Chapter 13: This King is Willing
The people of Prince Qiu Residence were startled by the sudden appearance of Li Huaixi.
Li Bo hurriedly stepped forward, blocking her furious stride, and bowed his hands, "May I know what matter brings Princess to seek our Princess?"
Li Huaixi glared at him coldly, "Move aside!"
Li Bo's expression remained unchanged, he parried with Li Huaixi while signaling the maid Chunlan with his eyes to quickly go to Tinglan Pavilion to find the Prince and Princess.
"Princess, please calm down, the Prince had once instructed that no one is to make loud noises within the residence."
Li Huaixi, full of pride, lifted her head high with commanding presence and huffed coldly, "In the Imperial Palace, no one has ever dared to stop me, let alone a servant. Move now!"
With that said, she walked around him towards the direction of the back courtyard.
When Chunlan came to report, Qi Yu was eating joyfully, but her smile fell immediately upon hearing the news.
"Ah, being a Princess is so difficult; had I known it would be like this, I might as well have..." let Li Mingjue continue lying in his coffin.
Li Mingjue's eyelids twitched, he quickly interrupted, "This Prince will take care of it."
This woman, to have such thoughts, it seems I have been too kind to her!
"That's more like it!" Qi Yu managed to shift the blame and her expression softened slightly.
Although she was sure that Li Huaixi came for her, why would she ignore a whole table full of delicious food to argue with a little girl?
"Qi Yu, come out here right now!"
As Li Huaixi made her way over, she saw the Prince Residence decorated with lanterns and learned that today was Qi Yu's birthday.
She was absolutely furious. What virtues and abilities did that fool Qi Yu possess to receive such attention from the Emperor?
No, she must expose the fool's true nature in front of the Emperor!
Li Huaixi stormed up to the pavilion, pointed at Qi Yu, and said, "You fool still have the face to eat, go and apologize to Sister Anran right now!"
Qi Yu shot her a disdainful look, "Why should I?"
"How dare you roll your eyes at the Princess!" Li Huaixi, seeing her unrepentant face, turned her head to complain to Li Mingjue, "Brother Emperor, look at this fool!"
However, Li Mingjue did not get angry with Qi Yu as she had hoped, instead, he scolded Li Huaixi in a cold voice, "Li Huaixi, this Prince has said, if you dare to disrespect the Princess again, you will no longer be allowed to step foot in Prince Qiu Residence."
"But..." Li Huaixi's momentum immediately weakened.
Of all her imperial brothers, she feared Li Mingjue the most. He not only did not dote on her but often spoke to her in a cold and distant manner.
Although she knew deep down that he was doing it for her own good, the sight of him being so gentle to Qi Yu while so harsh to herself was something Li Huaixi just couldn't swallow.
"There are no 'buts'. If you can't even call her sister-in-law, then don't call me Brother Emperor anymore." Li Mingjue gave no quarter.
Qi Yu munched on a chicken leg while silently applauding Li Mingjue in her heart.
If nothing else, when it came to defending his loved ones, Li Mingjue was undoubtedly a perfect husband.
"Huaixi acknowledges her mistake." Li Huaixi bowed her head, her voice carrying a tinge of grievance.
She was unwilling to recognize a fool as her sister-in-law, but she also dared not anger Li Mingjue.
She could only look at Qi Yu in an awkward manner and reluctantly called out, "Sister-in-law."
Qi Yu, however, threw down her chicken leg, turned her head away, and humphed, "I heard the insults you hurled at me just now!"
"You!" Li Huaixi pointed at Qi Yu, frustrated and exasperated.
She had already apologized; what more did this fool want?
"Husband, look, she wants to hit me!"
Qi Yu began crying and wailing as she spoke, wiping away her fake tears while sidling closer to Li Mingjue, adopting a look of someone who had endured great injustices.
Anyone unaware of the context might think Li Huaixi had really done something to her.
Li Huaixi herself hadn't expected Qi Yu to be so shameless; she hadn't laid a finger on her, yet her actions were being twisted so grotesquely.
Qi Yu watched the little princess's face turn livid from rage and chuckled inwardly.
Though picking on a young girl seemed a bit underhanded, this was someone who came looking for trouble without understanding the situation. How could she not make her suffer a little?
Li Mingjue looked on as someone indulged in their acting, a hint of helplessness flickering in his eyes.
Li Huaixi might be a bit spoiled, but at her core, she wasn't bad, and she had likely been provoked by Qi Anran to come cause trouble at the Prince Residence.
But Li Huaixi's eyes blazed red with anger as she declared, "Imperial Brother, I came here today to expose this... sister-in-law's true colors!"
"Oh?" Qi Yu dried her tears and looked playfully at Li Mingjue, "What kind of face does the Princess have that the Prince hasn't already seen?"
Li Huaixi, watching this fickle woman, sneered, "Stop pretending. Sister Anran told me everything! She invited you to the Prime Minister Residence to celebrate your birthday and even hosted a banquet for you, but not only were you ungrateful, you also caused an uproar there. Is this true?"
Qi Yu curled her lips into a smile, "That's true."
Li Huaixi looked at her triumphantly, "Then what do you have to say for yourself?"
Qi Yu raised an eyebrow and asked flatly, "Did she mention why I caused such a scene at the Prime Minister Residence?"
"This..." Li Huaixi hesitated.
When Qi Anran came to her earlier, she had simply wept while saying how badly Qi Yu had treated her, never mentioning the reason.
Could there truly be some hidden circumstances?
Impossible, it was definitely Qi Yu trying to deceive her.
Li Huaixi glared at her, "Why should I believe you?"
Qi Yu replied lazily, "Believe it or not."
She really didn't feel like explaining herself anyway.
"You!" Li Huaixi has lost count of the number of times Qi Yu had infuriated her that day, and yet every single time she'd been left without a comeback.
She couldn't suppress Qi Yu with her status, nor outtalk her; it was utterly frustrating.
Qi Yu glanced at Li Huaixi, who looked as puffed up as a blowfish, and let out a sneer.
Was this the extent of her bravery, coming here to blindly defend someone? Where did she get the confidence?
"I don't care, you must have bullied Sister Anran, and you have to apologize to her today!" Unable to outargue her, Li Huaixi resorted to making a scene, missing only a tantrum.
The uproar caused by the teenage girl was earth-shattering, and Qi Yu couldn't help but prod Li Mingjue beside her, signaling with her eyes for him to take care of the situation.
After all, today was her birthday, so she certainly shouldn't get her hands dirty with such bloody affairs.
Li Mingjue spread his hands, showing he didn't want to intervene, and sighed helplessly. He then said to Li Huaixi, "Regarding today's matter, I was also present. If you have any complaints, direct them at me."
Li Huaixi was taken aback; Qi Anran hadn't mentioned this to her.
If Li Mingjue had been there, then wasn't everything Qi Yu had done effectively sanctioned by him?
She might not involve herself in court affairs, but she wasn't foolish either.
Li Mingjue surely had no reason to collude with Qi Yu in bullying Qi Anran, right?
Calculations already forming in her mind, Li Huaixi still felt some dissatisfaction and demanded clarification, "Imperial Brother, why do you repeatedly protect her?"
Her imperial brother deserved the best woman in the entire capital city, so why, out of everyone, was it the worthless Qi Yu!
Li Mingjue glanced at the person beside him, not behaving properly, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly upwards. After a long pause, he finally answered slowly, "It pleases me."