Chapter 40.1 â Protect Her (1)
Qi Yang had always wanted to deal with Liu Chen sooner or later.
She had already put him in her blacklist, and she planned to avenge her Prince Consort and make a name for her on the process. But now, it seemed that someone had moved even faster than her. After all, she was occupied with Lu Qipei last night and had not given out an order yet.
Qi Yang didnât care too much about this, because someone would send her the results of the investigation later anyway. For her, every moment she was spending with Lu Qipei was obviously more important than these irrelevant people.
After having her hair combed, washing up and changing her clothes, she put on some makeup in front of the dressing table.
Qi Yang looked at the lip balm on the dressing table and blinked, then she suddenly picked up a box and gave it to Lu Qipei. She smiled and said, âAh Pei, how about I give this box of lip balm to you?â
Zhi Ting was putting makeup on Qi Yang, and her hand shook when she heard those words, almost ruining the makeup on Her Highnessâs face. She became more and more unable to understand the princess â how could a woman give lip balm to a man? Shouldnât it be the other way around? Not to mention that it wasnât common for men to put on makeup, so this gift might not be too appropriate. Plus, she was giving the lip balm that she was using, so it added another layer of ambiguity.
Zhi Ting had a lot of things she wanted to say at that moment, but she didnât dare to do anything in front of Her Highness.
But only Lu Qipei knew Qi Yangâs intention with that remark â the latter was teasing her because she had said that her lip balm tasted sweet last night in the carriage.
Thinking about what happened that time, Lu Qipeiâs face turned red again. She looked at the hand Qi Yang was still stretching out, and her eyes met the latterâs teasing glance again. She could only feel that this âgiftâ was very hot, but she finally accepted it with a burning red face. She really didnât know what she was thinking!
Fortunately, Qi Yang didnât do anything else after that. Qi Yang only glanced at her from time to time and smiled, but she didnât seem to be angry because of what happened last night. Lu Qipei sighed in relief, and couldnât help staring at her for a long time.
After lightly freshening herself up and applying some make up, it was time for a very late breakfast. Clear porridge with side dishes filled the table, accompanied by various pastries. Lu Qipeiâs favorite milk cakes were also included, and they ate a satisfying meal together.
After the meal, the two of them held a cup of tea each and sat on the open-air area under the veranda to chat.
Lu Qipei pondered for a moment, then held the tea cup and thanked Qi Yang again. âI was careless last night. Thank you for coming to pick me up, Your Highness.â
Qi Yang didnât tease her anymore and said with a straight face, âAs far as I remember, that Liu Chen was the one who couldnât take a hint the most during the outing last time. This time, he went after you again⦠is because of me?â
Lu Qipei hadnât said much about Liu Chen to Qi Yang. In fact, Liu Chen had not even met Qi Yang that often; he was more concerned about the identity of âPrinces Qi Yangâ. This time, Lu Qipei was really caught off-guard by his scheme. The two of them didnât have any disagreement in Hanlin Academy, and they werenât love rivals either. The group of people invited him to a banquet out of nowhere, but she never thought that he would drug her wine.
Lu Qipei suddenly realized that she had been drugged not just once, but twice. She almost doubted herself for a moment â was she really so hateful? Whether it was a younger brother who grew up with her or a colleague who she wasnât that close to, they all couldnât help but want to target her!
Seeing that Lu Qipei didnât say anything, Qi Yang reached out her hand and shook it in front of her. âWhat are you thinking? Why arenât you answering me?â
Lu Qipei gave a bitter smile and did not hide it from her, âYour Highness, do you think Iâm particularly hateful? Why do people always consider me a sore to the eyes?â
Qi Yang immediately understood what Lu Qipei was thinking when she heard it, but couldnât find a way to comfort her. She simply said nothing and leaned forward to life Lu Qipeiâs chin, scrutinizing it from left and right until the latter blushed.
She finally sighed, âI think Ah Pei is very lovely, I like it very much.â She leaned over again after saying that and, as if to prove that she was saying the truth, kissed Lu Qipei directly on corner of her lips.
Ever since she made that sneaky kiss the last time they went on an outing, Qi Yang seemed to have grown really fond of this corner of the lips position. This simple kiss did not contain much desire, but showed a lot of affection.
Lu Qipeiâs face turned even redder. Fortunately there was no one else around, so she didnât refuse. A hint of sweetness could be felt in her heart.
Qi Yang held her face again and said, âAh Pei, only a mediocre person would not invite envy.â She continued in a more assured tone. âYouâre wonderful and outstanding, thatâs why others are jealous. Itâs not your fault.â
Those words were not all just consolation. If you thought carefully about Lu Qicheng and Liu Chenâs attack on her, it really did come from jealousy. Lu Qicheng was jealous that her face was intact and that she was recommended to become an official. Liu Chen was jealous of the princessâs adoration for her, and the great wealth and honor awaiting her. Neither of them had a noble mind; their selfish and sinister looks were really disgusting.
But at the same time, what Qi Yang didnât say was that Lu Qipei was really too pure, kind and soft. Even thought she had experienced such a thing with Lu Qicheng and could act ruthlessly to eliminate future troubles, she still couldnât learn how to appraise others with maximum prejudice.
Qi Yang couldnât say whether such a personality was good or bad, but as long as someone protected her, there was nothing wrong with such pure kindness.
Qi Yang thought that if it was too hard to change Lu Qipeiâs nature, then she would just change herself, and protect her in the futureâ¦