Hua Manman had to stifle a laugh at his little expression.
She said, feigning difficulty.
"I’m afraid not. Your father is so tall, he must eat a lot. We can’t afford to feed him."
Though Li Xun really disliked his rotten father, deep down, he still wanted his family to be together.
With a woeful expression, he said.
"Then I’ll go tell my father to eat less in the future."
It took all of Hua Manman’s willpower not to burst out laughing.
’Oh my god, this kid is just too adorable!’
She pretended to be thinking seriously.
"Well, that’s not entirely out of the question.
Tell you what, you go back to your father for tonight, and let me think it over.
When I’ve thought it through, I’ll give you my answer, okay?"
Li Xun looked at her pitifully.
He still didn’t want to leave.
Hua Manman patted his little head. "You know where I live now.
If you want to see me in the future, you can come find me here anytime.
So what are you still worried about?"
Li Xun asked nervously.
"You won’t leave again, will you?"
Hua Manman: "I won’t."
’At least, I won’t be leaving anytime soon.’
She held out her pinky. "I won’t lie to you. If you don’t believe me, we can make a pinky promise."
Li Xun extended his own pinky and hooked it around his mother’s.
Hua Manman said with a smile, "Pinky promise. For a hundred years, no take-backs!"
Li Xun repeated, word by word.
"For a hundred years, no take-backs."
The two of them unhooked their fingers.
Hua Manman had Ban Ren send the child home.
Li Xun kept looking back as he walked, clearly reluctant to leave.
Hua Manman stood at the entrance, watching him until he was out of sight.
Li Xun returned to the Regent Prince Mansion.
Li Ji was sitting on the veranda, enjoying the cool evening air. Seeing his son return, he remarked casually,
"Look who decided to come back."
The moment Li Xun saw his father, he remembered how the man had tricked him.
His cheeks puffed out with anger, and he angrily charged at his father.
Li Ji reacted quickly, putting a hand on his son’s head to stop him.
"What do you think you’re doing?"
Li Xun flailed his little arms, trying desperately to hit his father. But he was too short and his arms were too stubby; he couldn’t reach him no matter how hard he tried.
He yelled in exasperation.
"Father, you knew Mother was coming back tonight, why didn’t you tell me?"
Li Ji didn’t answer but asked back, "Why should I have told you?"
Li Xun: "Because I’m your son!"
Li Ji said coolly.
"You’re my son, and you dare to hit me? Do you know what that’s called? It’s called gross insubordination."
Li Xun’s eyes reddened with frustration. "Then I’ll be insubordinate! I’m going to hit you!
Why did you deliberately hide it from me? You made me look like a fool in front of Mother! You’re a big jerk!"
Li Ji sneered, "If I’m a big jerk, you’re a little jerk."
Unable to land a punch or win the argument, Li Xun howled in frustration.
"I’m going to tell Mother on you! I’ll tell her you bullied me!"
Li Ji raised an eyebrow. "You think your mother can do anything to me? I am the head of this family. Even your mother has to listen to me."
Li Xun forcefully shook off the large hand on his head and cursed viciously.
"I hate you!"
After spitting out the words, he dashed away.
「Inside the Yu Royal Mansion, just a wall away.」
It took Hua Manman a great deal of effort to wash the powder and rouge off her face. Her face finally returned to its fair, rosy complexion.
The makeup had been so thick that the water in the basin had turned milky white.
Jiao Gui took away the clothes the Princely Heir had changed out of and couldn’t help but mutter.
"You have so many nice clothes, why did you have to pick this outfit?"
’No matter how handsome her Young Master was, even he couldn’t pull off such a disastrous outfit.’
Hua Manman flopped onto the bed and began to spout nonsense with a straight face.
"You don’t understand. This is the only way I can leave a deep impression on the Regent King.
Think about it.
So many people want to curry favor with the Regent King. Why would he single me out for his attention?
Isn’t it because I’m more distinctive than others? More memorable?
What I need to do now is deepen his memory of me.
So that from now on, whenever he sees the color green, he’ll think of me."
Jiao Gui: "..."
’It sounded reasonable, but something about it felt off.’
KNOCK KNOCK.
There was a knock on the door.
Jiao Gui ran to open the door and found Mr. Du standing outside.
Mr. Du walked into the room, bowed to the Princely Heir, and said politely.
"Young Master, there are a few things I’d like to discuss with you."
Hua Manman gestured for him to sit wherever he liked.
"What is it you wanted to say, Mr. Du?"
Mr. Du: "It’s nothing urgent. It’s just that before our departure, Prince Yu specifically instructed me to send a letter home once we arrived in Shangjing. It’s to assure him and your mother that we are safe. If you have a moment tomorrow, could you please write it? I will arrange for someone to send it back as soon as possible."
Hua Manman nodded and agreed.
Mr. Du hesitated. "Also, about the Regent King..."
Hua Manman was puzzled. "What about the Regent King?"
Mr. Du: "The Regent King seems to be paying you particular attention recently. And his son seems to like you very much.
This is a good thing. You can use this opportunity to get closer to them and secure a good future for yourself."
Hua Manman responded lazily.
"Let’s talk about these things later. I’m tired and I want to sleep."
Mr. Du sighed.
"There are some things you may not know. The Yu Royal Mansion is not in a good position right now.
The Saint has always wanted to reduce the power of the Vassal Kings, but he has been held back for various reasons.
Now, using the relocation of the capital as a pretext, the Regent King has summoned all the heirs of the Vassal Kings to the capital.
It’s very likely he wants to use the heirs as hostages to control the Vassal Kings, making it easier to reduce their power in the future.
If you can gain the Regent King’s support at this time...
...it would be a great help to both you and the Yu Royal Mansion."
Having said all this, he was basically speaking from the heart.
But Hua Manman still had that lazy look, seemingly unmoved.
Seeing this, Mr. Du didn’t press the matter further and quietly took his leave.
Hua Manman looked out at the night, lost in thought.
Jiao Gui reminded her.
"The bed is made, Young Master. Are you going to sleep?"
Hua Manman yawned.
She got up and walked towards the bed, asking casually,
"Why was I so unwilling to come to Shangjing in the first place?"
Jiao Gui hesitated for a moment, but still answered truthfully.
"I don’t know the specific reason either.
I only know that you were always very resistant to going to Shangjing.
You even said that Shangjing was very dangerous, and if you went, you might not be able to come back.
You argued with the Prince several times over it, but the Prince refused to change his mind.
In a fit of anger and frustration, you ran away from home."
Hua Manman lay down on the bed.
’It seems Lu Man must have known about the plan to reduce the vassals’ power.’
’She didn’t want to go to the capital to be a hostage. That’s why she was so against going to Shangjing, to the point of running away from home.’
’I don’t want to be a hostage either.’
’I need to find a way to sound out the Regent King. I have to see how the Saint truly views us Princes.’