
It was indeed her oversight; she was so preoccupied with matters of the court that she failed to notice His Highness's unusual behavior.
She didn't know what else to say, so she could only purse her lips and lower her head.
Chen Yanqing hurriedly took out a clean handkerchief from his pocket and carefully bandaged Li Yuanzhao's wound.
"Your Highness, please bear with it, let me stop the bleeding first."
Seeing that Su Qingci was still standing there dumbfounded, he said, "What are you standing there for? Go and call the imperial physician!"
Su Qingci then realized what was happening, hurriedly turned around and left quickly to fetch the imperial physician.
Only the two of them remained in the study.
Chen Yanqing was focused on bandaging her, his warm fingertips occasionally touching her slightly cool skin.
He carefully wiped away the bloodstains between her fingers, then folded the handkerchief layer by layer and gently wrapped it around her fingers, making sure the tension was just right.
Li Yuanzhao looked at him quietly, his eyes filled with a hint of inquiry.
Why is he in such a hurry if he's injured?
After Chen Yanqing finished bandaging the wound, he checked it several times to make sure the blood was no longer seeping out before he breathed a sigh of relief.
He raised his head and met Li Yuanzhao's gaze.
My heart skipped a beat.
He then realized that the two of them were standing too close.
He was so close that he could see each individual eyelash clearly, and even feel the warm breath of her on his face.
Li Yuanzhao's gaze was unusually calm, lacking its usual sharpness or indifference. He simply looked at him calmly, without sorrow, joy, worry, or anger.
Chen Yanqing's ears burned uncontrollably, and she hurriedly looked away, but still complained, "Doesn't it hurt? Pressing your finger on the blade? If you press any harder, your thumb might be ruined!"
Li Yuanzhao raised an eyebrow and directly asked the question that had been on his mind, "Why are you in such a hurry when I'm injured?"
The hall fell silent for a moment, with only Chen Yanqing's slightly rapid breathing remaining.
Yes, why is he so concerned about her?
She tried to kill him time and time again, and even forced him to be her bodyguard, treating him with coldness and harshness...
Why is he so eager to pamper her?
Chen Yanqing opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing a few times, before he finally came up with a lame excuse, "Aren't you my...master? Isn't it only natural for a subordinate to care for his master?"
The reason sounded plausible, but even he couldn't convince himself of it.
Li Yuanzhao responded with an "Mmm," as if he had fully accepted the statement.
Chen Yanqing was displeased. He stood up somewhat hastily, took a half step back to widen the distance between them, and his tone became somewhat harsh.
"It was my fault for meddling. You are the eldest princess, you have plenty of people who care about you, and you don't need one of your subordinates."
These words were far too presumptuous; in the past, Li Yuanzhao would probably have already turned cold.
But today, she suddenly smiled, and with her hand wrapped up like a pig's trotter, she patted his cheek, "Good boy~"
The tone sounded like a compliment, or perhaps a coax.
Chen Yanqing's face flushed red instantly, and he couldn't say a word.
Just then, Su Qingci rushed back with the imperial physician.
Chen Yanqing wanted to leave, but Li Yuanzhao stopped him.
"This is a reward for you."
Chen Yanqing followed her gaze and saw the blood-stained dagger on the table.
He hesitated for a moment, but still stepped forward and took it.
"Thank you for your generous gift, Your Highness."
Li Yuanzhao leaned back in her armchair, closed her eyes, and let the imperial physician treat her wounds.
Anyway, it was originally his biological father who felt guilty towards "him" because of his biological mother, so it was just returning it to its rightful owner.
Seeing this scene, Su Qingci's suppressed anger surged instantly.
She wondered why this person was in such a hurry; it turned out they were trying to impress His Highness!
She underestimated him; he was so cunning.
Chen Yanqing held the blood-stained dagger and went out the door.
Summer is almost here, and the sun is shining brightly outside.
He looked down at the dark red bloodstain on the gem handle, his heart still pounding erratically.
He was now a little confused about whether he hated, feared, or... something else when it came to this unpredictable princess.
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