Reborn Daughter: The Young Lady Wants to Make a Trouble

Duchess Li Qixing looked down and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Xueyue was asleep. She lifted the quilt and carefully tucked Xueyue into bed. Xueyue was sleeping soundly, and everyone could see that she was exhausted. Her long eyelashes were still stained with tears, and her nose was bright pink from crying so hard.

Duchess Li Qixing slowly exhaled the breath that had been suppressed for a long time. Her heart became heavy at the thought of leaving the little girl alone. Throwing her out on the street would mean that she would rot in the cruel hands of society. She was just a young woman, and it was obvious that she had experienced a life of hardship and abuse.

King Li Chenyang watched his wife carefully wipe away the tears on Xue Yuejiao's face. He said in a heavy and serious tone: "I know what you are thinking, and the answer is already no."

Duchess Li Qixing raised her head and stared at her husband. She had expected this answer, but it did not stop her stubbornness. "Do I need your consent to let this girl live in the house where we paid the same fee?" She said with a frown.

King Li Chenyang's lips twitched with joy. She was a smart person, that was for sure. "Because we paid the same price, we must reach an equal agreement." There was a smile in his eyes.

Duchess Li Qixing narrowed her eyes and pursed her thin lips. "The girl can stay," she declared, leaving no room for argument.

Li Chenyang looked at the fierce woman in front of him. He had known her for twenty years, and she had always been a docile and gentle woman who followed the rules of society: men took care of the family, and women took care of the children.

Before her daughter's death, Duchess Li Qixing was a calm and composed woman. But King Li Chenyang knew that beneath her gentle smile and soft eyes, there was a layer of arrogance and passion. Perhaps it was because of her daughter's death that she realized something that King Li Chenyang didn't realize, or perhaps it was because her stubbornness began to show, but the fighting spirit in her heart was slowly revealed.

Li Chenyanggong walked to the right side of the room, which was divided in the middle by a wide partition. He decided to sit down on the sofa near the partition and immersed himself in his thoughts. He analyzed her with a strong determination to make her bend to his will.

Duchess Li Qixing raised her chin and glared at him. She recognized his expression. It was the very mask he was notorious for at court.

Li Chenyang was known as the "Iron Minister" because of his resolute and resolute actions, his unshakable attitude despite threats and inducements. As long as it involved important court affairs, nothing could escape his eagle-like sharp eyes.

He asked in a puzzled voice, "What will you say to her when she wakes up?"

"I'll let her choose to be with me."

"What if she refuses?"

"I don't understand why she would do that."

Li Chenyang listened to his wife's answer and laughed, but the laughter was cold and harsh. "When a man wants the best, he always has to prepare for the worst," he said thoughtfully.

"There is no worst in this situation. She can stay here and thrive in the hands of society, or she can rot in the hands of society. And we all know that she will choose the first option..." Duchess Li Qixing took a step forward sarcastically. Her hands were folded in front of her in a very harmless way.

Her voice heavy as she continued, "We all saw her reaction. She had no one in the world who cared about her. She had gone through something unimaginable, something that a child should never have to go through."

A cold smile appeared on the corner of Li Chenyang's mouth, but the smile never reached his eyes.

Duchess Lee Chil-sung didn’t blink, nor did she flinch from that smile that would make most men cringe in their boots.

Li Chenyanggong stared at his wife and asked, "If she really decides to stay with us, what will people say? What will your relatives, your parents, your old friends, and people in society say? "He added with a final blow, "Think about how this will affect your reputation."

Suddenly, a smile broke out on Duchess Li Qixing's face. King Li Chenyang was startled by her shy, humorless smile. A feeling of uneasiness filled him. When did his lovely and docile wife show such a terrible smile and expression?

"My dear husband, the people do not say hurtful things. They are too afraid of their reputations to sit there and mindlessly gossip about me, the Duchess of Hechen. Everyone knows my reputation, but they also know that I do not tolerate malicious rumors." Duchess Li Qixing's voice was so cold and icy that he would have almost been amused if he hadn't been trembling all over.

He suddenly remembered a saying: "Hell has no fury greater than a mother scorned."

Duchess Li Qixing took the opportunity to announce: "Xueyue will take the surname 'Li', become your niece, and come to accompany me." She knew that forcing her husband to pass on his surname to her was a big risk.

"Why did she have my last name instead of yours when you wanted to keep her more than me?" King Li Chenyang frowned.

“Because if she and you are household names, people will talk less. Isn’t that your purpose?” Duchess Li Qixing said rightly.

If Xueyue had the powerful "Li" surname, no one would dare to bully her or comment on her. People were afraid of the Li family, and the influence of the Li family did not stop at the court. They had connections in the military, trade ports, and anywhere people could think of.

Li Chenyanggong decided to play devil's advocate. "What if people talk about her similarities to Minghua and think you're a terrible mother who's looking for a replacement for her daughter—"

Duchess Li Qixing interrupted him: "No one has ever seen Minghua's face except our servants. You kept her away from society because you were afraid that her sleeves would be tainted with the scum of the world." The terrible memory of Minghua's covered face made her eyes shine.

She still remembered the rumors that circulated around Li Minghua. Because her face was always covered with a veil, people thought she was sick or had scars that made her look ugly, so Lord Li Chenyang was forced to let her cover her face.

But the facts are completely different from the rumors.

Lord Li Chenyang didn’t want anyone to see Minghua’s beauty. He didn’t want suitors lining up at his doorstep to snatch his daughter away. Lord Li Chenyang loved Li Minghua too much to allow any scumbag to marry her. He locked her up within the high walls of the Li Mansion. She had never seen the outside world, nor had she walked through it. For sixteen years, she had been hidden in the deepest part of the Li Mansion.

Because Minghua died at an age that was not suitable for formal entry into society, no one had ever seen her face. Apart from her high title, she had nothing special about her, so many nobles lost interest in her.

No one was willing to go against King Li Chenyang, who had always strictly controlled his daughter's safety.

"I was trying to keep her safe—"

“Covering her face from sunrise to sunset does not keep her safe!” Duchess Li Qixing sneered bitterly.

King Li Chenyang was stunned by her vulgar words, but it did not stop her.

“When she disappeared, no one cared about her at all! No one could even describe her face accurately enough to keep her in our memory! No painter could paint her accurately! I can’t even use a picture to commemorate my daughter, our daughter!” Duchess Li Qixing didn’t mean to raise her voice so high, and her face flushed with anxiety, but the thought of her lovely daughter being burned to death in the manor made her heart hurt more than anything in this world.

King Li Chenyang listened to his wife's harsh words and took a deep breath. King Li Chenyang pinched his eyebrows and sighed heavily. He announced in a tired voice: "The girl can stay."