Xander then proceeded to nonchalantly lift her hand and surprising everyone present, he brought her hand close to his mouth.
Tang Yue shivered. What the hell?!
And before she could react, a small warm kiss landed on her hand on the back of her palm.
Her confused gaze met the smirking crimson eyes which were looking directly at her.
It took her a few seconds to even comprehend what just happened and the snake's soft cheeks instantly turned into a dark purple.
"What… What are you doing?" Tang Yue hesitantly asked.
It was so embarrassing. Everyone was staring at them. Why would he kiss someone like her, a spirit beast, so daringly in the middle of his courtroom?
For heaven's sake, they were just discussing important and serious things like the unrest among the nine countries.
"Did you concoct the pills that you auctioned?" Xander looked up and asked, answering her question with another question.
His impassive gaze laced with a subtle smirk scanned her nervous eyes and trembling lips.
"Yes. Yes." Tang Yue answered, nodding her head and readily admitting her wrongdoings. She did not want this moment to prolong any longer.
"Hmm?" He paused and silently looked at her. After a few seconds, he suddenly let her hand go and casually walked back to his majestic throne. "Ok. Good that you chose to admit the truth."
Tang Yue was very confused. He already knew that it was her?
Oh wait, did he just figure it out from holding my hand? Now that I think about it, his actions were more like sniffing my hand rather than kissing my hand.
Tang Yue was busy trying to mentally decipher the arrogant mad man's actions.
Unable to come to any conclusion, she decided to ask the elf directly. "Your highness… You… Were you able to tell that just from my hand?"
Her question instantly clicked with the general mood of the courtroom.
Ah~ That must be why! Everyone else in the courtroom looked at each other with a newfound understanding. Must be a new method… They assumed.
However, Xander merely chuckled.
"No." He raised his eyebrows and answered with a mocking grimace. "I know that from the multiple tabs you have recently started in my name in the various market stores."
Damn it! Tang Yue instantly looked away in embarrassment. The purple hue in her cheeks was becoming darker and darker.
Why are you even paying attention to those trivial things, you petty jerk?! She cursed him inwardly and gulped.
Enjoying her awkward state, Xander grinned wickedly.
"It's not that difficult to compare a list of ingredients and derive the pill composition. I have already deciphered your formula and all its details right to the very bone." He added with a teasing tone as if he was testing her.
Tang Yue blankly responded. She had used a ridiculous cheat method to get the pill formula but the man in front of her was a true genius!
But… But… Wait a second, then why did you kiss me, you jerk? Her mouth twitched.
Everyone else in the courtroom also had odd expressions on their faces.
They had been in the middle of extremely sensitive affairs all day and almost all night long, but suddenly this was turning into something else.
Xander, however, didn't look like he was done yet. The smirk on his face still remained and the man continued. "Quite an ingenious formula, I should say. How did you come up with it?"
The man had finally brought up the main point, hitting the nail right on its head!
"That… That…" Tang Yue stammered. "I stumbled onto it." She lied through her poisonous fangs.
That's bullshit! Everyone in the courtroom collectively rolled their eyes.
There was no way that their ruthless ruler was going to accept such a blatant lie! Finally, time for some action!
They rubbed their hands in anticipation of what was about to come.
How dare a mere spirit beast spew out nonsense like this in their royal courtroom? Everyone looked forward to seeing how the snake was going to be punished.
Will it be direct execution or life imprisonment? Their eyes widened in expectation.
Not one of them liked the fact that their esteemed Crown Prince was behaving so closely and intimately with a mere spirit beast.
He almost looked like he was fond of that woman and that felt repulsive to them.
Xander, however, still only had a smile on his face. The man's devious grin widened and he cocked his head to a side, casually resting his face on his palm.
His eyes still lingered on the snake, staring directly at her and drinking in her delicate nervous reactions. "Woah. That is indeed praiseworthy." He let out an exaggerated chuckle.
"What do you all think?" He shifted his gaze to the rest of the courtroom, no longer looking at the snake. "Isn't she a genius? Such amazing talent in alchemy!"
A few elven Generals quickly prepared themselves to answer him and give a piece of their mind, but Xander rudely cut them off.
He did not let them say anything. Apparently, his previous question was merely a rhetorical one.
"You know what. I think such amazing talent deserves to be rewarded." Xander continued.
Tang Yue's body instantly stiffened. The man was only talking about rewards and singing her praises, but somehow an ominous feeling crept up her heart.
She didn't dare to take any chances and nervously mumbled. "It was nothing much, your highness. Aha Ha Ha. I don't need any rewards. I really don't. Please. I insist, your highness."
She saw that Xander was still smiling at her and quickly added. "Maybe just the 200 billion gems for the pills that I auctioned?"
"No No… Not even 200 billion. That is a ridiculous amount after all. Aha ha ha. Just 1 billion would do."
"Thank you, your highness. I am forever in your debt." Tang Yue nervously started blabbering her one-sided rant.
This was all getting a little out of her hand. She just wanted to get the hell out of here, with her life intact and preferably with some amount of money.
Sigh! Was that really too much to ask for?