Hearing Liu Miqing’s words, Liu Xinqun felt his heart give out: “You who did you say?”
“Prince Duan,” Liu Miqing repeated. “Prince Duan, Bu Jingci.”
“Miqing do you know what you’re saying?” Liu Xinqun was genuinely a bit exasperated, lowering his voice. “Right now, those two princes are…”
“I know.” Liu Miqing nodded, lowering his voice along with Liu Xinqun. “The crown prince still hasn’t been decided, and that’s why the two of them are at each other’s throats.”
Liu Xinqun had always assumed that Liu Miqing, shut up at home all day, would know nothing about such matters. Hearing him say this, he was a little surprised, and his headache only worsened. “If you know, why are you saying such things?”
“It’s precisely because I know that I’m saying it.” Liu Miqing said, “This marriage doesn’t officially exist at all the Emperor doesn’t even know about it. If we back out, at worst the Third Prince will come make trouble, but with Prince Duan around, he can’t actually do anything. Otherwise, if word reached the Emperor’s ears, the Emperor would surely be angry.”
Liu Xinqun was slightly stunned. After thinking it over, he realized the boy seemed to have a point, and his tone visibly softened. “But if you marry Prince Duan, you’ll have taken his side.”
“I never said I was going to marry him.” After Liu Miqing said this, seeing that Liu Xinqun still hadn’t caught on, he added, “Let Prince Duan take the blame, but don’t marry him. When the Third Prince’s people come, just say someone from his residence already came and took me away.”
“You this” Liu Xinqun was truly rendered speechless. It took him a moment to work out what the boy meant, and for a while he didn’t know whether to be angry or to praise his little grandson’s audacity.
Seeing him fall silent, Liu Miqing figured this plan probably had a chance. Anyway, if the scumbag top wanted to look for someone, let him look. If he went and found no one there and came back, the Liu family would insist the person was gone and push the blame right back onto the scumbag top, accusing him of losing the person. The scumbag top certainly wouldn’t dare act rashly. As for himself, he just needed to find somewhere to hide for a few days, then play dumb later, saying he didn’t know where he’d been taken and acting scared for a bit, and the whole thing would blow over.
He really was clever!
Liu Xinqun was still deliberating. Seeing this, Liu Miqing quickly picked up the teapot on the table and poured him a cup of tea as a gesture of flattery.
Sure enough, at the sight of that cup of tea, Liu Xinqun’s resolve wavered badly.
Just as Liu Xinqun was about to nod, a woman suddenly burst in from outside, saying the moment she entered, “Miqing, don’t make things difficult for Grandfather.” Her steps were quick; she stopped beside the two of them and looked down at Liu Miqing. “You know perfectly well what kind of man Grandfather is. How could you discuss something like this with him?”
Hearing this, Liu Miqing knew who the newcomer was. The heart he’d raised at her arrival settled a little, and he said innocently, “It’s just that I had no other choice, that’s all.”
His innocent expression struck Liu Milan as a bit odd, but the thought passed in a flash, and she quickly turned her attention back to what the two had been discussing: “I’ll handle this matter. Grandfather, just pretend you know nothing.”
She spoke boldly, but Liu Xinqun only grew more worried and conflicted: “You Don’t you go and botch this”