Chapter 42
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Chapter 42:
Looking into Xu Yanqu’s determined eyes, Li Chunzhou felt a sudden flutter in her heart.
The atmosphere in the room became tense for a moment.
Li Chunzhou smiled slightly, lowered her head, and pulled Mi Hongbao’s hand away, staring into his eyes as she said, "Please, my lord, that’s enough."
Mi Hongbao, feeling incredulous, widened his eyes upon hearing her words. Though angry-looking, his eyes betrayed a hint of hurt, as if he was about to cry in the next second.
Li Chunzhou remained firm, quietly gazing at him.
Mi Hongbao glared fiercely at Xu Yanqu and through gritted teeth, asked, "Alright, alright! So, who is more important to me, him or you?"
"You must choose one today!"
Li Chunzhou paused, turned away, not looking at either of them, and simply said, "Both of you are important to me."
Li Zhexuan stood at a distance, quietly observing Li Chunzhou’s expression. His face remained blank, his eyes moving slowly as if struggling to understand the scene before him.
Upon hearing Li Chunzhou’s words, Mi Hongbao’s jealousy grew stronger, his tone laced with intense dissatisfaction, "Am I as important as this actor? Ha! Ridiculous… How could I possibly be like him?"
He almost chewed his cheek teeth as he said this.
Mi Hongbao, as a nobleman who had been well-educated and well-protected since childhood, did not usually need to suppress those of lower status to feel superior.
The concept of hierarchy had been ingrained in him since he was a young child.
People like Mi Hongbao, belonging to their social class and receiving their education, had developed a unique mentality of rulership — those beneath them were merely tools and servants, disobedient ones could be killed.
So Mi Hongbao didn’t need to confirm it, he just knew and got used to his superior status, considering it as something natural.
Even though his family had strict expectations for him, Mi Hongbao grew up in a loving and caring environment, so he was even willing to show a kind of condescending politeness to lower-class people. If he met Xu Yanqu elsewhere, Mi Hongbao would never be interested in causing trouble for him. He would even be happy to show off his wealth like the Third Prince or simply ignore Xu Yanqu’s presence.
This is a kind of dignity, not only giving dignity to lower-class people but also maintaining dignity within himself. From birth, Mi Hongbao’s status meant he didn’t have to compete fiercely with others for something, so people of privileged backgrounds could naturally face life with ease.
If Mi Hongbao had more experience and age than he does now, he might have become a cold and arrogant superior like his cousin. However, from the moment he uncontrollably fell in love with Li Chunzhou, a member of the lower class that he should despise and avoid, his dignity was destined to be compromised.
Despite his usual efforts to conceal his arrogance in front of Li Chunzhou, his jealousy now made his arrogance show itself vividly.
Whether deliberate or not, this sense of overbearing superiority was ingrained in Mi Hongbao.
Seeing Mi Hongbao’s aggressive behavior, Li Chunzhou’s face turned cold. She lowered her eyes and calmly said, "To me, the prince and Brother Yan are not distinguished by high or low status."
The contrasting titles hit Mi Hongbao hard, making his throat tighten. He felt almost driven mad by anger, his hands trembling uncontrollably, leading him to speak rashly, "No, Lady Chun, you are wrong…"
Mi Hongbao’s eyes turned red as he said, "My family’s status is higher and more valuable than his. My grandfather was bestowed the title of Northern Marquis by the former emperor, my father died for the country on the battlefield, and one day I will also die there! Our Mi family has shed countless blood for Daliang, the people, and the emperor… He is just a mere actor, a plaything of the lowest class! How dare he compare himself to me?"
Li Chunzhou tried to control her anger and squeezed her eyes shut tightly.
Xu Yanqu kept his gaze calmly on Li Chunzhou. Seeing her in distress, he lowered his eyes, smiled sarcastically, and slowly let go of Li Chunzhou’s hand, as if wanting her to give up on him.
At the same time, Li Chunzhou opened her eyes, looked at Mi Hongbao coldly, and said without hesitation, "Fine! The prince’s status is noble, and we naturally can’t measure up. Since the prince insists on me choosing, I will choose Brother Yan. Are you satisfied now, prince?"
Mi Hongbao looked on the verge of tears, his throat tightened as he sadly asked, "Do you really dislike me that much?"
Li Chunzhou didn’t say anything, clearly also getting angry.
"Ha… Do you think I don’t dislike you! Li Chunzhou… You are a damn jerk!" Mi Hongbao said with red eyes glaring fiercely at her.
Li Chunzhou coldly stated, "In that case, there is nothing more for me to say. Prince, please leave."
"Fine… Then we will never see each other again!" he said, his voice trembling with anger, glaring hatefully at Xu Yanqu standing by, noticing the wooden carving hanging from Xu Yanqu’s waist.
At that glance, Mi Hongbao almost lost his breath. He tremblingly took out the wooden carving Li Chunzhou had once given him from his pocket, and in front of Li Chunzhou, he forcefully threw the wooden carving out of the window.
With a splash, the wooden carving fell into the lotus pond and disappeared in an instant.
Mi Hongbao stood by the window, Li Chunzhou couldn’t see his expression, she only saw him stand motionless for a moment, then he lowered his head and hurriedly left her room.
After Mi Hongbao left, Li Chunzhou calmly changed clothes, did her hair and makeup, and invited Xu Yanqu to go eat at the market in the east.
Xu Yanqu used a screw-shaped eyebrow pencil to draw eyebrows for Li Chunzhou, watching her unconsciously furrow her brows, Xu Yanqu couldn’t help but reach out and touch.
Li Chunzhou opened her eyes and looked at him for a while. Xu Yanqu suddenly said softly, "I’m sorry."
Li Chunzhou was puzzled for a moment, then quickly understood his meaning, she held Xu Yanqu’s hand back and said, "Brother Yan, this is not your fault at all… even if it wasn’t for you today, I would definitely argue with A’bao in the future."
As a prostitute living in Spring Flowers Tower, Li Chunzhou’s work was not much different from Xu Yanqu, they both just pleased those in power.
But Li Chunzhou was actually a very feisty person, unlike Xu Yanqu. When they stood together, Li Chunzhou would unconsciously take on the more dominant role, showing Xu Yanqu the compassion and tolerance unique to women.
This doesn’t mean one is weaker than the other, or who is more independent, the difference between the two is that Li Chunzhou did not have the awareness of being in a lower position.
She pursued not the "love" of others, but their "admiration".
Whether taking care of Xu Yanqu, trying to win over guests, including competing with Gu Lingfan for the position of Oiran, her motivation for these actions was solely to attract the attention of others.
When facing guests, Li Chunzhou would instinctively pretend to desire others to love her, acting as if she needed help from others on the surface, when in reality, what she needed was what love symbolized – money, fame, power.
Love, as they say, is just a tool to conceal ambition.
Due to her beautiful appearance and natural intelligence, Li Chunzhou never lacked people offering her love, yet she didn’t show herself as gentle as she seemed.
In essence, Li Chunzhou was actually a very cold-hearted person. The men around her thought she was gentle and kind not because beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but because Li Chunzhou disguised herself perfectly. She was like a nepenthes plant disguised as a balsam flower, with a beautiful appearance and a pitiful stance, all screaming out – you should give your heart to me.
Therefore, deep down inside, she didn’t really see herself as lowly.
So, Li Chunzhou couldn’t tolerate being played with like a toy by the Second Prince, and she also got angry when Mi Hongbao implied that his life was more valuable than Xu Yanqu’s.
Likewise, she was bound to argue with Mi Hongbao due to their differing beliefs.
***
At the palace banquet, the Second Prince, after listening to the Dark Guard’s real-time report, immediately understood why Mi Hongbao had hurriedly left the palace.
However, Liang Changfeng had no intention of getting involved in the dispute between the two children.
Previously, Mi Hongbao had gotten too close to Li Chunzhou, and he didn’t intervene. On one hand, he thought of Mi Hongbao as a child at heart, and on the other hand, Lady Chun was not important enough to him at the time, so the Second Prince didn’t bother with it.
Now that Li Chunzhou’s position in his heart is different from before, the two children have naturally fallen out again. The Second Prince had even less intention of getting involved and even somewhat enjoyed seeing it happen.