Chapter 175: Spring Dream

Qin Yue xi seemed also to realize she had spoken many useless words, and she changed the subject, pulling Chi Nan Yi along for a good while.

What she actually said, Chi Nan Yi didn't take to heart; their mind was filled entirely with the fact that she was going to move into Prince Li's annex.

Even after Qin Yue xi had been away for a while, she still thought of her from time to time.

"Damn it," Chi Nan Yi patted their own head. "She wants to move in; what does the timing have to do with me? Why should I care so much? Even if I do care, what's in it for me? For matters unrelated to me, why am I overthinking? It's a waste of brain cells."

She kept her head down, looking at the ledger, but after a long while she hadn't turned a single page, so she simply entered the storage space to collect food.

At this moment, in the Imperial Study.

The Emperor glared at Mo Junyan with a face full of anger, and Mo Junyan, unwilling to back down, let his cold, sharp gaze beneath the mask seem to stare at an enemy.

"Say it to me again: the woman you intend to marry isn't a Su family maiden?"

"No!" Mo Junyan said coldly. "Where did Father Emperor hear such rumors? When did I ever say I liked a Su maiden?"

"I once said the legitimate daughter of the Minister's Residence—didn't you refute that?"

"Daqi doesn't have only one chancellor."

Hearing that, the Emperor was startled, then his gaze at Mo Junyan grew even stranger: "You... you want to marry a village woman?"

In the Emperor's eyes, Meng Qinghe, though the legitimate daughter of the Minister's Residence, was raised in the countryside; even now that she has risen, she remains a sparrow, and marrying her is worse than marrying Su Yuqing.

"Impossible! How could such a vulgar woman become Prince Li's principal consort? I disagree! Such a woman marrying the Crown Prince as a concubine or secondary consort is tolerable, but entering your residence—don't even think about it."

"I, the son, wish to marry, yet Father Emperor does not allow it; besides, she is not a village woman— even if she were, I wouldn't mind."

"You don't care, you don't care!" The Emperor grabbed the inkstone on the table, about to smash it, but recalling who had given it, he gently set it down, scanning the entire study; most of the items bore that person's mark.

"It seems your Mother Consort knew from the start that you aren't an easy material, so she personally arranged my Imperial Study; otherwise today I'd have made your head burst!"

Seeing he showed no sign of backing down, the Emperor clenched his teeth silently; this stubborn brat's demeanor was exactly like his own.

"You, you! You little brat, are you deliberately making the Crown Prince unhappy? The person he wishes to marry, you keep intercepting; a few days ago the Crown Prince petitioned to take Meng Hui's daughter as a secondary consort, and you caused trouble, ruining the Su family's marriage, and now the Meng family…"

"Wait a moment." Mo Junyan, hearing him, instantly realized that what he thought seemed not the same as what the Father Emperor said.

"Who is the Crown Prince's intended bride that you speak of?"

"Who else? The legitimate daughter of the Meng Family, Meng Qinghe."

Sure enough, I was mistaken!

Mo Junyan only felt he had just been a fool; he said calmly, "I, the son, don't wish to marry her. Since the Crown Prince likes her, let him have her."

"Don't want…" The Emperor was nearly choked by this ever‑changing son: "Mo Junyan! What exactly do you want?"

He thought it over and hurled the tea cup on the table outward.

"Father Emperor, please do not interfere in the son's marriage affairs."

Looking at the face before him that resembled that person so closely, the Emperor finally understood what deep helplessness felt like.

"Since you disagree with all my demands, there is one matter you must comply with."

"What matter?"

"The palace was robbed; the princess from Yuqin Guo who came for a marriage alliance is terrified, clamoring to leave the palace. She came for the alliance and is young, so I cannot keep her too tightly. The Crown Prince's residence has many women, making it unsuitable for her to stay there. Among the princes, aside from the Crown Prince, you have a separate residence; perhaps let her live there…"

"Impossible." Mo Junyan, without waiting for him to finish, outright rejected the request.

"Mo Junyan, I'm not negotiating with you; today you have already gone too far. If it were another prince, such defiance would have earned him removal of his yellow sash and exile."

"I, the son, could not ask for more."

"Mo Junyan! Do you really think I can't deal with you!"

"Father Emperor." Mo Junyan ignored the Emperor's fury and said calmly, "Mother Consort may never have mentioned this before your presence, but she said the harem has too many women. I, the son, do not desire three wives and four concubines; I only wish to stay with the one I love for life. Therefore, do not imagine stuffing people into my residence. Since the Yuqin Guo princess fears thieves, I guarantee that as long as she dares to live there, I will allow thieves to come and go in Prince Li's residence as freely as in my own home."

"You! Get out of my sight!"

Mo Junyan smiled; he knew that this round, he had won again.

On the way out of the palace, he happened to meet Qin Yue xi.

She wore a red brocade robe, draped with a white fox cloak, and a frilled collar at the neckline, making her look very playful and cute.

Seeing Yun Shan pushing him, Qin Yue xi's eyes brightened, and she hurried forward: "I have seen His Highness Prince Li."

Mo Junyan didn't even give her a glance; Yun Shan pushed him past Qin Yue xi.

Qin Yue xi, seeing this, curled her fingertips slightly, her face full of melancholy.

He didn't even look at her.

At that moment, the sound of wheels grinding over the stone slab ceased, and Mo Junyan's voice slowly came from behind.

"I have heard the princess wishes to move to This Prince's annex. This annex indeed has no thieves, but… assassins and corpses appear frequently. If the princess is not afraid, dealing with petty thieves should be manageable."

After speaking, Yun Shan pushed him away and left.

Qin Yue xi stood there, watching his back, her eyes slightly reddened.

Is this his way of rejecting me?

Night fell, and Chi Nan Yi, who had been sound asleep, suddenly opened their eyes, jolting upright from the brocade quilt, their chest heaving violently, their eyes filled with shock and panic.

"How could... how could..."

"How could I have had such a dream?"

The breath, touch, and temperature in the dream were as clear as if they truly occurred; the warm, cool lips gradually led them into sinking… they seemed still deeply immersed.

Chi Nan Yi lay back on the bed and pulled the quilt over their head.

Damn, thank goodness it was just a dream.

But… even if it was a dream, I shouldn't have dreamed about Mo Junyan…

"How could it be him?"

Early the next morning, Chi Nan Yi stepped out of the room and happened to meet Qing Shan.

Qing Shan looked at the darkness in their eyes and laughed, saying, "In the middle of the night, you went to be a thief?"

Chi Nan Yi walked past him without responding.

"Flower thief?"

Chi Nan Yi's back was a rigid figure plainly visible to the naked eye.