Back at the Prince Xian's Mansion, upon learning the news that her father had cleared his name and safely returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion, Yun Xi was so excited that tears welled up in her eyes.
Although she had long known that Qi Rong was extremely capable, she would never have believed that he could rescue her father within three days. But the fact was right in front of her eyes. Qi Rong had managed to get the emperor to release her father from the imperial prison in just one day. It was truly unbelievable!
That day, when he had forced her in the Prime Minister's Mansion, everyone had doubted his ability to manipulate things at will. But looking at it now, what else could it be if not that?
This man's capabilities were so powerful that they were unfathomable. And precisely because of this, people couldn't help but feel a sense of fear.
If she had a choice, she never wanted to be Qi Rong's enemy in her entire life!
Thinking of the hardships her father had endured during this period, Yun Xi grew extremely anxious. She was just about to return to the Prime Minister's Mansion to check on him when a figure blocked her way inside the room.
"You said that as long as I got your father safely back home, you would be with me. So tonight, shouldn't you fulfill your promise?"
Looking up at Qi Rong's handsome and smug expression, Yun Xi's eyes widened in a daze. She coughed violently, as if a thunderbolt had struck right above her head!
How could she have forgotten about this?
Overwhelmed by joy, she had long thrown her promise to Qi Rong out of her mind. Now that this guy was cornering her to claim it, what should she do?
Yun Xi covered her mouth to calm her cough. Her mind raced as she wracked her brains. Finally, a look of embarrassment flashed across her face as she forced a smile:
"Did you misunderstand me? When I said 'be with you', it's not what you think."
Meeting Yun Xi's sly eyes, Qi Rong crossed his arms in front of his chest. His black eyes stared directly into hers as he said,
"Oh? Then tell me, what do you mean by 'be with you'?"
Seeing that the little girl wanted to play word games with him, the corners of Qi Rong's lips curled up as he patiently awaited her answer.
Meeting Qi Rong's teasing gaze, Yun Xi looked extremely embarrassed. She stiffened her neck and continued to make things up:
"It means exactly what it says. I promised to stay with you in the Prince Xian's Mansion. Without your permission, I won't leave."
One day, when Qi Rong lost interest in her or when she got a letter of divorce from him, she would finally gain her freedom.
That way, she wouldn't be going against her deal with Qi Rong.
Hearing Yun Xi's far - fetched excuse, Qi Rong rubbed his forehead. Suddenly, a look of distress crossed his face:
"But I understood it as you agreeing to be intimate with me. That's why I went all out to rescue your father. Now that your father has just been rescued, and you're telling me this. What if I feel like I've been cheated?"
Hearing Qi Rong's words and meeting his ambiguous expression, Yun Xi's face immediately flushed red. She quickly glanced at Yu Zhu beside her. Her tongue got tied as she stammered,
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
Well, she might as well just play dumb to the end! Anyway, even if she reneged on the deal, would Qi Rong really send her father back to prison?
After all, it was he who had just rescued her father. In the eyes of the emperor and everyone else, he and her father were on the same side. He shouldn't shoot himself in the foot, right?
As Yun Xi harbored such a lucky thought, Qi Rong didn't give her the chance to play dumb. He deliberately walked up to her without a care in the world. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, pressing his forehead against hers as their breaths mingled:
"You really don't understand? Do you want me to teach you?"
Qi Rong's voice was low and seductive. Yun Xi was greatly shocked. Her heart began to pound like a drum, and she felt as if the air around her had suddenly become thin.
"What are you doing getting so close to me? There's someone else here!"
Yun Xi shyly pushed at Qi Rong's shoulders, but he didn't budge an inch. As for Yu Zhu, whom Yun Xi had referred to as "someone else", her face turned slightly red. She awkwardly touched her nose.
"Miss, this servant will take her leave first. Call me if you need anything."
After Yu Zhu said that, she tactfully scurried away.
"Hey, Yu Zhu, don't leave!"
Yun Xi had hoped that with Yu Zhu around, Qi Rong would be more restrained. But seeing Yu Zhu abandon her and run away like that, Yun Xi felt like crying.
"Shall we continue discussing the topic we were just on?"
Looking at Yun Xi with her arm reaching out towards the door and a dejected expression on her face, the corners of Qi Rong's lips curled up in a mischievous smile.
Thinking of the way Yu Zhu had left just now, Yun Xi angrily pounded on Qi Rong's chest:
"I'm still so young. Are you really that desperate?"
In response to Yun Xi's coquettish complaint, Qi Rong smiled and grabbed her fist. He placed a kiss on it, then stared at her with burning eyes as he teasingly said,
"I'm not old either. Are you worried that I'm not good enough for you?"
Then, his gaze slowly swept across Yun Xi's already stunning face. His voice was filled with doting as he said,
"Moreover, you're already sixteen this year. In three months, you'll turn seventeen. You're not a little girl anymore."
In the Liuguo Kingdom, women got married early. They came of age at fifteen, but there were quite a few who got married at fourteen. At the latest, they wouldn't be older than eighteen. Otherwise, they would be regarded as old maids and have no say in choosing their spouses.
At Yun Xi's age, ordinary girls from common families might already have children.
Thinking of children, a warm picture flashed through Qi Rong's mind. His gaze on Yun Xi became serious and expectant:
"Don't you want to have a child with me and build a more complete family?"
After the palace coup, his family had fallen apart. Although those people were related to him by blood, all he felt towards them was hatred, with not a shred of family affection.
Instead, for the sake of survival, he had to be constantly on guard against them stabbing him in the back!
Seeing the longing in Qi Rong's eyes, Yun Xi was shocked. She scrutinized Qi Rong with a very strange look in her eyes.
All she could think about was how to escape from the Prince Xian's Mansion and get out of his control, while he was thinking about her having his child?
Wouldn't that mean she would be tied to him for the rest of her life? Absolutely not!
"Having children is the duty of the main wife. I'm just your concubine. Don't you think the child would be very pitiful if they had a mother of my status?"
In ordinary big families, before the main wife gave birth to an heir, concubines or maids - in - waiting were not allowed to have children.
Otherwise, the child would be taken away from its mother. The mother would either be sold off or driven out of the mansion, and the child would be raised under the name of the main wife.
Yun Xi clearly thought Qi Rong's statement was extremely absurd and ridiculous. However, when she really thought about that child, her heart couldn't help but ache.
If her relationship with Qi Rong continued to be a love - hate and transactional one, then even if she couldn't leave the Prince Xian's Mansion, she would rather never have a child in her life!
Noticing the loneliness on Yun Xi's face, Qi Rong pursed his thin lips. A look of pity flashed in his eyes.
He put his arm around Yun Xi's waist and sat her down on a chair. His eyes stared at her seriously as he said,
"No one but you will ever have my child."
Letting Yun Xi be his concubine for now was just to keep her out of harm's way. However, as a man, he didn't want to admit that he was afraid he wouldn't be able to protect the woman he loved.