Chapter 13 Chapter 13 First Kiss
Chapter 13
Except for Li Muyao, probably no one could understand the bitterness of this rage.
Li Muyao watched Su Li turn over and mount the horse, sitting on Chixia's horse in a dignified manner.
Chixia is indeed a rare gem. It did not go crazy because of the little bit of wild horse grass on Su Li's body. Not only did it endure it, it also carried Su Li steadily for two laps.
A show of strength.
Li Muyao clenched her fists tightly, her well-maintained nails digging deep into her palms, almost drawing blood. She wanted to whip someone with her horsewhip in public, but when she looked up, she was met with a pair of solemn eyes.
Cui Jue in the distance was looking at this side with a cold and silent gaze.
Li Muyao couldn't guess what he was thinking, but she didn't want to be too arrogant in front of Cui Jue.
Li Muyao looked at the bright and beautiful girl riding the horse, especially Cui Jue, who seemed to be worried about something and had not yet recalled his beloved horse to help her vent her anger.
Li Muyao was furious. She threw down her whip fiercely and glared at him, "No more competition, let's go back to the banquet hall!"
The little princess left in a bad mood, and everyone was confused and scratching their heads.
Cui Jue, however, handed the moon pole to Chen Heng and said, "I am busy with official duties, so I will go ahead. If there is a chance in the future, I will compete with you again."
Although it was a private banquet, and the children of the noble families did not show off their power, Cui Jue was in a high position and had great power. Who would dare to go against him? They kept saying, "Goodbye, Mr. Cui," and then all made way for him and let him go.
But Chen Heng held the batting cue and gave Su Li a mysterious look... He originally thought that Su Li sending soup last time might just be a coincidence, but Cui Jue was even willing to leave his mount Chixia to Su Li. Could it be that he really had some worldly feelings for her?
But no matter how emotional he is, Cui Jue should put the overall situation first.
Cui Jue was not as good as Chen Heng. Chen Heng was born into a military family and was in charge of the inner court guards. If he were to find a wife from a prominent family, the emperor would not be able to sleep at night, so he could only find a wife from a small family.
But Cui Jue is different. He comes from a wealthy and powerful family and shoulders heavy responsibilities. The Cui family has been prominent for nearly a thousand years and has long been at the forefront of the storm. Now he can only move forward again and again. Taking even half a step back means death.
Cui Jue's marriage represented the rise and fall of the entire family, and also affected the situation of the Wu Kingdom's aristocratic families. For a family like the Su family, even if she married into the eldest branch of the Cui family, she would at most be a concubine, not a respectable one... To be frank, Su Li was not worthy of Cui Jue. The position of the principal wife, Chen Heng estimated, should be reserved for the legitimate princess, otherwise it would be difficult to explain to Emperor Xuanning.
Cui Jue was stupid today and actually embarrassed Li Muyao in public. I don't know if it was an unintentional mistake or intentional. It was really unlike him.
Fortunately, when Li Muyao returned to the flower hall angrily, dozens of boxes and cages were carried into the house by servants.
When the box was opened, it was filled with gold, silk, pearls, jade, emerald feathers and bright pearls. Li Muyao was originally furious, but after seeing those luxurious jewels, she took a deep breath and endured it.
She asked coldly, "Where did the gift come from?"
The attendant stepped forward attentively and said, "Your Highness, this is a New Year's gift from the Cui family... Minister Cui specifically instructed me to be careful when handling it and not to bump into anything."
Li Muyao looked at the noble ladies who gathered around to admire the treasures, and all the anger in her heart disappeared, as if she had drunk honey.
She couldn't help but laugh and asked, "Where's the eldest son? Is he still at the pasture?"
The attendant said flatteringly, "When Minister Cui saw that Your Highness would not be attending the polo match, he abandoned the team and returned to his office... It's clear that Minister Cui cares deeply about Your Highness. He took time out of his busy schedule to come here just to play a game of polo to please Your Highness."
The attendant spoke eloquently, making Li Muyao very happy.
Noble ladies from other declining families also gathered around, praising the thoughtfulness of the gifts one after another.
"I didn't expect that someone as cold as Mr. Cui would prepare so many gifts in private."
"Is this red fox fur? I wonder where they bought such a large piece of fur from. It will surely be a very luxurious winter coat if made into it."
"This magpie hairpin is also quite nice. It's lifelike, lively and delicate. It's perfect for wearing in the middle of summer!"
Everyone looked at Li Muyao eagerly, waiting for her to explain the origins of these gifts.
Li Muyao said proudly, "Just talking about this South Sea pearl, I just mentioned it last time. I wanted to have a sea pearl inlaid on my shoes, but I didn't expect the eldest master to prepare it privately and send it to me..."
The young ladies from the noble families were filled with envy: "Mr. Cui treats the princess so well!"
"Of course. It's my business, and the eldest master has always been concerned about it." Li Muyao was still a delicate lady after all. Being teased in public, she felt both complacent and shy.
Li Muyao's mood improved, and when she thought about Su Li again, she felt that it was nothing special.
Cui Jue clearly didn't even glance at Su Li. This woman is nothing to be afraid of!
-
It seemed that the polo match could not be held, and all the men and women on the grassland followed Li Muyao and left.
Although Su Li had been keeping silent, she acted too rashly. In order to borrow a horse for the competition, she actually dragged Cui Jue into the water in public... Although Su Li did have a vengeful mindset, when she thought about it afterwards, she was really scared to death by her momentary impulsiveness, and cold sweat broke out on her back.
Su Li had just angered the princess and didn't dare to stay at the birthday party any longer.
After Cui Shunying recovered from her diarrhea, the two of them didn't even have dinner and got on the carriage back to Cui's house.
Cui Shunying brought the medicine bowl with trembling fingers and drank the anti-diarrhea medicine.
She leaned on Su Li's shoulder and gritted her teeth, "It must be Li Muyao who harmed me!"
Su Li covered her mouth: "Si Niang, be careful, there are ears on the other side of the wall!"
Cui Shunying tightly shut her mouth and muttered softly, "Sister Su, if the princess marries into our Cui family, my good days will be over... She's the best at stirring up trouble, and she won't let my brother help me!"
Su Li whispered to comfort her: "That shouldn't be the case, right?"
Choi Sun-young: "Alas, my life is over!"
As he spoke, the curtain of the carriage was blown open by the wind, and a red horse shadow passed by.
Cui Shunying was so shocked that he leaned over the window and looked out, stammering, "Isn't that my brother's mount, Chixia? My brother didn't ride back to the palace on horseback?"
Su Li thought that Cui Shunying would know what happened at the birthday party sooner or later, so it would be better for her to tell her everything as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Cui Shunying was not angry about Su Li hooking up with Cui Jue, but laughed heartily: "It's so satisfying! It's really satisfying! Although my brother definitely doesn't have any romantic feelings for Sister Su, using Chixia to tease the princess still makes me feel relieved. Thank you, sister, for helping me vent my anger!"
Su Li blinked and said nothing.
Well, actually she was also wondering... How could Chixia be so humane that he was willing to condescend to help her out.
It can't be Cui Jue's instruction, right?
-
It was not until the end that Su Li found out that during the previous hunting trip, Su Li had specially taken some dried lotus leaves and cucumbers and put them in the stable as fodder in order to express his gratitude to Chi Xia.
She expected Chixia to run back to Cui Jue's tent early, but she didn't know that it turned back halfway and had a big meal before returning to the tent.
A man who eats someone's food is soft-hearted.
No wonder Chixia accepted Su Li's kindness and was willing to listen to her orders for once.
Su Li couldn't help laughing. When she led the horse back to Muchong Pavilion, she went to the kitchen to get a watermelon.
Su Li remembered that Junma loved to eat watermelon, but he couldn't eat too much, otherwise he would easily get gastrointestinal discomfort. Thinking of this, Su Li ate half of the red flesh and fed the remaining rind to Chixia.
The man and the horse worked together happily and enjoyed the meal to their heart's content.
After rewarding Brother Chixia Horse, Su Li led it to the door of Shuyue Pavilion.
When Wei Zhiyan saw Chixia following Su Li back obediently, he was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
Su Li smiled awkwardly: "I encountered something before and accidentally borrowed the BMW from the mansion."
Wei Zhiyan and Su Li were quite familiar with each other, and he muttered, "It's strange that Chixia is willing to follow Madam Su. The princess used tribute fruit to trick Chixia into going with her, but it didn't work..."
Su Li didn't hear Wei Zhiyan's muttering clearly. She wanted to turn around and go back to the courtyard, but she felt that today was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Su Li turned around again and whispered, "I borrowed Chixia from the eldest master today. I want to thank him in person... Could you please help pass on the message, Brother Wei?"
Wei Zhiyan had eaten so many snacks from Su Li before, it seemed a bit unkind of him not to help report it today.
He hesitated for a moment, but still risked his life to step into Shuyue Pavilion.
-
The hall of Shuyue Pavilion.
The curtains were made of green gauze, with a few bamboo mats hanging down to provide shade. The hanging beads swayed, making a crisp sound like falling rain.
Cui Jue sat in the middle, as quiet as a beautiful ink painting.
Cui Jue was flipping through the documents as usual. His five senses were sharp, and he heard the noise as soon as Wei Zhiyan stepped over the threshold.
"What's the matter?" Cui Jue didn't look up. Apart from state affairs, nothing else could distract him.
Wei Zhiyan knelt on one knee and said, "Master, Madam Su has requested an audience... She said she wants to thank you in person."
When Cui Jue heard Su Li's name, his expression turned cold.
He didn't want to see her, and then he remembered the farce on the grassland today... Su Li was so bold that she dared to drive his beloved horse in public.
How many misunderstandings would her reckless actions cause? It might even ruin Cui Jue and Li Muyao's schemes of feigning compromise, hindering the Cui family's ambitions!
Be sure to give her a knock.
Thinking of this, Cui Jue put down his pen, raised his eyes, and said, "Let her in."
-
outside the house.
Su Li had been prepared to be turned away, but she didn't expect Wei Zhiyan to come running to call her. It turned out that it was the master who had given the order, allowing her to come in.
Su Li was extremely surprised, and thinking of Cui Jue's extremely cold and hard attitude, she suspected that today's meeting might be a Hongmen Banquet.
She entered the room trembling with fear.
I looked at Cui Jue’s residence for the first time.
She had thought that the residence of the most famous eldest son of the Cui family must be magnificent. Not only would the house be filled with rare treasures, but at least the treasure cabinet and antique shelves would be filled with rows of dazzling jade and porcelain plates.
However, the Shuyue Pavilion was bright and clean, and seemed very deserted.
There was a Xiaoxiang bamboo forest planted in the yard, and a few pots of orchids were placed under the corridor. The rest of the table utensils were made of expensive fragrant wood at most, and were neither plated with gold or silver nor inlaid with jade. They were extremely plain and simple.
Su Li turned to look at Cui Jue again.
When Cui Jue was at home, he did not use a jade crown to tie his hair.
He knelt in front of the desk, his flowing black hair tied up with only a piece of soft satin, making the outline of his hair look much softer.
However, even though Cui Jue was not wearing official uniform, he still exuded an unapproachable and cold aura of oppression, which made Su Li inexplicably afraid and breathless.
Su Li didn't dare to act rashly. She moved the soft cushions for entertaining guests and knelt quietly. "Su Li greets the eldest master."
This was the first time Cui Jue spoke to Su Li in private.
It was also the first time that Cui Jue had to sternly warn a young lady of sixteen or seventeen, warning her not to offend the royal family in the future, as no one would protect her... Cui Jue was even worried that Su Li would be scolded and cry, and he was impatient to see others crying in front of him.
Cui Jue said in a deep voice: "Why did you offend Her Royal Highness the Princess?"
Cui Jue is not stupid. Su Li dared to shout "Chixia" in public, which must mean that she wanted to challenge Li Muyao.
But she was just the daughter of a humble family. How could she have the guts to offend the royal family? Could it be that she thought that because she was a daughter of the Cui family, she was born under Cui Jue's protection? That would be ridiculous.
Su Li was also stumped by Cui Jue's question. She thought that he allowed her in because he wanted to hear her thanks. It turned out that Cui Jue was not kind at all. He came here specifically to support Li Muyao and wanted to bring her to justice.
Su Li felt a little discouraged and annoyed... How could she possibly win over Cui Jue? If only she could feed Cui Jue a bowl of aphrodisiac and then rape him!
Although Su Li was annoyed, she did not show it on her face.
After much thought, she felt that she had to take a risky move.
Then, the young lady lowered her head and sobbed, saying pitifully, "Master...are you completely unaware of the reason why I acted this way?"
When Su Li looked up again, her almond-shaped eyes were filled with tears, their rims red and pitiful. The corners of her eyes were a rosy red, and she bit her lower lip with such force that it threatened to bleed.
Su Li lifted her nimble jaw slightly, clearly trying to hold back tears, fearing that if she lowered her head, the tears would fall.
Such a delicate look...
Cui Jue was startled and pursed his lips slightly: "Why should I know?"
Although the man's tone was cold, he at least took the girl's crying into consideration and did not ask her harsh questions.
Su Li didn't answer.
She deliberately bent down and moved closer to Cui Jue little by little.
Su Li only ventured to stop when Su Li and Cui Jue were close enough to smell the refreshing orchid fragrance coming from the man.
The girl's fingertips lightly touched the cold ground, and she humbly approached Cui Jue, then gently twisted the corner of the man's clothes. This intimate gesture was both cautious and filled with pious flattery.
Su Li didn't say anything else. She wanted to speak but hesitated. She just blinked her eyes lightly, and a crystal clear tear slid down and burned the back of Cui Jue's hand.
Cui Jue frowned upon seeing this.
"Young Master..." Su Li called him.
Before Cui Jue could pull up his sleeves and leave, Su Li suddenly leaned forward with her slender waist. The girl straightened her shoulders, raised her head, and approached unexpectedly.
A slightly warm kiss gently landed on Cui Jue's protruding and bony Adam's apple.
Cui Jue slightly opened his eyes, stunned, with an indescribable anger rising in his chest.
Almost instantly, the man swept out with his pen, and the wind was fierce and sharp.
Su Li felt a pain in her neck and groaned softly.
Before she could react, Cui Jue had already used his pen as a sword, pressing the slender pen shaft directly against her throat.
The round tip of the pen was embedded in the girl's snow-white skin, leaving a groove.
If Cui Jue had not restrained himself, Su Li's body would have been torn into pieces!
The girl held her breath and didn't even dare to swallow.
She could almost feel the cold murderous intent surging towards her. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Cui Jue's tense wrist bones, the blue blood vessels buried under the thin flesh, trembling slightly.
Cui Jue's face was unusually cold, his narrow and long phoenix eyes contained both shock and anger, as well as a sinister look, like the glare of an eagle, which made people's legs cold.
At this moment, Su Li realized... Cui Jue's reaction probably meant he had never touched a woman before!
He was disgusted by the woman's approach, and at this moment he was filled with murderous intent. He really wanted to tear her into pieces!
Su Li couldn't help feeling scared, but she couldn't admit that she had an ulterior motive for getting close to Cui Jue. Since she had already hinted that she couldn't help herself and got close to Cui Jue, then she had to pretend to the end!
Thinking of this, Su Li no longer avoided Cui Jue's gloomy gaze. Her pair of autumn eyes were filled with tears, and she sobbed softly, trying to soften Cui Jue's murderous intention with a woman's tears.
"Master, I, I..."
But Cui Jue remained unmoved.
He twisted his wrist slightly, and the black pen pressed against Su Li's throat, blocking her words at the root of her tongue.
He was well versed in the structure of the human body and knew where her weak spots and vital points were.
Su Li was dumbfounded. She had no difficulty in suspecting that if the weapon Cui Jue held had been sharper, she would have died on the spot.
Cui Jue held the pen like a sharp sword, and with a cold face, he pushed Su Li away inch by inch.
This time, it was Su Li who took the initiative to step back. Tears were hanging on her face, and she didn't even dare to cry.
Cui Jue was as tall as a pine tree. When he walked, he was covered by a dark shadow, and the oppressive feeling was overwhelming.
Su Li actually began to tremble.
The devil-like man stared at Su Lijiao's tearful face and uttered cold words like a venomous snake—
"Su Li, you are so outrageous!"
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