Chapter 191: The Emperor of Xibei

Chapter 191

The cold wind rustled Qi Huan's skirt and lifted a few strands of her hair, tickling her cheeks. She casually tucked the loose strands behind her ear and gracefully entered the same private room as before.

When she saw the man in the wheelchair, she was stunned for a moment in disbelief, but quickly regained her composure. She sent Yan Qing and Tao Su to stand guard outside the door.

"Shu, why are you here?"

"I heard from my secret guards that you had gone out, so I came to wait for you."

Meeting his intense gaze, Qi Huan joyfully rushed towards him, cupping his face in her hands. Looking down at him, she examined his features again and again, finally unable to resist kissing the lips she had longed for.

The cool sensation made her shiver slightly, but Li Shuchen wouldn't let her retreat. He held the back of her head, deepening the kiss.

Without realizing it, Qi Huan had settled onto his lap, kissing him passionately. Their tongues intertwined, expressing endless longing.

When her breathing quickened, Li Shuchen finally released her, leaving her almost breathless. He held her tightly in his arms, alternating between light pecks and gentle licks, tirelessly savoring her sweet red lips.

Gradually, Little Li began to stir.

She hurriedly tried to move away, but Li Shuchen held her in place.

The man's low, magnetic voice sounded in her ear: "Don't move."

Qi Huan blinked, obediently staying still. She tried to find a solution: "Shu, repeat after me—form is emptiness, emptiness is form..."

"Form is emptiness, emptiness is form, and when we have time, we indulge in form."

"......"

Held in his arms, Qi Huan dared not move, afraid of stimulating him further.

Fortunately, Li Shuchen only buried his face in her shoulder, reciting a mantra to calm himself, exercising restraint.

After a long while.

Li Shuchen sat up straight, intending to discuss something with her, but his gaze involuntarily fell on her slightly swollen lips. He looked up, meeting her doe-like eyes brimming with affection.

Seeing the love in her eyes, it was as if a gentle breeze had rippled across a shimmering lake, causing his heart to flutter once more.

The mantra he had just recited was rendered useless.

He sighed helplessly, resigned to reciting it again.

Qi Huan seized the opportunity to climb off his lap, sitting on a nearby round stool. Her cheeks flushed, she gulped down several mouthfuls of tea.

After fidgeting with her fingers for a moment, her gaze once again fell on Li Shuchen's incomparably handsome face. Changing the subject, she asked in a crisp voice:

"Shu, were the County Princess title and the case reversal your doing?"

"Not all of them."

"Just about half."

"And then filled them back in."

"What he hid was the Emperor's daily activity log."

In an angle Qi Huan couldn't see, Li Shuchen's gaze suddenly turned sharp, and the corner of his mouth curved into a faint sneer.

"The first log was from the 10th year of Longshun. The Emperor favored his consorts no more than three times a month."

"The second log was from the 11th Year of Longshun Era. The Emperor favored his consorts, calling for as many as three concubines in one night."

"Following this lead, I began to search for people who had served by Father Emperor and Mother Empress's side back then. I finally found a palace maid who had been released from the palace to marry. Only then did I learn that my birth was merely the result of the drug."

"Back then, Father Emperor was the eldest legitimate son, but he had no heir for a long time. His position meant fight or die. Mother Empress didn't want to die with him, so she devised a plan to drug him, and soon after, I was conceived."

"For some reason, Father Emperor flew into a rage. After arguing with Mother Empress, he accepted the reality but vented his anger on Physician Qi, who had prepared the drug for Mother Empress."

Qi Huan looked at him in shock: "Then why did the Emperor agree to overturn my grandfather's case?"

Did his conscience finally get the better of him?

Li Shuchen caressed her delicate hand, a glint flashing in his eyes: "From abstinence to indulgence, from being allergic to peanuts to eating pastries with crushed peanuts without incident, Huan, can you guess why?"

"...Because the current Emperor is a fake?"

She had carefully noticed that Li Shuchen sometimes referred to the Emperor as "Father Emperor" and sometimes as just "Emperor."

Perhaps, after the 11th Year of Longshun Era, the person on the dragon throne was not his real father, but an imposter.

Combining this with the book she had given him before, Li Shuchen quickly understood what she meant by "fake." He kissed her forehead approvingly: "Huan is so clever."

"......You made it so obvious, I'd be stupid not to guess it." Qi Huan pouted, but her heart was filled with sweetness.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and perhaps in Shu's eyes, her entire being sparkled. He always found ways to compliment her.

But she enjoyed it.

And she returned the favor by praising him: "My Shu is the smartest person of all. You discovered the Emperor's problem so quickly......"

A trace of bitterness welled up in Li Shuchen's heart.

"I'm not smart. I merely followed the clues Mother Empress left behind, step by step. If I had discovered his problem earlier back then, perhaps Mother wouldn't have died."

"Shu, we can't change the past. We need to look forward."

"I'll be by your side, helping you avenge your mother."