The trusted aides of the Yu Royal Mansion were well-trained and highly skilled, but they were overwhelmed by the villagers’ sheer numbers and their reckless, do-or-die tactics.
Fortunately, Li Ji arrived with his men just in time.
With their help, the men from the Yu Royal Mansion quickly gained the upper hand.
The villagers were either dead or injured. With no strength left to resist, they were ultimately captured.
The rain gradually subsided.
The trusted aides of the Yu Royal Mansion began to clean up the scene.
Inside the house, Hua Manman sat by the window, draped in a blanket.
Ban Ren stood silently in a corner.
Mr. Du was reporting what had just happened to Li Ji.
"These villagers don’t seem like ordinary people. I suspect they’re a band of mountain bandits hiding here. The Prince could have someone look into it."
Li Ji gave an absentminded reply, his gaze drifting sideways toward the person sitting by the window.
Jiao Gui walked in carrying a tray.
She distributed the freshly brewed ginger tea to everyone.
Li Ji took the ginger tea but didn’t drink it, instead placing it casually on a nearby table.
Hua Manman took the tea bowl from Jiao Gui’s hands.
Jiao Gui offered a word of caution.
"Be careful, it’s hot."
Hua Manman blew on the ginger tea, then brought it to her lips and began to drink it in small sips.
Just then, she suddenly heard the Regent King ask a question.
"You are the Princely Heir of the Yu Royal Mansion?"
The voice was cold and hard.
It startled Hua Manman so much that her hand trembled, nearly spilling the ginger tea from her bowl.
Jiao Gui quickly took the tea bowl from her and asked with concern.
"You didn’t burn yourself, did you?"
Hua Manman shook her head. "I’m fine."
Mr. Du chose this moment to make the introduction. "Prince, this is indeed the Young Master of our Prince Mansion."
But Li Ji merely shot him a cold glance.
"This Prince wasn’t asking you."
Mr. Du had no choice but to fall silent, giving the Young Master a look that said, ’You’re on your own.’
Hua Manman could tell this Regent Prince was not an easy man to deal with.
Not daring to be disrespectful, she stood and bowed to him.
"I am Lu Man of the Yu Royal Mansion. Thank you for coming to our rescue, Regent Prince."
Li Ji sized her up from head to toe, his gaze finally resting on her face.
Her features were somewhat similar to Manman’s, but not entirely the same.
Li Ji couldn’t be sure if this was the person he was looking for.
He stared into her eyes and asked.
"Was it you who wrote to this Prince for help?"
Hua Manman didn’t know why he would ask such a question.
She nodded honestly.
"Yes."
Even after her direct admission, Li Ji still couldn’t fully believe her words.
Many people knew of his obsessive longing for his deceased Princess Consort, and that he was willing to do anything to bring her back to life.
Over the years, many people had taken advantage of this vulnerability.
They sought to exploit his feelings for Manman, deliberately getting close to him to gain his trust and then manipulate his words and actions.
Fortunately, Li Ji had the Mind Reading Technique.
He could see their intentions as clear as day.
Anyone who tried to use Manman to get close to him was dealt with swiftly and decisively.
These numerous precedents had made Li Ji increasingly guarded.
But he couldn’t possibly give up on any clue related to Manman.
Therefore, he had to carefully verify the authenticity of anyone possibly connected to Manman, giving them no opportunity to exploit his weakness.
Li Ji had someone bring a brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone, and place them in front of Lu Man.
"Write any poem for this Prince to see."
Hua Manman froze.
’W-write what poem?’
Li Ji urged impatiently.
"Any poem will do. Write it, now!"
Hua Manman still wanted to refuse.
But the next moment, she saw the man draw the sword from his waist.
The blade, glinting with a cold light, was pressed against Hua Manman’s neck.
Li Ji looked at her coldly, his voice laced with killing intent.
"Write!"
Jiao Gui was so scared she trembled uncontrollably.
Mr. Du immediately cried out, "Prince, please be merciful!"
Ban Ren had also taken a stance, ready to jump in and save her at any moment.
The atmosphere in the room instantly grew taut with tension.
It was as if blood would be spilled on the spot in the next moment.
Hua Manman said hurriedly.
"I’ll write! I’ll write! I’ll write, alright?!"
She snatched the brush and, without a second thought, swiftly wrote two lines—
On dieting, I always renege,
On chowing down, I always pledge.
After she finished writing, she tossed the brush aside, hugged her head, and sat back down, cowering like an oversized quail.
’It’s not that she couldn’t write poetry.’
’She might not know all of the Three Hundred Tang Poems, but she remembered at least two or three.’
’But what if someone asked where she had read those lines?’
’She wouldn’t be able to answer.’
’And she couldn’t shamelessly claim she had written the poem herself.’
’So she could only use her old social media signature to get by.’
Li Ji sheathed his sword.
He looked at the two lines on the paper and fell into a long silence.
Whether it was the handwriting or this... hard-to-describe poetic talent, it all felt intensely familiar.
Mr. Du was very curious and couldn’t help but lean over to take a look.
But after he saw what was written on the paper, his expression became quite peculiar; it was as if he wanted to laugh but couldn’t.
After a long while, Li Ji finally spoke again.
His voice was even deeper than before, and it held an added, indefinable complexity.
"Why are you hanging your head?"
Hua Manman fabricated a random reason. "My head hurts."
The crisis was over. Jiao Gui came to her senses and quickly asked with concern.
"Did you fall ill from the cold? This servant will go find a doctor for you right away."
Hua Manman quickly stopped her.
"There’s no need."
’If a doctor came, her excuse would be exposed immediately.’
’Life is already so difficult; some things are better left unsaid.’
She looked up then, and Li Ji could finally see her eyes.
Li Ji seized the opportunity to ask.
"Who did you learn your calligraphy from?"
He stared intently into her eyes, waiting for her answer.
’How the hell would I know who I learned it from? Can’t a guy just be born knowing how?!’
On the surface, she put on an obedient and honest expression.
"I’m sorry, I don’t seem to remember."
Jiao Gui helped explain, "The Young Master suffered a head injury. After he woke up, he couldn’t remember many things. We hope the Regent Prince will understand."
Li Ji frowned. "Amnesia?"
Hua Manman nodded like a bobblehead.
"Yes, yes, I have amnesia!"
’So please stop asking me all these weird questions.’
’I really can’t answer them!’
After that, no matter what Li Ji asked, Hua Manman’s answer was always some variation of "I don’t know" or "I don’t remember."
She clung to the excuse of amnesia and refused to let go.
It wasn’t until a trusted aide ran in to report that everything outside had been cleaned up that Li Ji’s interrogation finally came to an end.
By now, it was dark, so they had no choice but to spend the night in the village.
Hua Manman changed into a set of clean clothes.
She lay in bed, staring blankly at the beams overhead.
’The moment the Regent King appeared today, my heart had beaten with unusual intensity.’
’It was as if something was about to break through its shackles, to emerge from its cocoon.’
’The feeling was too foreign; I couldn’t understand the reason for it.’
’Could it be I had fallen in love with the Regent King at first sight?’
’But that’s not right.’
’After that, my heartbeat returned to normal, and I didn’t feel anything like blushing or nervousness when facing the Regent King.’
’It didn’t seem like I was romantically interested at all.’
Hua Manman couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
’Oh, whatever.’
’If I can’t figure it out, I’ll just stop thinking about it.’
’I’ll worry about tomorrow’s troubles tomorrow.’
’First, I’ll get some sleep!’