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"How could you be alright! You're already so frail, and that brat isn't exactly frivolous. Falling from that tall tree would have nearly killed you. No way, I'm going to beat her up!"

Having said that, he tossed his robes and stood up, clasped his hands in a fist, and approached her step by step, his knuckles cracking.

"Sir, young master... we can talk this over. A true man stands tall and upright; he cannot hit a woman."

"Heh, is that so? That's easy." He sneered. "Someone, change her into men's clothing. I'll beat her up then."

"..." There's such a trick?

She stared wide-eyed at the servants who had followed the handsome young man. If they really came forward to rip off her Clothing, she would no longer care about the pain in her buttocks. She stood up and was about to run away when she heard a sinister threat from behind.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be so foolish as to just run away. Do you think your little feet can outrun my wealthy family and powerful business? Or outrun several fine horses?"

With a "whoosh," he unfolded his folding fan, displaying the air of a spoiled young master.

Zhu Furu froze, her steps halting. She turned around, scratching her head, wishing she could bend over, kneel on the ground, and scratch the wall.

Look at that demeanor, that style, he's the spitting image of a leading man! It's just a pity he's someone else's leading man, not hers... If she hadn't plopped down on his little lover's face, she wouldn't be in this predicament. TT Now, all she can do is hope his little lover isn't as petty as him. But, according to the values her mother instilled in her since childhood, at such a crucial moment to demonstrate the leading man's deep and unwavering devotion to the female lead, even killing this "third party" on the spot wouldn't be too much; her life is over...

Just as she stood trembling in the wind, a warm spring breeze carrying heavenly music blew in.

"... Your Highness, I am fine now, there is no need to make things difficult for her."

A figure gracefully rose from beneath the tree, standing sideways. Her white robes, clad in the style of a young nobleman, fluttered wildly in the spring breeze amidst the peach petals. Her crown seemed to have fallen off due to her movement, and her long black hair was disheveled by the wind, obscuring her face. But even from her figure alone, one could tell that she was undoubtedly a beautiful woman of exceptional elegance and grace.

It's beautiful, but something seems off. That leisurely, indifferent voice is deep and resonant, but it's clearly a man's voice.

"... He's a man?" After a long while, Zhu Furu found her voice.

The spoiled young master glanced back at his beauty, "Xiaojing is naturally a man. So what? Even if he's a man, if you hurt him, can't I feel sorry for him?"

"... You, you guys, so you are..." No wonder the two grown men had to hide and stammer when they met, hiding deep in the woods.

The apology she felt earlier vanished in an instant, replaced by a sudden surge of resentment. Ever since her mother left home, she had loathed Yaoi Novel, so why did she have to witness a real-life version of this double handsome man who wasn't hers?

It's all because of men who make love and romance seem so tragically beautiful that they ruin everything. Isn't it better to just find a girl and settle down? Will they die if they're not together?

She clutched her skirt tightly, glaring indignantly at the two handsome men before her. Her expression, as if she were seeing her father's killer, made the playboy raise an eyebrow and look at her teasingly, "What are we?"

"... You ruined my family, caused my mother to leave home, and made me live a life of hardship during my beautiful teenage years. I hate men like you who are so disreputable! Ugh!"

Unwittingly labeled as frivolous, he didn't get angry but laughed instead. Watching the figure running away crying as if she had suffered a great injustice, he softly asked behind him, "Xiaojing, whose daughter is this?"

"I don't know him."

"Oh? I thought this was your Childhood Sweethearts, who was talented in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and was handsome."

"..."

"Like clouds drifting into the river after the wind, like raindrops clinging to the ground. Wasn't that the love poem she murmured in her dream on the tree just now the one you hid in your sleeve in the study last time? I remember the signature was... A Willow Leaf."

"..."

"It seems I was blind. Come to think of it, how could the girl you admire be such a plain-looking girl? Are you afraid that I will be amazed by her beauty after seeing her and take her away from you to be my concubine?"

"..."

"Haha, just kidding, don't glare at me. I'm so fond of Xiaojing, and since she's the woman she likes, I'd be too busy personally bestowing a marriage upon her, how could I possibly compete with you?" He lightly waved his fan against his chest, watching the figure running away crying in the sunset, a deep smile spreading across his face. "Besides, Xiaojing and I seem to have completely different tastes. Compared to a refined lady, a young woman should be more lively and adorable—especially when it comes to food. Remember to tell your father, Prime Minister Li, my preferences, and when the concubine selection happens in a few days, please help me choose a few that suit my taste."

"The selection of imperial concubine is not just for your consumption; how can they be so erratic and unseemly?"

"I didn't say all of them. Just a few, countable on one hand, are enough. There should be at least a few who can exchange a few words with me. Otherwise, with Xiaojing outside the palace, I'm practically suffocating in here."

"The selection of a concubine is a matter of great importance to the nation, and my father will never allow you to act recklessly."

"That's why I was thinking, if one day, Xiaojing could take over his father's position, enter the palace as prime minister, and become my right-hand man, how wonderful that would be! Xiaojing has no interest in which noble family's woman I marry, which one I favor, or which belly my offspring will emerge from, hmm?" With a teasing tone, his Phoenix Eyes narrowed slightly, and with a raised hand, he generously put his arm around the beauty's shoulder, pulling him closer like a brother, only to be met with a calm, indifferent glance from the beauty.