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Liu Xubai noticed his subordinate’s hesitation to speak, but he did not respond. He had his own considerations.
Jiang Qingqing would only belong to him.
In the boudoir, Liu Mei had been unconscious for an entire day and night.
No one in the manor dared to tell her what had happened the previous night. She simply assumed she had been violated. However, with the power of the Prime Minister’s Manor, as long as everyone who knew the truth was silenced, who would ever find out what she had experienced?
Liu Mei ordered someone to summon Liu Xubai.
Ignoring the crushing pain all over her body, she struggled to get up, grabbed onto Liu Xubai’s robe, and knelt before him, crying bitterly. “Brother, it was Jiang Qingqing! She did this to me! You have to help me!”
Liu Xubai helped her up and replied gently, “Alright.”
Fu Zhengnan stood by the window, facing a massive floor-to-ceiling glass pane.
With broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a perfectly tailored suit, he exuded an air of elegance and power.
The neon lights outside flickered, yet the man by the window remained cold and emotionless.
Since ordering food for Jiang Qingqing the night before, Fu Zhengnan had not logged into the game again.
Not for any particular reason, but because, according to Assistant Zhang’s investigation, the account receiving payments for the game was registered overseas. The company linked to it was nothing more than a shell corporation, established twenty years ago.
Moreover, in the past few years, he was the only player who had made transactions with that account.
His keen business instincts made him wary.
A few hundred thousand yuan was nothing to Fu Zhengnan, but an unexplained overseas payment account was highly suspicious. Untraceable transactions, abnormal in-game currency exchange rates…
A crude scam?
“President Fu, should I call the technical team to delete the game for you?”
Assistant Zhang held a thick stack of documents that had been painstakingly gathered, hoping to ease his boss’s concerns.
Fu Zhengnan remained silent, his chiseled face exuding an icy aura.
After a long pause, he finally responded, “Leave the documents on the table. You can go.”
Assistant Zhang opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but recalling Fu Zhengnan’s temperament, he ultimately remained silent and exited the office.
“If you need anything, President Fu, just call me.”
“Mm.”
Once Assistant Zhang left, the office fell into complete silence.
The bright moon had already climbed high into the night sky.
Fu Zhengnan stood by the floor-to-ceiling window for a long time. He glanced at his watch but made no move to leave the office.
Instead, he logged into the game.
On the screen, Jiang Qingqing was curled up, hugging a stuffed doll as she slept soundly.
As if sensing something, she slowly opened her eyes and asked uncertainly, “Divine One, have you returned?”
Fu Zhengnan did not respond.
Jiang Qingqing sensed the heavy atmosphere and blinked. “Are you angry?”
Was it because he had too many people to save and was overwhelmed with work?
She had seen her father act the same way when he was too busy handling state affairs to visit her mother’s palace.
“If work is too much, you can take a break. Should I make you a bowl of ginseng soup? I saw some ginseng in the kitchen today. My mother used to prepare ginseng soup for my father when he was exhausted from work.”
Jiang Qingqing continued talking to herself, not waiting for a response from Fu Zhengnan.
She climbed out of her blanket and ran toward the kitchen.
Fu Zhengnan hadn’t visited all day, leaving her starving. She rummaged through the kitchen and finally found a few edible tomatoes on the counter.
As she moved, the game displayed a notification:
[Jiang Qingqing has consumed 3 tomatoes today.]
[This is a paid item.]
[150 in-game currency has been automatically deducted from your balance.]
[Remaining in-game currency balance: 241,000 points.]
Fu Zhengnan stared at the on-screen message and suddenly spoke. “Jiang Qingqing, is this all you’ve eaten today?”
Jiang Qingqing, who was washing ingredients, hadn’t immediately understood his question.
After a moment of thought, she realized what he meant and nodded.
Not wanting Fu Zhengnan to feel guilty, she quickly added, “I ate too much last night, so today I’m just dieting~”
Fu Zhengnan closed his eyes briefly, his voice low and hoarse. “If you’re just a string of ordinary code…”
He trailed off without finishing his sentence.
Sensing his emotions, Jiang Qingqing’s large peach-blossom eyes widened slightly, showing confusion and concern. In the end, she forced a smile and said sweetly, “I’m not. I am the princess of the Great Liang Kingdom.”
After speaking, she didn’t dare to glance around in search of him.
Instead, she lowered her head and continued washing the ginseng.
She didn’t understand what he meant, nor did she know how to comfort him.
She only knew that when she sensed the Divine One’s sadness, she felt sad too.
“How do I use this? I want to start a fire.”
Holding the prepared ingredients, Jiang Qingqing pointed at the stove and asked.
She instinctively felt that the stove should be able to produce fire—otherwise, why would there be a pot placed on top of it?
Fu Zhengnan instructed, “Turn the knob to the right. Be careful.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Qingqing carefully followed his instructions. Although she had mentally prepared herself, she still flinched when flames suddenly burst from the stove.
Back in the palace, when Imperial Consort Wan prepared ginseng soup for Emperor Liang, Jiang Qingqing would often sit beside her and watch.
So now, making it herself wasn’t too difficult.
It just took a long time, and she had to watch the heat closely.
“Go eat something first”
Fu Zhengnan used the remaining balance to order a few side dishes and refilled the refrigerator.
Even though he knew this was just a game and that Jiang Qingqing wouldn’t actually starve, he still wanted to do these things.
[Notification: Remaining balance: 0 points]
[Would the player like to recharge?]
[Yes] [No]
Fu Zhengnan selected “No.”
Seeing that Jiang Qingqing still hadn’t moved, he repeated, “Jiang Qingqing, go eat first.”
Jiang Qingqing shook her head.
For the first time, she didn’t listen to Fu Zhengnan.
She brought over a chair and sat by the stove, watching attentively.
“Mother said that the heat control for ginseng soup is very important. If it’s not done right, the effects won’t be good.”
Besides, she was already beyond hunger—eating sooner or later made no difference.
After carefully ladling the ginseng soup into a bowl and placing it in the designated spot, Jiang Qingqing thought she would have to wait a long time.
But in the next moment, the porcelain bowl vanished right before her eyes.
She thought to herself, Maybe it’s because the Divine One is in the room, so he took it so quickly.
“How is it? Does it taste good?”
Jiang Qingqing asked with anticipation.
After all, this was her first time making ginseng soup by herself.
The moment the soup disappeared from the room, a system notification popped up on Fu Zhengnan’s phone screen, attempting to entice him into making another in-game purchase.
[The ‘Through Time’ feature remains active, with more functions waiting to be unlocked.]
[Insufficient balance. Would you like to recharge?]
However, instead of feeling pleased, Fu Zhengnan’s eyes reflected a faint disappointment.
Just another cheap trick by a “rival company.”
His thin lips pressed together as he glanced at Jiang Qingqing’s expectant expression. Reluctantly, he replied, “It tastes good.”
But he quickly exited the game and dialed Assistant Zhang’s number.
“Have the tech team come in tomorrow morning.”
His indifferent tone revealed no emotion, yet Assistant Zhang inexplicably felt a chill run down his spine.
Boss is angry.
Holding his phone, Assistant Zhang’s hands trembled slightly as he quickly responded, “Understood.”
Then, he called Lu Jian’an.
Fu Zhengnan: “Where are you?”
Hearing his serious tone, Lu Jian’an thought something major had happened and quickly asked, “What’s wrong? I’m at Liujin.”
Fu Zhengnan: “Private room number.”
Lu Jian’an froze for a moment, lifted his phone screen to check again, and confirmed—it really was Fu Zhengnan.
But something about this conversation felt… off.
He was coming to Liujin?
Still unsure, Lu Jian’an gave him a room number. The next thing he heard was the abrupt beep-beep of the call being disconnected.
Lu Jian’an: “……”
What the hell is wrong with this guy?!
So weird.
Seeing Lu Jian’an’s expression, a young master beside him grew curious and asked, “Young Master Lu, who was that? A friend coming over?”
Lu Jian’an waved his hand dismissively and shook the dice in his palm. “Nothing, let’s continue.”
Miumi[Translator]
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 I’ll try to release 2 or more chapters daily and unlock 2 chapters every Sunday. Support me at https://ko-fi.com/miumisakura For any questions or concerns, DM me on Discord at psychereader.