Hu Xiaotian nodded. "Only by drawing water from both sides can we reap the benefits. We need to exploit their eagerness to win Great Kang over and squeeze out the greatest possible gains."
"Isn't that what you do best?" Qiqi asked.
"In the past, I had to live with my tail between my legs, scraping out a living in the cracks," Hu Xiaotian said. "Great Yong was always thinking of swallowing my territory, while the Imperial Court never regarded me as a decent man. They decided I was a treacherous minister, and at critical moments, instead of helping me, they kept stabbing me in the back. It was one thing for the Retired Emperor to do that..." He stopped there.
Qiqi gave him a cold look. "Such resentment. Are you saying I haven't treated you well enough?"
Hu Xiaotian chuckled. "People change. You've grown up now. You're more sensible."
How could Qiqi fail to hear that the wretch was calling her former self immature? She merely looked at him and sneered.
Hu Xiaotian wiped the smile from his face, suddenly adopting an expression brimming with tenderness. "Actually, all the mistakes over these years were mine," he said sincerely. "I used to see you as nothing more than a little girl and overlooked your feelings. These past few days, I've wanted to offer you a truly sincere apology."
Qiqi did not seem moved by his words. "Out with it. What do you want me to do this time?"
Hu Xiaotian sighed. "Sometimes I find you far too pragmatic."
"I can't help it. Not when the person I'm dealing with is you."
"There's something I've thought over again and again, and I still believe I ought to tell you," Hu Xiaotian said. "The skull you kept in Dragon Spirit Wonderland was taken