“Just be careful!”
“I know! I’ll try to avoid entering the palace. If I do enter, do not follow me, I can do this alone! If anything happens to me, wait for my signals, do not be rash!” Ye Lang warned sternly. He did not want anything to happen to Coldblood Five.
If he had to choose between failing the mission and Coldblood Five’s safety, he would choose the latter. He would rather fail this mission.
Worst case scenario, if he had to pick Coldblood Five or Tigress’ father, he would still choose Coldblood Five, this was undeniable!
However, he should not need to make such a decision!
The leader nodded. “It’s not a problem if you want to visit Li Yue though, Her Majesty had planned for you both to enter the palace together anyway.”
“…” Ye Lang fell silent. These people would still follow him if he visited Li Yue, they’d likely disrupt his work and they could use Li Yue as a piece to threaten him if they needed to.
“Let’s go then!” Ye Lang said mildly. “You must have a carriage, right?”
What choice did he have? All he could do was take one step at a time, maybe this was a good thing?
Maybe Zhao Yarou didn’t have any ill intentions…
On the other side, a typical family drama trope was unfolding in the Li family’s living room.
“Father, Mother, I want to leave!” said Li Yue calmly. There was a steely resolve in her voice.
“No, you’d better stay home today. We’ll all attend Her Majesty’s party together! Don’t think about meeting that fox kid, he’s not suitable for you!” Li Tianjun said sternly.
“Suitable or not, that is for me to decide. I don’t want to argue but please don’t stop me from living my life!” Li Yue’s tone was still as mild as ever.
“How many times have I said this? Why aren’t you listening? What’s so good about that kid? He’s just a pretty face. He’s absolutely useless! You were there and you saw what he did when he was attacked. He hid behind you, he hid behind a woman!” Li Tianjun had been repeating himself countless times but he realised his daughter wasn’t listening.
“I know what kind of person he is. We can’t judge someone by their looks sometimes, you’ll regret this!” said Li Yue.
When he heard his daughter speaking to him like that, Li Tianjun immediately retorted with, “Tell me then, what kind of person is he? If you can make valid points, I will let you meet him.”
“He’s a… I don’t know how to describe him either, but he’s not what you think he is!” Li Yue could not find words to describe Ye Lang’s personality, he was an oddball and a mixture of contradictions!
Li Yue’s hesitation only deepened the misunderstanding with Li Tianjun. He thought she liked caring for Ye Lang despite knowing of his ‘flaws’.
“Li Yue, just listen to your father. Don’t see him again. He’s only here for a holiday anyway, he’ll leave town after a while. Just do your job as the captain of the guards, don’t think of that kid anymore,” advised Madam Li.
These three weren’t the only ones present. Li Yan and Li Bo (the two brothers) and Grand Marshal Li were there too. The old man had remained silent and gave no comments.
The brothers were different, also adding to advise their little sister against seeing the ‘pretty boy’.
The scene escalated into chaos as each person had an opinion.
After a few moments, Li Yue exploded in rage. With a sharp remark, she said, “Stop this! I want to see him, none of you can stop me. I’ll bear the consequences if anything happens, I will not burden you!”
“Why can’t you listen, child? Let me tell you this then, I’ll never let you meet him. If you’re still this stubborn, I’ll send my men to chase him out of the city! And out of the empire!” warned Li Tianjun coldly.
Li Tianjun was a high-ranking figure of Soaring Sky. Chasing a boy out of the city was nothing to him, it was well within his power.
“If you do that, I will leave this place. You can’t make everyone in this world listen to you,” said Li Yue calmly. Her resolution was unshakable.
“You…You’re giving me a heart attack!” Li Tianjun could not speak, pointing at her in fury. It was the same dramatic script that every parent would say when their children had done something wrong.
“No, I just think that the world outside might be better. Perhaps I’d have a lot more fun if I pay Ye Lang a visit,” said Li Yue mildly.
“… Do you have a death wish, paying Ye Lang a visit? If the empress knows, she’ll never let you go.” Li Tianjun wished he could puke blood to convey the frustration he was feeling.
Li Yue shook her head. “You’re wrong, Her Majesty is not that kind of person. There were so many people who’d spent time with Ye Lang, has she harmed any of them? Zhen Xiaoyan is so close to Ye Lang and used to follow him around. Nothing happened to her, her family’s fine too.”
“That’s because she’s just a minor character!” exclaimed Li Tianjun.
“Tianjun, you can’t say that. All because she’s just an unimportant character, if the empress wanted to take action, it would be even easier. She wouldn’t have to hesitate, plus it might even be effective in capturing Ye Lang.” Grand Marshal Li, who had been silent, finally spoke. “The empress isn’t taking action because she doesn’t want to! Don’t think she’s just a little girl of eighteen years, she has done what others cannot, gritted her teeth and suffered through what others couldn’t. Do not even think she’s an ordinary person!”
“Yes father, I’ve never treated her like an ordinary person, not since the day she uprooted the system. No ordinary person could’ve done that single-handedly, not even a member of the royal family. It’s difficult!” sighed Li Tianjun.
When she had first ascended the throne, many people thought she’d just gotten lucky. However, the soon realised that it wasn’t just luck but mainly her terrifying capabilities.
Zhao Yarou was only sixteen that year. To many people, a sixteen-year-old was a child. No one would’ve thought how much this child had trained to be there, to wield such unimaginable power and influence.
They wondered too. When did she start training, ten? Eight? Or even earlier? No matter what the answer was, it was bound to be shocking.