"I NEVER THOUGHT that the fifth imperial uncle was being neglected by the imperial family. You can't even let go of a simple meal," Lily remarked, dark lines visible on her forehead. The meal she had uttered earlier was nothing but to annoy the housekeeper. She already explained it to the guy sitting in front of her, yet the other was adamant about getting a meal from her.
She didn't want to. But since she was the one who opened her mouth, she compromised.
"It's rare for me to have Young Miss Pei's company. How could I let it go?"
Lily looked at Hugo. The man was still wearing his usual gentle smile. He looked like a refined gentleman who was untouchable by mundane things. Yet, why did Lily feel like those eyes were looking deep into her soul? And was he flirting with her?
Nah. That's impossible.
A man who had the ambition of being a monk had no desires. The man might just be teasing her.
"I'm not born to please whoever. So, why should I entertain you?"
Hugo signed dejectedly. That wasn't what he meant. Why was it that he wanted to utter good words, but the girl always interpreted it in a different way?
He had been thinking about how to get close to the girl. However, he couldn't think of anything. He thought of acting shameless, but he was afraid to be despised. Some part of him wanted to own the girl through force, but what if the girl suddenly decided to have a blood feud with her because of it? He couldn't let that happen. In the end, he could only make their relationship slow.
"One of the elders of the Medicine Sect was in the pavilion earlier," he informed the girl.
Lily, who was sipping tea, stopped her movement before reacting, "An elder?"
Is it that elder?
In her three lives, the reason she died was this elder. After her marriage to the crown prince, although nothing happened, the prime minister's daughter felt she was an eyesore.
Lily was crowned as the future empress, and what that woman wanted was not only the crown prince but her title as well. So, the woman seeks help from her own brother's master to kill her. When that master came, everyone was surprised to see an elder from the medicine sect. A lot of things happened during those times, but the ending was still her death.
Then, Lily's grandfather avenged her, paraded that elder's corpse for the world to see, and destroyed the Medicine Sect, before finally leaving the empire. However, those events would only happen after her three boring years of marriage. Her supposed marriage with the crown prince would happen at the end of this year. This elder, if he came right into her face, isn't he not following the script?
There was still a three-year period for her to laze around, what was he doing lurking in this empire ahead of time?
Thinking of the possibility that she might encounter problems earlier than expected, her face instantly wrinkled in annoyance. She severed the engagement with the crown prince, and requested for him to marry the foolish girl just to increase the time of her peace, not to decrease it!
"Young Miss Pei?" Hugo said, trying to get the attention of the girl who was suddenly spurting fire in her eyes.
"Is that elder named Leo?" she inquired coldly.
Hugo was stunned. "How'd you know?" He didn't expect that Lily would know someone in the Earth realm. There was no Pei family in that place as well. So, he was surprised to hear that Lily knew an elder there.
"So, it's really him!" she slapped the table out of anger. They were in a private room. However, the noise was loud and the nearby people heard it. They looked at the private room with curiosity.
"Young Miss Pei has a connection with the Medicine Sect?"
Lily sneered. "What connection? How can I have any connection with them? However, he is the prime minister's eldest son's master. So, how could I not know him?"
"The emperor doesn't know," remarked Hugo. Otherwise, the emperor wouldn't treat the prime minister just so.
"Your emperor is stupid. Do not compare me with him the next time," said Lily in disgust.
Hugo chuckled, "Alright." Then, he added, "The emperor's birthday banquet will be held on the third day of next week. He has also implied multiple times during the court assembly of his plan on making the prime minister's eldest daughter the concubine of the crown prince. It is estimated that the emperor would announce it at his birthday banquet."
He looked into Lily's eyes. He knew that the girl was lazy, but she was never stupid. He wanted her to understand the reason for that elder's presence in the empire.
The prime minister was ambitious, and so were his children. His eldest daughter would never allow herself to be the subject of ridicule and become a lowly concubine. With that, she had to seek the help of her brother and her brother's master. Hugo didn't care why that elder was willing to help, however, he wanted Lily to be vigilant all the time.
His maternal family had been urging him to come back for some unknown reason. But since they were his closest family, he had to go. It's just that, he couldn't just leave Lily in this empire when he knows that trouble is lurking. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if something bad happened to the girl and the Pei family.
"Thank you Fifth Imperial Uncle for telling me this," said Lily. Her face was sincere, but the tone of her voice was cold.
Now, she was regretting cancelling the engagement. At least, when she married that useless crown prince, there were still three years of idling. Now, she could only sigh in regret as trouble was about to come. She was not afraid of trouble, but she hated taking action!
When Lily went back home, she dejectedly went to her grandfather's study room and said, "I shouldn't have cancelled the engagement."
Duke Pei's eyes bulged. His hand was itching from wanting to slap open his granddaughter's skull. He wanted to see what kind of brain the girl had to keep changing her mind!
"The crown prince is immoral! Why are you suddenly regretting it?"
Now that he was thinking straight, Duke Pei would never let his granddaughter marry that crown prince. That man was not chaste and in the future, he would get a lot of concubines. If he married his granddaughter to him, his granddaughter would die. He couldn't let that happen!
"I know."
"Then, why are you suddenly regretting it?" Duke Pei asked, trying to be patient.
Lily could only share what Fifth imperial uncle Hugo told her earlier. She couldn't just say that she was reborn three times and died three times at the hand of that elder because of laziness, right? Her grandfather would surely kill her for letting herself die.
Plus, she was too lazy to tell a story. Being reborn three times, her grandfather would certainly ask her lots of questions. She's too lazy to bother answering them.