Yun Xi pushed Qi Rong, but he didn't move. She tried to pry his hands off forcefully, but his hands were like iron pincers, firmly gripping her waist without the slightest movement.
Unable to break free, Yun Xi got angry and waved her fists at Qi Rong, but she just bluffed and didn't have the guts to really hit him.
Yun Xi sighed and looked at Qi Rong helplessly. Finally, she believed that he was really asleep.
At this moment, Qi Rong was like a sleeping wild beast, retracting his sharp claws and not as intimidating as usual.
Bored, Yun Xi carefully examined Qi Rong's facial features.
She had to admit that although this man was extremely bad, he had a handsome face that could charm everyone. No wonder that Yu Xueming was so infatuated with him just now.
Even though she was treated coldly by him again and again, she still refused to give up.
If it were her, she probably wouldn't have the courage to try to please someone who was indifferent to her.
Just as Yun Xi was sighing inwardly, a drop of water landed on the back of her hand. It was warm, as if it had stung her skin.
Yun Xi was shocked. Looking at the tear streaming from the corner of Qi Rong's eye, she felt a little flustered.
Even so, Qi Rong didn't wake up. Instead, he seemed to be muttering something.
"What did you say?"
Yun Xi couldn't hear clearly, so she leaned over to listen. Finally, she heard two words:
"Father..."
Qi Rong's eyebrows furrowed tighter and tighter, as if he had fallen into an endless nightmare. His expression was full of pain.
Looking at Qi Rong like this, Yun Xi suddenly remembered something from her past life. She had accidentally overheard a conversation between her father and someone.
Qi Xiao, the former crown prince of the Liu Kingdom, had contracted the plague while handling the relief for the victims as ordered by the emperor and died in a foreign land.
Upon hearing the news, the former emperor was so stricken that he fell ill in bed. He decided to investigate the matter thoroughly, secretly summoned important officials into the palace, and intended to support his youngest son, Qi Rong, as the crown prince.
Hearing the news, the eldest prince, Qi Hong, immediately summoned his troops and the forces of his mother's family overnight to force the emperor to abdicate. On the way, they intercepted and killed loyal officials and forced the former emperor to sign an imperial edict in the name of the former empress. After the former emperor passed away, Qi Hong ascended the throne.
In an instant, the palace was bathed in blood, and the capital was shrouded in a haze.
Qi Rong and his biological mother, the former empress, were accused of colluding with the enemy and became prisoners. They were banished to the streets.
At that time, Qi Rong was only nine years old...
He was originally the noble seventh prince, but a palace coup had caused him to fall from the clouds into the mud in an instant.
He had to fight with stray dogs for food and sit with beggars. This had lasted for six years.
It was hard to imagine how he had survived, how he had endured and lived in hiding, carefully biding his time, to become the King Xian whom everyone in the capital feared today.
Suddenly, she remembered that their second encounter had been five years ago.
After her mother's death, she had fallen seriously ill and was sent to her maternal grandparents' house to recuperate. On the day she returned to the capital, she had happened to see Qi Rong fighting with someone on the street.
At that time, Qi Rong was only a fourteen - year - old boy. Due to long - term hunger, he was tall but very thin.
Facing three men who were much stronger than him, he showed no sign of weakness even though his head was covered in blood.
Knowing who he was, she couldn't bear it and asked her servants to help him. She also gave him silver to treat his injuries.
However, this had brought trouble to her.
Someone recognized her identity and called her a "beggar woman", saying that she was Qi Rong's little wife.
She was so ashamed and angry that she quickly distanced herself from Qi Rong and fled back to the prime minister's mansion.
Because of her unnecessary act, she had annoyed her grandmother on the first day she returned to the capital. Her father had stepped in to calm the situation.
From then on, no one had mentioned her engagement with Qi Rong again.
She didn't know why Qi Rong hated the prime minister's mansion and always took pleasure in humiliating her father.
However, she was clear that her actions at that time must have deeply hurt Qi Rong's pride.
That was why he hated her and made things difficult for her everywhere.
"Your Highness, the prime minister's mansion is here!"
A voice suddenly brought Yun Xi back to reality.
The guard lifted the curtain. Seeing their postures, he was immediately stunned and froze on the spot!
When had the king ever slept on a woman's lap?
No! How could the king fall asleep? And in such a short time?
Almost everyone in the prince's mansion knew that the king suffered from a stubborn insomnia disorder.
They had tried all kinds of methods, but could only ensure that the king slept for two hours a day, let alone natural sleep!
His deep black eyes slowly opened. The gloomy and fierce look in them was like a blood - thirsty wild beast lurking in the dark night, making people tremble with fear.
Their eyes met. Qi Rong was lying on Yun Xi's lap, and Yun Xi's hand was unconsciously stroking the wrinkles between his eyebrows.
She was completely stunned.
"Ah!"
Yun Xi suddenly stood up, knocking Qi Rong, who hadn't had time to react, to the ground. She herself hit her head on the roof of the carriage with a "thud", and tears welled up in her eyes.
Qi Rong stared at Yun Xi unhappily, but Yun Xi shouted that she was innocent:
"You held on to me when you were asleep. I didn't take advantage of you!"
Seeing that Qi Rong didn't say a word and his gaze was as sharp as a hook, Yun Xi became even more flustered:
"It's true! You cried in your dream, and I even wiped your tears for you!"
Qi Rong's face darkened. "Impossible."
The distance from Fumanlou to the prime minister's mansion was so short. How could he have fallen asleep?
Qi Rong put his hand on the corner of his eye. The wet feeling made him frown. His cold gaze shot at the guard standing at the door.
The guard trembled and looked embarrassed:
"Your Highness, you really fell asleep."
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have dared to lie even if he had ten heads!
"I told you I wasn't lying..."
Before Yun Xi could finish her sentence, she suddenly became nervous when she met Qi Rong's complex and intense gaze.
That look in his eyes was so deep that it made her feel flustered.
"I should get off the carriage!"
Realizing that the carriage had stopped, Yun Xi immediately stood up. But when she reached the door, she turned back.
"Could I trouble Your Highness to ask someone to take me to the back door?"
Although she didn't plan to get married, she was still an unmarried young lady from a noble family.
It was okay that there were no maids by her side, but she had also traveled in a carriage with a man.
If this got out, not only would her grandmother beat her with a walking stick, but the gossiping of others would also drown her!
"Do you think it's embarrassing to ride in my carriage?"
Qi Rong leaned against the seat and stared at her with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"No, no, no. How could it be?" Yun Xi shook her head and forced a smile through gritted teeth:
"I'm afraid others will misunderstand and bring unnecessary trouble to Your Highness."
Looking at her eager attempt to distance herself from him, Qi Rong felt irritated.
Suddenly, he stood up and tightly grasped her slender wrist with his long fingers.
"I'm not afraid of trouble."
The next moment, he took her out of the carriage.