Chapter 468 - A Royal Decree 13

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Qi Qingyao said with a fake smile, “I wonder why has the State Preceptor come again?”

“I came to see you, of course.” Li Ruoxuan was also easy-going. After entering the side hall, his expression when he spoke was very calm.

“...” Qi Qingyao also looked very calm on the surface but internally she still held some fear of being found out. Who would have thought that he would come the moment Si Jin left? Could it be that he knew Si Jin was not around?

Li Ruoxuan had been State Preceptor for many years. If he could not even observe one’s words and behaviors, how could he manage his job? He was keenly aware that Qi Qingyao’s mood seemed calm, but her entire person was a little taut which made him a little curious. “You’re very courteous today.”

“Am I?” Qi Qingyao laughed.

Li Ruoxuan looked around and then noticed that there was only Qi Qingyao and Lu Yan in the side hall. He asked, “Why don’t I see Si Jin?”

“He is someone stronger than a grand master, he wants to go sky high so he is cultivating in his room,” Qi Qingyao said with a cool smile. “If you want to see him, I can call him out.”

“No need.” It was of course good if the plague god was not there.

After tea was served, Li Ruoxuan picked up the tea and was prepared to reveal his reason for coming. “I came today…”

Just as he said these few words, Steward Zhang hurried over to report again.

“Missus, the Head Grand Secretariat has also arrived.”

“...”

Qi Qingyao frowned and said nothing. She had Steward Zhang invite Jiang Yeqian in as well.

Jiang Yeqian had just entered while leaning on his crutches when Li Ruoxuan smiled somewhat deliberately and said, “What a rare guest.”

Qi Qingyao looked at the two coolly.

She smiled faintly before continuing.

“I wonder what happened for the two of you to come to my residence today?”

The two did not seem to have heard her.

Jiang Yeqian stared at Li Ruoxuan fiercely while Li Ruoxuan also looked at him like an enemy.

Li Ruoxuan said, “It’s such a coincidence that the Head Grand Secretariat would always be right behind me. If I didn’t know, I would even think that you are deliberately following me.”

“I am monitoring your whereabouts, which is why I purposely came over to have a chance encounter with the State Preceptor,” said Jiang Yeqian.

Li Ruoxuan sneered. “There is no need for this kind of chance encounter.”

Jiang Yeqian responded, “Oh, that won’t do, State Preceptor, since I really like you, after all.”

Qi Qingyao picked her ears and said, “If you want to flirt, please go home and talk it out slowly, why don’t you?”

Jiang Yeqian’s expression changed. “Who would want to flirt with him?”

“...” Were they not talking about their lingering romance just now?

Qi Qingyao declined to comment.

“Back to business.” Li Ruoxuan faintly knew Jiang Yeqian’s purpose for coming and wanted to prevent him from currying favor with Qi Qingyao. That said, he wanted to piss this guy off by being even more straightforward. Li Ruoxuan stated boldly, “I came here today to confess.”

“To the Head Grand Secretariat?” Qi Qingyao asked with a stern countenance.

Li Ruoxuan had no intention of joking around and replied, “Although the Head Grand Secretariat holds deep feelings for me, please forgive me. As I have no interest in men, I can only reject your love.”

Jiang Yeqian, “...”

Li Ruoxuan turned to say to Qi Qingyao, “I came to express my fancy for Lady Qi. Please marry me. I will definitely treat you well in the future.”

Qi Qingyao, ‘...”

Jiang Yeqian, “...”

Lu Yan with his cat, “...”

Steward Zhang, Dong Jing, Zhu Shen, and Zhao Xin who were at the door were also stupefied.

They all did not even know how to express their disbelieving sentiments right now.

After a long time.

Qi Qingyao was the first to find her voice. She said rather helplessly, “Li Ruoxuan, how thick is the skin on your face?”

The young man looked calm as he instinctively touched his eye patch and he said, “Thicker than the city walls.”

“...”

Facing someone so shameless left Qi Qingyao utterly helpless, despite being a shameless person herself. “Can you act normally?”

“I’m abnormal to begin with,” Li Ruoxuan said.

Qi Qingyao replied, “Why do you even like me? I will change that part of me, okay?”

Li Ruoxuan laughed. “I like that you are acquainted with someone who is above a grand master.”

“Can’t you be a bit more tactful?” Qi Qingyao asked.

“No.” Li Ruoxuan smiled nonchalantly. “Besides, we’ve already kissed.”

Qi Qingyao said angrily, “I’ve already been f*cking bedded by someone, but did I marry them?”

“...” Li Ruoxuan continued to smile shamelessly. “How can that person compare to me? I’m not that kind of irresponsible man.”

“Could the State Preceptor plan on taking responsibility for me?” How was that possible?

“Of course. We’ve already kissed before and I also like you a lot. Of course, I’d be willing to marry you.” Li Ruoxuan said earnestly, “Don’t be so hasty to reject me.”

“I’ll listen to what you have to say. Please speak.” Qi Qingyao really did not understand. Li Ruoxuan should know that Si Jin was by her side and it was unreasonable for him to come entangling himself like this. Could he not be afraid of death?

Li Ruoxuan scrutinized Qi Qingyao’s features.

He looked at Lu Yan at the side who was carrying a cat. He only refused to look at Jiang Yeqian who was beyond furious.

He thought for a moment then said kindly, “Although you have Si Jin by your side and he’s a powerhouse who exceeds grand masters, you ought to remember that you only have one Si Jin. As for me...I have a lot of manpower in my hands.”

Saying this, he paused for a bit.

Then he continued.

“The triplets have to grow up ”

Qi Qingyao narrowed her eyes suddenly.

“You can’t always tie them to your waist, can you?”

“If you rejected me today and one of the three are alone at some time, do you know what terrifying consequences there would be?”

Qi Qingyao’s eyes narrowed deeper.

“I’m sure you’re aware.

“So don’t say anything first.

“If you’re betting that I wouldn’t dare act against them, then your impression of me is wrong.

“I am, after all, the scheming State Preceptor, as you’ve put it.

“The reason I’m speaking so bluntly today is to tell you that I want to use you, that I will use you without a doubt.”

…

...

That tone of certainty darkened the expression on Qi Qingyao’s face. Since he had used the children as a bargaining chip, Qi Qingyao had no choice but to make an empty show of strength. “You probably know that if you lay your hands on the people around me who I care about, Si Jin will slaughter you.”

She paused, then continued, “You know what the outcome is yet you still threaten me. I’m a bit confused, is the State Preceptor intelligent or stupid?”

“I am, of course,...” Li Ruoxuan dragged out his sentence. “Stupid.”

“It’s rare to see someone admit that they are stupid.” What other chip did he have to bargain with?

Li Ruoxuan looked at her indifferently.

“You can think of me as intelligent then.”

“Lady Qi is different from me, you’re a person who has a clear distinction between good and evil. If I am slaughtered, you would only get your revenge on me, the man who works behind the scenes, but…”

The prolonged ending revealed the speaker’s shrewdness.

“Let me give you an analysis of your situation today.”

“The chess pieces you have in your hands now are one, Lu Yan, and two, Si Jin. One is the richest man in Northern Liang, the other is the strongest powerhouse in the continent!

“Even though Lu Yan has money, he doesn’t have the power to contend, he can’t go against me head-on.

“As for Si Jin, although he is powerful, he is just one person. Didn’t I mention this before? If you don’t accept my confession today, if any one of your three children were to be alone in the future, I will send someone to kill one, and then another…”

As he spoke, Li Ruoxuan smiled tenderly as if he genuinely loved Qi Qingyao and had no choice but to kill…n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Of course, you could say that you’ll get Si Jin to kill me before I kill anyone you cared about.

“Yes...let us take a closer look at this situation.

“This Head Grand Secretariat beside you, I heard he has already resigned and the empress has approved of it. So he’s now a useless chess piece, and there is no way to use him. If you got Si Jin to kill me, the empress, put in a situation where she has no one left to use, will definitely be furious. It would be a certainty that the court will pursue and kill you with all their power. Unless you can get Si Jin to kill everyone in court, of course. So, considering this situation, you can’t make your move before I do. In short, you can’t kill the most important court official to the empress of Northern Liang under the guise of making the first move unless I’ve already killed someone.

“Secondly, if you get Si Jin to kill me after I kill your children, that’s fine too. I’m just a worthless life anyway, a mere rank nine. My death wouldn’t give much cause for worry. Even so, the empress would still seek revenge out of gratitude since everything I’ve done is for Northern Liang! The empress would definitely avenge me.”

…

…

With this analysis, Qi Qingyao shrugged and said, “The outcome would be the empress coming after me regardless, that’s what you mean?”

Li Ruoxuan smiled.

“What I meant is that as long as you marry me, you’d be able to prevent all this from happening.”

“If you marry me, I won’t kill you, and neither would I kill the children. I would treat them like how a father would. More so, I will do everything in my power to keep them safe.

“Or, do you insist on sacrificing a child and then get Si Jin to kill me, and then wait for the empress to chase you down... Is this the result you want?”

…

He looked as if he were a kind-hearted person talking things through with them rationally. Qi Qingyao felt like throwing up hearing this, but there was nothing she could do. It was hard for two hands to be able to take down four, let alone the enemy was in the dark while she was exposed...

Qi Qingyao suddenly recalled that she still had two stooges with her and looked toward Lu Yan and Jiang Yeqian.

“I consider both of you my friends. Do either of you have any suggestions now?”

Jiang Yeqian was about to declare that he was more than sufficient to protect a little woman even if he was not the Head Grand Secretariat. Unexpectedly, Lu Yan spoke up decisively first. “I’ll marry you.”

Qi Qingyao, “Huh?”

Jiang Yeqian, “…”

Lu Yan looked at Li Ruoxuan expressionlessly and said firmly, “The one she likes is me, so she won’t marry the State Preceptor. Please go back.”

Li Ruoxuan looked at the serious-looking Lu Yan and smiled even more. He said, “Master Lu says this, but have you gotten the opinions of your family elders?”

Lu Yan clutched the cat, his knuckles white. He replied, “I think my family elders would be fine with whoever I like, so the State Preceptor doesn’t have to worry.”

“Master Lu, do you intend to take this person away from me?” Li Ruoxuan asked.

“How am I taking her from you? This is, at best, a fair competition.” Neither humble nor arrogant, Lu Yan said, “Could it be that the dignified State Preceptor wants to forcefully take away a civilian woman?”

There was a stern look on his beautiful face.

Li Ruoxuan did not answer this question.

Instead, he turned to look at Jiang Yeqian and said, “Does the Head Grand Secretariat want to see Lady Qi marry Master Lu?’

This question was very meaningful.

Jiang Yeqian frowned but said nothing.

Lu Yan said, “Does the State Preceptor also wish for the Head Grand Secretariat to help you snatch people?”

Li Ruoxuan was still observing Jiang Yeqian’s expression. He wanted to know how much the Head Grand Secretariat loved Qi Qingyao. Would he help her or continue to hide this love at this moment?

Or perhaps he did not like her enough…

He could not be sure either.

Faced with Lu Yan’s question.

Li Ruoxuan smiled, looking at Jiang Yeqian.

“This isn’t the case,” he said.

“I just want to know what the Head Grand Secretariat thinks…”

“Although he resigned, he is still a colleague of mine. I expressed my love on the spot just now, so naturally I care about the Head Grand Secretariat’s opinion. I want to know what he thinks of Lady Qi marrying into the Lu family.?”

Jiang Yeqian knew that Li Ruoxuan was once again riling him up.

His heart was holding back rivers and overturning seas.

Could this guy be putting on an act twice just to lure him out....