Chapter 15: 15. Why are you here?
"Ouch! I did not expect that you will hurt me with your words," Mengyao said acting like his heart hurt so much. Lihua pinched Mengyao's right cheek while giggling. She never thought that her meeting with Mengyao again will turn out this pleasant. At that moment, the door opened and the servant entered again.
"This humble servant brings this appetizer while I am taking your order." he placed a plate of fried squid in front of them. Lihua immediately took a bite. She hasn't eaten a squid for a long time now since it is rather expensive and based on her current status, she cannot afford them.
Mengyao who is satisfied with Lihua's reactions looked at the servant and said, "give us the best dishes in this restaurant."
With that, the servant bowed his head and went out immediately.
Lihua, who is busy eating the dish in front of her, looked at Mengyao and asked, "So, what kind of mission you are doing in the capital city?"
Mengyao, sipping his tea, smiled and said, "why are you asking me?"
"Hahaha, you might lose your way again. I cannot just ignore my comrade and do nothing, right?"
"Hahaha, you cannot use that against me. You know that I did not lose my way that day."
"Alright, can I not just ask why you are here?" Lihua said that rather too sweetly. Lihua did not realize that she is trying her tricks on him now just to get the information she wanted.
Mengyao was taken aback by her sudden sweetness towards her. He never thought that she is capable of such behavior. Remembering her stubborn, frankness and roughness of attitude during their Holy Mountain days this side of her is a surprise to him. But the more surprising is that he likes this side of her. He wanted to receive this kind of sweetness from her more.
"If I tell you, you might fall for me," he said teasingly. Trying the tricks that made any woman in the past fall for him, he enjoyed the shocked on her face.
"Oh my, I wonder how a general like you who achieved great things on the battlefield can be this sweet talker," she said annoyed.
The rest of the day went by rather swiftly. Both Lihua and Mengyao talked, bickered, and laughed together carelessly as if the world is a safe and beautiful place. Lihua turned around to head back to the Prime Minister's mansion when Mengyao suddenly called her out.
"Lihua,"
"Yes?" she asked turning to face him. She saw a serious and grim face of him.
"No matter what will happen in the future, remember that you will always have me."
Lihua did not know what to reply to him. She just smiled and nodded her head.
The moment she returned to the servant's quarter of the Prime Minister's mansion, she noticed someone is inside. She slowly entered her room. There, inside, he saw a young man whose back is facing her. Even though the young man is looking the other way, she easily recognized him.
"Young master, why are you here?" she asked quietly. She waited for his cold voice to shout at her. She is sure that the young man is angry because she disobeyed him again but she was surprised when he spoke.
"You rest early we have to go somewhere early tomorrow morning." with that, he quickly turned around and walked out of the room. He did not even look at her when he passed. Lihua was shocked for a moment. She's being ignored and sudden pain in her chest made her hand touched it and bend forward. The pain is real. It is as if she was shot by an arrow just now.
"Maybe this is for the better," she told herself. Now that Chao Shen is ignoring her, her fear of leaving him causing him to so much pain must be her own imagination. Now that she is certain that he doesn't care about her, she can now proceed with her plan without delay.
Chao Shen almost tumbles down the moment he is outside her room. He could not believe his anger when he found out that she went outside without his permission. But what made him furious is the report that he received.
"She's with a young man. I guess he is the young commander you recently moved into the capital." Hui informed him a few hours ago. Shen remembered that incident in the city gates. He remembered how close they were. He was enraged. Who is this man that can make her go against his will? He asked himself over and over again.
"It looks like they've known each other for a long time," Hui said as if reading his thoughts.
"But Lihua has been with me since she's eight years old. I can't remember her meeting and befriending another human being for the past five years." Shen's voice is filled with frustrations. He could not believe that the person he created will have this ability to betray him.
"They might have been met earlier. Have you tried asking her?" Hui's question is innocent but Shen took it personally. Why would he ask his servant about her personal affair?
Hui, realizing the impact of his question, suddenly said nervously, "It might be that they were childhood friends even before she entered the Minister of Finance's mansion."
Chao Shen thought about it deeply. It is indeed possible that they have been together when she was a lot younger. But the report he gathered about her background did not include a man being close to her. All he received was she came from a poor family in a small village outside of the capital city. And for the family to survived, they sold the young Lihua to be a servant in the Minister of Finance household. Then, that's the time she committed a crime of stealing food. And him rescuing her and giving her a new life, a new identity.
"What an ungrateful creature," Chao Shen said darkly.
Hui felt a shiver at the back of her head when he heard his young master's cold voice. He knew that he has the chance of going over the dark side when he was provoked but he never expected that he will react like this because of that lowly servant Lihua. Even him, who is close to the first young master feared him. No one knew how bad he can actually be.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone