The Demon Prince

Li Miaoqing's alarm bells rang: "Wh...what chain?"

"Qi-replenishing pills, meridian-protecting pills, and wound-healing pills are supplied monthly on a fixed basis. As for the price, we'll cut it off like crazy, rounding it down to zero." Xiao Xingyue said seriously.

Li Miaoqing almost laughed in anger, "You wish! I..."

"If you don't agree, I, as the victim, am emotionally unstable and might go to the palace to cry and complain one day. You know, Father still loves me... Hey! Don't do it!"

Before she could finish speaking, Li Miaoqing had already grabbed Xiao Xingyue by the neck with both hands and pinned him to the bed.

"I, this princess, will strangle you, you shameless scoundrel!"

But she had no strength at all. Xiao Xingyue didn't even need to grab her hand. Instead, he suddenly slapped her Huiyang acupoint hard!

Li Miaoqing felt her flesh beneath the gauze dress tremble, followed by a sharp pain. "It hurts! Xiao Xingyue, you!"

"What do you mean, 'I'! You think I can't handle you?!" Xiao Xingyue slapped him again!

"Ah—" Li Miaoqing cried out in pain, released her grip on Xiao Xingyue's neck, and tried to get off him.

As a result, Xiao Xingyue grabbed her slender waist with his other hand. Li Miaoqing's waist was so thin that it could be easily grasped. Once Xiao Xingyue captured her, she could not move and did not even have a chance to speak. Then Xiao Xingyue slapped her again.

"It hurts! Stop hitting me! If you keep hitting me, I won't be able to walk!" Li Miaoqing begged for mercy repeatedly.

"So, will you agree or not?" Xiao Xingyue raised his hand as if to slap him again.

Li Miaoqing trembled, "No! I promise, okay?"

Xiao Xingyue turned his hand and pinched her chin. "That's a good girl. It was a pleasure working with you. Alright, you can go now."

He loosened his grip, but Li Miaoqing did not attempt to climb off him.

Xiao Xingyue noticed the resentment and strange look in Li Miaoqing's eyes, a look so similar to the one Li Wangshu had used on their wedding night… Xiao Xingyue immediately sensed something was wrong. "What do you want?"

But the next moment, both of his wrists were grabbed by Li Miaoqing's hands at the same time. Li Miaoqing said fiercely, "Since you've already threatened me with this, I might as well take advantage of you! I'm not going to suffer a loss!"

……

One hour later.

Li Miaoqing opened the door, clutching her aching back, but the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She turned back and warned, "If you dare utter a single word of this, I'll take you down with me!"

Finished talking and left.

On the bed, Xiao Xingyue wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes. "To survive... I, Xiao Xingyue, have once again endured humiliation..."

He felt his dantian filled with swirling true qi, and a mysterious national fortune flowed through his body, gradually being absorbed by him.

That was Li Miaoqing's second national destiny.

……

Li Miaoqing was furious as soon as she left the Prince's mansion.

She should have known better than to come. She originally came to settle accounts, but how did she end up owing a bunch of pills again?

"Fine, consider this payment for Xiao Xingyue's prostitution! I'll seduce him to death someday!"

Li Miaoqing just left.

The area in front of the Prince's Mansion became lively.

One carriage after another came to a stop, and the gift boxes were piled up higher than the threshold.

The steward from the Ministry of Works' household arrived, as did the younger brother of the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, and the uncle of the captain of the cavalry battalion... all for the quota of military officer representatives.

……

After a cup of tea.

Xiao Xingyue washed off the water stains left by Li Miaoqing, changed into a new set of clothes, and went to the main hall.

Zhao Yuanbao read out the gift list from the side, becoming more and more excited as he did so:

"Two ginseng roots that are a hundred years old."

Five hundred taels of gold.

A set of arm guards

... "

Xiao Xingyue sighed:

"You're all too kind. I, the young master, hate receiving gifts the most."

The group of people below quickly smiled apologetically: "The young master is so upright; we are the ones who are vulgar."

Xiao Xingyue stuffed the gift list into his sleeve: "It is a gift from an elder, and I dare not refuse it."

Everyone's smiles froze. Could that be the explanation?

Never mind, business is more important.

"I heard that after the Crown Prince selected an elegant official, Shen Yan went from second place to first place and is highly regarded by His Majesty! Now the Crown Prince is still short of military officers, and I have come here today to recommend my son. My son, Wang Teng, has been practicing martial arts since childhood. He could do push-ups at the age of three, and at five..."

"Deputy Commander, stop bragging! My son can lift a tripod at three years old! Prince, choose my son Xiang..."

"What are you two doing cutting in line for? I was here first! Your Highness! My nephew said he went to the brothel with you, he was your matchmaker, and you chose the most beautiful courtesan, Lin Yaoxian..."

Amidst the commotion, Xiao Xingyue was troubled. He was certain he would accept the gift, but he knew he couldn't get the matter done.

The crowd fell silent only when the sound of horses' hooves came from outside again.

Xiao Xingyue's eyes lit up; Li Shunhua had arrived.

She was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, her long hair tied up high, and a sword at her waist. As soon as she entered the door, all the officials in the main hall who were presenting gifts fell silent and bowed.

She glanced at them, and they immediately felt a chill run down their spines and took their leave.

"I have clothes hanging out to dry at my house, I'll go home and bring them in first, Your Highness, we've agreed, haven't we?"

"This humble official also takes his leave. I will return and instruct my son to train diligently, so that he may bring glory to the nation!"

……

The main hall was soon empty.

Li Shunhua walked straight up to Xiao Xingyue, her tone domineering, and held out her hand: "Give me the military officer position!"

Xiao Xingyue put down his teacup: "On what grounds?"

Li Shunhua approached:

"I can vote for you in a month."

Xiao Xingyue laughed: "You should have voted for me anyway. Don't you care about your reputation regarding the Holy Dragon Technique?"

Li Shunhua frowned, her hand already on the hilt of her knife. She hesitated, then asked, "What exactly do you want?"

Xiao Xingyue was waiting for this sentence: "I want to go to Qin Zhenyue's military camp to select people."

Li Shunhua's eyes turned cold: "Impossible!"

"Then the Imperial Guards?"

"You wish!"

"The Valiant Cavalry?"

"That won't work either!"

"A roster of former soldiers of the Western Frontier Army?"

Li Shunhua gritted her teeth: "Xiao Xingyue, you want to touch military power? You can't handle it!"

Xiao Xingyue spread his hands: "Then there's only one left, I need the Northern Border Army's soldiers..."

"Impossible! Military power will never return to your Xiao family!"

"...the right to supervise horse training."

Li Shunhua paused, stunned, after hearing the second half of Xiao Xingyue's sentence. "The authority to supervise the training of the Northern Army? That's all you want?"

"Of course, after my father and brother died in battle, I was worried that the Northern Army would be leaderless and neglect training, and your grandfather was too old to keep an eye on things."

Li Shunhua frowned. The request wasn't unreasonable; it was just supervision. He was supposed to watch the Northern Army train from the sidelines. What kind of bad things could he possibly do?

I don't think so, right?

"Okay! I agree."

Xiao Xingyue slammed his hand on the table: "Deal! Alright, come in and practice with me."

Xiao Xingyue and Li Shunhua looked at each other, and only after confirming that Li Shunhua was not looking at him did he begin to examine Li Shunhua's figure.

I wonder how she compares to Li Miaoqing?

She dresses so smartly every day; there might be a surprise inside.

"I'm busy." Li Shunhua turned and left. "I'm going to inform Grandpa, so you won't trick me again!"

Even Xiao Xingyue couldn't stop her. "Good heavens, even a gentleman should be wary."

……

After Li Shunhua left, the Prince's Mansion finally quieted down.

Xiao Xingyue sat in his study, his cynicism gone, his smile gone, and his thoughts only became apparent when no one was around.

Consort Shu and the Emperor both promised benefits, so he had to find out who was behind this imperial examination scandal!

But now Xie Yuheng is dead.

Cui Daoyuan was afraid of death, but he might not dare to speak the truth; Lu Chengzhang only received his salary for half a year...

The emperor ordered him to investigate, but he also held a knife to his throat. If he couldn't find anything, he would be convicted first, and then he wouldn't even have a chance to vote.

Xiao Xingyue rubbed his temples: "Going directly to the jail to interrogate Cui Daoyuan doesn't offer much of a chance of success. If only that sixth brother were willing to help..."

Outside the door, Zhao Yuanbao strode in, holding a small bamboo tube in his hands: "Young Master, you've arrived."

Xiao Xingyue stared intently: "Who's here? What's this? A message sent by carrier pigeon?"

Zhao Yuanbao's expression was a bit strange: "Your former pen pal!"

Xiao Xingyue was stunned: "A pen pal?"

Zhao Yuanbao nodded: "The young master used to be weak and couldn't serve in the army. He also didn't like to play with those nobles in the capital. His personality was... somewhat... somewhat aloof."

But ever since that time a pigeon fell from the sky, and you picked it up, cared for it, and released it, the pigeon returned a few days later, with a thank-you note from its owner hanging on its leg. After that, you and that person frequently corresponded by pigeon, and you even said that it was your best friend.

I almost forgot about that... Xiao Xingyue took the bamboo tube, thinking to himself, "I almost forgot about my online boyfriend."

He opened the letter; the handwriting was neat, but the content was quite abstract:

"A true friend! I'm so excited!"

Today I tricked that weakling who wanted to marry me!

He even impersonated his deceased father and scared him to death!

You have no idea, his face turned pale at that moment, and he even begged me to help him interrogate someone!

That's hilarious! How could I possibly help him?

Only a fool would help him!

Hey buddy, you haven't contacted me lately, what have you been up to?

——Xiao Lingzi

After reading it, Xiao Xingyue's mind was buzzing. He read it again, and all the details matched up! There was no mistake!

Good guy!

My online boyfriend... is Princess Li Lingxi?!