CH 40.2

Chapter 40.2 – Protect Her (2)

The two didn’t bother much about this issue any longer. Lu Qipei herself was actually really open minded; but after this incident, she was thirty percent more vigilant towards others.

Today was a rare time that they could meet each other, and Lu Qipei wanted to ask Qi Yang about many things.

After briefly saying a few words about the speculation about Liu Chen, Lu Qipei asked again, “He schemed against me last night, but how did he end up like that today?” She was obviously quite concerned about this, and continued asking with some expectation, “Did Your Highness send someone to take revenge?”

When she thought about it again after asking that, Lu Qipei thought that it should be impossible. After all, Qi Yang said last night that she would deal with it today, and she was pressing on top of Qi Yang’s body when she fell asleep. Qi Yang shouldn’t have had the chance to give orders to anyone…

Qi Yang shook her head and said, “It wasn’t me. Let’s wait a moment while my people investigate it.”

Lu Qipei didn’t ask anything else, but no matter how she thought about it, what happened to Liu Chen must’ve been connected to her. Then a guess came to her mind in a trance – last night, she took a coachman to the House of Happiness, but accidentally left him there. The coachman was someone that Qi Bo arranged, so he must’ve known about what happened there. Was this his retaliation!?

It wasn’t strange at all to think that Qi Bo was capable of doing such a thing, but it was a strange feeling to have him defend her.

Lu Qipei shook her head and temporarily set aside this guess and the strange feeling in her heart. She had something more important to ask Qi Yang. “Your Highness, I heard a rumor during the banquet with my colleagues yesterday.” She paused as she spoke, pinching her finger while feeling vaguely uneasy. “I heart that the barbarians in the north have established a country, and they have also sent a letter of credence. They said, they said…”

Qi Yang already knew what she was going to ask, so she calmly smiled and said, “It’s true that there was a letter of credence. Royal Father never announced the content of the letter of credence to the public, but I might as well tell you. The letter of credence did mention the matter of marriage alliance, but Royal Father does not agree to it.”

Lu Qipei’s heart went through down and up in a short moment, and at the end she looked relieved.

Qi Yang looked at her, and continued, “So Ah Pei, the number of people thinking about me isn’t small. You have to work hard to bring me home as your wife.”

The princess’s mansion was almost finished, and Qi Yang had been thinking about marriage more and more recently. On the other hand, Lu Qipei always looked relaxed. It was rare to see her anxious, so Qi Yang couldn’t help leaving another sentence.

Unexpectedly, as soon as her voice rang out, she saw the person opposite her being visibly depressed. Lu Qipei’s previously relieved expression instantly disappeared, and her eyebrows slightly frowned. She inadvertently showed a pitiful and aggrieved look, as if they had returned to last night.

Qi Yang didn’t know why she was like this, and she was inexplicably worried. She asked, “Why do you have such an expression. Do you not want to marry me?”

Those words were spoken in a somewhat unsatisfied tone.

Of course, Lu Qipei noticed it. She hurriedly reached out and grabbed Qi Yang’s hand, expressing her devotion. “No, no, I want to marry Your Highness. If only I could marry you right now!” After saying that in a hurry, Lu Qipei felt embarrassed. She wanted to let go, but Qi Yang caught her hand again. She finally said angrily, “It’s just, it’s just that His Majesty doesn’t seem to like me.”

Qi Yang was a little surprised to hear that. She had been in the palace lately, how come she never heard that the Emperor had summoned Lu Qipei!?

She was immediately moved by Lu Qipei’s word, and Qi Yang asked in a hurry, “What happened? Tell me.”

There was no way the Emperor would dislike her. She was the champion that the Emperor was very fond of in their previous life; he personally gave her Qi Yang’s hand in marriage and often praised her in private. Although, Qi Yang didn’t know – when a father was about to marry off his daughter, he would always feel a bit uncomfortable inside.

If the Emperor in their previous life knew that the two of them already had a good relationship, even if he would still grant Lu Qipei her hand in marriage, he wouldn’t have praised her so much in front of Qi Yang. Instead, he would’ve felt somewhat disgusted with her1.

Lu Qipei also didn’t understand this facet of how the world worked. She returned to Hanlin Academy from the palace yesterday, but she also couldn’t figure it out after thinking about it all day. Her frowning face made people who saw her afraid that she had done something wrong during her lecture and made the Emperor angry.

Of course that wasn’t what happened, but in Lu Qipei’s mind that outcome was basically the same as offending His Majesty.

Now that Qi Yang had asked, she told her everything in detail. From when the two lecturers were unable to come to the palace due to unforeseen circumstances, to when she came to the palace in their stead, to when the Emperor didn’t say a word for a whole hour, before finally bestowing her a cup of tea and leaving without saying anything.

She almost repeated all the contents of the lecture, but she couldn’t see anything unusual in it that might displease the Emperor.

The young couple looked at each other at a loss.

Qi Yang vaguely sensed the Emperor’s discomfort, but she couldn’t understand where it came from. After thinking about it, she said to Lu Qipei, “Don’t worry, I don’t think Royal Father hates you. When I go back, I will ask Royal Brother. He has always been able to guess Royal Father’s thoughts accurately, he would definitely know what’s wrong.”

Lu Qipei had always trusted Qi Yang. Seeing her showing her usual expression, she nodded and felt relieved.

Still, she had to work hard to win her bride. Since Lu Qipei had decided to go forward together with Qi Yang, she couldn’t just rely on Qi Yang to work hard for her. She began to recall her past life and her present life, eager to show her face in front of the Emperor again.

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