Li Residence
“My lord, it is time for your meal.” Chang Bai placed the food on the table.
“Chang Bai, just leave it there!” Li Chen Xuan said without looking up.
“My lord, you haven’t eaten all day. Please, have at least a little!” Chang Bai urged.
Li Chen Xuan looked up, his handsome face etched with a touch of weariness. “Leave it, I don’t wish to eat.”
Chang Bai placed the food on the table, then suddenly remembered something and said, “My lord, I’ve heard some whispers.”
“What news?” Li Chen Xuan asked.
Chang Bai lowered his voice, “I heard that Beijiang City has reinforcements and was not wiped out.”
Li Chen Xuan’s body trembled, and he stood up, his expression agitated. He stepped forward and asked, “Is it true?”
Chang Bai replied, “However, its truth remains to be verified.”
Li Chen Xuan shook his head, “It must be true. After all, there’s no smoke without fire.”
“My lord, it seems the message you sent was useful,” Chang Bai said.
Li Chen Xuan paused, a complex emotion flickering across his face.
At that moment, a voice from outside announced, “Lord Li, His Majesty summons you to the palace to accompany him.”
Li Chen Xuan’s hands clenched tightly beneath his sleeves, his face turning pale.
Seeing this, Chang Bai felt a surge of anger but still said, “Please, official, give my lord a moment to freshen up.”
“Then my lord should hasten. His Majesty is not in a good mood today,” the eunuch’s voice came from outside.
“Yes,” Chang Bai replied.
Chang Bai stepped forward and said softly, “My lord, it is time to change your clothes.”
Li Chen Xuan looked up, his face even paler, a hint of anger now visible in his eyes, which were filled with hatred.
“My lord…” Chang Bai called out worriedly.
Li Chen Xuan gritted out a few words, “Change my clothes.”
“Yes, my lord,” Chang Bai said.
The door opened, and Li Chen Xuan emerged, clad in white. The eunuch, seeing him, stepped forward with a smile, “Lord Li, His Majesty has been waiting for a long time.”
Li Chen Xuan got into the carriage expressionlessly. As the curtains were lowered, the eunuch’s expression turned cold. “Move.”
From the shadows, Xue Zi Ning emerged. Watching the carriage depart, she narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. Feng Jiu walked up to her and asked, “It’s so late, why is Xue Chang An summoning Lord Li?”
“To serve,” Xue Zi Ning stated, word by word.
“Serve…” Feng Jiu trembled, looking at her with disbelief.
Xue Zi Ning turned and looked up at the plaque on the Li residence. The characters for 'Li' were personally bestowed by her.
“Your Majesty, this…”
“Enter the palace…” Xue Zi Ning headed towards the imperial palace without looking back.
Feng Jiu followed closely.
The carriage proceeded directly into the imperial palace, arriving at Chang An Palace, Xue Chang An’s royal chambers.
Xue Zi Ning and Feng Jiu leaped onto the rooftops of Xue Chang An’s chambers, hidden in the darkness.
The carriage stopped outside Chang An Palace. The eunuch said, “Lord Li has arrived. Alight from the carriage!”
The curtain was lifted, and the eunuch waited for Li Chen Xuan to emerge.
When no one appeared after a long while, the eunuch’s expression soured, and he urged again, “Lord Li, we have arrived.”
After a long pause, a white figure slowly emerged. He looked towards the sky, his expression filled with an ineffable loneliness.
“Lord Li, quickly. His Majesty does not have the patience of this old servant,” the eunuch said expressionlessly.
Li Chen Xuan glanced at the eunuch and said faintly, “Is that so? Then I shall wait a moment longer to see who His Majesty punishes first, shall I?”
The eunuch’s face changed. “Lord Li, please do not joke with me. I cannot afford such a jest.”
“I am not joking with you,” Li Chen Xuan said coldly.
Upon hearing this, the eunuch, terrified, quickly knelt on the ground. “Lord Li, this servant knows his mistake. I implore Lord Li to be magnanimous and forgive this servant.”
Li Chen Xuan did not even glance at the eunuch and walked into Chang An Palace.
The eunuch looked up at Li Chen Xuan’s retreating back and sneered, “Just someone who serves with their looks.”
Li Chen Xuan entered Chang An Palace and knelt on the ground. “This subject greets His Majesty.”
“Come here,” a voice called from within.
Li Chen Xuan stood up and walked inside. The curtain was opened, and another voice said, “All of you, withdraw.”
The palace maids on either side retreated.
“Come closer,” the voice called again.
Li Chen Xuan remained expressionless, but his hands beneath his sleeves clenched tightly.
However, he hesitated no longer and stepped forward.
“Lift your head.”
He slowly opened his closed eyes and raised his head. Before him, a woman lay reclining, clad in sheer gauze. In the dim candlelight, her skin beneath was visible.
He turned his head away.
“Look at朕,” Xue Chang An said to Li Chen Xuan.
Li Chen Xuan replied, “Your Majesty, please command what you wish.”
“朕 wants you to look at 朕.”
Li Chen Xuan turned his head, only to see Xue Chang An shedding the last piece of gauze, revealing her skin.
“Your Majesty, it is cold. You should wear more,” Li Chen Xuan said, taking off his outer robe and draping it over Xue Chang An.
Xue Chang An leaned into Li Chen Xuan’s embrace, whispering, “Li Lang, hold me.”
A flicker of disgust crossed Li Chen Xuan’s face, but he complied.
Xue Chang An reached out to unfasten his robe, but Li Chen Xuan caught her hand.
Xue Chang An looked up. “What? You won’t let 朕 touch you?”
“I will do it myself,” Li Chen Xuan said expressionlessly.
Xue Chang An did not insist. She released his hand, moved away from his embrace, and got onto the bed, reclining on her side. “Li Lang, come.”
Li Chen Xuan slowly shed his robes, standing there without any further intention.
Xue Chang An watched him and said faintly, “Do you want to know about Beijiang City?”
Li Chen Xuan’s body trembled, and he looked up at Xue Chang An.
Xue Chang An chuckled softly, her laughter laced with irony. “Everything you know is what 朕 wants you to know. Li Chen Xuan, what do you want to know?”
Li Chen Xuan looked at her and asked, “What does Your Majesty want me to know?”
“Please 朕, and 朕 will tell you,” Xue Chang An said slowly.
Li Chen Xuan was stunned. He raised his head, then lowered it, asking, “Your Majesty, why go through all this? You do not desire me in your heart, so why trouble yourself?”
Xue Chang An’s gaze turned cold upon hearing this. “What? You don’t want to please 朕? Do you need to concern yourself with whom 朕 thinks of or sleeps with?”
“This subject means no disrespect.”
Xue Chang An sneered at his words. “朕 knows. The person in your heart has always been Xue Zi Ning, hasn’t he?”
Li Chen Xuan’s entire body trembled, and he looked up at Xue Chang An.
“What? Did 朕 touch upon your deepest feelings? Everything of hers, 朕 wants. Yan Zhao was like that, and so are you,” Xue Chang An said coldly, looking at Li Chen Xuan.
Li Chen Xuan gave a wry smile. “Your Majesty, you are mistaken. She has never had this subject in her heart.”
“So what? 朕 wants to torment and destroy everything she has.”
Xue Chang An stood up and walked to Li Chen Xuan. “Kneel.”
Li Chen Xuan knelt on the ground. Xue Chang An walked forward, picked up a whip from the side, and lashed out.