Chapter 41: Concubines
Li Jun regretted it. He should have checked his horoscope today before stepping outside the house. If he had known it would be this messy, he would have just sent the gift and not shown up.
From the moment Li Yu sat down, she had been staring at Yu Wen, her eyes teary and her appearance pitiful. She wanted to say something to him, but she bit her lip, unable to speak. What if he rejects her in front of everyone? Wouldn’t that be more embarrassing?
Just then, Marcia walked towards her and whispered, "Your highness, her majesty said you should control yourself. If you embarrass her, she will be very unhappy." Li Yu felt a great sense of fear sweeping through her. She glanced at her mother, who was smiling kindly at her, and nodded.
Li Yu bit her lip before whispering back to Marcia, saying, "I understand." Marcia walked away, and she sat properly, behaving like a well-mannered princess. But that certainly didn’t last. Li Jun wouldn’t let the opportunity to mess with her slip through his hands.
As the woman to his left poured out some wine for him, he asked, "Let me guess. She said don’t embarrass me, didn’t she?"
Li Yu, who had calmed herself down somewhat, was provoked again. She forgot that Yu Wen was right beside her and launched into a tirade against Li Jun. When Li Jun was around, she seemed to get even more infuriated. His rage towards him was blinding. She couldn’t see anything or anyone in those moments.
She whispered through her teeth, "You are a disrespectful little shit, do you know that? How dare you bring these low lives here," but she was loud enough for Li Jun to hear.
Yu Wen knew these two half-siblings didn’t get along. In the past, Li Yu had vented to him of how much of a bad person Li Jun was and all his evil deeds. He hadn’t felt anything at the time. In fact, he also hated Li Jun, so he wouldn’t stop her angry rants. But now, things were different. He wasn’t happy about it at all.
He suddenly said, "Your highness, watch your words." He seemed calm, but his tone had a hint of impatience. Li Jun raised his brow, looking at this general who seemed to have lost his marbles. Since when has Yu Wen defended him? It was incredibly unsettling.
Li Yu, on the other hand, had mixed emotions. She was happy he had acknowledged her presence, but unhappy that it was in defense of this bastard. Nervously rubbing her fingers, she apologized to Yu Wen, saying, "I am sorry, I have just been so irritable lately."
Li Jun chuckled softly. He was the one who had been insulted, yet she apologized to Yu Wen. How interesting. Yu Wen no longer coddled her as before. He had long lost respect for her ever since the day she drugged him.
The debt for saving him was repaid that night. This was why he didn’t bother answering her calls or messages. He couldn’t keep someone that vicious next to him. If she could drug him today, would she poison him tomorrow?
Without any hesitation, he said, "It’s not me that you are supposed to apologize to."
Li Jun should have been a mature adult in this situation, but nope. "Oh shit," he exclaimed, raising the glass to his lips. He looked at Li Yu, who looked like she was going to burst out in tears, and said, "You heard him. How about you apologize to me?... Don’t you always listen to the general like an obedient submissive wife?"
He didn’t have to, but he chose to go there. He chose violence over peace. If someone were to ask him why, he didn’t even know the answer. Yu Wen didn’t expect him to take it there. He was about to deny her like Peter denied Jesus when Li Jun added fuel to the fire.
He began to advocate for Li Yu, his intentions impure. He said, "General, why not marry my sister? She has been campaigning for that position for so many years. I mean, look at her, she is not getting any younger."
"You!..." Li Yu exclaimed in anger. Her voice drew everyone’s attention, including her mother.
Xiu Ying was displeased. She had told her daughter to sit next to her at the banquet, but this brat insisted on sitting next to Yu Wen and Li Jun. She had warned her not to act rash, but she should have known that Li Yu wouldn’t be able to control her temper.
"Li Yu," she said, and her call alone was a threat. Li Yu instantly quailed, retracting her quills.
Li Jun said, "Your majesty, don’t blame the princess. She just got a little excited abou-," but his voice was cut off when someone gently tapped his foot under the table. He looked at the obvious culprit. It was Yu Wen. It seemed Yu Wen already knew what he was going to say.
Xiu Ying, seeing that he had stopped talking, asked, "Excited about what?" She was hoping he would say it because if he did, he would practically be putting Yu Wen and Li Yu together publicly. Saying it in front of all these officials and nobles would guarantee that news about them would spread. Under pressure, she was certain Yu Wen would cave.
Li Jun seemed to realize it, too. It was a clever plan, but why would he help his half-sister make wedding clothes? He wasn’t that generous. He answered her, saying, "She was just excited to have plenty of sisters-in-law. Sadly, she grew up with no sisters to play with, but today I brought all of my girls to keep her company."
Li Yu gritted her teeth, but she didn’t dare say anything. Xiu Ying said, "Oh, is that so? I thought you would be monogamous like your father?"
The smile on Li Jun’s face stiffened a little, but he quickly returned to his usual self. It pissed him off whenever she spoke about his parents, but he had long learned to restrain himself. He said, "Why would I when there are plenty of beauties willing to be my concubines?" Right on cue, Tanya and Anika put food on his plate, serving him wholeheartedly.
Xiu Ying was disgusted by his actions, but she just smiled and said, "If that is what you like, your highness."
The matter seemed to have ended there, but Li Jun wasn’t done. Throughout the five-course meal, Li Jun made sure to torture them all. They had to watch him get served by the women sitting beside him. They fed him, flirted with him, and had their hands all over him. Their actions were highly inappropriate for such an occasion, but no one dared say anything.
