Shen Qingfeng left. Liu Mei remained seated in the same position. Her crossed leg swayed slightly as she exhaled a puff of smoke gently and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, how much longer do you plan to hide?"
The room fell silent for a moment. Then, there came some faint rustling sounds behind the screen. A man in dark clothes slowly emerged. It was Xia Chuli who had left the palace incognito.
Xia Chuli smiled, walked straight to the seat where Shen Qingfeng had been sitting and sat down. He reached out and picked up the teacup that Shen Qingfeng had drunk from, examining it carefully in his hand.
Liu Mei glanced at him askance. Her tone lost its usual charm and became rather serious. "Your Highness the Crown Prince, did you hear clearly?"
Xia Chuli held a smile at the corner of his mouth, nodded and said, "Auntie, why do you still call me 'Your Highness the Crown Prince'? We are relatives. There's no need to be so formal."
Liu Mei paused for a moment and said coldly, "Relatives? Yes. I wonder who told you about our relationship. To be honest, if you weren't using my sister's name, I wouldn't want to recognize you."
"Why?" Xia Chuli seemed quite puzzled. He stared at the teacup that Shen Qingfeng had just used, found the spot with Shen Qingfeng's lip marks on it, and gently stroked it with his thumb. "I thought that after Mother Concubine died, Auntie would come to find me immediately. But unfortunately, after waiting for so many years, Auntie didn't even take a look at me."
"Humph." Liu Mei snorted, seemingly not wanting to pay him any heed.
"Is it because I have King Xia Jie's blood in me?" Xia Chuli said softly. He brought the teacup to his lips and took a sip from the place where Shen Qingfeng had drunk. Then he licked his lips as if still craving more.
Liu Mei turned to glare at him. When she saw what Xia Chuli was doing, a hint of contempt involuntarily showed in her eyes. "That's right. It's precisely because of your filthy bloodline! You shouldn't have been born into this world at all! If it weren't for that damned King Xia Jie who forcefully abducted my sister to Lixia, my sister wouldn't have died!"
"But it's not my fault." Xia Chuli seemed to sigh. He looked up at the ceiling, and his voice carried a dangerous aura like that of a venomous snake. "Shouldn't this all be blamed on King Xia Jie? Auntie, you're so resourceful. Don't tell me you don't know how my mother died!"
Liu Mei paused. She looked at Xia Chuli, shocked for a moment, and then sneered. "Humph, Your Highness the Crown Prince, do you think you can trick me? You're still too inexperienced."
Xia Chuli sneered. "I don't need to trick you. I know better than you how Mother Concubine died."
Liu Mei was taken aback.
"Pity that although she had the merman's tear, she didn't even have a chance to eat it. When King Xia Jie sent that lead - coated silver water to Mother Concubine's bedroom, she couldn't even take a normal breath before she died in an instant." Xia Chuli's voice was like a hungry ghost climbing out of hell, exuding a bone - chilling coldness.
Liu Mei sat up straight, put down her crossed leg, and stared fixedly at Xia Chuli, saying coldly, "Xia Chuli... What on earth do you want to do?"
"What do I want to do? Humph." Xia Chuli slowly stood up and walked to the window. Looking at the towering tree under the Shifang Pavilion that had begun to sprout green buds, he said in a deep voice, "Auntie, my goal is the same as yours. Kill King Xia Jie, then ascend to the throne and clear Mother Concubine's name."
Liu Mei snorted. "No. Your goal is yours. It's different from mine."
"I know. You don't want someone with the 'Lixia' bloodline like me to continue being the King of Lixia. You want Lixia to perish and be annexed by Xirong. But let me ask you, do you have the strength?"
Liu Mei stared at him fixedly without saying a word.
"Auntie, you don't. You'll never have such strength in your lifetime. Even though your Shifang Pavilion has extensive information networks, if you want to wipe out the bloodline of Lixia and let Xirong annex Lixia, you can only rely on me." Xia Chuli turned to look at Liu Mei. "Don't forget, I also have half of the Xirong bloodline in me."
Liu Mei stared into his eyes. "I don't trust you."
"Auntie, do you still think that I'm grateful to King Xia Jie?" Xia Chuli's voice gradually rose and became heart - rending. "It was him who killed Mother Concubine with his own hands. The stench of poison in Mother Concubine's bedroom lingered for a month! And they secretly sent Mother Concubine's body out of the palace. They put a person with a similar appearance in the palace to pretend to be Mother Concubine for the memorial ceremony! I even wore mourning clothes and guarded that strange corpse as she was carried into the royal mausoleum. It was only many years later that I realized that the 'servant's' corpse covered with a white cloth, carried away from me and emitting a stench of decay, was actually my mother!"
Liu Mei was instantly stunned on the spot.
Xia Chuli was extremely emotional, and the ferocious expression on his face was fully revealed. "Do you think I'll continue his royal lineage just because of this half - body of Lixia blood? Dream on!"
"You really... know everything?" Liu Mei's voice trembled, and tears streamed down from her eyes, leaving two white streaks on her exquisitely made - up face.
"You..." Liu Mei sobbed. She remembered that year when she had lost her soul and was taken to the mass grave by Sen Ya. There were countless corpses lying haphazardly there. She was like a soulless ghost, with her hair disheveled, frantically rummaging through the corpses for three days and three nights before she touched a withered hand wearing a familiar bracelet.
After that, she burned Princess Liuli's body to ashes, put them in a box, and took them back to Xirong.
But she wouldn't let things end like this.
She hated King Xia Jie, hated Lixia, and even hated Xia Chuli. It was Lixia that had taken away her beloved sister. She had once sworn that she would surely make Lixia perish.
So after taking Princess Liuli's ashes back, she resolutely abandoned her princess status, took Sen Ya with her, and returned to Lige City incognito.
She told herself that as long as Lixia didn't perish, she wouldn't return to Xirong. Over the years, she had been completely out of touch. Even the King of Xirong thought that she must be dead, and the people sent to look for her gradually withdrew.
More than a decade later, Xirong lost a princess, while Lige gained a Boss Liu who had extensive information networks.
Those who were involved in Princess Liuli's death died one after another. She had tried to assassinate King Xia Jie many times but had failed because of the guards around him.
Liu Mei lowered her head. Those painful memories were so vivid that even after so many years, she still felt heart - rending pain when she recalled them. Liu Mei sobbed. All her charm that was usually shown to others was gone. She was more like a crying child. Tears rolled down like a string of beads. From her trembling body came her gritted - teeth words. "Sister didn't lie exposed in the wilderness. I found her body and buried her back in Xirong. But I can't forgive King Xia Jie. I must torture him severely and make his life a living hell!"
Xia Chuli watched Liu Mei quietly. After a while, he stepped forward, gently sat in front of Liu Mei, and said in a deep voice, "So, Auntie, our goals are the same."
Liu Mei's trembling body suddenly stopped. She slowly raised her head. Regardless of the fact that her makeup had been smeared by tears, she said softly, "...Tell me, what do you plan to do?"
"Kill King Xia Jie." Xia Chuli replied.
Liu Mei said, "What about after killing him? Will you become the King of Lixia, clear my sister's name, and then continue the history of Lixia?"
"No." Xia Chuli said, "After I ascend the throne, there will be no more Lixia."
Liu Mei looked at him for a long time. After a while, she said, "...What will you do to Xirong?"
"Xirong is my homeland." Xia Chuli squinted his eyes. "What do you think I'll do to Xirong?"
Liu Mei looked at him, paused for a moment, and said, "I don't believe you."
"You will." Xia Chuli smiled, slowly walked to the seat and sat down. He picked up the teacup again and played with it in his hand. "Auntie, our previous cooperation was just a trial. So now... shall we have a pleasant cooperation?"
Liu Mei ignored him. She took out a handkerchief from the secret compartment of the table and began to wipe the dirt on her face. "Tell me your plan. But first, let me make it clear that we haven't established enough trust yet. If you have any tough tasks for me to do, I have the right to refuse."
"For now, there are no tough tasks for you to do, Auntie." Xia Chuli said, "But there is indeed a small thing that's easy for you to do."
Liu Mei looked at him.
Xia Chuli took out a letter from his bosom. "Help me send this to Cen Shuning."