You should know that asking for a favor comes at a price!

The young woman beside Li Chen had exquisite, beautiful features, her disheveled hair framing a pale, oval face.

Even though she looked somewhat haggard, it could not conceal the allure in her eyes and brows.

What puzzled Li Chen most was that despite her youthful, still-developing figure, she wore a deep-purple, chest-high ruqun with a pipa-shaped overlapping front.

That kind of dress only had the right charm on a voluptuous woman. It hardly seemed like a style she could carry off.

Before Li Chen could ask what she wanted, she spoke first. "You look unfamiliar, young master. You don't come to this part of town often, do you?"

Her voice was soft and sweet, almost coquettish, and her gaze seemed to brim with affection.

Every man she looked at would find himself under the illusion that this woman might be interested in him.

A woman like this knew best how to pluck at a man's heartstrings.

Li Chen did not fall for it. Compared with those seductive women in the palace, she was practically an innocent fledgling.

He asked directly, "Just tell me what you want."

She seemed to have some difficulty she could not easily speak of, and judging by her clothes, she was heading to a banquet.

Young and beautiful as she was, she would certainly attract plenty of male attention.

No, more precisely, she probably had plenty of male suitors.

If Li Chen's guess was right, she did not seem to want to attend the banquet, so she most likely wanted him to act as her shield.

In the past, Li Chen would definitely have refused. But now, wouldn't acting as her shield give him a legitimate excuse to beat someone up? He might even complete his mission.

What Li Chen had not expected was that his guess was right, but not entirely.

"You said it yourself, so I'll be frank."

As she said this, her demeanor changed completely.

She went from a woman overflowing with seductive charm to a girl weighed down by worries.

Clearly, that enticing manner earlier had all been an act.

She ordered a pot of wine, downed a serving in one gulp, then worked up the courage to tell her story.

Her name was Lin Yue'e, and she was a student at the Kindling Combat Academy. Gifted from childhood, she had been a cultivation prodigy whose name was known in every local household.

At this point, Li Chen was a little bewildered.

I told you to be frank, not to start from the very beginning.

But seeing the bitterness in her eyes, Li Chen did not interrupt and simply listened.

After all, Li Chen had no silver to pay for his meal, so he really could not leave.

Born into a poor family, Lin Yue'e had cultivated diligently, hoping to make something of herself as soon as possible.

Sure enough, through hard work and talent, she passed the most rigorous assessment and earned admission to the Kindling Combat Academy.

It was one of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty's top academies. Anyone who graduated successfully could return home in glory, clad in fine robes.

With burning enthusiasm in her heart, she left her hometown and came to the imperial capital.

She had thought her abilities would make her the brightest rising star in the capital.

Only after arriving at the Kindling Combat Academy did she discover that it gathered the favored children of heaven from all across the country.

Some were more talented than her and worked even harder. It was practically a gathering place for competitive maniacs, making her seem thoroughly ordinary.

All her beautiful dreams were dragged back down to reality, and for a time, she even lost her way.

After a period of dejection, Lin Yue'e began to come to her senses.

Precisely because everyone here was a genius, standing out among them would truly mean something.

So she devoted herself to cultivation at the Kindling Combat Academy, finally achieving some results and earning a very high ranking.

It was a rather good inspirational story. For now, Li Chen still did not understand where the bitterness in her eyes came from.

Lin Yue'e paused here, seemingly embarrassed to continue.

Then she gulped down a few more mouthfuls of wine and continued, borrowing courage from the alcohol.

As a woman with some beauty, she naturally had to deal with the troubles that came with male suitors.

But one of Lin Yue'e's suitors was the son of an official, a man already past forty. His father held a powerful, high-ranking position in the Ministry of Rites.

The man was a typical idle wastrel, greedy for money and lustful for women. After meeting Lin Yue'e by chance, he began pursuing her obsessively.

After working so hard to get this far, how could Lin Yue'e willingly marry someone like that, let alone become his concubine?

But once the official's son revealed his father's status, none of her other suitors dared compete with him.

After all, if they offended a Ministry of Rites official in the imperial capital, how could they get anywhere in the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty?

Normally, with her teachers looking out for her, the official's son could not easily cause trouble at the academy.

Tonight, however, there was a special banquet that all the outstanding students from the three great academies had to attend. It concerned their futures.

That official's son, already past forty, had made himself clear: if Lin Yue'e refused him, she could forget about graduating from the Kindling Combat Academy.

Lin Yue'e had no choice but to go, yet she did not want to give in.

That was the general situation, and Li Chen now understood.

"Then why did you come to me?"

"I took a look at your clothes just now, young master. You're a member of the imperial family, aren't you?"

Lin Yue'e was no fool. She knew members of the imperial family were not afraid of officials' sons.

When she passed by earlier and saw the gold-edged dragon patterns on Li Chen's clothes, she decided to treat a dead horse as though it might still be saved and came over to ask for help.

"I see. Well, your judgment was correct. I am indeed a member of the imperial family."

Li Chen was not lying. Wasn't the emperor part of the imperial family?

Lin Yue'e asked excitedly, "Then would you be willing to do me this favor, young master?"

Li Chen glanced over her and said, "You should know that asking for a favor comes at a price."

Feeling Li Chen's gaze sweep over her body, Lin Yue'e seemed to "understand" something, and her face reddened.

"As long as your demands aren't excessive, young master, I'll do my best to satisfy you."

Li Chen's features were naturally elegant, his face strikingly handsome. Under the influence of the alcohol, the longer she looked at him, the more entranced she seemed to become.

But she still had her limits!

"All right. Remember, you said it yourself."

In fact, Lin Yue'e had already prepared herself for a rather bad outcome.

Who could have guessed that Li Chen's request was for Lin Yue'e to pay for his meal?

Lin Yue'e was dumbfounded on the spot. It felt like, I've already taken my pants off, and this is all you're showing me?

Still, Lin Yue'e reacted quickly. She decided Li Chen was merely finding a casual excuse to help her.

With his clothes and bearing, how could he possibly have no money in his pockets?

Even taking ten thousand steps back, if this member of the imperial family had no money on him, surely the old steward beside him would have brought some?

At that thought, her favorable impression of Li Chen rose a few more notches.

What she did not realize was that neither of them had actually brought any money.

Once Lin Yue'e paid, they left the restaurant.

The residence hosting the banquet was not far from this area, only about twenty minutes away.

Along the way, the cool breeze cleared Lin Yue'e's head considerably.

Without the courage the wine had given her earlier, she would have been far too embarrassed to ask a member of the imperial family she had never met for help.

But with no backing, she was helpless in the deep waters of the imperial capital. She truly had no other option. Li Chen was her only lifeline.

While her thoughts ran wild, they arrived at the residence hosting the banquet. The host was none other than the Ministry of Rites.

Li Chen and Lin Yue'e were splendidly dressed, so the guards at the gate let them both in after a cursory question.

But the guards stopped Zhao Wenyuan, saying servants had to wait outside and could not enter a place like this.

Zhao Wenyuan was furious. I'm the grand chancellor of this dynasty, and you dare call me a servant? A few mere Ministry of Rites guards actually dare bar my way?

Then again, at Li Chen's side, he really was a subordinate.

Had he not seen the look in Li Chen's eyes, Zhao Wenyuan would have summoned men to tear the place down.

Because he knew he was not today's leading man.

"The Ministry of Rites is probably in for trouble."

Zhao Wenyuan had heard a little about such matters. They were among the unwritten rules of the dynasty's official circles.

But the man who had just gone inside was this dynasty's absolute rule.