Dugu Lue dragged her into the hall, hands clasped behind his back, his voice stern as he scolded, "The emperor entrusted you with a heavy responsibility, yet last night's banquet, you didn't show up, and today you're here causing a scene... Keng, do you have any idea how many people are gossiping at the emperor's court? One wrong move, and you won't be able to bear the consequences!"
Wan Ou scanned him with an exaggerated look, like a heat-seeking radar, up and down. "You're almost as talkative as my old man… or should I say, old mama…" She was rambling more than her mother! Quickly, she decided to shift the topic. "Old daddy, I've got huge news for you!"
Yesterday, she called him "Old Qian," today, "Little Daddy." Qian Zihe had no choice but to accept her antics, muttering, "Keng, you're all grown up now. Do you know you should knock before entering a room?"
"Your room doesn't have any women in it, and you're not planning to give birth to a bunch of little foxes on your bed. What am I afraid of?" Wan Ou considered everyone from Xiaoxuan Kingdom as foxes—old foxes, young foxes, male foxes, female foxes. "The seventh princess is getting married! Old Qian, congratulate me! I'm finally free!"
"You're lying so you don't have to be part of the seventh princess's bridal guard, aren't you?" Qian Zihe, ever sharp, hit the nail on the head.
"Well... heh heh..." Wan Ou laughed awkwardly. She wasn't about to stay in the palace and risk being discovered by those two sadistic royals. If things went awry, they might both come after her with swords and whips. She wasn't an idiot. She was staying at Qian Zihe's place, waiting for good news to roll in, and then she could count her gold, enjoy her slaves, and buy her manor.
"You're going to make the emperor furious!" Qian Zihe ground his teeth. Ever since she became "Keng," chaos followed wherever she went. The emperor was patient, but that didn't mean he was easily deceived.
Wan Ou disagreed. "No way! The emperor will throw me a celebration when the first public enemy of Xiaoxuan, the seventh princess, is finally married off. Everyone will cheer—except Dugu Lue, who will discover his crystal doll has turned into the queen... An emperor with a queen? Quite the powerful combo…" She couldn't help but smile smugly at the thought.
"Stop playing with fire!" Qian Zihe shot her a sharp look. Ever since she came back from the border patrol, she had developed a taste for fancy clothes. Before, she was a rebellious child, but now… she was growing into a charming young woman. "Have you met Dugu Lue?"
"That barbaric idiot..." Wan Ou's thoughts drifted to his green eyes, filled with the name of the seventh princess. She smiled wickedly. Truly, a match made in heaven—the perfect pair of unparalleled beauties!
Qian Zihe clenched his fists, glaring at her. "Dugu Lue is a relentless conqueror, and he has a photographic memory. He's got an almost supernatural tracking ability. You've got nothing better to do than provoke him? If he discovers you've crossed him, he'll make sure you're nothing but bones in the end…"
Cruel genius always has its flaws. Even if Dugu Lue's tracking skills were better than any FBI technology, Wan Ou wasn't scared. After all, he had been rude to her first, and those wolf-like eyes only made her think that everything he did to her was justified.
"You're not going back to the Keng residence to change into a witch's robe and plead guilty to the emperor?" Qian Zihe asked, seeing her fall into silence, thinking she might have had a change of heart.