Chapter Thirty-Fifth: Gentle yet Fearsome

  Xue Lengyu was suddenly flustered and muttered with her head down: "Slave... slave knows her fault, please forgive me, Your Highness."

  Li Mu smiled and said, "You've already said it, I'm a kind-hearted, benevolent, magnanimous, and talented king. To punish someone for such a trivial matter wouldn't that be letting your praise go to waste?"

  Xue Lengyu really didn't know what to say. Unexpectedly, Li Mu suddenly became gentle, and she couldn't help but raise her head to look at him, only to see a face full of smiles.

  At this time, Li Mu's smile softened the lines on his face, and a hint of tenderness appeared on his resolute face. He sat lazily at the desk, and through the deep purple long gown, Xue Lengyu could even feel the perfect lines and symmetrical muscles underneath.

  Xue Lengyu's face suddenly turned a little red, all along, she had always maintained a respectful and distant attitude towards Li Mu, never having looked at him from a woman's perspective. And Li Mu, too, had never given her a good look.

  Xue Lengyu couldn't resist the most was a gentle man. Now Li Mu suddenly became gentle, she felt a little uneasy.

  No wonder the princess would be deeply in love. Putting aside Wang Ye's identity, Li Mu himself is also a very charming man.

  "Woke up early this morning, feeling sleepy now?" Li Mu pushed the ginseng tea he had only taken a sip of to Xue Lengyu.

  Xue Lengyu furrowed her brow and didn't take the tea, although she wasn't a cleanliness freak, she still didn't want to put in her mouth a cup that this strange man had drunk from.

  Li Mu would never have thought that Xue Lengyu was disgusted by his filth, and instead interpreted it as her being afraid. After all, he was the king, superior to everyone else. Giving something to a servant was already a rare reward, how could a maid possibly be disgusted by her master?

  Li Mu didn't force it either and said: "So early in the morning, where did you go?"

  Xue Lengyu knew that the matter of the Wang Fu was not something that could escape Li Mu's eyes, so she honestly said: "The slave girl went to the Spring Garden, and the princess said that her body has been feeling a bit heavy lately. The slave girl went to teach the princess some suitable exercises that are beneficial for her health."

  Early in the morning, someone from the Spring Garden was indeed exercising. Li Mu actually wanted to ask what those strange exercises were, but he restrained himself and only said: "You are loyal, being in the Maple Garden, you still care about the queen's body."

  Unable to tell whether Li Mu's words were praise or sarcasm, Xue Lengyu could only say: "This is what a servant like me should do."

  Li Mu Dao said: "No wonder the princess praises you so much. You're clever and quick-witted, with a master in your heart."

  "Thank you, Prince Wang, for the compliment." Even if Li Mu was kind-hearted, Xue Lengyu had made up her mind to keep a low profile. Not to mention the disparity in their social status, Li Mu still had a group of wives, and such a man, even if she unintentionally had some good feelings towards him, must be nipped in the bud.

  Besides, Xue Lengyu was after all a person who had rolled over in the 21st century and wouldn't naively think that his strange behavior would move Li Mu's heart. Li Mu's sudden change must have other reasons.

  Li Mu quietly stared at Xue Lengyu for a while, if it were another woman, under such an obvious display of affection, she should be overjoyed and grateful.

  Ke Xue Leng Yu still lowered her head and furrowed her brow, saying she was obedient, but it would be better to say that she didn't care.

  Women who didn't care about themselves were rare for Li Mu to see. Unless... she had another master who could rival herself.

  It can't be said that Li Mu is arrogant or narrow-minded, in this era, it's natural for him to have such an understanding. Independent and self-reliant women do not exist in Li Mu's dictionary of life. He naturally couldn't think of it.

  Li Mu's eyes cooled down for a moment, but his voice became even softer: "You go and rest. I don't need you to attend to me in the study. Tonight I'm going to meet a friend, come with me."

  Xue Lengyu kept her head down and didn't see Li Mu's expression change. She just responded with a "yes" before retreating and leaving on her own. Li Mu's consideration made her even more awkward, but she couldn't say anything. With her thoughts tangled in the open and hidden, she wasn't likely to be Li Mu's opponent. For now, it was still best to be honest and obedient. As long as she didn't make any mistakes, Li Mu shouldn't frame her with some unfounded charges either.

  Xue Lengyu returned to her room, and soon Xiaofeng brought lunch over. Seeing her, she was still smiling: "Lengyu, it seems you'll be the mistress soon."

  "What nonsense are you talking about?" Xue Lengyu was unhappy in her heart, but she couldn't bear to scold Xiaofeng, so she pretended to be angry and said: "Xiaofeng, if you consider me as your sister and don't want to drift apart, then don't say such things again. I'm just a maid at Fengyuan, serving by the prince's side. Even if the prince treats me specially, it's all because of the princess's face. Lengyu is of low status, how could she be worthy? Even if the prince doesn't despise her, she still doesn't have this qualification."

  Xue Lengyu's words of justice left Xiaofeng speechless, and when she saw that he had turned cold, she didn't know if he was really angry or not. Feeling a bit disappointed, she put down her rice bowl and quietly left.

  Xue Lengyu didn't want to have a falling out with Xiao Feng. But even more, she didn't want this group of careless maids to say something behind her back that they shouldn't be saying.

  The only one in the palace who can still pull herself together at critical moments is the princess. If such rumors reach the princess's ears, making her think that she is a hypocrite, and she has doubts in her heart, it may affect future events.

  Xue Lengyu had something on her mind, so she ate a few mouthfuls casually and lay down on the bed, wanting to sleep but couldn't quite fall asleep. In a daze between wakefulness and sleep, she vaguely saw Li Muo's evil smile at one moment, Li Yan's gloomy expression at another, and then his face changed again, first with a gentle look, but suddenly turning into a ferocious face, with a long sword dripping with blood placed on her neck.

  It was still early June and Xue Lengyu woke up from his dream with a cold sweat. Outside the door, there were knocks, one after another, each more urgent than the last.

  Xue Lengyu suddenly sat up and heard Xiaofeng's voice shouting loudly outside the door: "Lengyu, Lengyu, open the door quickly, something has happened at your house."

  Xue Lengyu was startled and hastily put on her outer garment as she rushed out. She opened the door to find Xiao Feng standing at the entrance.

  "What did you just say?" Xue Lengyu hastily grabbed Xiao Feng.

  Xiao Feng said: "Just now, a master from Xiuzi Garden came over and said that something seems to have happened at your home, it's quite chaotic, and your father is injured. If possible, go back and take a look."

  "I'm going back now." Xue Lengyu's heart tightened and he was about to rush out.

  "Wait a minute." Xiaofeng grabbed Xue Lengyu: "We can't just leave the mansion without permission. You'd better tell Shu Li Daren or directly inform Wang Ye. Wang Ye said this morning that you should stay by his side, you can't just leave like this."

  Xue Lengyu's heart was anxious, although they were not her biological parents, Xue Father and Xue Mother were the only relatives she had in this world. She was worried, how could she calm down?

  When people are in a hurry, they can't take care of too many things. Xue Lengyu knew that if he left like this, Xiao Feng would not let him go. He hurried to the door of the study and knocked on it.

  There will be rewards and updates tonight, possibly a bit later