The Prodigal Son

Qin Yu followed Zhao Luan forward.

He had no idea what Zhao Luan was planning, so he could only follow behind her, glancing at her long legs from time to time, his mind wandering with all sorts of thoughts.

The cheongsams I had the tailor make for Luo Qingyi and Nan Que'er should be almost finished, right?

If cheongsams became popular, I wonder what a beautiful sight it would be if Zhao Luan wore one.

Just as Qin Yu was lost in thought, Zhao Luan suddenly stopped by the pond in the palace. "I will keep my promise and hand over Wang Dou and his brothers to you! But listen to me carefully: if you dare to let them make that divine bird fly into the sky for you, I will skin you alive!"

"Uh-huh!"

Qin Yu nodded repeatedly, secretly amused.

What's the point of letting them mess around with that damn divine bird!

Unless they become an ancient version of the Wright brothers.

Those two were far more useful than those fancy but useless gadgets!

"You'd better take my warning to heart!"

Zhao Luan warned Qin Yu again, saying, "This afternoon, I accompanied the Empress Dowager for a walk. She said that you had made great contributions this time and wanted me to reward you handsomely."

"Your subject dares not claim credit!"

Qin Yu shook his head vigorously, "Now the entire court knows that this is all thanks to the Empress Dowager! It would be unreasonable for His Majesty to reward me with this!"

"Wasn't this also part of your plan?"

Zhao Yan turned to look at him. "By giving all the credit to the Empress Dowager, you not only enhance her reputation but also absolve yourself of any responsibility, preventing me from promoting you, is that right?"

That bastard!

They'll stop at nothing to avoid getting promoted!

He's got some intelligence, but he's used it all for crooked and shady things!

Qin Yu chuckled, "If Your Majesty insists on bestowing upon me a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand taels of silver, I cannot refuse, can I?"

One or two hundred thousand taels of silver?

Zhao Luan's pretty face twitched violently. "I'd like to give you a hundred or two hundred lashes now. Want to try?"

"Then let's forget about it!"

Qin Yu chuckled, then said in a serious tone, "Since the credit has already been given to the Empress Dowager, it is indeed inappropriate for Your Majesty to reward me further! I don't want any reward. As long as Your Majesty keeps your previous promise and stops thinking about retaliating against me for no reason, that would be the greatest reward for me."

Hearing Qin Yu's words, Zhao Luan couldn't help but feel a burning hatred.

He's feeling wronged?

Every time I disciplined him, wasn't it because he brought it on himself?

He caused me to lose almost my life twice, and I didn't feel wronged at all, but he's the one who's feeling wronged first!

For a fleeting moment, Zhao Luan really wanted to kick Qin Yu into the pond.

Zhao Luan suppressed her impulse and glared at him. "I knew you didn't want me to promote you! That's why I decided to appoint Yang Jichun as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and to send Wu Chi and Shen Jue to Yinzhou to lead troops with Yun Zhao. Do you understand?"

Oh?

Was I being petty?

Qin Yu stole a glance at Zhao Luan and quickly said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

"Don't try that on me!"

Zhao Luan sneered, "I'm only saying this because I value your talent! I've been bestowing this imperial gold medal upon you for so long and haven't taken it back yet. If you still dare to harbor any suspicions or think that serving a ruler is like walking on thin ice, I'll kick you right into this pool!"

"Uh-huh."

Qin Yu nodded perfunctorily and grinned, "To be kicked into the pool by Your Majesty's long legs is also my fault..."

Qin Yu stopped mid-sentence, nearly slapping himself in the face.

What are you doing!

Have they gotten cocky again since they haven't been nerfed by the female demon lately?

Zhao Luan took a small step forward and asked with a half-smile, "Are my legs very long?"

"this……"

Qin Yu was slightly embarrassed. After hesitating for a moment, he made up his mind and nodded, saying, "Your Majesty's legs are long and straight; you're practically a natural clothes hanger!"

I definitely don't think this counts as flirting!

At most, it's just flattery!

"Is that so?"

Zhao Luan glanced down at her legs, then looked at him with amusement: "I've noticed that you seem to have grown quite bold lately, haven't you? What, have you gotten too cocky after making a contribution?"

"Your Majesty, please don't misunderstand!"

Qin Yu quickly offered a pretext, "A few days ago, while I was reflecting on my mistakes behind closed doors, I suddenly had a flash of inspiration and created a new type of clothing, which I call the cheongsam!"

"Qingyi and Nan Que'er both like it very much. I was just thinking that Your Majesty is also a woman, perhaps you would also like this new style of clothing!"

"But these new clothes accentuate a woman's figure too much, and might be considered inappropriate, so I'm unsure whether I should present them to Your Majesty..."

Make it up!

Let's just get through this for now!

"Is that so?"

Zhao Luan asked with great interest, "These new clothes you've created, are they barely covering your body?"

"No, that's not it!"

Qin Yu shook his head, "It's just that it's more form-fitting, highlighting a woman's figure, and it will show a little bit of leg..."

"Then there's nothing inappropriate about it."

Zhao Luan dismissed it, saying, "Since you're so keen on it, why don't you send me a set later?"

"good!"

Qin Yu immediately agreed, but his mind began to wander.

Could it be that my wish is really going to come true?

Seeing Qin Yu's strange expression, Zhao Luan had already guessed that this bastard was probably not thinking anything good.

asshole!

He can't seem to think about anything serious!

Zhao Luan cursed inwardly, then looked at the opposite side of the pool with a puzzled expression. "Who's that? Why is he staring at you?"

"Staring at me?"

Qin Yu was puzzled and subconsciously looked towards the other side of the pool.

However, there wasn't a single ghost on the other side of the pool.

not good!

Qin Yu suddenly realized that he had been tricked.

As he turned around, Zhao Luan had already kicked him.

Sneak attack!

Qin Yu did not dodge.

Even at such close range, there's no way to avoid it.

Bang!

Qin Yu took a solid kick from Zhao Luan.

The instant his body flew backwards into the pool, Qin Yu grabbed Zhao Luan's leg.

Zhao Luan was pulled by Qin Yu, and her body immediately became unsteady. She fell into the pool with Qin Yu.

Zhao Luan's expression changed, but it was too late to order Qin Yu to let go.

"thump……"

The two of them fell into the pool, creating a large splash.

"what!"

The moment she fell into the water, Zhao Luan lost her usual composure, screaming in panic and flailing her arms wildly.

Once she caught Qin Yu's body, Zhao Luan clung to him like a lifeline, clinging to him like an octopus, her entire body pressed against his, and screaming all the while.

Seeing Zhao Luan's overreaction and feeling the soft jade in his arms, Qin Yu almost burst into song.

Friction, friction, in that soft...

But Qin Yu quickly regained consciousness.

"Your Majesty, your acting... is a bit over the top!"

Qin Yu steadied himself and forcibly suppressed his romantic thoughts.

The water only goes up to your neck. Even if you can't swim, you don't need to do this, right?

This female demon is probably up to no good!

However, even if she had ill intentions, there was no need for her to physically destroy the nest, was there?

"what……"

Zhao Luan seemed not to hear Qin Yu's words at all; she simply closed her eyes tightly and screamed.

The sound rang right next to Qin Yu's ear, almost puncturing his eardrum.

"Protect the Emperor!"

Yun Ying, who was not far away, shouted and rushed over.

thump……

Yun Ying quickly jumped into the pool, gave Qin Yu a fierce look, and then quickly grabbed Zhao Luan's body, trying to "pick" Zhao Luan off Qin Yu.

But Zhao Luan clung tightly to Qin Yu, and Yun Ying was unable to pull her away.

"You saw it! I didn't do anything!"

Qin Yu raised his hands to prove his innocence to Yun Ying.

"What are you still standing there for?"

Yun Ying roared, her face frosty, "Get His Majesty ashore immediately!"