Li Heng lowered his eyes at those words and said nothing.
He neither agreed nor refuted it.
Li Ying’s brows instantly furrowed. With anger in his voice, he said coldly, “What? Do you truly intend to impersonate me for the rest of your life and fight me for her?!”
Hearing this, Li Heng raised his eyes and looked at him. After a moment, he slowly said, “I have already explained to the Yongyu Marquis Estate that I was the one who asked Imperial Brother to give Liu Xuan an identity. I am the one who…”
Bang!
A fist slammed heavily into Li Heng’s face.
Unlike before in Liujia Village, when he had still held back, Li Ying put all his strength into this punch, carrying all his fury as it landed squarely on Li Heng’s face.
Li Heng staggered from the blow, and at once tasted a trace of metallic sweetness in his mouth.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his lips and stood straight again. Looking at Li Ying, whose chest was heaving with towering rage, he said calmly, “This was Imperial Mother’s intention.”
The instant those words fell, the anger on Li Ying’s face froze. He looked at Li Heng and said hoarsely, “Imperial Mother’s intention?”
“Yes.”
Li Heng looked at him. “The matter of Liu Xuan could not possibly be hidden from the Chancellor’s Estate. Your wedding with Hu Yuan is imminent—how could Imperial Mother allow you to ruin the marriage over a blind girl? That is why she had me declare to the outside world that it was I who had an affair with Liu Xuan, that it was I who had the Yongyu Marquis acknowledge her.”
“So you really went and did it!”
Li Ying said coldly, his voice full of anger, “Is this the excuse you found for yourself? Is this the reason behind what you did today? Is this why you impersonated me and made Xuan’er…”
“What happened today was indeed my fault.”
Li Heng cut him off. “But if Imperial Brother were able to abandon the marriage with the Hu family and openly acknowledge Liu Xuan’s identity, then what happened today would not have happened, would it?”
Hearing this, Li Ying fell completely silent.
He returned to his seat behind the desk, lifted his eyes to look at Li Heng, and smiled self-mockingly. “You are right. I am incompetent. Sometimes I even think, how good it would have been if the one abandoned back then had been me.”
At the very least, he would not feel guilty toward anyone.
Li Heng looked at him indifferently, without the slightest expression on his face.
Envy him?
How laughable.
Li Ying’s dejection lasted only a moment. Very quickly, he composed himself, becoming once more that cold, distant, stern Crown Prince.
He looked at Li Heng and said solemnly, “I do not care whether today you were overcome by emotion or lost control for a moment. Even if it was Imperial Mother’s order, you cannot continue impersonating me and doing intimate things with Xuan’er. You must know that a fake is a fake. It will never become real. Unless…”
His voice gradually turned colder. “You truly intend to become a rat in the gutter, forever unable to see the light of day!”
Hearing this, Li Heng not only did not get angry, he even laughed softly.
He moved his swollen, reddened jaw and smiled with the same unrestrained, carefree charm as always. His tone was just as unserious. “I have long been a rat in the gutter. Isn’t it a little late for Imperial Brother to say this now?”
Li Ying frowned. “You!…”
“Why must Imperial Brother be so furious?”
Li Heng looked every bit the frivolous libertine as he said lazily, “Today was purely an accident. Besides, nothing much happened. If anyone suffered a loss, it was I, your younger brother. The virginity I guarded for twenty years was lost in her hands. But Imperial Brother, rest assured. From now on, at most it will only go this far.”
“After all, I am using your identity, Imperial Brother. If I never show her any intimacy, she will become suspicious, won’t she? Some acting for the occasion is unavoidable. The closer I am to her, the safer she will be, and the more likely it will be for Imperial Brother to finally bring the beauty home.”
“Of course, if Imperial Brother is so lacking in confidence that you think I can steal her away while impersonating you, then I can refuse this task as well. You need only say a word to Imperial Mother. I still need to return and bathe, so I will not linger. Farewell!”
When he finished speaking, he turned around with carefree elegance. Yet in the instant he turned, the smile on his face vanished completely.
“Li Heng!”
Li Ying’s voice rang out behind him. Li Heng stopped, but did not turn back. His face was cold, yet his tone remained frivolous. “Does Imperial Brother have any further orders?”
Li Ying looked at his back and said hoarsely, each word deliberate, “Do not force me to hate you.”
Li Heng lowered his eyes at those words. Without saying anything, he strode out.
When he returned to the Duke’s Estate, Xun Yi had already prepared hot water. Li Heng removed his clothes and lowered his eyes to glance at the already dried stains. His gaze darkened, and he stepped into the bathtub.
He leaned against the tub and closed his eyes, but what surfaced in his mind was Liu Xuan kneeling between his legs, her head lowered, her eyes downcast as she worked earnestly.
His body, which had only just found release not long ago, reacted at once again.
Li Heng opened his eyes in vexation and called outside, “Xun Yi, bring cold water!”
Xun Yi was slightly taken aback, then hurriedly answered, “Yes.”
After introducing the situation in the estate, Ziyi began telling Liu Xuan about the preferences of the few people who could be considered masters of the household. Zilan was somewhat impatient. “Miss can’t see anyway. I’m afraid she’ll rarely even leave the courtyard. Even if she runs into the other masters, she won’t be able to tell who is who. Why bother knowing so much?”
Hearing this, Ziyi glared at her, warning her with her eyes not to speak recklessly. Then she comforted Liu Xuan, saying, “You still need to know. After some time, Miss will be able to distinguish who is who.”
Liu Xuan lowered her eyes and gave a soft hum in response.
Zilan rolled her eyes, too impatient to listen to Ziyi prattle on. Without even giving an explanation, she turned and left the room.
Ziyi could do nothing about her and could only pretend nothing had happened, continuing to speak with Liu Xuan.
After she finished speaking about Chu Yu’s preferences and was about to continue, Liu Xuan suddenly interrupted her. “Actually… I think what she said is right. I cannot see. In the future, I will rarely even leave the courtyard, and I will not be able to tell who is who.”
Seeing the loss written all over her beautiful little face, Ziyi could not help feeling a pang of pity and hurriedly said, “Miss, there is no need to belittle yourself. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Miss is so beautiful and has such a gentle nature—others could not have such qualities no matter how much they envied you.”
“Most people in this world have good eyes, but very few possess beauty like Miss’s. Compared between the two, Miss is still the more remarkable one!”
Hearing this, Liu Xuan smiled shyly. “Is that so?”
Ziyi nodded repeatedly, then remembered that Liu Xuan could not see and said earnestly, “Of course it is true. This servant never lies!”
Liu Xuan’s little face was filled with emotion. “You are so good.”
Then she would keep her for now. As for that Zilan, she ought to go.
They had set out only close to noon, then spent another two hours on the road. After entering the estate, they had busied themselves with all this for a while. By now, it was almost time for dinner.
This was Liu Xuan’s first day at the Marquis Estate. Both emotionally and logically, this meal had to be taken together as a family.
When Liu Xuan was led to the dining hall, the Chu family had all arrived.
Aside from the younger generation, everyone knew the inside story. After all, whether or not Madam Yin had given birth to twins back then was something everyone understood clearly in their hearts.
At first, when they heard that the Crown Prince wanted the Marquis Estate to arrange an identity for his woman, everyone had been quite pleased, thinking that there was hope for the Marquis Estate’s revival. But after learning that Liu Xuan was blind, everyone immediately stopped harboring much hope.
However, the moment Liu Xuan entered with Ziyi supporting her, everyone stared straight at her.
In this world…
There was actually a woman who could be beautiful to such a degree!