Chapter 249

"I told him, 'Prime Minister Father, don't show your concern for me in the way you think you should. I don't like it. I've known all along that the Li Household harbors no treacherous ambitions, but I still feel unsafe and uncomfortable. I don't like other people making decisions for me, even when those decisions are for my own good and the good of the court.'"

"I need you. I don't want you to leave me, but I truly can't bring myself to trust the Ministerial Faction completely. So I'll have you do the work of a first-rank official, but I won't give you a first-rank official's authority."

"Do I get a salary?"

After listening to so much, he had said only one thing to Your Majesty—expressing his demands even more bluntly than Your Majesty had.

"What does Xiaojing want?"

The sound of the door opening interrupted his thoughts, and he habitually called out, "Chenmu, bring me the new bandages."

A rustle sounded. The newcomer's footsteps entered behind the Screen and, after setting down the bandages, turned and stood beside his bathtub. Raising his long hair floating on the water, she carefully gathered it with a cloth and slowly rubbed it from roots to tips. The pressure was slightly different from usual, making Li Chenjing frown faintly. "Chenmu, you don't need to attend to me here. You may leave."

The newcomer's hand paused, but instead of obediently leaving as usual, her fingertips skimmed across the water, stirring ripples. She boldly stroked from his back up along the line of his neck. Even though he trusted Wei Chenmu and knew Wei Chenmu would never allow anyone into his room without permission, he could still feel that the hand wandering over his neck did not belong to Wei Chenmu. It was a