Chapter 9 (1/2)

The action switches in Lost You Forever fro Kingdom, and with it Xiao Liu’s past as Xiao Yao finally catches up to her By the tidom has fallen and the world of the Gods has only the two re It’s a tentative truce between theht at the price of Xiao Yao’sher father the Gao Xing Ereater than individual need, the bonds of birth and e her identity as the most powerful royal child in the God world, but perhaps her e can escape political alliances that her mother sacrificed her love for She appears to have ive hieht to love her back Xiao Yao couldn’t have picked a better , but sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants despite the uy is better for you” Whatlady is that she does think with her rand passion that typically doo would be lovely, she knows it, we know it, but she’s got two other guys in her heart as well and how she balances all threeto see The irony of Xiao Yao’s life is that she uy she wants, because those around her desperately want her to be happy since she’s suffered sotoo scared to love without abandon This chapter is a the da forward after staying in place for so long

Chapter 9 – Brow Furrowed, No Choice But Mutual Avoidance:

When the sun was setting, a retainer came to summon Xiao Liu that the Grand E injury, the retainer brought a pallet and shi+ Qi put Xiao Liu on it The servants carried Xiao Liu while shi+ Qi followed behind, and after walking for some time they arrived at Cao Hui Court where the Grand Emperor handled all his daily affairs The servants stopped outside and went in to announce

When called inside, shi+ Qi picked up Xiao Liu and the servants wanted to stop him but Zhuan Xu called out “Let him come in”

shi+ Qi carried Xiao Liu inside the expansive quiet interior where there was a pallet placed in the center Anor old, he looked about 30 so, but there were a lot of white hairs in his head and he gave off an aura of weathered sadness

shi+ Qi gently set Xiao Liu down and bowed “Your s are injured so will Your ive”

The Grand Emperor appeared not to have heard shi+ Qi and instead stared intently only at Xiao Liu

Before entering the court, Xiao Liu was very nervous and strangely solemn But now she appeared totally at ease and smiled at the Grand Emperor and let him stare his fill After soet up

The Grand Emperor asked Xiao Liu “Who hurt you?”

Xiao Liu s Zhuan Xu turned “It was ain, so I ordered him punished”

The Grand Emperor stared at Zhuan Xu and then asked Xiao Liu “Did you have dinner yet?”

“Not yet”

The Grand Eroup dined in the hall off the court, a ss was placed quite close The Grand Emperor sat in the center, Zhuan Xu below hiht, and shi+ Qi below Xiao Liu to help take care of her

Contrary to what people thought, the Grand Emperor dined very simply, so simply it was like any ordinary wealthy family The Grand Emperor didn’t eat a lot, and he didn’t drink wine, and his every gesture was immaculate shi+ Qi and Zhuan Xu were as well, the way they dined was like watching art in s up, there was no sound and every floas impeccable

In the entire hall, only Xiao Liu wasloud uncouth noises Xiao Liu ate and drank like a beast, without any refines with her hands and letting the juices fly everywhere

After she was done, she wiped her hands on her clothes The servant behind her brought a bowl over ater and petals floating inside Xiao Liu wiped her rabbed it and drank it with a gulp The servant stared in shock but Xiao Liu smiled and shoved the bowl back with a thanks

Thank God the servants had followed the Grand E The shock wasweird had just happened The servant continued to serve Xiao Liu and brought the next dishes

Zhuan Xu was either annoyed by Xiao Liu’s loud noises or full and frustrated, he put down his chopsticks and picked up his wine cup, drinking and staring at Xiao Liu The Grand E Xiao Liu did

Xiao Liu finished herthenoise wasn’t weird when a lot of people were eating together, but here in the silence of the imperial hall, where even the servants didn’t darewas like a thunder loud

The servants stood immobilized in fear but shi+ Qi was silent and cal to eat his ust

The Grand Emperor finally looked at Xiao Liu and she sucked on a bone and looked around the hall at the odd mood She spit the bone out and luckily a servant was quick thinking and grabbed it

Xiao Liu sized to the Grand Emperor “I’ so delicious before I don’t know any ive”

The Grand E time at Xiao Liu then asked “What do you like to eat nor, but I love roasted lamb the most as the main dish”

“Snacks?”

“Duck neck, chicken feet…” Xiao Liu licked her lips “And goose claws”

“What kind of flavor? I’ll have the ih ti to stories before bedtime”

Xiao Liu was silent and stared at the Grand Emperor

Zhuan Xu’s eyes were filled with confusion and doubt and his hands started shaking, causing the wine to slosh on him but he didn’t even notice and could only stare at Xiao Liu

Xiao Liu suddenly laughed “Whatever flavor is fine, country folks aren’t picky”

The Grand Emperor said to a retainer “Make one of every flavor”

Xiao Liut turned to shi+ Qi “I’o back and rest”

shi+ Qi bowed to the Grand Emperor and he said to shi+ Qi “You take Xiao Liu back”

shi+ Qi picked up Xiao Liu and walked out of the hall That hen Zhuan Xu stood up and stared at Xiao Liu’s disappearing forently turned to the Grand Emperor and asked “Master, who is he?”

The Grand Emperor asked back “Who do you think he is?”

“Master wantedhim here and said ht he could be a son of one of the deceased Five Princes, supposedly one of their wives was a poison master and tried to poison Master before Xiao Liu is a poison expert, so I thought… But Master, you just said for hi to stories before bedtime Xiao Yao, Xiao Yao……” Zhuan Xu was so scared and excited that his voice was shaking so hard he couldn’t continue “Little sister when she was s to Auntie’s stories Because she wanted to eat bedtime snacks she wouldn’t even eat her dinner properly When Auntie chastised her, she would argue back that her Daddy let her eat snacks”

Compared to Zhuan Xu’s shock, the Grand Eh the ic so I don’t so I don’t knoho he really is””

Zhuan Xu sat doearily on his knees “But Masterand Zhuan Xu bolted up and rushed to the door “I’ to ask her who she really is, and why she won’t reunite with me”

“Halt!”

The Grand Emperor’s icy cold voice caused Zhuan Xu to stop and he looked back in confusion “Doesn’t Master want to know? Xiao Yao is your daughter!”

The Grand E on his left finger and he slowly turned it “Who she is, is not for us to decide She needs to decide”

Zhuan Xu didn’t understand but he knew his Master was never wrong so he kneeled down and listened

“In this world, it’s not only ill intent that causes harm, a lot of harm is caused by love You want to knoho she is, I want to know too But don’t force her Give her time to tell us who she is”

Zhuan Xu shook his head “I don’t understand…”

The Grand Emperor walked out “You will understand”

Zhuan Xu sat there in a daze for a long ti like he was drunk as he returned to Hua Yin Court

shi+ Qi and Xiao Liu sat in the corridor leaning against a bea the cool breeze shi+ Qi had a crystal plate on his leg filled with various fruits and he was peeling it and handing it to Xiao Liu

Seeing Zhuan Xu, shi+ Qi politely stood up and bowed but Xiao Liu rin Zhuan Xu walked over and sat down across froes of all his interactions with Xiao Liu flashed before his eyes

He ordered her tortured and they ought to hate each other, but she used her body to save his life He thought she wanted him indebted to her and it was another plot When Nine-lives Xiang Liu was chasing him, he lost the white fox tail satchel but later he discovered it wasn’t lost and was tucked into his robe

He was shot in the chest by a Fang Feng fa that if needs be, he would shoot her as well so that she would go ask Tu Shan Jing for help But she didn’t even hesitate and went to ask Tu Shan Jing for help and got hi in hier But he didn’t believe her, especially when she ht she clearly wanted to use the bug to control hi, and he felt it was gone, he still didn’t really believe that she removed it

Because Master wanted to see her, he thought she was the descendant of the traitorous Five Princes, that she approached him for nefarious purposes He hurt her but she always only ser in her smile, and instead there was comfort that he was now able to be so ruthless

And their nights of drinking, ti came back to him, and really the truth was so clearly before his eyes but his cold and suspicious heart chose not to see it

Zhuan Xu looked at Xiao Liu’s legs wrapped up in wooden boards, so clus and shi+ Qi thought he wanted to hurt her again so his attack ift His finger was like a sword as it shot out but Zhuan Xu didn’t duck like shi+ Qi thought he would, in fact Zhuan Xu let the finger blade pierce his arm and the blood ca and he tenderly asked “Does it hurt?”

Xiao Liu turned her head and closed her eyes “No”

Zhuan Xu had hundreds, thousands of words he wanted to say, tightly wound in his chest so he felt like exploding but he didn’t dare to open his er the boy pushi+ng her on the swing under the phoenix tree Both his parents were dead, he was exiled and had to scrape by under others, he had worn his enuine joy and genuine pain He learned to ot to to act with sincerity He learned to use all sorts of strategy to achieve his goals but forgot how to converse candidly

Zhuan Xu stood up and said to shi+ Qi “Take good care of her”

Zhuan Xu walked out the door, ai En Pavilion were in blooht wind gust blew the petals all around and sent the fragrance billowing But in this distant land as far as the edge of the ocean, there was no red phoenix flower, the flower that bloo when it fell

shi+ Qi saw Xiao Liu had her eyes tightly shut, and only after the sound of Zhuan Xu’s departing footsteps faded did the tears tumble down from the corner of her eyes shi+ Qi pulled Xiao Liu into his arms and Xiao Liu buried her face in his chest as her tears fell like the rain

It’s been over three hundred years, and she was no longer the little girl on the swing under the phoenix tree

She once roa blood like an anie, raised like a pet; she was once chased and she killed many; her life was a lie, it was blood, it was death, everyone lied to her so she didn’t knoho to trust, she didn’t knoho to be in front of everyone

Until it was dark into the night, after shi+ Qi and Xiao Liu had long gone to bed, and still Zhuan Xu did not return

When Xiao Liu woke up the next er there He didn’t return to Hua Yin Court until dusk and Xiao Liu was the sa him with a smile and a wave Zhuan Xu had a cool expression without a s else was different

Zhuan Xu said to shi+ Qi “If you’re bored during the day, have the servants take you guys to Qi Qing Garden, there is a lake to go boating, a creek to soak your feet, filled with exotic plants and strange ani time”

shi+ Qi said “Fine”

Zhuan Xu went back to his room and ate all his meals there The doctor said Xiao Liu would heal fastest in onearound on crutches

The doctor was shocked at her recovery speed and adradually you will be back to normal”

Xiao Liu was very obedient and walked around everywhere

The Grand Emperor didn’t summon Xiao Liu often, once every three or four days, and each time he said very little “What do you like to drink?” “What color do you like?” “What plants?” ‘What…”

Within Hua Yin Court, his dictates were everywhere, whatever Xiao Liu said she liked it would appear immediately One time he asked what she liked and she shamelessly said “I like money, it’s even better if I have a mountain of money where I can roll around in”

The next day when Xiao Liu got up, there was a mountain of money in the courtyard It wasn’t jewels, it wasn’t jade, it was actually a h as amoney mountain, Xiao Liu’s face darkened but Zhuan Xu who hadn’t so much as cracked a s Even the reticent shi+ Qi couldn’t help but laugh as well as he said very earnestly to Xiao Liu “Even I’ve never seen this hter, Xiao Liu tossed her crutches aside and flopped on the money mountain and rolled around a few times

shi+ Qi asked “Happy?”

“No, it really hurts” Xiao Liu laid on top of the money mountain and stubbornly persisted “But at least now I knohat it feels like to roll around on a hed

The servants from then on would always need to walk around thein the yard fro shi+ny bright

On a particular ht, Xiao Liu was in the mood and wanted to see the moon, but when she opened theall she saas the shi+ny money mountain In front of the ht could compare Xiao Liu finally couldn’t take it anymore and said to a servant “Take it away”

The servant explained “This is Hismaster wants it removed, you need to ask His majesty”

The next time the Grand Emperor summoned Xiao Liu, it was the first time she spoke first to him “I don’t like the money mountain anyhtly nodded his head Only the very familiar Zhuan Xu could see the twinkle of mirth in the Grand Eer dared to bullshi+t when the Grand Emperor asked what she liked She answered honestly, because having so she didn’t like in front of her every day was such a pain

Xiao Liu’s legs got better and didn’t need the two crutches anymore She used one crutch and could walk slowly by herself She couldn’t sit still so she got bored of just wandering Hua Yin Court She liked walking at sunset until she was covered in sweat and then she would stop

shi+ Qi would slowly follow behind her

Xiao Liu nattered “Men love a beauty who doesn’t sweat, but that’s a bad idea to marry one Life has so many annoyances that upset people and to keep it all inside is bad To walk around in the sun and sweat it all out, that way a woman can feel relieved and not be so petty Look atlike this I feel much better”

shi+ Qi looked at Xiao Liu with a s

Suddenly there was a sound of a bird calling froe s zooht next to Xiao Liu Its body was inching forward and its head was bowed as if it was bowing to Xiao Liu and inviting Xiao Liu to pet its head

Xiao Liu stepped back and dropped her crutch, her body stuo assist her but the Grand Emperor and Zhuan Xu arrived and the Grand Eiant force blocked shi+ Qi’s path shi+ Qi could see the s didn’t want to hurt Xiao Liu so he didn’t resist and quietly watched

The s that Xiao Liu was ignoring it so it cocked its head quizzically and walked towards Xiao Liu

Xiao Liu backed away faster and faster and it walked forward faster and faster Xiao Liu fell on the ground and the s thought Xiao Liu wanted to play with it so it happily called out and started rolling on the ground a few times It then stretched its neck out and curled up next to Xiao Liu

Xiao Liu stared at it and the sas heartbroken and cried out pitifully It put its head under Xiao Liu’s hand and whined, clearly it wasn’t going to stop co until Xiao Liu paid it attention Xiao Liu finally reached out her hand and stroked its head

The s flapped its wings and cried out happily in song, its joy evident to everyone watching

Xiao Liu held the s’s body and slowly got up “You thing, how’d you get so fat?” She then raised her head and saw the Grand Ehed and pointed at the s “This fat bird seems to like me a lot, likely it’s a female”

The Grand Eed ride for ht when it was still an egg When it hatched, the first thing it saas Xiao Yao She named it Yuan Yuan and every day she would ask when she could ride Yuan Yuan in the skies I always answered “When both of you are all grown up” Now Yuan Yuan is all grown up, but Xiao Yao still has not returned”

Xiao Liu bowed apologetically “I didn’t knoas the Princess’s winged ride, if I insulted it then will Your ive”

The Grand Emperor stared at Xiao Liu and then left with Zhuan Xu without saying a word

Xiao Liu saw them leave and then walked to rest on a rock with shi+ Qi’s assistance The s cao play by yourself” The s Yuan Yuan crouched pitifully near Xiao Liu for a bit and then flew off

Xiao Liu rested for a bit and then said to shi+ Qi with a so back”

Xiao Liu was soon able to ithout crutches and she walked all over the court but never to the yard anyy Su Garden and was resting under a tree when Xiao Liu said “This would be a perfect time for an icedhed “I was just o back”

“I’ll be back quickly” shi+ Qi took off quickly and Xiao Liu sat down to wait for the iced melon

Xiao Liu re in the water and often when it was hot out she stayed in the water and refused to co plate of icedthat she would finish it all if her daughter didn’t come out She would quickly climb out and run to herfor her roup of people walked into the garden and Xiao Liu glanced over and didn’t see any familiar faces so continued to sit there

A beautiful young girl rushed over fairly bursting with rage “You You What are you doing here?”

Xiao Liu looked at the girl carefully, the face was unfa at her attire, Xiao Liu kneho she was now So Ah Nian’s real face was so beautiful, a true beauty through and through Xiao Liu laughed “I I Why can’t I be here?”

Ah Nian was about to burst a blood vessel in her brain she was so angry “This is rab hirabbed Xiao Liu and dragged him up and took hied along Once they arrived at Ah Nian’s quarters Han Zhang Court, she acted like a judge interrogating a prisoner “Do you admit your crimes?”

Xiao Liu didn’t have a care and instead look around with a s she didn’t see in front of Ah Nian

Ah Nian looked down on her “Ha! There coe said you saved his life so I won’t kill you but you’re going to suffer today That day you…you…to et justice!”

Ah Nian re her up all over that day and tears caain Zhuan Xu asked her uts to tell him After she cah tears but her mom just held her and patted her on the back

Ah Nian yelled “Give me his hands!”

Two servants held up Xiao Liu’s hands, but since Ah Nian was so protected and knew nothing about true torture, all she could think of was to hit Xiao Liu’s hands

Hai Tang grabbed a thick bat and struck Xiao Liu’s handed hard Xiao Liu sed her on “Your back was so soft and fragrant, even if you break my hands It’s still worth it to feel you up After I felt you up, I’ve been drea…”

Ah Nian’s body was stiff and her face turning purple as her tears ca was a very conservative society with an emphasis on etiquette and manners The body of the Princess……the servants were all stunned and Hai Tang shoved a shoe in Xiao Liu’ssaid to Ah Nian “Princess, this bastard is purposely angering you, don’t fall for his tricks You have your reputation and manners to uphold”

The other servants said otherwise “Prince Zhuan Xu is the Xuan Yuan Kingdo prince He only lives here and is alive by the grace of His majesty Why does Princess need to care what he thinks? Just kill him and then explain to the Emperor, he won’t blame you”

Ah Nian was beyond furious “Hit him, hit him in the mouth then hands, and if he dies then I’ll take responsibility!”

The two servants grabbed sticks and started hitting

Xiao Liu couldn’t laugh anymore because all she could think of hat the servants just said Zhuan Xu was sent here by the Yellow E, everyone kneas pretty e He was the token of the Yellow E In over two hundred years, he never once went back to Xuan Yuan In everyone’s eyes, he appeared like the lofty Xuan Yuan prince, but in truth he was just a discarded son living under sorace

When shi+ Qi came back with the iced melons and couldn’t find Xiao Liu, he followed the trail to here but was kept outside by the guards He could heard the sounds of striking from within and wanted to rush inside but couldn’t when even uards arrived

Because Ah Nian was the Grand Ehter now, everyone was very careful so neas i An, Ah Nian’sAn’s residence was close so she got there first

She rushed inside and was relieved to see Ah Nian looking fine albeit spitting mad Ah Nian saw her mom and immediately forced a smile and asked “Mom, why are you here?”