Chapter 97 Bitch Bitch
Chen Qinglie's body was somewhat stiff.
"You don't need to thank us, but you can't just take our beating for nothing, can you?"
An He spoke slowly and deliberately, and Chen Qinglie could only see An He's fingers gliding over the jade handle of the whisk, calm and vicious.
"Alright, get up. We're not that petty. How can His Majesty bow down to someone like us, a pillar of the nation whom His Majesty values?"
Even though An He was in a bad mood after seeing Chen Qinglie, she was exceptionally magnanimous compared to their first meeting.
Zhao Liangxu likes Anhe, and needs Anhe.
He's much more useful than Chen Qinglie, who seems to have appeared out of nowhere.
An He was currently enjoying Zhao Liangxu's intimacy and did not think that Chen Qinglie had anything that would attract Zhao Liangxu.
An He made a few sarcastic remarks to Chen Qinglie, but finding it uninteresting, he didn't bother to make things too difficult for him and was already preparing to leave.
Just as An He was about to leave, Chen Qinglie boldly called out to her again, as if he had eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard, and said to An He, "Your Highness, I can see that Princess Zhao has no interest in me, and I have also heard some rumors about the two of you in the capital. Of course, I am not one to spread rumors and believe them, but I just feel..."
Chen Qinglie was about to launch into a long speech, but An He stopped in her tracks and looked at him expressionlessly.
What was he trying to say?
"I saw Princess Zhao at the guesthouse yesterday. She looked very well. So I think that no matter how powerful Your Majesty's reputation is, just by looking at Princess Zhao's complexion, I know that you treat her differently. It seems to confirm the rumors in the capital that you value Princess Zhao very much."
Chen Qinglie swallowed hard.
"What exactly are you trying to say? You haven't even been an official for a few days, and you're already putting on airs like those courtiers?"
An He glanced sideways at Chen Qinglie, showing no mercy whatsoever.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I am a cowardly person, but if Your Majesty truly cares about Princess Zhao as I have said, then you should... let her go."
Chen Qinglie raised his face, his temples damp with sweat, but he forced himself to meet An He's gaze.
Let her go; don't let her be tied to a eunuch.
He knew he shouldn't have said that to Anhe. He had just gained the support of the Vice Minister of Rites, had just taken office, and had just begun to have a bright future. At this time, he should be conserving his energy and seeking further advancement.
Not to mention the Vice Minister, even the Ministers of the Six Ministries, even General Zhou Feng, still have to maintain a superficial relationship with An He.
But he just felt he should say it.
How could a eunuch be worthy of such a good person?
Chen Qinglie clenched his fists, watching helplessly as the coldness in An He's eyes was consumed by suppressed anger.
An He seemed surprised that Chen Qinglie would say such a thing. He twitched the corners of his mouth, trying to reveal a sneer, but it looked more like a ferocious grin than a smile.
Her delicate, jade-like face was smiling, yet it seemed distorted.
Chen Qinglie felt uneasy.
Anhe pondered, tilting his head in thought.
"You mean, we should let this eunuch in our household go?"
Anhe even kindly polished Chen Qinglie's words, making them even more offensive.
It's over.
That's what Chen Qinglie was thinking.
He didn't know why he dared to stop Anhe, or why he dared to say such things.
While they didn't say a single disrespectful word openly, they had been secretly hurling filth and insults at Anhe behind his back.
The angrier Anhe got, the calmer his words became.
It was chilly and icy cold, like being stripped naked and thrown into the freezing snow, causing excruciating pain.
"You said you'd let her go." An He lowered her voice, drawing out the words as she approached Chen Qinglie.
Chen Qinglie unconsciously took a step back.
"Let her go." Anhe slowly uttered these three words.
He suddenly broke into a wide, hearty smile. Chen Qinglie had never seen An He smile like this before... without any malice?
It's like smiling at a friend.
It wasn't mockery or ridicule.
This is even more terrifying.
Chen Qinglie was still immersed in this extremely inappropriate and strange situation when, the next moment, An He kicked Chen Qinglie's knee. The sharp pain made Chen Qinglie unable to support himself and he suddenly knelt down on the ground, his back covered in cold sweat.
At this moment, Anhe's hoarse voice sounded like a snake flicking its tongue.
"Let her go? But who would you let go of her to? You?"
"What, do you think you're good enough for her?"
An He used his whisk to lift Chen Qinglie's chin, a highly humiliating gesture.
"Tell me, do you really think that she's being restricted by our family, which is why she can't be with you?"
"Tell me, what have you done? What have you done that made Zhao Liangxu take a liking to you? Or is it your appearance that attracted her? Or do you think that just because you're a man, you're more capable than our family?"
"Go ahead and say it."
Anhe felt that she had been too kind.
This person in front of me deserves to be killed.
After hearing An He's words, Chen Qinglie remained silent, whether from pain or fear.
Indeed, he had ulterior motives.
What if?
If An He hadn't imprisoned Zhao Liangxu and given her such a bad reputation, he could at least have pursued her openly and honestly.
Such a rotten person shouldn't drag such a pure person down with them.
Chen Qinglie thought of Zhao Liangxu, dressed in light-colored clothes, smiling gently.
That's how he imagined his wife to be... If he could recite poems to Zhao Liangxu like an ordinary person, paint pictures for her, and travel with her, perhaps Zhao Liangxu would really be interested in him?
Instead of now, being nipped in the bud by Anhe time and again.
An He actually wanted to kill Chen Qinglie directly.
Few could easily ignite his anger; every word he uttered was like kindling, adding fuel to the fire.
However, he was worried that Zhao Liangxu would be unhappy.
He thought Zhao Liangxu would understand; someone who offended him like that should have been killed long ago.
However, Zhao Liangxu also pleaded for Chen Qinglie back then.
What was she thinking?
Anhe had just mentioned this person to him a few days ago. He could tell that Zhao Liangxu had no interest in Chen Qinglie, but Zhao Liangxu told him to avoid making enemies.
She cares about herself.
Anhe felt that she couldn't let Zhao Liangxu feel disheartened.
He wanted to tell Zhao Liangxu today and see her reaction.
But Anhe hesitated again.
Should he tell Zhao Liangxu?
Anhe kicked Chen Qinglie on the shoulder again, causing him to fall backward. Chen Qinglie barely managed to brace himself with his hands on the stone floor, his palms bleeding.
"You slut."
Anhe threw two words at Chen Qinglie.
As expected of a lackey, his words are truly filthy.
Chen Qinglie even felt that he had won this time. He had hit An He's sore spot, and An He, seeing how angry he was, did not punish him severely.
He felt guilty.
Chen Qinglie strangely gained confidence from this confrontation.
*
My peaceful mood vanished completely.
Anhe's men were on edge all afternoon.
Zhang Sheng was also very puzzled. He had clearly seen his godfather looking quite happy at noon, so why was he acting like this now...?
He dared not offend Anhe, dared not ask too many questions, and could only serve her with utmost care.
Even after returning home, Anhe still didn't have a good look on her face.
Where is Zhao Liangxu?
Anhe asked the people in the mansion.
The servant replied, "Princess Zhao did not come to the residence today, and I did not know..."
"Then let's go ask!"
Perhaps it's because she's been resting in the house all day; it's good that she's resting.
The servant bowed and scraped as he hurried off to ask.
The message that came back was: "Princess Zhao went out with her maids at noon and has not returned yet."
Zhang Sheng paced back and forth at the main gate of the An residence until the sun was about to set completely. Then, he saw Zhao Liangxu's carriage in the distance and rushed over as if he had been saved.
"Godmother, you're finally back!"
Zhao Liangxu got off the carriage, and Zhu Mu followed her off.
Zhao Liangxu appeared to be in normal condition, but Zhu Mu seemed quite dazed, as he didn't know where he had accompanied Zhao Liangxu that day.
Seeing Zhang Sheng's anxious expression, Zhao Liangxu asked, "What's wrong?"
"Please go and see your godfather as soon as possible. I don't know what happened in the palace. He rarely gets so angry. His face was so gloomy all afternoon, it was really frightening. He only found out that you were not at home, and he is even angrier. We can only rely on you. You can definitely calm him down," Zhang Sheng said anxiously.
Zhang Sheng trusted Zhao Liangxu.
Zhao Liangxu frowned and asked, "What happened? She was fine during the day?"
However, Zhang Sheng didn't stay with An He in the afternoon and didn't know what had happened, so Zhao Liangxu had to go find An He herself.
Zhang Sheng went to knock on the door, but before he could even speak, Zhao Liangxu heard An He angrily shout from inside, "Get out!"
He sounded really angry.
Despite his anger, Zhang Sheng cautiously said into the house, "Godfather, Godmother is here."
The scene seemed familiar, except that last time Zhang Sheng was worried that Zhao Liangxu wouldn't be able to come out once she entered the house, but now Zhang Sheng was begging Zhao Liangxu to come in.
After he finished speaking, the room fell silent.
Zhao Liangxu went straight up and pushed open the door, telling Zhang Sheng to wait outside.
"Eunuch An, what's wrong?" Zhao Liangxu asked.
Anhe remained silent.
As soon as Zhao Liangxu entered the room, she saw that An He's brows were furrowed and his face was cold. He couldn't put on a good expression, so he could only turn his head away the moment Zhao Liangxu looked over so that she wouldn't see his expression.
"Why are you angry? It can't be because you didn't see me the first thing when you got back that you're so upset."
Anhe frowned, his expression still not fully composed, and could only stiffly say, "What nonsense are you talking about? What does this have to do with anything?"
After saying that, he thought of something and looked up at Zhao Liangxu, asking stiffly, "Speaking of which, why didn't you rest properly at home today? You've been staying outside until now."
He was still holding back his anger, at least not letting it out on Zhao Liangxu.
Zhao Liangxu said, "I haven't even asked Eunuch An a few questions yet, but he's already asking me questions first."
It was getting dark outside, and the candles in Anhe's room hadn't been lit yet. The room was as dark and gloomy as Anhe's mood.
Zhao Liangxu lit a lamp by the candlestick and asked, "What happened to Eunuch An in the palace, or who did he encounter? I've never seen you so angry."
Anhe remained silent again.
Once the room was filled with warm yellow light, Zhao Liangxu stood next to An He and asked, "What's wrong? Is it inconvenient for you to tell me?"
Anhe looked up at her, looking at her intently.
She began by asking, "Zhao Liangxu, someone told us..."
"Let our family let you go."
An He's voice was devoid of emotion; he was trying to find something on Zhao Liangxu's face.
"What do you think?" he asked again.
An He stared intently at Zhao Liangxu's mouth, wanting to see what she would say when she opened it.
"What do you think of what this person said? I'll let you go."
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