Volume Two, Chapter Thirty

Longyang's deliberate probing earned him an angry glare from Li Chenjing. Seeing Li Chenjing hold his temper, Longyang took even greater pleasure in needling him.

"Surely His Majesty didn't summon you here just so you could put on a forced-kiss performance for me and leave?"

"Little Eight, let's go." Li Chenjing had no wish to argue further. He put an arm around Zhu Bafu and started to leave.

"You think sending Wei Chenmu to rescue her instead of going yourself proves there's nothing between you and Liu Rongrong?" Longyang jabbed again.

Taking a deep breath, Li Chenjing turned, seized Longyang by the collar, and stared into his provocative eyes. "I'll say this one last time. I came to save Little Eight. That woman has nothing to do with me."

"Oh, really? I saw her huddled in your arms, crying her heart out, and you didn't push her away. What's wrong? Afraid I'll tell His Majesty you covet his woman just like Pan Yong does?"

"Say whatever you want. Little Eight, come with me." He released Longyang's collar. The dizzy, top-heavy feeling made him want nothing more than to leave this place of trouble.

"No wonder women say men are heartless. Let me think—you used to pine for Liu Rongrong day and night, unable to let her go. The dignified Prime Minister's Son came running whenever a woman from a brothel beckoned and left whenever she ordered him away. Even I thought you were an embarrassment to men. What, found someone new and forgotten the old?" Longyang let Li Chenjing keep hold of his collar. Smiling faintly, he turned toward Zhu Bafu, who had been shaken by his words. "How strong a drug did you give him to make this little act look so real?"

A note from the author:

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