As the words fell, Yan Xiu had already stepped toward the second floor.
Such intimate and sudden actions made even the composed Feng Yin blush slightly.
She quickly turned around, pulled Hua Yin and left hurriedly after the formal salute.
“Hey, hey, hey!
Let me down quickly!” Li Yuyu’s small hand tugged at Yan Xiu’s dragon robe, struggling to get down from his embrace.
She couldn’t go upstairs, there were a few boxes of gold and silver up there, which were her dowry.
She had to hide them well, or Yan Xiu might seize them again.
Then how could she exchange for silver notes to leave the palace and roam the Jianghu?
“Beloved concubine, play hard-to-get but know when to stop.”
Yan Xiu lowered his head, looking at Li Yuyu, his phoenix eyes revealing an understanding of everything.
Li Yuyu: …
“Emperor, I think you misunderstood.
I don’t have…”
Yan Xiu interrupted softly: “I remember, the pen and ink I rewarded you with are placed on the second floor desk.
Beloved concubine, do not forget to write the IOU to me.”
Li Yuyu: …
She had completely forgotten about the IOU, but the dog Emperor reminded her.
Could the Emperor really be short of that hundred taels of silver?
Could he?
Yan Xiu noticed the girl in his arms not only grew quiet, but her little face also looked very pitiful, which reminded him of years ago, when she pretended to be pitiful on the surface but secretly cursed him vehemently.
Many years ago, he overheard her muttering that if he wasn’t going to become Emperor, she wouldn’t care about him.
Yan Xiu thought, perhaps that was the moment he placed her in his heart.
Apart from her, no one believed he would become Emperor, including his mother, who was just Noble Lady Miao at the time.
When his father was on the throne, the Crown Prince was the Imperial Eldest Son, born to the current Empress, skilled in both literature and martial arts.
Yet, his father preferred the Fourth Prince, Yan Zixuan.
The Fourth Prince’s mother was Consort Zhuang, different from the gentle Empress.
Consort Zhuang was beautiful and talented; she was serene and wise, always managing to make his father happy when he was down, gradually becoming unique in his father’s eyes.
The Prince born to Consort Zhuang was deeply loved by his father, personally taught by him since childhood, skilled in both martial and literary arts, once praised by the Imperial Tutor as possessing the talent to govern a country.
Yet, though Yan Xiu was only months older than Yan Zixuan, he was just an accident left in a drunken rage by his father.
Even though he resembled his father the most, even though he was not inferior to the Crown Prince or Fourth Prince in any aspect, his father never saw him.
He was always the overlooked one.
In a life hanging by a thread, it was this little girl who used her wit to help him escape danger.
And it was her words, “You will become that supreme existence that everyone looks up and bows to,” that gave him hope and courage to finally show his capabilities and move toward that dragon throne.
On the day he succeeded, the first thing he did was bring Li Yuyu into the palace.
But by then, Li Yuyu had already given her heart to someone, and that person was the Fourth Prince, Yan Zixuan.
And the past after her coming of age was already forgotten by Yu’er, her willow leaf eyes that once ensnared him now only held disdain and hatred.
“Finished writing!” Li Yuyu angrily threw the brush aside, blew the paper in front of her, and handed the written IOU to Yan Xiu.
She hadn’t written with a brush for so long, she almost forgot how.
Yan Xiu heard Li Yuyu’s voice, pulled back from his thoughts, and took the paper.
“Is this…
what beloved concubine wrote?” Though he was used to major storms, at this moment, Yan Xiu could not hide his excitement.
“Yes.” Li Yuyu was somewhat baffled: “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Yan Xiu’s tone was calm, but the trembling of his hand folding the paper betrayed his real emotions.