Among the common people, the most beloved tales revolve around the scandals and intrigues of officials and noble ladies. Unable to live such luxurious lives, the common folk can only catch a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg of a world they cannot touch through these small bits of information.
Matters of romance and intimacy have always been the most favored gossip topics, especially when one party holds a significant status and position. In such cases, the public’s imagination is further fueled and everyone eagerly spreads these tales.
This kind of thing is unstoppable, especially when some people are working behind the scenes to make the story circulate widely.
Though Qi Mingxuan sent someone to handle the situation upon realizing his feelings for Li Shu, it was already a few days after the rumors began circulating. So it was not surprising that the Emperor knew about this news.
“As the chaos of war persists, your child has no intention of starting a family. I hope Father Emperor can understand and fulfill this wish.” Qi Mingxuan bowed deeply. Regardless of whether the Emperor spoke these words to test him or simply as a father expressing concern for his son, Qi Mingxuan had no intention of continuing the conversation. He never had plans to marry, and now it was even more impossible for him to find a random woman to get married because of Li Shu.
“We understand your concerns, Xuan’er. Marriage is a major matter in one’s life. As the future guardian of the borders, the majestic Prince Qin and the general of Great Zhou, how can you not have someone by your side who understands your joys and sorrows?”
The expected rejection made the Emperor’s mood even more complicated. In contrast to his two other unsatisfactory sons, Qi Mingxuan’s behavior was even more outstanding. While other princes were amassing wealth and eyeing the throne, this child abstained, not vying for power. Even at the age of twenty, he refused to marry, solely for the sake of soothing his father’s concerns.
Unfortunately…
He only had to be a capable child and have a lot of respect for him. If it weren’t for his maternal family that was dragging him down, he (the Emperor) wouldn’t be in such a dilemma.
His soft heart outweighed other thoughts, and he coughed softly, “If you truly like the Left Prime Minister’s child, We can arrange a marriage for you. She is the legitimate daughter of the Left Prime Minister and is from a prestigious family. She’s quite worthy of you.”
“These are just neighborhood rumors. I have no romantic interest in the Left Prime Minister’s daughter. These rumors arose because I happened to assist Miss Li twice. It’s not entirely accurate.” He only helped because the person happened to be Li Shu’s sister. Don’t think he was unaware; this matter spread widely, and Miss Li’s father, the Left Prime Minister of Great Zhou, played a huge role.
Seeing that Qi Mingxuan’s expression was calm and there was no sign of any reluctance, the fatherly heart took over and the Emperor spoke gently, “If you don’t like the Left Prime Minister’s daughter, do you have someone else in mind? If not, I’ll keep an eye out in the capital, there are still many suitable young women.”
Why insist on arranging a marriage for him? Wouldn’t it be better to ignore him like in the past? Qi Mingxuan found the Emperor’s attitude headache-inducing. He had long passed the age of yearning for paternal love. Isn’t it too late to try to make amends now?
When the Emperor mentioned arranging a marriage for Qi Mingxuan, he indeed took action. Given the previous turmoil in Great Zhou, he delegated this matter to the Empress, instructing her to find a suitable match for the Prince Qin.
Such different treatment naturally attracted everyone’s attention. Many ministers with eligible daughters silently prepared strategies. So what if Prince Qin couldn’t occupy that position? Given his current status, being in-laws might not be a bad thing.
“What does Father Emperor mean by handing the Left Prime Minister’s daughter to Prince Qin. Does he think brother is not powerful enough?” The Eldest Prince sitting at the high seat had a sinister expression. Even with a maternal family hindering him, they failed to suppress Qi Mingxuan. He survived against all odds and took a different path. Now, who dares to touch him easily?
“Calm down, Your Highness. Didn’t Prince Qin reject His Majesty’s proposal? Since His Majesty wants to choose a good match for him, let’s help him create a ‘perfect’ union.” He Songwen stroked his beard, smiling as he answered.
“What do you mean?”
“His Majesty handed this matter to the Empress to handle. There’s significant room for manipulation in choosing the candidate.”
Prince Qin was extremely strict with his subordinates. His residence was like an iron bucket and no news leaked out. Ever since Prince Qin returned to the capital, they had lost count of how many spies had been captured inside. Prince Qin was also strange. He lived like a monk, avoiding both men and women. They couldn’t send anyone to him even if they wanted to.
It wasn’t not that no one had given beauties to Prince Qin, but Prince Qin took these beauties and threw them all to the housekeeper to be used as the most ordinary servants. These people couldn’t get close to Prince Qin, let alone serve their intended purpose.
The people who were carefully cultivated were trapped in Prince Qin’s mansion, and were basically useless. After several attempts, no one dared to send people to Prince Qin again; it was simply a waste.
The Emperor’s proclamation about choosing a marriage partner for Prince Qin stirred up many thoughts. Countless people pondered the idea, especially the Left Prime Minister, who had plans to match his daughter, Li Xinuo, with Prince Qin.
Under her parents’ arrangements and the matchmakers’ words, Li Xinuo couldn’t make decisions on this matter. Before an agreement was reached, the Left Prime Minister and his wife didn’t disclose this matter publicly. Li Xinuo only knew that the Emperor planned to arrange a marriage for Prince Qin and was unaware that her father had set his sights on her.
So when she heard the news, Li Xinuo just smiled. Instead, it was her handkerchief friend that complained. “Xinuo, what’s going on? I heard the royal family wants to marry Prince Qin to a daughter of the Bai family. What will you do?”
She slowly threw out the fish food in her hand, causing a group of fish to scramble for it. Li Xinuo wiped her hands with the handkerchief handed over by her servant, and tapped her friend’s forehead, “What do I do? There is nothing between Prince Qin and me. It’s just idle gossip. Besides, what does Prince Qin’s marriage have to do with me?”
When she heard this news, Li Xinuo didn’t feel sad, instead, she breathed a sigh of relief. Since her rebirth, she planned to keep a distance from Prince Qin. If he really married the girl from the Bai family, she would be delighted. Why would she be sad?
“But those people say…”
“You said it yourself, those people,” Li Xinuo interrupted her friend, “It’s just neighborhood gossip. Why take it seriously? Besides, there’s no communication between Prince Qin and me. How could we develop any affection for each other?” If one was to talk about communication, Prince Qin’s interactions with her elder brother were far more frequent.
Thinking of this, Li Xinuo faintly felt something was wrong. After the entanglements in her previous life, she had some understanding of Prince Qin. It was based on this understanding that she found that Prince Qin’s attitude towards her eldest brother was very different.
Knowing Qi Mingxuan for so long, she had never seen him treat anyone like he treated Li Shu. Thinking about it carefully, her eldest brother was always there the times when Prince Qin rescued her.
Li Xinuo could hardly control her expression. Prince Qin’s attitude towards her was the same as towards other people, but towards her elder brother… She couldn’t say he was too careful and protective. When she looked back at the incident at the Lu Ming Banquet, Prince Qin wasn’t looking at her at all, but her eldest brother! So…
Everything Prince Qin did was for her elder brother?!
Did Prince Qin truly have feelings for her elder brother?
Then how to explain the events of the previous life? Yes, different choices in the past and present lives led to different outcomes. Her elder brother was controlled by their father in the previous life and became an enemy of Prince Qin. This time, at her plea, her elder brother saved Prince Qin, avoiding the subsequent tragedy. Her elder brother wasn’t ordered by their father to stand against Prince Qin, so it was not surprising that this led to a different situation.
Not good at all! What part isn’t strange? Leaving aside the sudden development of Prince Qin having feelings for a man, his actions were also perplexing. In her understanding, Prince Qin wasn’t someone driven by romantic thoughts. When it’s time to use you, he will use you without considering if you were his lover.
Li Xinuo knew this very well. Perhaps she had feelings for Prince Qin, but that affection had long vanished in the daily torment. Not harboring resentment was already her greatest tolerance.
However…
If Prince Qin in this life truly has feelings for Li Shu, what should she do? Just watch from the sidelines? After all, Li Shu was the mastermind behind the destruction of her family. No, she couldn’t do that. Li Shu was her elder brother, a part of her family. She believed her brother wouldn’t do such things without reason; there must be some hidden story she didn’t know.
“Come back to your senses, come back! What are you daydreaming about, Xinuo? I called you several times, and you didn’t respond. It’s not about Prince Qin, right?” Under Li Xinuo’s threatening gaze, the girl covered her mouth, shook her head repeatedly, and smiled flatteringly, “I won’t say, I won’t say.”
“You.” Looking at her playful friend, Li Xinuo shook her head. This friend of hers was the only daughter in the family and was pampered by her several elder brothers. Though a bit ignorant, she had a good heart.
“Alright, Xinuo, don’t frown. If there’s something bothering you, tell me, and I’ll help you figure it out.” Her friend has been unhappy lately, and the girl wanted to help.
“Tell me, if someone close to you hurts someone you care about, what would you do?” Under her friend’s sincere and concerned gaze, Li Xinuo finally asked the secret she had hidden for days.
“Ah, why would such a thing happen? Is there a misunderstanding? If it were me, I would definitely go and ask that person why they did it.”
One word awakens the dreamer.
Yes, she could directly ask. Back then, it was because of her timidity, her avoidance, that she missed the only opportunity to know the truth. Given a second chance, would she continue to evade, clinging to that faint hope, wishing those painful events never happened?
If she maintained this mentality she would still end up like the previous life when the time came.
Nothing happens without reason. Now that she had the initiative, as long as she wanted to, she could find the source of all the tragedies and then prevent them.
“Thank you, Xiao Shu. I know what to do now.”
Setting aside the matters of Prince Qin and her elder brother, she had to address the hidden dangers in her family first. That incident occurred in the second year of the new emperor ascending the throne, she didn’t have much time left.
Li Shu couldn’t feel the storm outside at all. He had an injured leg and had to remain in bed, so he could only listen to the real-time updates from the system.
The system could extract plot developments happening to the protagonist from the world consciousness. It required a considerable amount of points, but Li Shu had accidentally completed several hidden side missions, so now he had enough points. He asked the system to provide the new plot.
Li Shu, like a large butterfly, completely disrupted the plot of this world. Leaving aside the male protagonist, several life-threatening situations were easily resolved by Li Shu and everything went smoothly since returning to the capital. The situation with the female protagonist was a bit complicated. She had memories of the original world’s plot, but unfortunately, it was incomplete. She only knew the first half of the story, and had no idea about the revelations at the end.
[Given this situation, can the female protagonist still end up with the male protagonist?]
Upon hearing the host’s question, 1314 fell silent. It felt extremely unlucky. For the protection of novice hosts, ordinary novice worlds are usually easy to complete. However, 1314 got two hosts and encountered a once-in-a-century hard mode on one occasion and an even more unfortunate situation this time. Looking at the newly transmitted plot from the world consciousness, 1314 was on the verge of tears. This wasn’t just hard mode; it was a hell mode that occurred once every thousand years.
Halfway through the plot, the male protagonist hadn’t developed any feelings for the female protagonist, let alone the female protagonist, it was already a blessing that she didn’t consider him an enemy. It was basically impossible for the female protagonist who had half of the memory of the plot to fall in love with the male protagonist again.
The future was too dark, and 1314 suddenly felt hopeless.
[Are you so desperate?] The system resided in Li Shu’s soul and sometimes shared emotions with him. The sense of despair from the system felt almost tangible.
[Host, I’m sorry for binding with you by mistake. If it weren’t for that, you wouldn’t have to face all this.] As for completing the mission, 1314 had lost hope. There had only been one successful example from this kind of hell-level novice mission.
[But the mission hasn’t failed yet, right? Isn’t it too early to give up now, where is your earlier confidence?] Li Shu leaned against the headboard, holding a book Qi Mingxuan had brought to alleviate his boredom. His tone was as calm as ever.
Isn’t that they just thought it was an ordinary novice world at that time? Who knew that the female protagonist would get reborn halfway, and that she would be a person who completely gave up on the male protagonist. No matter how vast his theoretical knowledge was, he knew there was no solution in this situation where the person involved had given up entirely.
[Host…] 1314 spoke through tears, it didn’t expect the host to comfort it. The system was moved and increasingly felt it had let down the host.
Why did the female protagonist suddenly get reborn? Why did they happen to encounter such a rare situation? Now, how should the mission be completed?
It remembered that a senior had completed a similar mission before. However, in that world, the male protagonist genuinely loved the female protagonist. With the senior’s help, the male protagonist went through many twists and turns before coaxing the heartbroken female protagonist back. However, this method was not applicable in this world. It was not easy to make the male protagonist of this world go and coax the female protagonist.
It was really frustrating.
Wait, it had forgotten about relevant matters, 1314 came back to its senses and said quickly: [Host, the female protagonist has begun to investigate the destruction of the Li family. ]
[It’s not surprising. Li Xinuo only has half of the plot memories. She only knows that the family she admired was destroyed, and the one who ruined it was her half-brother. She has no idea what secrets this family hid in the shadows. Being misled by surface appearances, it’s not strange for her to hold a grudge. ]
In the original plot, the Li family was wiped out by the original owner himself. The original owner had always respected the Left Prime Minister Li Cheng, why would he ruthlessly deal with the Li family himself? There must be some hidden secrets in this, but unfortunately, the plot provided by the system did not elaborate on the original owner’s situation. In the memories he received from the original owner, everything related to this matter was vague.
[So… should we take action?]
[Take action for what? Let her investigate. I’m also curious about how deep the waters in the Li family are. Remember to help the female protagonist clean up any trails, don’t let her expose herself too early.]
Since Qi Mingxuan decided to act in advance, he also had to speed up the process.
At the hour of the Haishi (9-11 PM), Qi Mingxuan rushed back in a disheveled state. He remembered what the old doctor said— Li Shu might have a fever tonight, and he didn’t dare to be careless. After dealing with people in the capital, he hurried back. He ran to Li Shu’s room, hesitated for a moment and then pushed the door open.
The room was quiet, only the sound of shallow breathing could be heard. He walked to the bed in the moonlight, the person on the bed had flushed cheeks and was breathing lightly. Indeed, he had a fever.
Qi Mingxuan reached out, intending to feel the temperature on the young man’s forehead, but unexpectedly, his hand was intercepted by a fair and slender hand. Lowering his head, he found that the young man was looking at him with a pair of fox-like eyes, and there was no trace of sleep in them.
“Qi Mingxuan?”
