Chapter 239

Having been notified of his return beforehand, Chu Xiang had already been standing outside with the other women. Jumping down from his mount, Lee Bohan dashed towards Chu Xiang. He picked up her and spun around in a circle as he exclaimed, “My dear! Look how many animals I hunted down for you. When we get back, I’ll definitely make a few sets of warm clothing for you!”

“Your Highness, have you forgotten that we’ll be returning to your home residence at the end of the year? Spring there will be rather warm, so what’s the use of fur clothing? “

“Hahaha, back at my home residence, spring dominates throughout all four seasons. My dear, you’ll definitely love it back there. In that case, I’ll give everything to His Majesty as a gift in return.” Lee Bohan grabbed her hand and walked away together. “Your hands are so cold. I suppose you’ve been waiting out here for quite a while now, right? Let’s warm ourselves back up in the tent.”

The emperor and the rest of the group just so happened to arrive back at the camp at this time and witnessed that scene. Each of them believed that the Prince of Qin had been completely intoxicated. They could not help but praise Chu Xiang for knowing how to grab onto the opportunity and making the Prince of Qin head over heels in love with her. However, Lee Bohan was only the emperor’s uncle. Thus, it didn’t matter to anyone what he did. In fact, the more absurd he became, the better it would be for them.

The other women in the area could not help but feel slightly sour in their hearts. Although everyone claimed that Chu Xiang would not live a good life when she went back to Lee Bohan’s home residence, with everything that they witnessed up till now, they could not help but be extremely envious of her.

When the other men finally returned, they warmed themselves up before gathering for a drink together. Meanwhile, the empress sent one of the palace maids to report the previous unsightly incident to the emperor. Originally, the emperor did not pay any mind to the incident. However, when his inner court attendant told him that the spy he planted amidst Lee Bohan’s servants had been beaten to death, he could not help but feel somewhat suspicious.

Upon further investigation of the incident, the court attendant discovered that the incident was largely related to Concubine Hui. She had most likely attempted to drug Chu Xiang, but the palace maid must have accidentally drunk the spiked drink instead. Later on, when Concubine Hui got into an argument with Chu Xiang, she had personally ordered for the palace maid to be beaten to death. In the end, it turned out that nothing suspicious took place from beginning to end as everything was but a mere coincidence.

A flame ignited within the emperor’s heart. Unable to plant too many spies amidst Lee Bohan’s group of servants, he only managed to squeeze in a single palace maid to keep an eye on him. However, even the one palace maid had been disposed of by Concubine Hui. What a ridiculous turn of events!

Since Concubine Hui was originally a palace maid with an inferior background, she would occasionally do things that would trouble the emperor. If not for the fact that no one could become a substitute for Concubine Hui, he would have long since thrown her into the barracks.

While his thoughts were tumultuous, the inner court attendant reported to the emperor that Concubine Hui wished to come in to serve him. However, he immediately denied her entrance. Instead, he called the empress in to sit next to him for the first time ever.

Upon hearing the same news, Lee Bohan burst with cheers. “I originally intended to deal with her before leaving after the next few days. I didn’t expect you to help me spare my effort in doing so. How exactly did you find out that your drink was spiked? How are you so quick-witted?”

Slowly swirling her cup of tea around, Chu Xiang stared at the steam emitted from the cup. “My intuition. I was born with such innate talents. Your Highness wouldn’t make fun of me for saying this, right?”

“Can that even be considered a joke? Rather, who’s being treated as a complete joke every single day right now? The current imperial household is the real joke through and through, that’s one thing I can say with confidence.” Lee Bohan scanned through Chu Xiang carefully and praised, “Sure enough, you shouldn’t just hide in your room all day and fake being ill. Instead, you should help me clean the evil roots. How about this? When someone sends me a woman in the future, help me reject them.”

Chu Xiang did not give her answer instantly. Rather, she took a sip of tea before looking him in the eyes. “Your Highness, surely you aren’t that petty of a person. If you want me to do work, don’t you think you need to give me some sort of reward? Let me dress up as a man to carry out commercial matters,” she stated her request straightforwardly, confidently. “If Your Highness needs more money, I happen to have the talent for making more of it. Would Your Highness be willing to give me the opportunity to assist you? I’ll have you know that my skills aren’t simply limited to handling the affairs in the house.”

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