Peerless Heiress - Chapter 96
I frowned. What do you mean by "young master"? I'm more like a "young lady." I flicked her forehead. "You brat, tell me what's wrong?"
Lüju covered her head with her hands, looked at me with a wronged expression, tiptoed and whispered in my ear, "Miss, someone from the palace has come. They say the Crown Prince urgently summons you to the palace. They're all waiting at home, and they need you to go now."
Huh? In such a hurry? Isn't the court swamped with preparations for his wedding? Why are you looking for me now? You don't want me to handle state affairs for him, do you? Too much trouble, this young lady won't do it.
Just as I was wondering what was going on, several people suddenly appeared beside me. They were actually the palace guards!
A man who looked like a commander of the Imperial Guards walked up to me, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency the Left Prime Minister."
I frowned. What on earth was going on? Why would they send a whole squad of imperial guards to find me?
"I am Hu Wei, the commander of the Imperial Guards. I am here on the orders of the Crown Prince to invite the Left Prime Minister to the palace," Hu Wei said respectfully but not servilely. He stood ramrod straight, and several Imperial Guards stood behind him, equally ramrod straight, making him appear even more imposing.
"Young...Young Master?" Green Ju hid behind me with a hint of fear.
"Do you know why the Crown Prince is looking for me?" I asked Hu Wei.
Hu Wei said in a deep voice, "This humble official dares not inquire about the Crown Prince's affairs. I urge the Left Prime Minister to come to the palace with me as soon as possible, for the Crown Prince is probably getting impatient."
I rolled my eyes and turned to Lü Ju, "Alright, Lü Ju, I'm going to the palace. You can go back now."
Lü Ju nodded, glanced at Hu Wei and the others, and quickly walked away.
“Let’s go, Commander Hu Wei.” I glanced at him sideways.
Hu Wei showed no unusual expression, as if he hadn't heard the mockery in my words at all. He responded with a hum, bowed and stepped back half a step to make way for me, and then followed me toward the palace.
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"Uh, Your Highness, why are you looking at me like that?" I asked awkwardly.
More than an hour has passed. Yuwen Ke specially sent the Imperial Guards to summon me. I thought it was something urgent, but when I arrived, there was nothing at all. Yuwen Ke was just staring at me with a very strange look in his eyes, as if he wanted to see through something.
Yuwen Ke pursed his lips, his face expressionless.
I was getting angry, and without thinking of anything else, I turned and walked out. Seriously, I'm busy; I don't have time to watch you act crazy.
One foot had already stepped through the palace gate when Yuwen Ke's cold voice suddenly came from behind, "I heard I'm your master?"
Huh?! — My movements froze instantly, and I almost stumbled in fright. It took me a while to turn around and smile. "Your Highness is really good at joking. How come Lin Ran doesn't remember ever being your disciple? Even if you want to take me as your disciple, you can't use such methods, can you? Really!" As I spoke, I pretended to scoff.
Chapter 211: So that's how it is...
Yuwen Ke's lips suddenly curled into a mocking smile. "I want to take you as my disciple?"
I nodded vigorously, muttering to myself, "Otherwise, why would you suddenly blurt out something like that?"
"Really? So you really didn't know?" He played with the brush in his hand, his gaze falling on the tip, watching a drop of ink gently slide onto the rice paper in front of him, and asked the question as if it were a casual question.
Well...
I secretly swallowed, rolled my eyes, and smiled casually. "Ah, I know, you must have heard it from Mo Yu, right? Oh dear, that was just me lying to him. He asked how we met, and I just made it up. You didn't believe me, did you?"
Yuwen Ke raised his head. "Oh? I see. Then, did you see me yesterday?"
Yesterday?! I inwardly groaned. Of course I saw him yesterday, but it was in his body. It was my demon master who sneaked over to me last night. Why would that damned Yuwen Ke suddenly ask this? Could he have discovered something?
"Uh, yesterday? Yesterday, Luju and I went outside the city to fly kites. His Highness the Crown Prince is so busy with state affairs, how could he possibly have time to see me?" I chuckled. Anyway, I'll just deny it to the death, let's see what you do about it.
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Yuwen Ke pursed his lips, looking at the smiling young man in green before him. Although he was the Left Chancellor, he never liked wearing court robes, nor did he like attending court. His only interest seemed to be playing pranks on people.
He could no longer tell whether appointing him as prime minister was out of a desire to rely on his wit and methods, or simply to keep him by his side, or perhaps both. However, Yuwen Ke knew very well that the position of left prime minister could tempt and imprison others, but it could not move his heart at all.
A sense of helplessness welled up inside me. What, what, should I do to leave my mark on his eyes? How can I stop having to hide myself so painstakingly every time? How can it be so difficult to even see him?
Yuwen Ke tightened his left hand, the object in his hand already sweating.
During these past few days, he only experienced one instance of amnesia. During this time, the shadow guard assigned to track his movements was also suddenly attacked and fell unconscious. When he regained his memories, the shadow guard also regained consciousness, but had lost the memory of the attack.
He wondered how many times this had happened before. No wonder he had so many bodyguards, yet no one had ever reported anything unusual to him; when he inquired, they simply said everything was normal.
His face was a little pale, his lips were tightly pursed, and he stared intently at Lin Ran.
Just yesterday, if that accident hadn't happened, would he have never known the truth?
Yuwen Ke glared angrily at the innocent-looking Lin Ran, recalling how they had met and how Lin Ran had repeatedly appeared unexpectedly in his life. At first, he had thought he had lost his memory and forgotten his former friend. Now he realized... So that's how it was...
Chapter 212: Like a Woman
"Uh, what are you going to do?" Lin Ran stared at Yuwen Ke, who was approaching step by step, with some fear. His face was gloomy, and so was his gaze.
"You clearly saw me last night, didn't you?" He took a few steps forward, grabbed Lin Ran's shoulders as she tried to escape, and stared at her coldly.
Lin Ran's face showed pain, and he groaned.
Unconsciously, Yuwen Ke loosened his grip, yet refused to let go. He had deceived himself; he had been deceiving himself all along. This realization filled Yuwen Ke with anger, frustration, and a strange pang of heartache.
Why...
Lin Ran said with a pained expression, "Your Highness, could you please let go of me first?"
Yuwen Ke hesitated for a moment, snorted coldly, and slowly released his hand.
Lin Ran quickly jumped back a few steps. Seeing that Yuwen Ke was about to get angry, she hurriedly smiled ingratiatingly, "Your Highness, I'll talk, I'll talk."
"Well, how should I put it?" Lin Ran chuckled, paused for a moment before raising his head, and pretended to be extremely embarrassed. "Uh, Your Highness, it's not that I don't want to say, it's just that I really can't say."