Chapter 166: I Will Never Allow You to Insult Yourself Like This

"Then we're leaving. Xiao Sizi, do you want to come along?"

Gao Yang asked.

Xiao Sizi is said to be a royal princess, and because of health reasons she stayed at the Weinan Bo Mansion for Chen Yan to look after her.

But now Xiao Sizi's health has improved a lot; she hasn't been ill during this period, hopping around every day, looking healthy.

Originally, the main reason Xiao Sizi could stay here was that the Bo Mansion is close to the Imperial Palace, so Li Shimin and Empress Changsun, when they missed their child, could visit at any time.

But if they went to Weinan County, it would be much farther.

That's why she asked like that.

"I don't know either," Chen Yan thought for a moment, "but although Xiao Sizi looks healthy, a condition like Qi illness can't be cured, only managed; her residence and diet require careful attention."

"I'll ask your father emperor another day; if he agrees I can take Xiao Sizi, I'll bring her along; if he refuses…"

"We'll talk about it later; I don't know."

"Hmm." Gao Yang asked again, "How often should we come back? How much should we bring?"

"Bring everything. I think Weinan County is fine; we might live there for a long time."

"You don't need to worry about these things; I'll arrange them."

Gao Yang was silent for a moment, then leaned a bit closer to him.

At a loss for words, Chen Yan thought Gao Yang had finished asking and was about to fall asleep when he suddenly heard Gao Yang ask in a complicated tone, "Husband, have I ever disliked you?"

Chen Yan:?

That one sentence almost stunned him.

The atmosphere fell silent, making Gao Yang feel uneasy, extremely nervous, and a bit regretful.

She didn't know what had come over her, and suddenly asked that question.

This… seemed a silly question to her.

Whether Chen Yan had ever disliked her probably didn't need to be asked.

Putting herself in his shoes, Gao Yang even disliked her former self, let alone Chen Yan.

If anyone dared to kick her mansion's gate in front of servants and outsiders, she would make sure they couldn't get away.

Thinking of that, Gao Yang's eyes dimmed slightly.

She didn't know when it started, but she began to care about Chen Yan's opinion of her.

Many times, she didn't want to argue or quarrel with him.

But only she knew that aside from arguing and fighting with Chen Yan, she seemed to have no common topics with him.

Gao Yang didn't understand commerce, wasn't clear about Chen Yan's past life, and knew little about officialdom.

In daily life, she had no idea how to get along with Chen Yan.

So she could only follow the old way of interacting.

In the morning she irritated Chen Yan, then they quarreled, bickered, and the day passed.

But this was not a long‑term solution; Gao Yang didn't know how long such a life could last, so she kept trying to show her presence before Li Lizhi married in, hoping to find another way to get along.

She didn't want to be replaced by Li Lizhi, which is why she reacted so angrily today when Chen Yan used Li Lizhi to provoke her.

Perhaps even Gao Yang hadn't realized that her pride, once preferring destruction over sharing, now made her unconsciously lower her head before Chen Yan, becoming cautious in some aspects.

"......"

Just as Gao Yang waited nervously for an answer, she heard Chen Yan let out a long sigh, then in a slightly amused voice said, "If I said I had ever disliked you, you'd definitely be angry; I don't think I can sleep well tonight."

"If I said I never disliked you, you would never believe it, and might keep pressing me."

"This question, no matter how I answer, seems to have no good outcome."

"So, may I refuse to answer?"

Hearing that, Gao Yang's tension eased considerably, and she even felt like laughing.

But she held back, set her face sternly and said, "No, you must answer me."

"Fine, fine," Chen Yan said helplessly, "I never disliked you, okay?"

"Really?" Gao Yang felt a surge of surprise, yet feared Chen Yan might be lying.

"Then tell me, why didn't you dislike me back then?"

"Look at what you say, should I have disliked you?" Chen Yan suddenly laughed.

Then he said, "Well, I told you, this question is really hard to answer; anyway it has no good result for me."

Gao Yang said silently, "Back then, I kicked the Bo Mansion gate in front of so many people, causing you to lose face, and later because we fought, you ended up in Dali Temple Prison for a few days."

"You disliking me was justified."

What the heck!

Chen Yan's eyes widened; he could hardly believe what he had heard.

Is this damn Gao Yang?

No, that can't be right, it must be wrong?

He quickly cupped Gao Yang's face and looked closely, asking in confusion, "That's right, it's you."

"Could it be a ghost possessing you?"

"Hmm, looks like we'll need to ask Li Chunfeng to come tomorrow to exorcise you."

Gao Yang: "......"

"Let go, I'm fine," she said, shaking her head helplessly, then lay back down.

"I just want to know why you don't dislike me, nothing else."

"Then do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

"Of course the truth. If you dare lie, I'll bite you to death."

Chen Yan chuckled and said: "Back then I wished you would make a bigger scene, and then Li Shimin would see us so incompatible and issue an edict to call off the engagement."

"How could I possibly dislike you?"

"Back then I simply loved you to death."

Gao Yang: "......"

Well, this is something she didn't expect.

That said, this is very Chen Yan.

For a moment, Gao Yang didn't know whether she should feel relieved or be angry.

She felt relieved that her past behavior hadn't made Chen Yan dislike her.

Or she was angry that Chen Yan actually wanted her to cause a bigger scene and then find a way to dissolve the engagement.

She said speechlessly: "Since you wanted me to cause a bigger scene, when I kicked the Bo Mansion's gate that day, why did you hit me?"

Upon mentioning this, Chen Yan instantly got angry: "How dare you still bring this up?"

"You can make a fuss, you can kick, you can call me a playboy who only knows how to hang out in pleasure quarters and I'd tolerate it, but you actually pointed at my nose and said a toad wants to eat swan meat."

"How could I tolerate that?"

"'Huh?' Gao Yang looked completely baffled."

"No, you can tolerate making a fuss, you can tolerate kicking your family's gate and letting you lose face."

"You can tolerate being called a playboy who only knows how to hang out in pleasure quarters."

"But when you say a toad wants to eat swan meat, you can't tolerate it."

Gao Yang really couldn't understand.

"Any one of the first three would be worse than this, right?"

"'Why can't you tolerate it?'"

Gao Yang chose to ask directly.

"'Why?' Chen Yan exclaimed excitedly: 'You actually still ask me why?'"

"'You, a noble Tang Dynasty princess, a precious lady, actually compare yourself to a toad—how could I tolerate that?'"

"'As a loyal subject of the Tang Dynasty, I absolutely will not allow you to insult yourself like this.'"

Gao Yang: "......"

I'm tired, let's just destroy everything!

"\"...... \""