Chapter 7: You should know, asking someone for a favor comes at a price!

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

Even though her face looked somewhat worn, her eyes and brows still radiated charm.

What puzzled Li Chen most was her slender, immature figure dressed in a deep purple, chest-high pipa-collar ruqun.

Such a dress only suited women with fuller figures—it didn’t suit her style at all.

Before Li Chen could ask her what she wanted, she spoke first: “You look unfamiliar, rarely come to this area, do you?”

Her voice was soft and sweet, like a cooing plea, and her gaze carried a tender, lingering emotion.

Every man she looked at felt the illusion that “this woman must like me.”

Women like her were best at stirring a man’s heart.

Li Chen wasn’t fooled—compared to the seductive women in the palace, this one was practically a virgin.

He asked directly: “Just say what you want.”

The woman seemed to have some hidden trouble; her attire suggested she was heading to a banquet.

And with her youth and beauty, she would draw plenty of male attention.

No, more accurately—plenty of male suitors.

If Li Chen guessed right, she didn’t want to attend the banquet, so she likely wanted him to act as a shield.

In the past, Li Chen would’ve refused—but now, playing bodyguard meant he could legitimately beat someone up, maybe even complete his mission.

But Li Chen hadn’t expected he was right—yet not entirely right.

“You said it yourself, so I’ll speak plainly.”

As she spoke, her demeanor changed completely.

From a seductive beauty, she became a girl burdened with worries.

Clearly, her earlier allure had been an act.

She ordered a pot of wine, downed it in one gulp, then gathered courage and began telling her story.

Her name was Lin Yue’e, a student at the Xinhuo Combat Academy; since childhood, she’d been extraordinarily gifted, a household name for her cultivation talent in her hometown.

At this point, Li Chen was confused.

I told you to speak plainly, not to start from your birth.

But seeing the bitterness in her eyes, he didn’t interrupt—he became a listener.

After all, Li Chen had no silver to pay for his meal—he couldn’t just leave.

As a poor family’s child, Lin Yue’e trained with extreme diligence, hoping to achieve success soon.

As expected, through effort and talent, she passed the strictest examination and earned admission to the Xinhuo Combat Academy.

This was one of the top academies of the TianCe Dynasty; graduating successfully meant returning home in glory.

Filled with passion, she left her hometown and came to the imperial capital.

She’d expected her abilities to make her the brightest new star in the capital.

But after arriving at the Xinhuo Combat Academy, she discovered it was filled with the empire’s most gifted youths.

Some were more talented than her—and even worked harder. It was a gathering of overachievers; she felt utterly ordinary.

All her dreams shattered, plunging her into confusion for a time.

After a period of depression, Lin Yue’e finally woke up.

Precisely because everyone here was a genius, standing out would mean real value.

So she trained hard at the Xinhuo Combat Academy and eventually achieved results, rising to a very high rank.

It was a decent inspirational story, but Li Chen still didn’t understand the bitterness in her eyes.

Lin Yue’e paused here, seemingly reluctant to continue.

Then she drank a few more gulps of wine and, emboldened by alcohol, went on.

As a woman with some beauty, she naturally faced the nuisance of male suitors.

But one suitor was a forty-something official’s son, whose father held a high-ranking post in the Ministry of Rites.

He was a classic idle, greedy, lecherous man who, after accidentally encountering Lin Yue’e, pursued her obsessively.

After all she’d endured, how could she marry such a man—even as a concubine?

But when the official’s son revealed his father’s status, other suitors dared not compete—after all, who wanted to offend a Ministry of Rites official in the TianCe Dynasty?

Thanks to protection from her teachers, the official’s son hadn’t caused trouble within the academy.

Tonight, there’s a special banquet: all outstanding students from the three major academies must attend—it concerns their futures.

The forty-something official’s son has made it clear: if Lin Yue’e refuses him, she won’t graduate from the Xinhuo Combat Academy.

Lin Yue’e had to go—but she refused to yield.

The situation was clear now; Li Chen understood.

“Then why come to me?”

“I just noticed your attire—you’re a royal family member, aren’t you?”

Lin Yue’e wasn’t foolish; she knew royal family members didn’t fear official’s sons.

As she passed by earlier, she spotted the dragon embroidery and gold trim on his clothes, so she took a desperate chance and approached him for help.

“I see. You’re right—I am indeed royalty.”

!

Li Chen hadn’t lied—wasn’t the emperor part of the royal family?

Lin Yue’e exclaimed excitedly: “Then will you help me?”

Li Chen glanced at her and said: “You should know, asking someone for a favor requires payment.”

Feeling Li Chen’s gaze sweep over her, Lin Yue’e seemed to “understand,” her face flushing red.

“As long as your demand isn’t excessive, Yue’e will do her best to satisfy you.”

Though Li Chen’s features were naturally refined and his face strikingly handsome, under the influence of alcohol, she found herself growing more entranced the longer she looked.

But she still had her limits!

“Fine, you said it.”

Lin Yue’e had braced herself for the worst.

Yet Li Chen’s demand was simple: pay for his meal.

Lin Yue’e froze—she felt like she’d taken off her pants, only for him to show her this?

But she reacted quickly—she assumed Li Chen was just making up an excuse to help her.

His clothes and bearing—how could he possibly have no money?

Even if this royal family member was broke, his old steward beside him surely had money.

Thinking this, her liking for Li Chen increased a little more.

But she hadn’t realized—neither of them had any money.

After Lin Yue’e paid, the group left the restaurant.

The mansion hosting the banquet was nearby, just a twenty-minute walk away.

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

Without the wine’s courage, she’d never have dared ask a stranger from the royal family for help.

But without connections, she was helpless in this deep-water capital—she had no other options; Li Chen was her only lifeline.

As she drifted in thought, they arrived at the banquet mansion—the host was the Ministry of Rites.

Li Chen and Lin Yue’e, dressed elegantly, were let in after a single casual question from the guards.

But the guards stopped Zhao Wenyuan, telling him servants must wait outside and couldn’t enter such a place.

Zhao Wenyuan was furious—how dare these lowly guards call him a servant? He was the Prime Minister of the court!

But then again, beside Li Chen, he truly was a servant.

Had he not seen Li Chen’s gaze, Zhao Wenyuan would’ve ordered his men to tear the place apart.

Because he knew—he wasn’t the main character today.

“The Ministry of Rites is in for trouble.”

Zhao Wenyuan had heard whispers of such things—they were unspoken rules of court politics.

But the man walking in now? He was the dynasty’s absolute rule.

(End of Chapter)