Chapter 56 Improvement
“Up to this point, do you still think Le Zhi is on your side?”
The Empress slammed every single word into Huo Xu’s heart and Huo Xu froze in an instant. After returning to Great Qi, no matter how unfavorable his situation was, he had never doubted Le Zhi.
Even if it was about Yang Heng, he only had a little, a very little bit of conjecture.
He was held hostage in the country Li at the age of six, and Zhizhi was only four years old at that time. They grew up together and were genuine childhood sweethearts. Huo Xu asked himself that there was definitely a connection between them… even though something had happened between them. But now, as far as Le Zhi was concerned, besides Le Jin, he was only her relative!
Was not Zhizhi on his side? How could that be possible?
“Naturally!” Huo Xu raised his eyes, and his tone was serious and affirmative. Not knowing whether he was trying to convince the Empress or trying to make himself more convinced.
In order to dissipate the smell of the alcohol in the room, the door was left open all the time. At this time, the wind outside began to get stronger, blowing into the room, making people shiver with coldness.
But Lin Wanning’s heart was colder than this cold wind. She looked at Huo Xu indifferently and looked at his face carefully. She suddenly could not understand him. Even if he left her when he was a child and went to the strange country Li alone, Lin Wanning was fairly certain that Huo Xu’s selfishness and self-interest were deeply engraved in his bones as he was too much like Huo Changyun.
Otherwise, how could a child under the age of six help her do so much?
At that time, she was still young and was only immersed in the joy of successfully becoming the Empress of Great Qi. But after that, she slowly fell into a deep fear.
Her son seemed to be born with innate evil in his heart.
So, when Huo Changyun decided to let Huo Xu go to Great Li as a hostage, although Lin Wanning was reluctant on the surface, she was relieved and even had a faint trace of joy.
Because the country Li was a country full of kindness.
The instinct of being a mother was uncontrollable. Deep in Lin Wanning’s heart, she always hoped that her children would be all kind. Just let this mother of his do all the evil things.
But now, she regretted it a little.
Because Huo Xu was not completely assimilated by the kindness of the country Li, Lin Wanning knew it when he joined forces with the Qi army to slaughter the country Li without hesitation. Twelve years in the country Li, his son had not changed at all.
But in the end, he was still bound to the imperial family of the country Li, and he was still somewhat bound to that woman.
Lin Wanning sneered in her heart. Instead of being like this, it was better to be exactly like his father. Cold-hearted and always for himself only.
She did not want to argue too much with Huo Xu, as she only had a son like him. Since he hesitated, some things had to be smoothed out by her for him.
“All right.” Lin Wanning sighed lightly, and then changed the subject, “Xu’er, now you are confined in the mansion, you must not slack off. You are depressed all day long in a drunken stupor.”
Seeing her mother’s sad face, Huo Xu felt sad too. He nodded, but there was still indignation and powerlessness in his tone, “I didn’t slack off on purpose, but I can’t do anything if I’m locked up in the mansion!”
The hands hanging on his side gradually closed, clenching his fists tightly.
Hearing this, Lin Wanning smiled instead, “There is at least one thing you can do now.”
Huo Xu was puzzled, “Imperial Mother, please make it clear.”
“Take advantage of this time to mend the relationship between you and Qingyan.”
Huo Xu’s face collapsed in an instant. He and Shen Qingyan were probably the most hated couples in this world, right? He hated her, and when she was aware of it, she proposed to divorce him.
Divorce?
Only Heaven knew how willing Huo Xu was. He wanted a divorce earlier than Shen Qingyan did. No, he was the one who wanted to divorce her!
However, if he were to divorce her at this time, with Shen Huai’s temperament, he would definitely oppose him in the morning court. Just because he doted on the bedwarmer and made his daughter unhappy, he started getting back at him openly and secretly.
Hateful!
He really did not match the eight characters of the family name Shen.
“Think about your current situation, do you still have to be willful?” Lin Wanning could see Huo Xu’s reluctance from his expression, so she reminded him sternly, “If you don’t know the importance, I will execute Jiang Man so that you can concentrate on more serious things.”
“Imperial Mother!” Huo Xu was shocked. His expression was panic, and he gritted his teeth and said, “It’s not that I’m unwilling, but Shen Qingyan has a strong temperament. Is it that you want me to give in and beg her again and again?”
Huo Xu thought Shen Qingyan was just a little girl who adored him, and no matter what he did, she would love him as always. But Huo Xu did not expect that she was so resolute, and when she knew that he really did not like her, she started to reject him!
How could he do what she wanted? There was only Huo Xu who did not want a woman and had never been a woman who would reject him.
Huo Xu thought that this was probably Shen Qingyan’s means of half push and half yield. That being the case, he also did not bother to pretend anymore. Was not she pretending to reject him? So, he insisted on touching her, and deliberately humiliated her in bed. He wanted her to understand that she must submit to him forever.
Even if she did not want to, it must be he who did not want her!
“Why need to beg her?”
Lin Wanning’s voice pulled back Huo Xu’s thoughts, and then he clearly heard her say, “It’s actually very simple to bind a woman’s heart. Let her conceive your child quickly… Understand?”
Once she is with a child, she will never be able to leave you again.
As long as Shen Qingyan cannot leave you, Shen Huai has to be used by you.
The bond between this kind of bloodline is the strongest.
Child?
Huo Xu murmured the word in his mouth silently. Since he matured, he had thought more than once about what would his and Zhizhi’s children look like? He had already acquiesced in his heart that his eldest son must be born from Zhizhi for him.
But now, there seemed to be no other way. After a moment of silence, Huo Xu suppressed the depression in his heart and responded in a deep voice.
When he thought of Huo Du, anger and deep jealousy filled his heart again. It was all thanks to him that he was confined here and his woman was now sleeping beside him on the bed.
He hated it!
“You just do your own thing. As for the rest, I will help you.”
Huo Xu raised his eyes, saw Lin Wanning’s nonchalant expression, and asked in surprise, “Could it be that Imperial Mother already has a way to deal with Huo Du?”
Lin Wanning hummed lightly.
“I would like to hear the details.”
“Xu’er.” Lin Wanning chuckled, “To deal with the enemy, sometimes you don’t have to do it yourself. You have to learn… to use leverage as strength.”
Huo Xu was puzzled.
Leverage as strength? Whose strength to borrow?
“Shengyang City.” Lin Wanning spit out three words softly.
After a moment of confusion, the corners of Huo Xu’s lips curved slightly. He understood what his imperial mother meant. Apart from him, the people who hated Huo Du the most in this world were probably all in Shengyang City, right?
Shengyang City was the former Shengnuo Tribe. Before the tribe was seized by Great Qi.
Was not the culprit responsible for all this Huo Du’s mother?
Although Chu Yu was dead, the hatred would not fade. The people of Shengyang City, the people of the former Shengnuo Tribe, must turn all these hatreds to Huo Du.
However, how to lead Huo Du there?
Huo Xu was about to ask, but he saw Lin Wanning get up and walk outside, without any intention of telling him the plan. He did not dare to ask any more questions and just saluted to see her off.
—
In the dining room of the Taizi Mansion, even the air was filled with warmth.
Le Zhi and Fu Xian sat on both sides of Le Jin and ate lunch with her. A few days passed and Le Jin gradually accepted Fu Xian’s existence and no longer rejected him like that day.
And Fu Xian just quietly accompanied her. Unlike Le Zhi, who was very close to his sister, he kept a distance from Le Jin in a very measured way, so as not to make her panic. But he kept looking at her from the corner of his eye, and silently serving her dishes.
“Sister, have some soup.” Le Zhi handed Le Jin the fresh mushroom soup and watched her drink it with a smile.
Le Jin did not like to drink bitter medicine, so Le Zhi could only come up with this method and boil the medicinal ingredients into the soup. The fresh mushroom soup did not conflict with the medicinal ingredients, and the umami flavor of the mushrooms could cover the medicinal fragrance well.
In the past few days, her sister had improved a lot. The darkness in her eyes also began to fade, and slowly became clearer. Le Zhi lowered her eyes and suppressed the mist that rose from her eyes with joy.
Suddenly, a pair of silver chopsticks picked a piece of milk cake into her bowl, “Zhizhi, eat more.”
Hearing the sound, Le Zhi suddenly raised her head and looked at Le Jin in disbelief. She thought she had heard it wrong. But Le Jin continued to smile at her, “What’s wrong? Isn’t this your favorite food?”
Le Zhi rubbed her eyes and shifted her gaze to Fu Xian’s face. Seeing that he was also surprised, made her certain that she had heard it correctly.
“Sister…” Her heart was up and down with excitement, which might frighten Le Jin, so she suppressed her voice and asked, “Do you remember?”
“Remember what?” Le Jin frowned slightly, then she covered her forehead, feeling a little uncomfortable and confused.
“Alright, alright, we don’t think about it anymore.”
Le Zhi quickly rubbed Le Jin’s temples for her. Soon, Le Jin returned to calmness and continued to eat with her head down in small bites.
Even so, Le Zhi was still very happy. Her sister’s situation had improved, even if she only remembered a little this time, she would definitely remember it all over time.
However, was it a good thing for her to remember it all?
Could her sister really bear the pain of the subjugation of the country, the death of her Imperial Father, Imperial Mother, and Imperial Brother?
Le Zhi’s heart sank, and her eyebrows still frowned slightly even after she sent her sister to the room to rest after lunch. She walked absentmindedly around the mansion and unknowingly walked to the rear garden.
She saw Huo Du sitting in the white jade wheelchair with his head slightly lowered and playing with the purple stone in his hand slowly.
Le Zhi was startled.
Since she gave him this warm stone, she had seen him play with it almost every day.
It’s just a stone, do you really like it so much?
She walked over slowly and sat on the stone bench beside him. Thinking that she had just finished her lunch, she asked casually, “Has Your Highness eaten lunch?”
“No.” Huo Du did not even lift his eyelids.
“Why not?” Le Zhi could not help but frown.
Huo Du let out a chuckled, then raised his eyes to look at her, and replied in a casual tone.
“There’s no one to accompany me.”
The author has something to say:
Du: If my wife doesn’t eat with me, I’ll be hungry.