“Uh…” Gu Fei was momentarily speechless.
But then he suddenly laughed. “Looks like you really do know a lot about court affairs. You’re right, this Shangyuan County is fake, and I’m not a government-appointed official. My title, I gave to myself. All the other officials here in Shangyuan were also appointed by me. But so what?”
Xiao Lingshuang had never heard such absurd reasoning before. She nearly felt her brain crack from sheer anger. “How can it not matter? You don’t pay taxes, don’t send tributes… You appointed officials and built a city without authorization. To put it bluntly, this is nothing but a bandit den! Do you even realize? Every single thing you’ve done is rebellion! You’re dragging the entire county’s citizens down with you into destruction!”
Gu Fei was also angered by her words. “You call me a bandit? Rebellion? Just because of that useless old hag?”
“Who are you calling an old hag!” Xiao Lingshuang’s blood surged.
“That old hag of an empress… Do I even need to rebel? Others probably beat me to it already. It wouldn’t even be my turn. You want me to pay taxes and tribute? I’d rather give it to beggars than her. Even if I did give it to her, could she hold onto it? Wouldn’t it still end up in the hands of corrupt officials? Keeping it for myself isn’t better? Even if the empress stood right in front of me today, I’d still dare to point at her nose and say all this.”
“Gu Fei, I’ll fight you! How dare you slander me… I’m the Empress of Beiheng!” Xiao Lingshuang lunged forward and bit hard into Gu Fei’s arm, refusing to let go.
They say you shouldn’t hit someone in the face, yet this man slapped her in the face with words. No matter how composed the Empress was, she couldn’t hold back anymore and bit him. Did she mean nothing in his eyes? He even called her old and ugly…
Dear heavens… From inside the carriage came Gu Fei’s cries.
Da Ya quickly lifted the curtain and saw the Empress clinging to Gu Fei’s chest…
She hurriedly lowered the curtain and said, “My Lord, sorry! Please continue!”
Gu Fei didn’t dare to move, tightly bitten by Xiao Lingshuang, but fortunately, she didn’t seem to actually want to rip off a chunk of flesh.
“Hey, let go, will you? If you don’t, don’t blame me for retaliating. I’ll start touching randomly!”
Xiao Lingshuang actually got scared by his threat and quickly let go, giving a soft snort as she prepared to crawl out of his embrace.
Just as she moved, Gu Fei suddenly cupped her delicate face, stared at her alluring lips, and lost all reason—he leaned in and kissed her.
No matter how much Xiao Lingshuang struggled, he kissed her for at least five full seconds before finally letting go.
Just then, Er Ya lifted the curtain again and witnessed the whole scene of them kissing.
Seeing the two separate abruptly, Er Ya thought she had messed up and quickly shouted, “Ah! My Lord, I didn’t mean to!”
“It’s all Da Ya’s fault for saying Miss Leng was hugging you!”
Gu Fei, “……!”
“Gu Fei, you bastard! How dare you defile me! I’ll tear you into pieces!” Xiao Lingshuang’s chest heaved violently. She was nearly fainting from anger. But this time, she didn’t bite him again—she turned her head away instead.
Her eyes sparkled with tears, shimmering uncontrollably.
An unbearable humiliation. She had never felt so degraded before. She was the Empress of Beiheng.
If she had known, she’d rather have died than live through this.
Gu Fei saw her shoulders trembling and thought, Shit, I really messed up. He gently nudged her arm and said, “Hey… really that mad? It’s not even our first kiss, no need to react this strongly, right?”
He shouldn’t have said that.
The moment he did, Xiao Lingshuang couldn’t hold back and burst into tears. “They bullied me… and now you’re bullying me too… Am I really that easy to bully in all your eyes?!” Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping dot com.
Sob… sob sob…
“Hey, don’t cry, please!” Gu Fei moved closer and gently pushed her shoulder, but Xiao Lingshuang suddenly shoved him away. “Go away!”
Outside, Da Ya and Er Ya exchanged glances and thought, We’re doomed. My Lord is definitely going to punish us later.
Just then, their savior arrived.
Zhang Biao led a team of riders galloping toward them.
From far away, Da Ya shouted, “Brother Biao, My Lord is here!”
Zhang Biao rode swiftly to the front of the carriage and said, “My Lord, as per your instructions, I searched along both banks of the Li River for nearly 20 kilometers, but found no trace of a woman who fell into the water.”
Hearing that, Xiao Lingshuang immediately stopped crying.
Upon hearing Zhang Biao’s report, her heart sank. Could it be… Xiao Rou had sunk beneath the river?
Gu Fei said, “If she wasn’t found… then send two boats to keep searching the river.”
“Yes, My Lord!”
But the next moment, Zhang Biao added, “My Lord, I also encountered a squad of soldiers by the riverside. They seemed to be looking for someone who fell into the water too.”
Gu Fei turned and asked, “Want me to send you to meet up with them?”
“No… No! Absolutely not!” Xiao Lingshuang was terrified, even forgetting her tears. These people wouldn’t even leave her alone in death.
Gu Fei frowned. Why…?
“They’re enemies of my Leng family…” Gu Fei looked at Xiao Lingshuang, who seemed hesitant to speak further, and instantly understood. This wasn’t some robbery… more like she was being hunted down by soldiers.
He muttered softly, “So you’re a fugitive?”
“I’m not…!”
“My Lord, who are you talking to?” Outside, Zhang Biao heard the murmuring inside the carriage and couldn’t help but ask.
Gu Fei chuckled, “No one!”
“Go find out where those soldiers are from.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
Gu Fei told Da Ya to keep the carriage moving toward home. He was soaked through and couldn’t stand it anymore—so cold…
On the road, Gu Fei glanced at the now calmer Xiao Lingshuang and said, “Miss Leng, don’t worry… I’m sure your maid is fine too.”
Xiao Lingshuang cast him a sideways glance but didn’t reply.
Gu Fei thought to himself, This girl’s pretty stubborn.
He instantly imagined several dramatic scenarios in his head—the Leng family clashing with another powerful faction, with an ambush set just for her.
Once home, Gu Fei rushed into the bathroom and took a hot shower. He felt like he might be catching a cold.
Damn it… all because of that little girl Xu Hui. Tomorrow when I see Xu Jinheng, I’m definitely going to curse him out. What kind of glass-hearted daughter did he raise?
While Gu Fei was bathing, Da Ya and Er Ya gave Xiao Lingshuang a tour of Gu Fei’s house.
This was deliberate on their part. They were afraid if this woman clashed with their lord again, they’d be the ones to suffer. Their lord would really spank them.
So if she could be calmed, that would be for the best.
Da Ya noticed Xiao Lingshuang staring blankly at the toilet in the bathroom and said, “Miss Leng… this is called a toilet. It’s for doing your business!”
“This is one of the most useful inventions our Lord created. Most households in our city now have one. After you’re done doing your business, you just pull this little rope next to it and everything disappears—clean and tidy!”
She pulled the rope, and in front of Xiao Lingshuang’s stunned eyes, the waste disappeared, and after a short while, clear water returned.
Xiao Lingshuang was truly intrigued and couldn’t resist pulling it herself—exactly the same as Da Ya had shown. Her expression changed, and she suddenly recalled the disgusting pit latrine back at the palace… This was far cleaner.
“Where does this water come from?” Xiao Lingshuang finally asked.
Er Ya, seeing that the Empress had finally spoken, jumped out excitedly and said, “Miss Leng, I’ll tell you… There’s a big water tank on the roof. That’s where all the water flows from!”
She even twisted the nearby tap. The gushing sound of water made Xiao Lingshuang start questioning her life.
“A water tower? What’s that?”
Er Ya proudly said, “That’s also our Lord’s invention!”
“With it, no matter if it’s doing laundry, cooking, bathing, or washing dishes, we never have to worry about water. Especially for bathing—water pours down continuously from the shower above… It feels amazing!”
“You can try it tonight!”
Hearing that, Xiao Lingshuang was once again shocked. Even water usage had so much innovation.
Just then, Zhang Biao rushed in.
From afar, he shouted, “My Lord! Those damned soldiers want to enter the city to search for someone!”
The moment Xiao Lingshuang heard that, her heart sank.