Tian Miao and Xiao Anning went back to the garden while Dong Xiao stood to the side and stayed in the background. As for Kong Hou, after torturing Liu Ming for a while, causing him to swallow so much lake water that his stomach felt bloated, she let him off and walked off to look for Dong Xiao with a jaunt in her step.
Liu Ming climbed onto shore. He was shivering all over from the cold, and his lips had turned purple. But he felt colder inside.
The words that the Divine Operator had said to him just now were still echoing in his ears.
Did Ji Liruo know that the Prime Minister was the one who had begged for this marriage?
She should know…
But she had still said such misleading things to him. Now that he thought about it, judging by the things she’d said to him, it’d been a while since she’d last disregarded her own feelings. Everything he’d done just now was just him being capricious and reckless. She’d had nothing at all to do with it.
Liu Ming listlessly walked back to his chambers. His personal eunuch, who was waiting outside for him, was scared out of his wits upon catching sight of the state he was in. He wanted to call out for someone but was stopped by Liu Ming’s stern expression. Seeing that his eunuch was looking at him with a puzzled expression on his face, Liu Ming waved his hand tiredly and said, “Let’s go back in first. I’ll take a hot bath and have a change of clothes. Don’t worry. I’m not going to die from getting a little wet.”
When Liu Ming said this, what the Divine Operator had said to him earlier suddenly came to mind: “You won’t die. It’ll be good for you. You can cool off in the water.” What she said really did make sense. He did feel much calmer now and had also begun to carefully consider some issues.
It did seem like he’d been led by the nose regarding the matter that involved Ji Liruo. But then again, that woman next to the Divine Operator was really strong. He felt his head and felt a bump forming from the beating she’d given him. Just now, he’d been really fuming mad, but now that he thought about it, he actually wasn’t so angry anymore.
Tian Miao didn’t know that getting Kong Hou to teach Liu Ming a lesson had actually gotten that silly child to mature a lot. At this moment, she was delightfully sipping on a fruit wine that the Crown Princess had specially prepared for her.
Princess Yong An saw the contented look on Tian Miao’s face and couldn’t help but feel the corners of her mouth tug upward into a smile. It was also only when Tian Miao was eating and drinking that she looked and behaved like someone her age should.
The flower appreciation banquet ended smoothly. Yet up until the time she was about to leave, Ji Liruo still didn’t see Liu Ming appear. She suddenly had a strange feeling, but it wasn’t a good time for her to get someone to ask Liu Ming what was going on, so she could only go home for now, but not without feeling puzzled.
After Xiao Anning returned home, Princess Yong An met up with him privately to ask him if he had seen Ji Liruo that day. Xiao Anning shook his head and said, “No, I didn’t see her today.” But he felt that there was no need to tell his mother about all the unpleasant things that had happened by the lake where His Highness had asked to meet alone, as that would only make her worry.
“Then…” Princess Yong An was somewhat puzzled. Had the Crown Princess revealed that the prime minister’s family had instructed Ji Liruo to go to the lakeside? Why was it that Ning’er hadn’t see Ji Liruo at all?
Xiao Anning contemplated for a moment, but eventually said what was on his mind. “Mother, I feel that we should ask Miss Ji what she really feels about this marriage.”
“She is definitely willing to. The prime minister, that sly old fox, knows this better than anyone else. If Ji Liruo isn’t willing to marry into our family, then there won’t be unity from matrimony but division and feuding. This must be something that the sly old fox has thought of.” Princess Yong An found it somewhat strange that her son would say something like that. Then, suddenly, as if she’d been hit by a jolt of lightning, her eyes widened, and she asked, “Ning’er, could it be that you don’t fancy that Ji Liruo and don’t want to agree to this marriage? But out of consideration of our feelings, you don’t want to oppose it. Is that it? If that’s the case…”
“No.” Xiao Anning detected the worry in Princess Yong An’s tone of voice. He smiled, then eased her worries by saying, “Mother, it’s not like that. I wouldn’t be that foolish. In the first place, all you’ve ever wanted for me is to live a long, happy and healthy life. If I end up messing up an important event like my marriage just to make you all feel at ease, then that would really make you all feel guilty for the rest of your lives.”