Chapter 136: Chapter 136: "It’s You I Want.
Yu Zhizhi followed the Fox Clan girl back to the mansion. The Guard Team trailed them like shadows. The Mermaid walked quietly at the very end.
The Fox Clan girl’s room was across the hall from Yu Zhizhi’s.
After they went in, the Guard Team stood guard outside.
Louis, who had been gone all night, was back. When he brushed past Yusen, he couldn’t help but let out a "Yo."
"I thought you would’ve just run for it."
’He made it all the way to the seaside. With that mermaid DNA in him, how could he possibly resist going into the ocean?’
The Mermaid acted as if he hadn’t heard.
He walked straight back to his suite, pushed open the bathroom door, and soon the sound of running water could be heard.
’Yusen felt he needed to calm down.’
He lay down in the bathtub, and in an instant, a pale blue fish tail was exposed to the air.
The suite the young Fox Clan lady was staying in had a similar layout to Yu Zhizhi’s.
Just inside the door, in the dimly lit living room, a figure was sitting on the sofa.
"Brother, we’re back." The young Fox Clan lady walked up to the man and gave a slight bow. It was rare for her to be so serious.
"Mm," the man grunted, extinguishing the cigarette in his hand and looking to the side.
In the entryway stood a petite figure. She was a little timid, but at the Fox Clan girl’s invitation, she slowly walked toward the sofa.
The young Fox Clan lady tactfully excused herself. "I’m going to go change. You two can talk."
She turned and left.
As she passed Yu Zhizhi, she whispered in her ear, "Don’t be afraid. My brother is very good-tempered. I’ve never seen him get angry."
Yu Zhizhi stood before the coffee table. She saw a half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray, wisps of smoke still curling from it. The tip was still slightly damp.
Noticing the girl’s gaze, the figure on the sofa stirred slightly. He stood up and extended his right hand to Yu Zhizhi.
"It’s a pleasure to meet you. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Li Yuan."
"Lord Li Yuan." Yu Zhizhi lightly took his fingers.
"There’s no need for such formalities, Ms. Zhi Zhi." Li Yuan calmly withdrew his fingers. "Please, sit."
Yu Zhizhi slowly sat down on the sofa opposite him.
A servant brought a cup of hot milk and placed it in front of her.
It was her first time meeting the State Preceptor of the Moon Rising Empire, so she was naturally nervous. She didn’t dare take a single sip of the milk. She couldn’t resist stealing a glance at him, only to find the man sitting across from her was staring right back.
Yu Zhizhi froze for a second, forgetting to look away. And so, the two of them just stared at each other.
Realizing she had been staring for a little too long, Yu Zhizhi lowered her head, her hands on her knees clenching into small fists.
"Lord Li Yuan, is there something you wanted to see me about?"
"Why didn’t you go dance today?" Li Yuan suddenly asked.
He had previously sent Li Yin to Paradise to deliver a Moonrise Festival invitation to the Rabbit Clan Lady. Only with that could one get to the floating ice stage.
"...I don’t know how," Yu Zhizhi answered honestly.
"You’ve never learned?"
’In the Valoran Empire, these kinds of noble balls are held frequently. Given the Rabbit Clan Lady’s status, she should know how.’
"No..." Yu Zhizhi shook her head.
"Have you ever attended one?"
’Hmm...’ Yu Zhizhi fell into her memories. ’When I was with the K family, I attended banquets, but never a ball.’
And at the Duke Mansion, even less so.
Seeing her expression, Li Yuan seemed to guess what was going on and didn’t press further.
He closed the file in his hands. "Forgive my bluntness, but your country has not raised you to the standards of a noble lady or the wife of a man in power."
Yu Zhizhi stared at him, stunned.
The living room was dimly lit, so she couldn’t see the man’s features clearly. She could only see his pale purple eyes, as calm and still as water.
He had read the file on the Rabbit Clan female.
Initially classified as a D, a female rabbit abandoned by the Rabbit Clan for her low Fertility.
Under those circumstances, she probably didn’t receive a good education.
She was later upgraded to an S-Class female, but there’s a huge blank in her file after that. She lived at the Duke Mansion for a time, but the specifics have been covered up.
Li Yuan’s thumb gently rubbed the leather cover of the file. "Duke Bolan doesn’t seem to value you very much."
It wasn’t a question, nor a probe, but a statement of fact.
Yu Zhizhi lowered her head.
Nearby, the young Fox Clan girl who was hiding and eavesdropping couldn’t help but touch her fox ears.
’She understood what her brother meant. Balls are the most common social events for nobles. The little rabbit had never even learned to dance, had never even been to a ball... so what kind of life had she been living?’
’Whoever was responsible for her, how could they be so careless?’
Li Yuan looked at the little female rabbit sitting in the dim light, her snow-white ears drooping. She had her head down, so he couldn’t see her expression, but for some reason, her forlorn appearance made one feel a little sorry for her.
"To get back to the matter at hand."
He leaned back against the sofa and crossed his legs. "Your due date is in a few days, isn’t it?"
Hearing the words "due date," Yu Zhizhi’s head snapped up, her face a mask of uncontrollable panic.
’He knows I’m pregnant?’
The eavesdropping Fox Clan girl looked over in shock—
’Due date?!’
’Whose cub? The Mermaid’s?!’
’I’ve never heard of a mermaid captured and brought inland being willing to have a cub!!’
Yu Zhizhi’s first reaction was to protectively cover her stomach. "This cub... I won’t give him to you...!"
This was the clearest sentence she had spoken since entering the room tonight.
Li Yuan’s hands were clasped over his knees. His figure was hidden in the darkness, with only his pale purple eyes glinting with a faint light.
"Relax, I’m not going to take it."
The man’s tone was calm. "What I want... is you."
Li Yuan had made this special trip from the Imperial City to the Divine City with a very clear purpose. He had come for this S-Class Rabbit Clan female.
"Once the Beast cub is born, do you plan to go to the Deep Sea Empire with the Mermaid?"
He paused, then looked up. "The boat you’ve prepared won’t make it that far."
"Luther said it was the best boat, that it isn’t afraid of wind and waves," Yu Zhizhi retorted.
"It’s true that it isn’t afraid of wind and waves, but it cannot get past the Moon Rising Empire’s coastal border. Before then, the boat will certainly be sunk."
Li Yuan’s wording was simple and direct.
He figured that if he made it too complicated, the Rabbit Clan Lady might not understand.
"If you stay behind, even if the boat sinks, the Mermaid can dive undersea and take your cub all the way back to the domain of the Deep Sea Empire."
"If you go with him, the Moon Rising Empire will definitely give chase. We absolutely cannot allow an S-Class female from within the Empire to be kidnapped."
"Once the Mermaid shows such an intention, we will do everything in our power to kill him. As for the cub, its fate will be decided solely by the Empire. I hope you can understand."
Yu Zhizhi’s face paled slightly.
’...She understood.’
Just in case, she asked, "If I stay, will you still chase him?"
Li Yuan lightly tapped the back of his hand. He looked at the panic in the little female rabbit’s eyes and replied softly, "We won’t. I promise you."
What the Moon Rising Empire wanted most right now was this S-Class female from the Rabbit Clan.
"If your wish is for the Mermaid to return to the sea, I am more than happy to grant it," Li Yuan emphasized once more.
’He believed this little rabbit would know what choice to make.’
Yu Zhizhi left.
Her retreating figure looked a little lonely.
Li Yuan watched her all the way to the door. His gaze fell upon the now-cold glass of milk on the coffee table, and he thought of the little rabbit’s timid and uneasy figure sitting on the sofa.
He pondered for a moment, then knocked on the table.
The guard at the door came in.
"In the reply to the Valoran Empire, add one more sentence at the end."
"Please, my lord."
"If you don’t know how to raise one, then don’t."
-
As Yu Zhizhi was leaving, she felt something strange on her wrist. Her bracelet was growing warm, a faint burning sensation, like a branding iron...
’What’s wrong?’ she wondered, looking down.
