The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat-Chapter 125: Holding a Grudge

In the evening, Lady Shufei suddenly sent someone to invite Lady Hua over.

Hua Manman was very surprised by this.

She looked at the messenger and asked, "Why is Lady Shufei looking for me?"

The person smiled and said, "I presume you’ve heard about the Sixth Prince’s illness.

Thanks to the diligent care of the Imperial Physician, the Sixth Prince’s condition has improved.

But his spirits are still very low.

Lady Shufei heard that the Sixth Prince once came to see you and that you got along very well.

So, Lady Shufei would like to invite you over to talk with the Sixth Prince and lift his spirits."

’I only happened to meet the Sixth Prince once,’ Hua Manman wanted to say.

’We barely know each other!’

But since Lady Shufei had already sent someone to invite her, it meant she was already convinced that Hua Manman and the Sixth Prince were well-acquainted. It would be useless to argue otherwise now.

Hua Manman could only say to the messenger,

"Please wait a moment. I need to inform the Prince."

The messenger was quite polite, quickly replying, "Of course."

Hua Manman ran to find Prince Zhao and told him about the matter.

She asked expectantly,

"Do you think I should go?"

But Li Ji brought up another matter entirely.

"Just now, news came from the Flying Dragon Cavalry. Liu Shizhong has confessed."

Hua Manman was taken aback by his irrelevant answer and asked subconsciously,

"And?"

Li Ji said, "Liu Shizhong claims he was bribed by Yichongyuan and secretly poisoned Jin Zhi when no one was looking."

Hua Manman blinked. "Isn’t that something we already knew?"

Li Ji calmly continued, "Besides that, Liu Shizhong also confessed to another matter. Back then, Hua Qingqing was tricked into going to Qiufeng Pavilion and was drugged.

Liu Shizhong was also secretly behind this, and the one who ordered him to do it was Yichongyuan."

Hua Manman was stunned.

She murmured, "What good would that do her?"

Li Ji leaned back and said slowly,

"There were two benefits.

First, if Hua Qingqing married into the Crown Prince Mansion, the Crown Prince and I would have become brothers-in-law. In many people’s eyes, that would have been a signal of my support for his faction.

Second, Hua Qingqing was the woman the Crown Prince had his eye on, but now she has been taken to bed by the Saint. Given the Crown Prince’s petty nature, he would surely grow to resent the Saint. This would drive a wedge between the Saint and the Crown Prince.

Killing two birds with one stone, with many benefits."

Hua Manman keenly caught a hint of disdain in Prince Zhao’s tone—his disdain for the Crown Prince.

He seemed to think very little of the Crown Prince.

But that wasn’t the point right now.

Hua Manman asked, "Is what Liu Shizhong said true?"

Li Ji gave an enigmatic smile. "Who knows? In any case, Yichongyuan is already dead. Whatever Liu Shizhong says, there’s no way to verify it."

Hua Manman asked, "Are you suspecting there’s more to Hua Jieyu being drugged?"

Li Ji chuckled, his tone laced with a hint of ridicule.

"Perhaps the drugging was indeed Yichongyuan’s doing.

But why would the Saint appear at Qiufeng Pavilion at that exact moment?

Yichongyuan could scheme to trick Hua Qingqing into going, but she couldn’t have tricked the Saint.

Someone else must have been pulling the strings."

Anyone who could silently scheme and deceive the Emperor was definitely no ordinary person.

Hua Manman felt more and more that the people in the Imperial Palace were anything but simple.

It seemed everyone had a hidden face.

Until you tore away their masks, you could never know if you were dealing with a man or a monster.

Hua Manman forced the conversation back to the matter at hand.

"What does this have to do with whether or not I go visit the Sixth Prince?"

Li Ji turned the white porcelain teacup in his hand, speaking leisurely.

"Yichongyuan not only framed me, but she also drugged and schemed against your sister.

And we had a hand in her death as well.

After all, the reason she suddenly confessed was because we put a Truth Elixir in the jujube tea she drank.

In a sense, we are among the culprits who drove her to her death.

We and Yichongyuan were enemies.

You’re showing so much concern for the Sixth Prince now. What if, when he grows up and learns the truth, he comes looking for revenge?

Don’t blame me for not warning you.

In the Imperial Palace, people who are too kind-hearted rarely meet a good end."

Hua Manman’s eyes darted. Pretending to be scared, she threw herself into Prince Zhao’s arms.

"But I still have you, My Prince! Even if the Sixth Prince comes for revenge, you’ll be there to protect me!"

Li Ji extended a long, well-defined index finger, pressing the pad of it against Hua Manman’s forehead to push her away.

"I can barely protect myself. You’re on your own."

Hua Manman immediately began to whimper pathetically.

"Sob, sob, nooo... My Prince, you are my heaven and earth, the one I rely on most in this life.

I am yours in life and in death.

Wherever you go, I will follow. You can’t just abandon me!"

Li Ji scoffed, "Tsk. Some people are all talk. They say how much they care about someone, but they haven’t even made them a single sweet rice ball."

Hua Manman: "..."

’No way. You can’t be serious.’

’Prince Zhao is actually still hung up about a sweet rice ball?’

’I never would have thought that for such a tall and imposing man, he’d be pettier than a pinhole!’

Li Ji heard her thoughts and gave her waist a punitive pinch.

It was both ticklish and painful. Hua Manman hastily retreated, blurting out,

"Hey, hey, hands off! It’s just a sweet rice ball! I’ll make them for you later! 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Whatever filling you want, I’ll make it for you."

Li Ji released his grip, letting her dash to the doorway in a flash.

After running a short distance, Hua Manman suddenly turned back.

She leaned against the doorframe, poking her head and torso back in to say to him,

"I’m going to see the Sixth Prince, but I’ll be back soon. Wait for me for dinner tonight, okay?"

With that, she scampered away.

Li Ji sat alone in his wheelchair, a somewhat dazed look on his face.

He suddenly remembered when he was a child. Every time his father left the house, he would make a point of saying goodbye to his mother.

If his father was going to be back late, he would tell his mother to eat without him.

If he was going to be back soon, he would ask her to wait so they could eat together.

They lived a simple, warm life, just like any ordinary couple.

To Li Ji, that was what a home was supposed to be like.

Li Ji thought of his mother in those memories and whispered softly in the direction Hua Manman had gone.

"Come back soon."

When Hua Manman arrived at Lady Shufei’s residence, she saw the Sixth Prince, Li Yi, who was sick in bed.

He looked even thinner than the last time she’d seen him. His face was pale, and he was completely listless, with no energy at all.

Lady Shufei was sitting by the bed. She looked quite exhausted but still maintained her poise as a high-ranking consort, her chin slightly raised as she spoke in an unhurried tone.

"I am very pleased you could come to see the Sixth Prince."

Hua Manman replied without thinking, "You’re celebrating a bit too soon."

Lady Shufei: ???

...