Hua Manman: "The Regent King personally invited me to be his guest. Of course, I must dress elaborately to be worthy of his great favor."
Mr. Du spoke with difficulty.
"But I do not believe the Regent Prince will like your attire."
A little figure in Hua Manman’s mind was laughing triumphantly.
’Ohohoho!’
’That was the whole point! I dressed this way precisely because I knew the Regent King wouldn’t like it!’
’If I can’t scare him to death, I’ll sicken him!’
’He’ll never want to see me again!’
Hua Manman said theatrically.
"How could he not? I’m dressed so festively. The Regent Prince is sure to love it, hehehehe!"
After speaking, she deliberately posed with her fingers in a delicate orchid shape and laughed until her whole body shook.
Mr. Du: "..."
’Please stop laughing. The powder on your face is flaking off again.’
Hua Manman walked gleefully to the main gate of the Regent Prince Mansion.
The gatekeeper had long since received his orders. Knowing this was an honored guest of the Regent King, he hurried to open the gate and welcome them.
But when he got a clear look at the honored guest, the gatekeeper jumped back in shock.
’Heavens above, the sun just set! How am I seeing a ghost already?!’
Seeing the gatekeeper’s reaction, the little figure in Hua Manman’s mind began to rub its hands together. ’I can’t wait to see how the Regent King reacts.’
Inside the Prince Mansion, Li Ji had just walked into the front courtyard when he saw Hua Manman.
He froze for a moment when he got a clear look at her outfit.
’Why is she dressed like such a fright today?’
Hua Manman deliberately struck an affected pose and spoke in a theatrical, high-pitched voice.
"Greetings, Regent Prince."
Mr. Du and Ban Ren, standing behind her, bowed their heads in salute.
Neither of them dared to look up at the Regent King’s expression.
The dazzling emerald green of Hua Manman’s outfit made Li Ji’s eyes hurt.
He frowned. "Why are you dressed like this?"
Hua Manman giggled, covering her mouth and deliberately crooking her little finger, her laughter utterly effeminate.
"This is my favorite outfit. I can hardly bear to wear it on a normal day. I wore it especially for my visit to your home tonight. Isn’t it just beautiful?"
The little figure in her mind placed its hands on its hips and roared with laughter.
’Hahaha!’
’Take that! This is for giving me a hard time and ambushing me in the middle of the night!’
’Let’s see if this doesn’t sicken you to death!’
Li Ji heard her inner thoughts loud and clear.
’So, she’s doing this on purpose.’
A faint smile played on his lips.
’If she wants to act, then I’ll play along.’
Li Ji nodded. "It is indeed quite fetching. It suits your disposition perfectly."
Hua Manman thought she must have misheard.
’That damned man actually complimented my outfit?’
’Is he being sarcastic?’
’But judging by his expression, he seems serious!’
It wasn’t just Hua Manman; Mr. Du and Ban Ren, who were standing behind her, were also astonished.
They had imagined many possible scenarios before coming here.
For example, the Regent King being so repulsed by the Young Master that he’d lose his appetite.
Or the Regent King being so disgusted he would storm off.
Or even the Regent King ordering his men to throw the Young Master out on the spot.
And so on and so forth.
They were prepared to step in and save him at a moment’s notice, but they never expected the Regent King to actually compliment the Young Master’s clothes.
’It’s so offensively ugly, how the hell can he bring himself to praise it?’
’It’s utterly mind-boggling!’
Hua Manman quickly snapped out of it.
’He must be bluffing. I can’t let his empty pleasantries fool me.’
"Thank you for your praise, Your Highness."
She gave a bashful smile, and more powder began to flake from her face.
Li Ji couldn’t help but ask, "Where did you buy your makeup?"
Hua Manman hadn’t expected such a question. She paused for a moment before answering.
"At Xinyue Pavilion, in the city."
Li Ji offered a sincere suggestion.
"Their makeup isn’t very good. You should switch to another brand in the future.
I’ve heard the cosmetics from Ning Cui House are quite nice. Many ladies and young misses in the capital love to use them.
I’ll have someone buy some and send them to you later."
Hua Manman: "..."
’This is wrong.’
’This isn’t going the way I planned!’
’Why isn’t that damned man grossed out!’
’Why is he even giving me makeup advice?’
’He’s going completely off-script! How am I supposed to keep up this act?!’
Li Ji reminded her, "The peony by your temple is a little crooked."
An idea sparked in Hua Manman’s mind.
She reached up, removed the red peony from her hair, and held it out to the Regent King, saying with feigned coyness.
"I came to your home as a guest without a proper gift. This is a flower I just picked. It’s a humble offering, but I hope you won’t despise it."
’Everyone says the Regent King hates people getting close to him.’
’Especially fawning people like me. He’s dealt with every last one of them.’
Hua Manman guessed the damned man would be repulsed, fly into a rage, and order her to be thrown out.
But in the next moment...
She saw the Regent King reach out and take the red peony.
He even lowered his head slightly to smell it.
"It’s quite fragrant. I haven’t received flowers from anyone in a very long time. Thank you."
Hua Manman: ???
Her eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn’t help but ask.
"Do you really like this flower?"
A faint smile touched Li Ji’s lips. "Of course. I like it very much."
Hua Manman desperately wanted to rush forward, grab him by the collar, and demand to know if he’d somehow gotten a copy of her script for the evening. Otherwise, why was his every reaction the complete opposite of what she’d predicted?
’This makes no damn sense!’
Seeing this, Mr. Du and Ban Ren were also stunned speechless.
How could the Regent King, who was rumored to kill without batting an eye, be so amicable tonight?
They were so lost in their shock that they completely failed to notice a small figure hiding behind a nearby pillar.
Li Xun peeked out from behind the pillar.
In the bright moonlight, he could see four people standing in the courtyard.
Judging by their clothes, they all appeared to be men.
But the person in green had a particularly slight and slender frame.
From a distance, their gender was difficult to discern.
But because of the distance, he couldn’t make out their features.
Li Xun immediately marked this person as a primary suspect.
He stared at them with wide, unblinking eyes.
He saw that person deliberately striking seductive poses for his father and even handing over the red flower from their hair.
Even worse, his father actually took the flower!
Li Xun instantly flew into a rage.
’How could Father accept a flower from someone else?’
’This was an outright betrayal of Mother!’
Unable to take it anymore, Li Xun shot out with a WHOOSH.
His target was unmistakable: the person in green.
Although Li Xun was young, he practiced his martial arts every day, making his body far stronger and more powerful than that of an ordinary child.
He charged forward like a little cannonball!
Just as he was about to collide with them, the person seemed to sense something and suddenly turned their head, looking right at him.
In that instant, he saw their face clearly.
Though the person was wearing men’s clothes, their face was the spitting image of his mother’s!