When the Puppet Emperor Becomes a Heartthrob - Chapter 10

How truly filthy. His heart is truly filthy.

Should he not have pretended to be more worried about the young Emperor’s safety than the assassin?

Xi Huai felt indignant inside, and the way he looked at Li Wan began to feel quite wrong.

He picked up a spoon and handed it to Li Wan. “You have worked hard, A-Wan. You take the first bite.”

“A-Wan?”

Li Wan’s body stiffened. The way she looked at him was distorted, carrying an indescribable, complex emotion.

Complexity was good; that was exactly what he wanted—to disgust her. “What is wrong? I want to be closer to you. Is it not okay to call you that?”

However, what Xi Huai did not know was that his voice was soft, like cotton candy sold at a market, as if it would melt easily if held on the lips.

The young Emperor tilted his head, a look of confusion on his youthful face. His eyes were flushed at the corners, like red plum blossoms in winter, blooming with a vivid, crimson hue.

Although his appearance was the same as before, the Emperor at this moment was like a fragile little rabbit, sitting before him without any defense, looking inexplicably pleasing to the eye.

Until he saw a faint blue mark on his fair, tender neck.

Li Wan narrowed her eyes, leaned over, and took the spoon into her mouth. She pursed her crimson lips and swallowed the hot soup from the spoon.

It was a gesture only intended for intimate people, but Li Wan was terrifyingly natural, even sticking out her pink tongue because it was hot.

Xi Huai trembled, nearly dropping the spoon. He was so shy that his earlobes burned from such a seductive gesture.

It seems there is no poison in the food.

Li Wan raised a gentle smile and said, “Call me whatever you wish, Your Majesty. It is just…”

She paused, words trailing off. Xi Huai looked at this woman in surprise, feeling that she was truly someone who knew how to bend and stretch.

Just as he was about to act out the young Emperor’s tyrannical power to ask what that “just” was, Li Wan reached out and stroked his neck.

“It is just, Your Majesty, what happened here?”

The young woman lowered her eyelashes, her eyes reddening. After a long moment, she let out tears of grievance. “Did Your Majesty favor another woman last night?”

Xi Huai was stunned. He broke out in goosebumps. Sister, you are my only sister, please stop touching my neck for no reason.

He had thought that because she could not poison him, she was going to strangle him. He was scared out of his wits.

This breakfast had been both exhausting and terrifying. He was exhausted to the bone.

Therefore, he had no choice but to feign anger and push Li Wan away, saying in a low voice, “That is all nonsense. My sincerity toward you is witnessed by heaven and earth. This is just a mosquito bite; do not let your imagination run wild.”

Li Wan looked at him suspiciously. “Is that so?”

What is that look in your eyes? Why would it not be?

Xi Huai was furious. What was going on? Whether it was Eunuch De or Consort Li, their focus was skewed to an absurd degree. Were the employees in this palace not doing their jobs, choosing to slack off instead?

He could not balance his emotions. Damn it, these guys are collecting a salary from me, yet they come to question my behavior. They are nothing like me, working without pay, yet still diligently playing the role of the little Emperor.

Xi Huai was reaching his breaking point.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. His already red eyes became even redder. If anyone in the chat group saw him now, they would probably think Xi Huai had transmigrated not into a political intrigue novel, but into a red-eyed obsession romance.

“Do not be angry, Your Majesty.” This woman had keen observation skills; she immediately pressed him down on the bed and said, “Your concubine just likes you too much.”

“I believe in your sincerity, but I cannot help but worry about you. I even thought the mark on your neck was caused by the assassin.”

“Your Majesty, you have not answered me yet. Have you found any trace of the assassin?”

As Li Wan spoke, she again leaned in, looking as if she wanted to kiss and seduce him.

Xi Huai shuddered instantly and rolled to the side, dodging Li Wan’s empty-space attack. Sister, you do not need to make such a sacrifice. A twisted melon is not sweet. I will consider letting your lover go.

While he inwardly mocked Li Wan’s greatness, he started coughing on the surface. He grabbed Li Wan’s hand, intending to feign a heartfelt confession, but he noticed obvious wounds on Li Wan’s slender fingers.

“Why are your fingers bleeding?”

Li Wan hurriedly pulled her hand back in a panic. “I must have accidentally cut my finger while preparing food for you. You need not worry, Your Majesty.”

You and your lover have wounds in the same place. You two really have become a couple.

What a coincidence.

Xi Huai sensed something strange and was about to speak when the door to the Hall of Mental Cultivation was suddenly pushed open.

“Your Majesty!”

Qin Mingjing’s voice sounded abruptly. He frowned as he looked directly at Li Wan, his eyes filled with emotions even he himself had not noticed.

He had originally been visiting the Emperor with the Grand Secretary, but since no one announced them at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he had rushed in. From a distance, he saw the Emperor being pinned on the bed by the Noble Consort, the two of them intimate and whispering, which caused him to disregard court etiquette and push the door open.

He did not know what was wrong with him, but when he saw the Emperor pressed on the bed by the Consort, his chest felt as if it were being crushed by a giant boulder, heavy and bitter. Finally, all those complex emotions exploded.

“The disaster victims in the North are suffering, and the officials are waiting for the Emperor to discuss state affairs. How can Your Majesty be so… in broad daylight, in broad daylight?”

Qin Mingjing shook his head in disappointment. His righteous appearance left Xi Huai frozen, and he once again felt the fear of being dominated by a teacher.

Especially since the male lead, Sheng Mingyue, was behind him. Wait, why did you bring the male lead? Since when did you two get together?

Sheng Mingyue looked at the scene with amusement and helpfully added in a friendly tone, “Indulging in lust in broad daylight.”

Xi Huai: “…”

Xi Huai was wrongly accused. He finally understood what a social death was!

However, he quickly gathered himself and shouted in a furious, exasperated tone:

“Insolent! Who gave you permission to barge into the Hall of Mental Cultivation? As my subjects, do you still have any respect for me in your eyes?”

Qin Mingjing acted as if he had not heard him and said to Li Wan, “I have urgent matters to discuss with His Majesty. Please step aside, Consort.”

“So, you know you are a subject,” Xi Huai said, feigning fury, and kicked Qin Mingjing hard.

Qin Mingjing did not budge.

Xi Huai: “…”

Xi Huai, as weak as a sickly dog, was deeply jealous of Qin Mingjing’s physique. “General Qin, do you think I dare not kill you?”

The atmosphere turned quiet, and the smell of gunpowder filled the air. Li Wan turned slightly, appearing to have thoughts of leaving.

The next moment, Li Wan truly spoke with a lotus-like tone: “Your Majesty, General Qin meant nothing by it. He is only worried about you.”

“Who asked him to worry about me?” Xi Huai feigned disgust, wondering how Li Wan knew he had blocked the sword for Qin Mingjing, as there had been no one else there.

Suspicion surged in his heart, but he said, “You have not even found the assassin, yet you have the nerve to worry about me.”

At these words, Li Wan’s body stiffened. Xi Huai did not notice the sudden flash of guilt on her face.

But soon, Li Wan’s face showed a look of sadness. She choked out, “Whatever Your Majesty says, so it is. Since Your Majesty has other important matters, I will take my leave.”

Saying this, she turned and left.

However, when she passed by Sheng Mingyue, her footsteps faltered.

The movement was slight, but Xi Huai saw it—the gaze exchanged between them.

In an instant, sparks flew; a beautiful romance had emerged.

Heh, the first meeting between the leads, their eyes are practically stringing together.

Flaunting your affection in front of me, have you forgotten your lover?

Tsk tsk tsk. Li Wan casually withdrew her gaze and walked away with a graceful, swaying posture and light steps, her figure gradually moving into the distance.

Xi Huai then glanced at Qin Mingjing and said coldly, “General Qin, the Noble Consort has left. What do you wish to say?”

“Your Majesty, please forgive me.” Qin Mingjing knelt, repeatedly asking for forgiveness, but his expression remained firm; he refused to admit he was wrong.

“I do not understand what exactly you are angry about.” Xi Huai was speechless. Do not think I cannot tell that he is angry.

Who knew that as soon as the words left his mouth, Qin Mingjing went stiff.

His face turned ashen, and the look he cast toward Xi Huai was one of disbelief.

Was he angry?

But Li Wan was the Emperor’s concubine; their intimacy was perfectly normal. As a subject, he did not think he had any right to be angry.

He did not understand why his emotions had been fluctuating ever since he met Sheng Mingyue at the morning court. As he pondered this, he suddenly heard a pfft sound.

A gentle and refined voice came from behind him. The young Emperor, who had just been full of rage, softened his expression: “Teacher, do not laugh.”

“…Your Majesty?”

“Alright, General Qin, the Emperor is not angry.” Sheng Mingyue pulled him up, his eyes looking unblinkingly at the young Emperor on the bed, as if he knew everything about what had just happened.

Even though the Grand Secretary had remained neutral since entering the government, never having private dealings with any official, their tone now was intimate, as if they had reached a consensus in the shadows.

Thinking of this, Qin Mingjing felt his heart swallowed by a sense of absurdity.

Xi Huai saw the confusion in Qin Mingjing’s eyes but did not explain. Instead, he said to Sheng Mingyue, “Teacher, Qin Mingjing is an old acquaintance of mine; he is trustworthy.”

Sheng Mingyue smiled, his voice terrifyingly rational: “General Qin is an honest man with many opportunities, but every step Your Majesty takes is like walking on thin ice.”

The implication was that he had no room for error.

Xi Huai naturally understood, which was why he said, “It is precisely because of this that I need such a subject by my side, is it not?”

The boy was not wearing his dragon robe at the moment; his attire was plain, his hair loose, with black hair cascading to his waist, making him look somewhat lazy.

Yet, unlike the rage he showed in the past, the posture he displayed at this moment was as rational and clear as water.

Even though his cheeks were still flushed red from his illness and he was panting with heat, his voice remained firm and powerful.

“I am worried that you will meet with disaster if you go to the North. I have no one else to rely on; only Qin Mingjing can protect you.”

Even those eyes that had once only known how to seek pleasure seemed to be ignited by a flame now. He was burning; he was burning his own life force.

The sparks would eventually be extinguished, but even so, he stubbornly expressed his inner thoughts, “I just want you to return safely, Teacher. Am I wrong?”

Was he wrong?

He was not wrong.

No one could bear to call him wrong.

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