"Crazy girl!" Chen Liqin called but Shao Chen did not hear him at all. Chen Liqin called him again but did not get any responses.
Had no other choice, Chen Liqin took a wide stride then took the four coins from Shao Chen. "Do you he—"
"Thief Emperor, give it back!" Shao Chen immediately stood up, stretched out his hand.
"Yo—"
"Don't take my money!"
"Wait! He—"
"That is my life!"
Chen Liqin could not be more patient. He closed Shao Chen's mouth with one hand. Shao Chen moved his head to left and right, tried to free his mouth but Chen Liqin gripped Shao Chen's head back tightly.
"Stop! I will give you these coins back so hear me first!"
Shao Chen glared in suspicion. "mmm mmmm?"
"What?" Chen Liqin released his hand.
"Promise?"
Chen Liqin nodded. After thinking for a moment, he added, "I will add one coin if you follow my order."
In a speed of light, Shao Chen sealed his mouth tightly. His eyes sparkling. Chen Liqin felt that he could see a tail behind Shao Chen, wagging happily.
Using this chance, Chen Liqin poured his vexation out. "Are you dumb?! You were almost stabbed and you still thinking about your money?! The money is not important if you died!"
'Stabbed? When?' he thought after digesting Chen Liqin's speech. Actually, he did not even notice the appearance of the emperor. When he felt his hand had been freed, he immediately ran to his money in a speed of light. He did not know any of the danger that had happened several meters away.
However, it was not important. The most important was Chen Liqin's last sentences which was opposing his own principal. "It is better to die than losing my money," he protested.
Chen Liqin lost his word. His hands were itchy to smack Shao Chen's crazy brain. However, he knew that he would only waste his energy so he decided to change the topic. "Do you know why you are being targeted? That man told you to take out a thing. What is it?"
Shao Chen blink with tilted head. "Thing?"
Chen Liqin was hundred percent sure that Shao Chen did not hear anything and only focusing on money. 'Sighed ….'
"That man in black, he told you to take out something! Do you know what is it?"
Shao Chen looked blankly at Chen Liqin for a while before his eyes turned to the coins in Chen Liqin's hand.
Could not hold himself anymore, Chen Liqin smacked Shao Chen's head. "Not this one!"
Shao Chen pouted. He stroke his head to ease the pain. "I don't know!"
'The only precious thing I had was ….' Shao Chen's thought stopped. A box came into his mind. Inside of the box was the paper that Yao Meilin gave him before.
"Ah!"
Chen Liqin almost had a heart attack because of Shao Chen's sudden shout. "What? You know what is it?"
Realized that he had made a mistake, Shao Chen immediately shook his head, but this action only inviting more suspicion.
"Are you sure?" Chen Liqin observed Shao Chen from head to toe, searching for any suspicious sign.
Shao Chen shook again. "I don't know," he said while rolling eye balls to other side, refusing to look straight at the emperor.
There was definitely something fishy here but Chen Liqin did not insist. "Ok then."
Shao Chen sighed. He even did not cover up how relief he was.
Now, Chen Liqin was hundred percent sure that Shao Chen was hiding something. Looking at how that dark shadow attacking Shao Chen and him, this 'something' was not a small matter. He did not know whether this 'something' can harm him as the emperor, but for sure, someone did not want him to know about this.
Hence, he had to get this 'something' faster than that dark shadow. For that, first, he had to make sure Shao Chen did not do something reckless again before he could persuade Shao Chen to spill the secret.
Chen Liqin gave Shao Chen five coins which was received by Shao Chen in delight.
"I will give you one more but you have to follow me, okay?"
Shao Chen nodded then followed Chen Liqin to the cold palace area.
*****
"Sit down!"
Shao Chen sat on the side of the stone bed without taking his eyes off the coins. He was really excited to see that he had one more coin now that he could not stop counting. He could not believe that he could get more coin very fast.
"Focus on me first!" Chen Liqin ordered. He sat beside Shao Chen because he could not find any chair inside the pavilion.
He did not notice a movement behind. At the pavilion door which was slightly open, He Tao, Wei Dong, and Lu Yang squatted there, peeking on the two back figures inside. They had just returned from carrying out the emperor's order but unfortunately, they could not find any trace of the attackers. When they searched for the emperor to report, they found out that the emperor was inside Shao Chen's pavilion! Thunder striking hard inside their head.
"What are they doing?" He Tao asked, squinted his eyes because Shao Chen's pavilion was too dark. He could not see well.
"Did His Majesty cheated?" Wei Dong whispered which immediately got smacked on the head by Lu Yang.
"Watch your mouth!" Lu Yang exclaimed in a restrained voice. However, inside his heart, he also had the same idea. However, this young emperor was also well known of his faithfulness. Lu Yang could not think that His Majesty could do this kind of improper act while having someone else in his heart.
Meanwhile, inside the pavilion, Shao Chen suddenly got enlightenment. He turned to Chen Liqin in sparkling eyes. "I will hear one order for one coin!"
"What?!"
"If you did not give me coins now, I won't look at you!" Shao Chen exclaimed again, immediately turned into another direction.
Chen Liqin's mouth twitched. He could feel the irritation in his heart was piling up. With a full force, he seized Shao Chen's head with two hands, and twisted it until their eyes met.
"I warned you, I am in charge here! Don't think of any ridiculous idea!" Chen Liqin said full of tension. He took the coins in Shao Chen's hand away.
"No!" Shao Chen stretched out his hand, tried to get the coins back but Chen Liqin had raised his hand so high that Shao Chen could not reach them. Before Shao Chen could climb Chen Liqin's body, the emperor had learnt from previous experience, pressing Shao Chen's shoulder with one hand to restrain him.
"Hear me now and I will give your beloved money back!"
Shao Chen pouted but he did not have any other choice. At last, he sat in silent while facing down in annoyance.
Chen Liqin also released his hand from Shao Chen in relief. "You should not have your focus only on the money! You had used your brain for another thing too so that the danger like today won't happen again!" he reprimanded.
However, Shao Chen still felt hateful towards Chen Liqin so he covered his ears. "Hmph!"
Chen Liqin had lost all of his patient so he did not act gentle too. With a full force, he pulled Shao Chen's hand. Shao Chen also tried to resist so it became a tug of war for several seconds with Chen Liqin as the winner. Shao Chen could not cover his ears anymore.
"If you only focus on money, you won't survive!"
"I don't need to survive if I don't have money!" Shao Chen turned his head away.
Chen Liqin pinched Shao Chen's cheeks, pulled that soft meat hard until Shao Chen facing Chen Liqin again.
"Ouch! It hurts! Hurts!" Shao Chen tried to pry Chen Liqin's hands off but on the contrary, the pinched on his cheeks became stronger.
"Alright! You don't need to change your thought about money but from now on, don't receive money from anyone else!"
"You could not forbid me!"
"I will give you three coins every day so promise me, don't get money from anyone else!"
Shao Chen's annoyance extinguished instantly. Flower field bloom around him. "You will?"
"Yes." Chen Liqin sighed in relief. He did not want to waste his money on this dumb but he did not want Shao Chen to recklessly hand that 'something' to random people because of money. Someone like that dark shadow would also use this money plan to get that 'something' then murdered Shao Chen. Even though, Chen Liqin hate this crazy girl but he did not mean to have this girl losing her life.
"Okay, I agree!" He could get three coins everyday! Of course Shao Chen won't decline this kind of delicious offer.
"Don't get back on your words!"
Shao Chen nodded firmly.
Chen Liqin finally released his hand from Shao Chen, leaving two red marks on his cheeks.
"Good! You also had to fix this brain too." Chen Liqin pushed Shao Chen's head with index finger causing Shao Chen to stumble backwards slightly.
"Ouch …."