Would you… like some tea?

She should hate him, but the words that came out were so irritating >_<

“Stop fooling around and leave. This isn’t a place for you to stay.”

She stood there frozen, hearing his voice come clearly, and said in a low voice, “I’m not fooling around. You know my difficulties.”

“Not fooling around? Then what do you call publicly kidnapping the princess? Feng Suzhen, this isn’t your hometown where you can be willful and reckless. In the past when you made mistakes, your all-capable father cleaned up after you. When you dirtied yourself, someone wiped your bottom. That’s why you never considered others’ feelings when doing things. With your temperament, there’s only a dead end for you here.”

This was Li Zhaoting’s response to her.

Su Zhen saw in his eyes… ridicule. Not hatred, no disgust, but ridicule.

If you want to strike down someone who foolishly loves you, the best way isn’t hatred but this kind of attitude. She had spent her life pursuing equality and freedom, but Li Zhaoting had never treated her as an equal. Their years of friendship—he reminded her once again that what she relied on was nothing more than her already-dead father.

Seeing him again, her first words should have been: I know your reputation grows daily, but how are you yourself? Are you still the same as before?

How she wished he would hold her and ask her: Zhen’er, are you well?

She had loved him for ten years. Now with her family destroyed and people dead, he offered her no gentle words. Three thousand six hundred days and nights of waiting couldn’t earn her a single “how have you been since we parted.”

Tears swirled in her eyes, but she bit her teeth and pinched her hand, desperately holding them back. Yes, he was right—she was willful and proud, and her father had always spoiled her. But whether in the past or now, her pride was worthless in his eyes.

If this were the old days, she would have charged at him like a young bull to ask about the portrait, asking him: Why did you deceive me? You don’t have to love me, but don’t lie to me.

But at this moment, she finally abandoned her self-respect and said in a low voice, “Young Master Li, you and I have known each other for over ten years. Could you please, for the sake of our past friendship, introduce me to the Grand Chancellor? Whether successful or not, Feng Suzhen will be eternally grateful for your great kindness.”

As she spoke, she slowly knelt down before him.

Li Zhaoting’s eyes had shown no great emotion before, but after her knees touched the ground, his gaze deepened slightly, seeming somewhat moved.

Su Zhen had seen this as hope, but after he removed the money pouch from his waist and placed it on the table, her heart went completely cold.

“I’m sorry, I cannot introduce you. That would only harm you. Here is some silver—take it and travel, go back home.”

“You never liked me. You have someone in your heart… don’t you?”

Finally, after he finished speaking and was about to leave, Su Zhen threw away her last shred of self-respect, chasing to the doorway and asking in a voice so low even she could barely hear it.

“Yes, but I will do my best to protect you. In any case, that marriage contract from years ago means I have responsibility toward you. You must also take care of yourself.”

He turned back to her from the doorway. The moonlight outside fragmented his white robes into silver radiance, melting into the floor and spreading like ink lotus blossoms.

Su Zhen didn’t know which of her questions his “yes” answered, but what difference did it make?

Leng Xue had been guarding outside the door for safety, trembling with anger, one hand pressed on his sword hilt. Su Zhen stepped forward and gripped his hand tightly, watching intently as Li Zhaoting led Xiao Si away without looking back.