CH 78

Cover Up— This Niece is Indeed a Bad Woman with Deep Schemes (2)

His heart was bitter and bitter, and he suddenly felt a burst of brute force.

"I forgot. Since you are not a young girl who has never encountered these things, I don't have to pity you anymore."

Without waiting for her to react, he pulled off his belt and tied her hands to the platform, making her unable to stand up. She could only kneel helplessly on the soft fleece blanket .

She was restrained and unable to move, and she was so pitiful that tears filled her eyes. She wanted to protest, but he pinched the back of her neck and reminded her, "We are in the Imperial tent. There are many people outside."

Her eyes were full of tears, and she bit her lip desperately to suppress the noises.

...

After a long while, he hugged her, slowly kneading her wrists that were a little red from the bite of the belt.

She leaned softly in his arms, frowning from time to time as he kneaded. Her voice was soft, which made him feel comfortable.

She had no energy to play tricks with him for the time being, but he was still in high spirits and energetic, as if he just came back from a hunt. Only at this time could he find a little peace and comfort in his heart.

"You always get tired so quickly." He chuckled happily in her ear, bit her chin and rubbed it a little bit, observing her lazy appearance as if it was very novel. "No wonder you didn’t want to teach Guoer how to ride."

Chu Ning raised her eyes to look at him and said angrily, "Why is A’Ning unwilling to teach? It is clear that Your Majesty did not allow A’Ning to teach. Your Majesty must think that A’Ning intends to approach Madame Lu to please Your Majesty. How can you scold A’Ning for being scheming!"

She could see that although he always looked indifferent and fierce, he was sincere towards the Lu family. In the end, they were his blood relatives, so he always paid more attention to them.

She, the niece who took the initiative to seduce him, must be just a cunning and bad woman in his heart, not worthy of the relatives of his mother's family.

Xiao Kezhi looked at her clear eyes and was moved in his heart. He asked, "Then are you interested in approaching Madame Lu to please me?"

Chu Ning blinked and said half-truthfully, "Naturally, this niece is indeed a bad woman with deep schemes."

She did not deny that she had a good relationship with Madame Lu and her daughter out of selfishness. As for the reasons behind her kindness to Guoer, there was no need to let him know.

He was silent for a moment and then suddenly smiled, "Yes, it doesn't matter, I know that you are sincere when you interact with Guoer and Madam Lu."

He was not a gentleman, let alone a saint. At first, he naturally thought that she wanted to please him by getting closer with Madame Lu.

But today, he saw with his own eyes what she looked like when she was carrying Guoer. She was gentle, kind, considerate, and attentive without the slightest pretense. Even when stroking the newly picked horse, she remembered to pull Guoer behind her so as to teach her not to be afraid yet not to be hurt by a horse that might suddenly become restless.

Those actions were made subconsciously, he could see that clearly. Where was she hypocritical? It was obviously sincere.

But when he misunderstood her, she never defended herself. Instead, she owned up to the mistakes and made him feel inexplicably guilty, which lent credit to some of his own observations and inferences.

He reached out and stroked her bright eyes and continued. "I asked Lady Zhao to teach Guoer in order to teach Guoer to get along with others. She is my cousin and the little lady of the court, so she should learn to be more courageous. I have to make her understand that, in the entire Great Liang, as long as I am here, no one will dare to disrespect her. Official and Madame Lu must think the same way. They only have one child, and their only wish is for her to live comfortably and happily. I didn’t want you to teach her not because I looked down on you."

This was the first time he had told her what was in his heart.

He seemed to be explaining what had just happened to her seriously, and the sincerity and patience in his tone were rare.

Chu Ning was in a trance for a while and stared at him, unable to tell whether the feeling in her heart was more sour or surprised.

She smiled and couldn't help but whisper, "It must feel so good to be cared for by so many relatives."

Xiao Kezhi looked at her tenderly and sincerely, even with a look of envy that was difficult to detect, only to feel that he suddenly understood something in his heart.

If her parents were still alive, she would probably be like Guoer now, surrounded and cherished by her close relatives. She would be carefree, whether she was willful or shy—there would always be people who tolerate and pamper her.

"What about you?" He looked into her eyes carefully and asked, "Since you are sincerely fond of her, why didn’t you offer to teach her?"

There was no usual sternness and ridicule in his eyes, only straightforward inquiry, which made her uncomfortable.

She buried her face in his chest, lowered her eyes without looking at him, and said in a low voice, "I said it before. Your Majesty didn't let me teach."

"No." He frowned, stretched out his hand to squeeze her chin, forcing her to look directly at him, "I shouldn't ask you why you didn't teach. I should ask you why you didn’t show off in front of anyone and claimed to not have good horsemanship."

He saw it when he was chasing behind her on horseback. If she had participated in the competition, then the daughter of the Zhao family might not have been able to come out on top.

She obviously had good riding skills, but she insisted in front of everyone that she had poor horsemanship, and the other people present seemed to have no idea of

her true ability at all.

He inferred that there was another reason for her to hide like this. Maybe it had something to do with his nephew.