She looked up at the stunning woman in front of her and suddenly gave a short laugh. “You probably think I’m a joke.”
Lu Liangwei raised an eyebrow. Her expression remained calm as she replied seriously, “Somewhat, but I’m not laughing at you, truly.”
Li Tong’er clenched her fist and turned away. She felt embarrassed, but still forced herself to say, “Thank you for being willing to save me.”
Lu Liangwei shook her head. “The one who saved you was that child, not me.” At that, she pointed at Chu Qi who was standing at the side.
Chu Qi darted a look at her and turned to leave, sword in hand.
They were both about the same age, so why was she pretending to be more mature and call him a child?!
Chu Qi was a little annoyed.
Li Tong’er watched the young man walking away as she looked over at him.
She suddenly found this to be a little incredulous.
The Empress was about the same age as the boy, yet she was calling him a child.
Did Lu Liangwei somehow think she was closer to His Majesty’s age instead? That would explain why she was comfortable with calling the young man a child.
It was not difficult to guess that the young man was put in a foul mood by this.
“If you didn’t give him the order, he never would have saved me.” Li Tong’er sat up. She still looked quite disheveled but was significantly calmer than before. “Which is why I still need to thank you.”
Lu Liangwei waved her off. “There really is no need to. I asked that child to save you because the fish living in these waters are fat and delicious. I can’t bear the thought of you contaminating them.”
Li Tong’er felt a metallic sweetness in her throat as she almost threw up a huge mouthful of blood.
What was she saying?
The Empress had no choice but to save her because she enjoyed eating the fish from the lake?
Meanwhile, Li Tong’er had been feeling so self-conscious, even feeling grateful to Lu Liangwei.
Li Tong’er was put in an awkward position.
She looked at Lu Liangwei’s young face, her sharp eyes, her bright spirit. Li Tong’er suddenly found herself unable to face her.
While she was feeling awkward and embarrassed, Lu Liangwei suddenly spoke out compassionately, “The weather may be warm now, but you could still easily catch a cold if your clothes are wet.”
Li Tong’er looked at her hesitantly.
She tried to decipher the expression on Lu Liangwei’s face, trying to figure out the implication of her words.
“Jiu, help Aunt Li get a change of clothes.” Lu Liangwei suddenly turned to instruct Chu Jiu.
The corner of Chu Jiu’s lips twitched.
She was thinking about how Her Highness was pretty mean with her words.
Chu Jiu could clearly see Li Tong’er’s pale face suddenly flushed red.
She suddenly felt a little sorry for Li Tong’er.
Her Highness was quite petty.
Even though Li Tong’er had not been successful with her plans for His Majesty, it did not mean that Her Highness had paid it no heed.
Her Highness could be very petty with anything that concerned His Majesty.
Li Tong’er could now taste the blood in her mouth.
This was the first time she went up against Lu Liangwei face-to-face. She was almost angered to death after only a few exchanges.
She took a deep breath and felt that if she continued staying here, things would not get better for her, and she might instead die of anger.
Li Tong’er stood up by herself before Chu Jiu could help her up.
However, this time, her eyes did not look in the direction of Long Yang.
She was practically running away toward her living quarters.
Chu Jiu did not give chase when she saw this.
Li Tong’er might learn to act more wisely after going through this.
Lu Liangwei weighed the box with her hand and asked, “Did Aunt Lu use this box of golden leaves to bribe you?”
Chu Jiu nodded. “I accidentally discovered her. She was probably afraid that I would report her to you, so she tried to bribe me with this box of golden leaves.” Chu Jiu did not hide anything. She talked about the bribe casually, as if talking about the weather.