Petty
"What?" Emperor Jiawen thought that he had misheard something and subconsciously asked again, "You want to enter Tian Lu Academy?"
Chu Liuyue nodded. "Yes. Tian Lu Academy recruits students annually in January, so I would like to ask Your Majesty to give me a chance."
Emperor Jiawen looked at her with a complicated gaze. This Chu Liuyue is very strange. One may say that she is dumb, but she managed to solve all the problems perfectly from the beginning until now. One may say that she is smart, but she took the initiative to give up on the status of Crown Princess. She even says that she wants to enter Tian Lu Academy.
It is impossible that she doesn't know that Tian Lu Academy is the top academy in the entire Country Yao Chen. One has to be the best talent to enter. She does not even have a Yuan meridian. How will she accomplish it?
"This isn't hard, but… Tian Lu Academy's assessments are very difficult. Are you sure you want to go? You need to know that those old fellas won't give you an easy way out just because of me."
Chu Liuyue smiled lightly. "I know that. I just want a chance to be assessed."
Emperor Jiawen stared at her and sighed after confirming that she was not joking. "Since you want it, I'll grant you your wish. However, it's all up to you if you can get in or not."
Chu Liuyue went on her knees and bowed. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."
Emperor Jiawen waved his hands. "Okay. You must be tired today as well. You should return home to rest first. Chu Ning, accompany her and take care of her."
Chu Liuyue had no intention of staying any longer after settling the most important task, so she left with Chu Ning happily.
Only when the duo's figures disappeared into the night sky outside the palace did the stiff and cold atmosphere in the palace start to warm up. However, nobody dared to say much after all that had happened that night.
A happy birthday party became suppressed and boring.
Rong Jin closed his eyes and rubbed his glabella. Logically speaking, he should be very relaxed after settling his marriage agreement with Chu Liuyue. However, his heart was still weighed down by a rock, making him very unhappy.
He had initially planned everything well, but he did not know how it ended up like this. He did not know how the people in the Imperial City would talk about him after today.
Although this wasn't a big deal, the most important thing was that his father was most likely unhappy with him.
Chu Xianmin currently felt even worse than Rong Jin. She sat at her own seat with an ever-changing expression, but her entire body felt numb as her mind blanked.
Chu Liuyue's words today had completely ruined her reputation. Who would care if these kinds of incidents were real or fake?
She did not expect that she would get herself into trouble instead of teaching Chu Liuyue a lesson.
All sorts of gazes and stares landed on her, making her very restless. She just wanted to dig a
"Ahem…" Rong Xiu coughed once again.
Emperor Jiawen knitted his brows. "Why is your cough getting worse?"
Rong Xiu waved his hands. "I'm not… ahem…"
Before he could finish his next sentence, he started coughing again, and his face became even paler.
Emperor Jiawen commanded determinedly, "Go back and rest now. It was so hard for you to get better at Mingyue Tianshan, but you're already in this condition after coming back for a month. What will you do in the future? If your illness relapses, I'll convict the people in your mansion."
Rong Xiu smiled helplessly and stood up.
Yan Qing, who was behind him, immediately helped him put on a coat.
"I'll take my leave first." Rong Xiu then looked at Rong Jin. "Brother, I've already sent your birthday gift to your mansion. I'll make up for the lack of company today."
Rong Jin forced a smile. "Seventh Brother, you're too kind. Your health is very important."
Rong Xiu then turned and left.
After he left, Rong Jiu said that he had to handle military tasks and left as well.
The atmosphere that was originally weird became even more awkward and cold after the two people departed.
Before this, nobody thought that the prosperous Crown Prince's birthday party would end up in this manner.
…
Rong Xiu walked through the palace doors and saw two people standing by Prince Li Mansion's horse carriage. They were Chu Liuyue and Chu Ning.
He raised his brows lightly and walked over. "Officer Chu, Big Chu Missy, why are you here?"
Chu Ning held his hands in a fist and bowed solemnly. "Thank you, Prince Li, for your help just now. My daughter and I will definitely remember your kindness."
Rong Xiu's eyes flashed slightly. "Officer Chu, you're too kind. I didn't help much today…"
Chu Ning shook his head repeatedly. "Apart from helping her get out of the awkward situation, you also saved her life previously. Without you, I don't know what would happen to us… In the future, do let me know if you need me to do anything for you."
Previously? Save her life? Rong Xiu looked at Chu Liuyue and met with the warning glare in her sparkling black eyes. His lips curved up slightly; the corner of his eyes also looked happy. "Officer Chu, don't mention it. It was nothing, really. I guess I'm just fated with her."
Chu Liuyue secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Previously, she lied to Chu Ning and said that Rong Xiu had saved her. She did not know that he would take it to heart. Now that Rong Xiu was here coincidentally, Chu Ning was determined to wait around and thank him in person.
She could not advise him otherwise and could only wait with him in the end.
Not long later, the other fellow actually continued cooperatively, "The sky is already dark. Let me send you two home."
Chu Liuyue immediately rejected it once she heard him. "No need!"
Who knew what he was thinking in his heart?
There was no free lunch in the world. The more he helped her, the more alert she was.
On the surface, this man looked as gentle as jade and was a humble gentleman. However, Chu Liuyue did not think that way.
Although she could not see through his eyes and guess his thoughts, her intuition told her that this was a very dangerous man. It was better to keep this type of person as far away as possible.
Chu Ning looked at her in disapproval. "Don't be rude to Prince Li."
Chu Liuyue scrunched her nose.
Actually, Chu Ning also felt that this was inappropriate, but before he could speak, Rong Xiu continued, "It's on my way back anyway. I'll just bring you two along with me. Big Chu Missy must be exhausted from today's events."
Chu Ning's words of rejection got stuck in his throat. He was indeed worried about whether Yue'er got injured during her battle with the Golden Python.
After hesitating for a while, he finally spoke, "Then we'll have to trouble you, Prince Li."
"Please."
…
Prince Li Mansion's horse carriage was indeed very big and comfortable. There was more than enough space for the three of them.
Chu Liuyue sat beside Chu Ning and opposite Rong Xiu. Chu Liuyue was very alert at the start, but Rong Xiu closed his eyes once he boarded the carriage as if he was resting.
He sat there quietly and closed his pair of deep, seductive eyes. His features—which were like carvings on jade—looked especially gentle under the warm light.
Chu Liuyue took one look at him and immediately retrieved her gaze.
They went all the way to the Chu family's estate without a word.
Chu Ning got off the carriage first.
Just as Chu Liuyue was about to descend, a hand pulled her back.
The hand was slightly cold, but a weird sensation shot into her heart from his hand.
Chu Liuyue was about to make a move, but a soft, gentle, and low voice sounded. "Remember to return me the item."
Chu Liuyue was stunned. When she turned around, Rong Xiu had already let go of her hand and closed his eyes as if nothing had happened.
She pressed her lips against each other tightly. "How petty."