Blood-Sucking Empress - Chapter 32

Was this type of person suitable to be a spy? This was the first question Qianhe Liyou asked herself when she saw the other party.

What was the purpose of such a spy? This was the second question that immediately followed the first.

If Qianhe Liyou’s eyes were not fooling her, the person in front of her should be the so-called spy sent by the Sang Empire, the dynasty’s eleventh prince. But this type of Imperial prince was really too surprising. The cowardly and humble aura emanating from him was not much better than a typical palace attendant in her palace, mayhaps even more inferior. Even though he was kneeling, his entire body trembled. One couldn’t tell if it was out of nervousness or fear. If it wasn’t because this person was too good of an actor, then he was too timid. Was such a person really suitable to be a spy?

Qianhe Liyou was highly suspicious of the other party’s purpose of sending such a person here. Did they want to use the typical beauty trap? If they discussed beauty, this person was truly quite a beauty. His features were delicate and refined but were still outstandingly handsome. There was a trace of fragile nobleness, like an ignorant flower blooming in a greenhouse. But the flower’s current expression of fear and despair made people feel like this was not quite true, a rather contradictory appearance…

But no matter what kind of person, as long as they had conspiracies in mind, she would naturally treat them well. Qianhe Liyou’s mouth lifted into a wicked grin. 

“This Imperial Selection will be the last one during zhen’s reign. The Imperial Selection that traditionally occurred bi-annually will be completely abolished. As for the rest of you, I will only choose one person. But they will not be a concubine or consort, just a male pet…” After this, Qianhe Liyou paused for a while, taking in the panicked expressions of the men in front of her with a noncommittal glance.

Excluding males from a brothel and male prostitutes, male pets were the lowest-level of existence. They were not regarded as wives or concubines at all. At best, they could be regarded as an attendant, a servant. For the Empress, it was considered an honor for ordinary men to serve as the Empress’ male pet. But for these high-ranking noble and official families’ sons, they would have received the best formal education since childhood. How could they become a male pet? If one of them really were selected to be a male pet, then it was an insult and dishonor to the entire clan. This insult was equivalent to the Empress’ contempt for the entire clan, and that person’s family would become ridiculed, disdained by everyone.

For quite a time, everyone had countless thoughts emerge from their hearts. Even Luo Yu was too surprised to guess at the Empress’ intentions.

“Haha, do not panic. Zhen already has a suitable candidate as zhen’s male pet in mind.” Qianhe Liyou stood up as she talked, walking down the steps in front of these handsome men. A trace of wickedness remained, the corner of her mouth quivering into a smirk. She walked until she arrived in front of the so-called Eleventh Prince of the Sang Empire “Look at what interesting thing zhen has found. What is your name? How does becoming zhen’s male pet sound? If you are unwilling, you can refuse. Zhen will never force it.”

Since the Sang Empire had sent someone over, she certainly would not refuse to accept them. She just wanted to see if this so-called Prince had the gall and courage to stay. This kind of choice was obviously extremely insulting, but would he still accept it?

As Qianhe Liyou was waiting for an answer from the person in front of him, everyone else was also holding their breaths in suspense. At the same time, these men also asked themselves the same questions. If they should face this choice, how would they choose….

“….I, I, I accept…” A timid voice squeaked out, the voice seemed to be full of grievances as if they had been forced to say this answer. However, there was no trace of humiliation or resentment or enduring that Qianhe Liyou would have expected from the man. It was worth pondering. This expression was not what a normal Imperial Prince should have. But, she had already ordered the Anbu Black Ops to investigate this person’s identity. She believed the results would come out soon.

“Feng Ying, did you hear that?” Although Qianhe Liyou was instructing Feng Ying, her eyes were still fixed on the Eleventh Prince of Sang Empire. Using an extremely faint voice, she uttered: “Zhen gives you a chance to stay. Zhen hopes you do not disappoint.” Any secret plot or conspiracy was like child’s play to her. But, that was not to say they were meaningless. At least they could make her feel like mortal life could be interesting. 

“Yes, this servant understands.” Feng Ying inwardly sighed. The Empress’ behavior was truly unexpected. Even if all of the candidates were to be selected, that wouldn’t have been so surprising as this. Choosing only one person, and moreover, as a male pet….this male was only a remote city lord’s son. His name was Mu Zixin, only 18 years old. She did not understand why the Empress had selected him.

The current Empress had indeed changed for the better, but sometimes this change had a different kind of bad. She had silently watched the changes in the Empress, personally witnessing the Imperial palace’s changes, witnessing the Imperial consorts changing.

Qianhe Liyou let go of the pale-faced boy’s chin and swept back toward the dragon throne. When his eyes caught sight of Luo Yu, the evil in her eyes was reduced by a certain degree, warmth replacing it.

“I miss your brewed tea.” Qianhe Liyou bent over, whispering next to Luo Yu’s ear softly, her expression was extremely affectionate.

“Should we go to my Luoxian Palace then?” Luo Yu still had some doubts, but now was not the time to resolve them. 

“Of course.”

Qianhe Liyou accompanied Luo Yu to Luoxian palace, the two soon found themselves sitting opposite each other. Qianhe Liyou watched Luo Yu’s graceful movements as he performed the ceremony that came with brewing tea. She appreciatively watched, like she was appreciating an art exhibition. 

“Liyou, why do you no longer call me Royal Father?” From that time onward, he did not hear that ‘Royal Father’ from Liyou’s mouth again.

Hearing Luo Yu inquire about the little taboo that had always existed in her heart, Qianhe Liyou’s eyebrows raised. She was not only surprised, and looked at Luo Yu with thoughtful eyes. For someone as intelligent as Luo Yu, it was a matter of time before he would detect that subtle difference. She had been guessing just when Luo Yu would discover this matter.

‘Are you unwilling to call me Royal Father?” Luo Yu continued on, saddened by the lack of response from Qianhe Liyou. His already cold eyes dimmed significantly, and he could not but think of this possibility in his heart. His heart wrenched involuntarily, it felt like he was being stabbed by a needle. This kind of feeling made him want to reject this idea.

“Yes.” She was indeed unwilling to call him by that appellation. She hadn’t thought of concealing her true feelings on the matter, but when she caught sight of Luo Yu’s ashen pallor, she instantly knew what Luo Yu was thinking was most likely different from her reasons. She could not bear to make the other person too sad, so she earnestly explained: “Don’t think about it too much. If I really hated you, I would not have sat down with you like this to drink tea. I, actually, really like the feeling of being with you…” Qianhe Liyou had deliberately come up with these sentences to express her heart’s true feelings, and then as if she had come to a decision, she asked: “Can we not be father and daughter? From now on, you can call me by name and I will call you by your name, Yu. Is this okay?”

She had long wanted to call him by his name for a very long time. When she had said ‘Yu’ just now, it had smoothly rolled off her tongue, warmth flooding into her deep eyes.

Luo Yu looked sluggishly at Qianhe Liyou, feeling dizzy after hearing the word ‘Yu’, his head spinning even more after seeing Liyou’s warm gaze. His brain became even fuzzier like he had forgotten something important, but he still nodded blankly. 

“Since you have nodded, I will treat that as you agreeing, Yu…” Qianhe Liyou observed Luo Yu’s rare blank and dull expression. She couldn’t help feeling that the scene was hilarious, and remarked that this man also had such a cute side to him. But what kind of expressions would the other party show if they knew what she was thinking right now? Qianhe Liyou felt a little more expectant, hoping she would see more of these different faces of Luo Yu.