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He saw her as a delicate woman, wanting nothing more than to caress her. His masculine and arrogant attitude terrified her. "No! Young Master, let me go!"

"Give up. I won't let go. It's your fault, Little Eight. You forced me to do this."

"His Your Majesty and I are not what you think, Young Master..."

"Don't mention other men in front of me!"

"..."

"You said you wanted to be with me, and then what? You weren't by my side, but instead I saw you sitting on another man's lap?" He pinched her chin, bringing her face close to his. "Where did he touch you?"

"His Your Majesty is not that kind of man..."

"What kind of man is he? A man like me? A man like me who would lay a hand on Little Eight, who is also a man? Or a man like me who has no ambition other than clinging to you? Hmm?" He smiled wickedly, a few strands of hair obscuring his eyes.

"..."

"You might as well just tell me directly. From beginning to end, you never intended to be with me. Those sweet words were just to make this fool of me happy. You only wanted to use my memories to find that emperor, whether to save your life or to climb up to him. In short, I'm useless to you now..."

"Smack!"

A sharp, tingling pain shot through Li Chenjing's left cheek. He turned his head slightly and it took him a while to realize that he had been slapped.

The ringing in his ears was still echoing in his mind. He gradually came to his senses and turned his gaze back to the ground beneath him. Before his gaze could fall on her, a terrible sound reached his ears.

"Let's part ways, Young Master."

"..."

"Although it's only just begun, and saying this might sound a bit fickle, I'll leave it at that. I don't think I'm suitable or qualified to be with the Young Master."

"..." His lips trembled. He wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. He could only close his mouth and wait for the words he didn't want to hear to float out of her lips one after another.

"Whether you think I approached you to advance my career, or you think I've lost your value and want to dump you, let's break up."

"..."

Disheveled Clothing, a lewd scene, yet nothing more was said; a silence lingered around them for a long time. Gently pushing away the unresponsive Young Master, Zhu Bafu gathered her scholar's Confucian Robe, sat on the edge of the bed, bit her hair bun to tidy up her disheveled hair, stood up, and carefully unbolted the door.

"You've been keeping those words to yourself for a long time, haven't you?" She stopped by the door, not turning to look at him, and murmured, "How could I be so foolish as to think you weren't Li Chenjing?"

Having said that, she opened the door and strode out, her steps quickening until she was almost jogging. She ignored the whispers of the Servant around her, and paid no heed to the expression on the face of the silent Young Master sitting by the bed. He certainly wouldn't understand her nonsensical words; he must think she was just someone who used him and then discarded him. And she—

"Bang!"

The figure she bumped into caused two tears, which had been welling up in her eyes, to spill out.

"Isn't it a bit too early for you to start crying now, Pig Kid?"

"..."

"Xiaojing hasn't even regained her memory yet, and you can't take it anymore? What are we going to do in the future?"

"... You did this on purpose..." Upon seeing who it was, she gritted her teeth and held back the stinging sensation in her nose.

"I am."

"... Why? Why are you deliberately hinting at Liu Rongrong and the Young Master's affair? I don't want to know! I absolutely don't want to know! I don't care what she thinks of the Young Master, I don't care what she did using Young Master, I'm not her! Why treat me like someone else!" She thought she didn't like him that much, but because she was liked so intensely, she didn't want to feel indebted, wanted to reciprocate with some kindness, and was prepared to get hurt. She really thought she could hold back, but it turns out that from the very beginning, she and the Young Master were completely wrong. "The Young Master has never liked me. I overestimated myself. Even now, he has never liked me. Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"..."

"He hasn't forgotten, he just doesn't want to remember. From beginning to end, all he could think about was that girl who used him to get close to you. When the opportunity comes, he'll still remember what happened before, won't he?" She was too quick to rejoice, thinking he'd lost his memory and become the most innocent guy, telling her no lies. She was too happy too soon, thinking that the Young Master's lack of reaction after seeing Miss Liu meant he was sincere. It wasn't that he lied, it wasn't that he wasn't sincere, it was that he'd mistaken her for someone else. That person shouldn't be her. The most direct reaction—wanting to forget, yet etched in his memory, branded into his body—wasn't directed towards her.

"..."

"Why beat around the bush? Just tell me directly. Your Majesty secretly laugh at me for talking like an idiot about being with the Young Master? Do you find it amusing to tease others like this?" Reaching into her sleeve, she pulled out the Ministry of Works Seal. She was furious, but refrained from smashing it at him, only mindful that the man before her was the emperor. She shoved the Seal back into Your Majesty hand, straightened her back, and said, "I'm afraid I cannot serve Your Majesty. I cannot accept this position. Please rescind your order."

Peach Blossom looked down at the Seal that had been shoved back into her hand, pursed her lips, and rarely put away her smile, she put on a stern face as she turned to run away from him.

He reached out and did something completely unexpected—pulling her back in front of him, pressing her head down and tucking her into his arms.

"I did do it on purpose."

"..."

"I need you, I need you to serve me, so I want you to realize your relationship with Xiaojing, to stop you from getting too attached to it, to let you... know Xiaojing's true feelings," he murmured in her ear, stroking her back. "But maybe these are just excuses... Perhaps, I just want to comfort you sooner."