Li Ji: "I previously mentioned sparring with the Princely Heir, but she adamantly refused. I had no choice but to resort to this."
Hua Manman: "..."
’How could he blame this on me?!’
’This body shouldn’t be called Lu Man. It should be called Dou E!’
Li Ji watched her with a half-smile.
"Speaking of which, didn’t the Princely Heir say you’d lost your memory? How is it you still remember your martial arts moves?"
Hua Manman didn’t know why she knew martial arts either.
She said drily, "It’s probably because I learned martial arts before. Even with amnesia, my body still remembers the moves."
Li Ji stared into her eyes and pressed on.
"That makes me even more curious. Why are your martial arts moves so similar to mine? Who taught you?"
Hua Manman was stumped.
’She knew nothing about martial arts, so how would she know that some moves were similar to others?’
At that moment, Ban Ren, who had been silent the whole time, stepped forward.
He took the initiative and admitted, "I was the one who taught the Young Master his horsemanship and archery."
Without another word, Li Ji attacked him!
Ban Ren was no fool; he wasn’t about to just stand there and take a beating. He immediately counterattacked.
The two exchanged a few blows.
Li Ji pulled back and retreated, looking coldly at Ban Ren before stating decisively,
"Your martial arts moves are completely different from the Princely Heir’s. You couldn’t be her teacher."
Ban Ren frowned. "That’s impossible."
He had personally taught the Young Master his martial arts. While their moves might not be identical, they should have been at least seventy or eighty percent similar.
Li Ji couldn’t be bothered to waste his breath arguing.
’In any case, his test had already given him the answer.’
’This Lu Man before him wasn’t the real Lu Man at all.’
’Her martial arts moves were a carbon copy of his own.’
’That was a result that could only be achieved if he had taught her personally, move by move.’
’More importantly, her reaction when he called her name just now couldn’t be faked.’
’Hua Manman was her real name.’
’Combining this with his previous observations, the answer was about to burst forth—’
’She wasn’t Lu Man at all.’
’She was the person he had been searching for all this time!’
The thought that the person he had longed for for so long was standing right in front of him made Li Ji’s heart swell with a bittersweet ache.
He had so much he wanted to say to her. He wanted to ask where she had been these past few years. He wanted to know why she had a different face. And he wanted to find out why she didn’t remember him anymore.
But when the words reached his lips, he forced them back down.
’Now wasn’t the time to say these things.’
’Too many people were watching.’
’He had to find a chance to be alone with her.’
Li Ji forcefully suppressed the surging emotions in his chest. His dark eyes gazed at Manman, his voice slightly low and hoarse.
"This place is uninhabitable tonight. Would the Princely Heir like to make do at my place for a night?"
Hua Manman rejected the offer without a second thought.
"Thank you, but there’s no need. I’ll just have someone prepare another room."
’Knowing the man in front of her wanted to kill her, she’d have to be crazy to walk right into his clutches!’
Li Ji heard her thoughts.
He wanted to tell her that he wasn’t trying to kill her.
He had only been testing her skills just now.
But seeing the look on her face, he knew she wouldn’t believe him even if he told her.
He could only remind her in a deep voice,
"It’s already so late. By the time another room is ready, it’ll be dawn."
Mr. Du spoke up at the opportune moment.
"The Princely Heir can take my room. I can just sleep on the floor."
Li Ji gave him a chilling look. "Oh? So your relationship with the Princely Heir is so good that you can sleep in the same room now?"
Mr. Du: "..."
’Why did that sound so awkward?!’
Hua Manman: "If it really comes to it, I’ll just make do in the carriage."
Li Ji: "Did you not get enough of the carriage during the day?"
Hua Manman really wanted to ask him.
’Doesn’t he have any self-awareness at all about why I’m being forced to sleep in a carriage?!’
Hua Manman put on a fake, insincere smile.
"Even though it’s still a carriage, there’s a difference between day and night.
At night, I can sit in the carriage and look at the stars and the moon. I can also chat with Jiao Gui about everything from poetry to the philosophy of life."
Li Ji followed her gaze to the barely noticeable Jiao Gui and asked coldly,
"Do you know anything about poetry or the philosophy of life?"
Jiao Gui trembled under his sharp gaze.
"N-No, I don’t."
Hua Manman looked at her with utter disappointment.
’Why is she so honest?’
’Even if you don’t know, you can pretend you do!’
Hua Manman said stubbornly, "It doesn’t matter if I can’t chat with anyone. I can still look at the stars and the moon."
Li Ji said unhurriedly,
"If you want to look at the stars and the moon, you’ll have to open the carriage window.
When you do, a lot of mosquitoes and other bugs will fly in.
If you had some Wind Oil Essence, you might be able to last for a while.
But your Wind Oil Essence is with me."
Hua Manman: "Damn..."
Li Ji raised an eyebrow, his gaze dangerous.
Hua Manman: "...delions are a type of plant. We should all take good care of them."
In the end, Hua Manman was still forced to stay in Li Ji’s room.
Jiao Gui moved in with Manman.
Originally, Hua Manman had planned to sleep on the floor with Jiao Gui.
But Li Ji simply picked her up and tossed her onto the bed.
Li Ji: "You take the bed. I’ll sleep on the floor."
Jiao Gui was terrified.
’Then what about her?’
Li Ji pointed to the door. "You go sleep in the carriage."
Jiao Gui said, trembling, "If this servant leaves, there will be no one to attend to the Young Master."
Li Ji: "If she needs anything, I will call for you."
Jiao Gui: "But..."
Li Ji’s face darkened. "No ’buts’. Get out!"
Hua Manman quickly lunged forward to hug Jiao Gui, shouting,
"Jiao Gui can’t leave!"
’If Jiao Gui left, she would be alone in the room with the Regent King.’
’The Regent King had just tried to kill her. If the two of them were really left alone in a room, she was afraid she wouldn’t live to see the morning sun!’
Jiao Gui didn’t want to leave either.
’The Regent King before her didn’t look like a good person. She didn’t dare leave him alone with the Young Master.’
Li Ji looked at the two of them clinging to each other in a tight ball and suddenly felt like he was the third wheel.
His expression grew even uglier.
"What are you afraid of? It’s not like I eat people."
Hua Manman muttered under her breath, "You might not eat people, but you kill them."
Li Ji: "I was just testing your skills earlier. I wasn’t really trying to kill you."
’As if Hua Manman would believe his nonsense!’
She held onto Jiao Gui for dear life, refusing to let go, all while clamoring,
"If Jiao Gui goes, I’m going with her!"
Jiao Gui felt the Regent King’s gaze on her suddenly turn incredibly fierce.
It made her feel as if she were sitting on pins and needles, deeply uneasy.
But for the sake of protecting the Young Master’s safety, Jiao Gui gritted her teeth and didn’t back down.
Li Ji desperately wanted to tear the two of them apart and throw Jiao Gui out.
But reason told him he couldn’t do that.
’He had already left a very bad impression on Manman.’
’If he used brute force again, her resistance toward him would surely intensify.’