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“Ah Yun, give me one more chance…”
“Of course.” Yun Chu pulled out a faint smile. “I have long wished for this. Thank you, Your Highness, for granting me the opportunity.”
The surprise in his eyes did not seem fake—it was the expression of someone who had long desired something and was finally getting it.
Li Yunli nodded.
If he were truly a scholar trapped within the confines of the residence for years, then he would surely want this opportunity.
But if, on the surface, he was confined while in reality he could come and go freely, unbound by restrictions, then he would surely feel guilty.
“I have already sent word to the scholars at Lushui Academy. Tomorrow, a carriage will accompany you there, and you will be brought back afterward.”
“Your Highness will not be going as well?” Yun Chu asked.
Li Yunli raised his left hand, which was tightly bandaged, and spoke with an innocent tone, “I was just recently assassinated, and I am quite frightened. How would I dare leave the residence?”
“Besides, Lushui Academy is rigid and dull. Only scholars like you would enjoy it. You should go on your own.”
Yun Chu opened his mouth but did not say anything.
Judging from her tone, she not only knew about the assassination attempt but was also aware of the student protest at Lushui Academy.
Sending him to the academy tomorrow while she herself did not go—wasn’t this clearly an attempt to frame him?
If in a few days the student protest erupted, he would be accused of being the mastermind behind it. At that time, she could produce the note he had written and charge him with treason.
This woman wanted to kill him!
Yun Chu clenched his fingers tightly, his palm damp with cold sweat.
He had just saved her today, yet she was already trying to kill him?
He was now increasingly certain—she had indeed been reborn.
She knew about his later acts of vengeance, so she was now trying to strike first?
The secret messages he had once left in the bamboo forest, meant to assess the situation, had unexpectedly become a hidden danger to himself.
Ha.
Yun Chu looked at Li Yunli with an indifferent gaze, lowering his eyes slowly before finally blinking and retracting his gaze.
How could he possibly let this woman have her way?
“What? Are you not used to it if I’m not going?”
Li Yunli tilted her head slightly and asked.
“No, I just… thank Your Highness for your trust.”
Allowing him to leave the residence alone—of course, he should be grateful for such trust.
“I have invited General Mingyi to the residence tomorrow, so I cannot accompany you,” Li Yunli explained while rubbing the palm of her left hand.
Then she added, “If anyone bullies you again, just have the guards fight back.”
Yun Chu barely registered her last sentence. He only caught one key detail—General Mingyi.
Xiao Linjia.
She was deliberately avoiding a meeting between him and Xiao Linjia.
So, she even knew about the past conflicts between him and Xiao Linjia.
She must be unwilling to accept this.
“General Xiao is upright and straightforward. However, when handling matters, he is quite direct. Your Highness should be more tactful in dealing with him.”
Li Yunli looked up at him seriously. “You seem to know him well?”
“Two years ago, during a battle between our armies, I studied General Mingyi’s tactics.”
That battle two years ago was the war that led to the fall of the Wei Kingdom.
It was also the time when Yun Chu had fallen into disgrace—exactly when Xiao Linjia had risen to prominence.
“I know you have a personal grudge against General Xiao.”
Li Yunli hesitated, then realized her words were incorrect. It should be her who had a personal grudge, while Xiao Linjia and Yun Chu had a national grudge.
“My trip to Yongzhou requires General Xiao’s assistance, so I cannot afford to neglect him.”
Yun Chu lowered his gaze.
He thought back to the moment in his past life when Xiao Linjia had died—what stage had his struggle with Li Yunli reached by then?
At that time, they had been at odds, and Li Yunli had just fallen into a disadvantage and been captured by him. If her memory only reached that point…
Did he still have a chance to change things?
“Your Highness, what are you saying? If General Xiao can be of help to you, then of course he is an honored guest. He has always despised me, so it is only right that I avoid him.”
Li Yunli caught a hint of resentment in his tone and explained briefly, “I am not sending you away to avoid him. You are going to Lushui Academy for your own matters.”
Yun Chu only nodded. After a long silence, he said, “I have yet to finish copying my calligraphy piece. I will not disturb Your Highness further.”
With that, he turned to leave.
Their conversation had been filled with underlying tension. Li Yunli frowned as she rubbed her wrist, wondering—why was he suddenly referring to himself as a servant again?
What kind of temper was he throwing now?
In the original book, Lushui Academy had nothing to do with Yun Chu. The academy had only been mentioned once, during the time when the Marquis of Yongcheng incited students to protest.
Yet now, Yun Chu had specifically mentioned Lushui Academy in his secret letter to A Si. Li Yunli could not simply dismiss this as a coincidence.
Since there was no clear evidence pointing directly at him, why not give him some space to act?
After all, she had always been someone who liked to set long-term traps.
But looking at Yun Chu’s reaction, he did not seem surprised by her sending him to Lushui Academy. Instead, he misunderstood it as her wanting him to avoid Xiao Linjia?
And he was upset because of this?
Li Yunli leaned forward slightly, watching his retreating figure.
How strange. So even the “gentleman consort” could get angry?
That night, Yun Chu did not return to Hanmei Residence.
Li Yunli sent Zihui to ask around and was told that the consort was alone in the study, inquiring about the latest political topics in the capital.
It seemed that he took tomorrow’s debate at Lushui Academy very seriously.
This left Li Yunli puzzled—had she really overthought things?
By dawn the next day, the carriage arranged for the consort had already left the residence.
Meanwhile, Li Yunli had invited General Xiao to the estate.
By stepping into the Princess Residence, Xiao Linjia was already seen by others as being on Li Yunli’s side.
Late at night, after much plotting and discussion, Li Yunli received word.
“Your Highness, the consort has returned.”
She tilted her head slightly, and Shiqi entered from outside.
“How did it go?”
Shiqi whispered, “Your Highness, the consort did nothing unusual. He debated with the students in three rounds and won all of them. Afterward, he drank with some students. He is slightly drunk now.”
“Only debated?”
“Only debated.”
Li Yunli nodded.
She had given him an entire day of freedom, yet he had truly only gone to debate?
“He had no contact with A Si?”
“None. The brothers monitoring A Si reported that he was at the security bureau all day, never leaving.”
This was… too clean.
It was as if A Si had realized he was being watched and had deliberately put on an act.
Shortly after, Yun Chu staggered into the courtyard.
She stood up and saw his dazed expression, his steps unsteady.
“How much did you drink?”
Yun Chu didn’t answer.
Shiqi muttered, “He’s probably already drunk.”
The consort, unable to go back to his own courtyard, suddenly stopped when he saw Li Yunli.
“…Ah Yun, give me one more chance.”