Awu knew that although the man seemed to ask casually, if she didn’t answer well, all her efforts might come to nothing.
Accompanying the emperor was like accompanying a tiger-this wasn’t just an idle saying.
She blinked her eyes and looked at Emperor Jingxi and said:
“Your Majesty, aren’t you the one who knows best about Awu’s elopement?”
Though Emperor Jingxi was smiling, the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
Awu ingratiatingly rubbed her cheek against the back of the man’s hand and whispered, “Didn’t Awu elope with Your Majesty…”
Her tender, tofu-like face rubbed against him intermittently, pitiful and obedient.
Emperor Jingxi drooped his eyelids and said coolly, “Stop talking nonsense. Who eloped with you? Explain in detail how you escaped from Yan Yang Temple.”
Awu murmured, “I just… escaped, kept escaping, and then I got out…”
Emperor Jingxi leisurely said, “Tell me, what’s the deal with that man surnamed Nie? Didn’t he come to rescue you last night?”
Her past accounts were numerous, too many to count.
Awu: “Your Majesty, it’s a misunderstanding by the Empress. Last night, Awu was in a daze and didn’t know who was who. If you ask Awu, Awu would like to ask those guards if they colluded with Nie Sanlang?!”
She spoke with righteous indignation, as if it were true, almost swearing to the heavens.
Emperor Jingxi smiled slightly, “The one who rescued you last night was the Empress’s personal guard. Didn’t you know?”
Hearing this, Awu felt a chill run down her back.
So, Emperor Jingxi knew?
What… did he know?
Emperor Jingxi said meaningfully, “Hmm? Tell me about it.”
Awu was terrified, but her face showed even more grievance: “Your Majesty, if you have any doubts about such matters, ask the Empress, ask those with soldiers and horses, don’t ask a weak woman like me… How would I know?”
Emperor Jingxi: “What about the elopement?”
Awu became even more aggrieved: “Awu never eloped. If there had been a man to help, Awu wouldn’t have ended up in such a state!”
Emperor Jingxi looked at Awu with a calm gaze.
Awu felt guilty.
Emperor Jingxi sighed leisurely: “You’re still young, with no plans in your heart, ignorant of many things, and now you’re involved with me like this. Even if you were used by others, I wouldn’t blame you.”
Awu listened in confusion, but she vaguely felt that he might suspect she had some connection with the Empress?
However, it seemed he hadn’t guessed the layer involving Lu Yunjian.
But… such things couldn’t be admitted.
Admitting it would mean she was a spy, a pawn in the game between the Emperor and the Empress.
She could only say, “Awu truly doesn’t know what Your Majesty is talking about.”
Emperor Jingxi raised his hand and stroked her hair: “I am the Emperor, and no one has ever dared to treat me like this. Awu, from the first time you appeared before me, I have been extremely tolerant of you. Do you know?”
His voice was warm and pleasant, yet it carried a hidden edge.
Awu respectfully said, “Awu understands.”
If it were anyone else, her actions would have meant death ten thousand times over.
Emperor Jingxi: “I previously kept you in Nanqiongzi for various considerations-“
As he said this, ripples of thought also surfaced in his own heart.
He liked her, naturally he did.
It was a kind of affection he had never experienced before, holding her in his arms, reluctant to let go.
This feeling was too unfamiliar to him, even frightening, so he resolutely decided to abandon it.
He paused, avoiding the topic, and instead softly coaxed, “A’Wu, in this world, if there is one person who can protect you, it can only be me.”
A’Wu looked up at him.
His stern face was gentle and accommodating, his light eyes filled with warmth.
The way he looked at her was full of love, and A’Wu was almost intoxicated by it.
She was being bewitched by this man.
So she murmured, “A’Wu naturally trusts Your Majesty. A’Wu’s life depends entirely on Your Majesty.”
Emperor Jingxi: “Good, be obedient. Tell me what happened. Those who bullied you, I will make them pay.”
He spoke gently, “Even if there is something, I won’t blame you. You’re still young, you don’t understand, you were used by villains.”
A’Wu: “Yes, A’Wu doesn’t understand anything. All the bad things were done by others!”
Emperor Jingxi: “Good, now start talking.”
A’Wu was at a loss: “A’Wu doesn’t know where to begin…”
Emperor Jingxi suggested: “Start from the flood in your hometown.”
A’Wu thought for a moment, then nodded lightly.
She began to talk about her father and brother going out to sea, about the pirates, about her mother passing away from illness.
When she reached the sad parts, tears inevitably flowed.
Emperor Jingxi’s strong arms encircled her slender waist, and he took a silk handkerchief to wipe her tears.
He kept softly comforting her, as if coaxing a wronged child, occasionally asking a few questions.
A’Wu then talked about fleeing from disaster, about how the neighbor’s brother disappeared.
Mentioning this, she choked up: “We had agreed to get married, but we got separated.”
As she choked, the tears hanging on her eyelashes fell.
Emperor Jingxi frowned: “Say less, this isn’t important.”
A’Wu nodded, but she still vividly described her longing for the neighbor’s brother, how she searched for him, and later how she met the Crown Prince.
She briefly mentioned her experiences with the Crown Prince, then brought up how she was bullied at the Yan Yang Temple, how she suffered day after day.
Emperor Jingxi listened with a slightly angry expression, but he didn’t say anything, just listened in silence.
Finally, A’Wu also mentioned Nie San, how he deliberately seduced her, and she even specifically mentioned: “A’Wu still has some gold buried on the mountain, I must dig it out.”
She looked at Emperor Jingxi: “Your Majesty, this is A’Wu’s entire fortune…”
She had almost laid everything bare!
Emperor Jingxi suddenly sneered: “So, you just left the Crown Prince’s residence, and a guard seduced you, and you actually fell for it? Are you that desperate?”
A’Wu was suddenly accused, shocked and disbelieving: “Your Majesty, didn’t you just say…”
How could he change so quickly?
Emperor Jingxi: “I can go back on my word, so what? Indeed, if you hadn’t met me, you would have run off with that Nie San, wouldn’t you?”
A’Wu: “……”
Her eyes widened: “You, you, you—”
Is this how an emperor should behave?
Emperor Jingxi leaned in, his expression full of pressure: “Tell the truth, don’t think about twisting things. If you lie even once, I will exterminate your nine clans.”
A’Wu pouted pitifully: “Exterminate my nine clans?”
Emperor Jingxi was cold and stern: “Yes.”
Awu: “But, but…”
She continued to sob.
Emperor Jingxi: “Speak.”
Awu rubbed her nose and said with a nasal tone, “My mother is dead, and my father and brother have long disappeared. If Your Majesty wants to exterminate my nine clans, you should first find them, so I can finally see them one last time before I die.”
Emperor Jingxi: “You-“
Awu whined, “Your Majesty, I told the truth, but you just don’t believe me! Do I have to say that after bidding farewell to the Crown Prince, I fell in love at first sight with the guard Nie San, and was so infatuated that I followed him to escape from the Taoist temple and wander with him?”
“Why would I follow him? Do you think I’m that kind of fool?”
Emperor Jingxi looked at her for a long time and finally said, “Indeed, a beauty brings disaster. Nie San originally had a bright future, serving under the Crown Princess, but because of you, he rebelled and even caused chaos at Yan Yang Temple to save you.”
Awu: “My beauty is unmatched. Who wouldn’t fall for me?”
Emperor Jingxi snorted softly, “The Crown Prince still thinks of you. For you, he has caused quite a stir.”
Awu: “Really?”
Emperor Jingxi: “For you, he’s lost his mind. What a disgrace.”
Awu: “Isn’t that Your Majesty’s fault?”
Emperor Jingxi: “My fault?”
Awu opened her sparkling eyes wide, “Isn’t it because Your Majesty didn’t discipline your son properly, allowing him to keep pestering me? I can’t take it anymore!”
Emperor Jingxi: “Do you have a death wish?”
Awu’s eyes were misty, clear and unyielding.
Emperor Jingxi looked at her, and his anger instantly dissipated, his heart softening completely.
Mortal hearts always have a favorite.
Since childhood, he had none, not even a cat or dog.
His gaze was always fixed on official documents, mastering the classics, philosophies, and military strategies.
He ascended the throne at fourteen and took full control at fifteen.
Step by step, he had walked through fire and brimstone.
But did he ever have something he truly loved?
No.
Now, looking into her bright eyes, even if they hid little schemes and greed, he still liked her, wanting to hold her in his hands and gently cherish her.
So, he truly felt no more anger.
She was vain, but he had plenty to offer.
She had her little schemes, but he could control them.
She was used by the Crown Princess and the Empress, but it didn’t matter.
He could trust her.
She had a past, but he could slowly erase those traces, making her forget.
Since he wanted her, he would keep her by his side, slowly molding her into the person he desired.
As for the small price to pay, did he care?
Not at all.
He had worked so hard to bring peace to the world, with tributes from all directions and envoys from myriad countries.
Now was the time to enjoy the fruits of peace.
Why couldn’t he have something he truly loved?
So, Emperor Jingxi raised his hand, cupped her face, and gazed into her eyes.
No matter what she thought, he liked the way she looked at him now-clear, soft, and without a trace of fear, like a freshly unearthed piece of obsidian.