After the wrong flirtation, I became the villain's favorite

After the mourning period ended, Xie Yunji submitted a memorial to the emperor, and before the wedding, he was summoned to the palace to report on his work.

Many officials may not keep their previous positions after a period of mourning, but Xie Yunji is different. How could there be no place for him in the Hanlin Academy?

Imperial Palace, Taiji Hall.

The emperor put down the memorial in his hand, looked at Xie Yunji kneeling in the hall, nodded and said: "Xie Qing still remembers the country's foundation when he is in mourning, I am very pleased."

Xie Yunji bowed his head and waited for the emperor's next words.

The emperor did not seem to want to talk much about the "Canal Running Script" that he had written after working day and night for extensive research. Instead, he leaned on the soft pillow on the dragon chair and chatted with him.

I asked him about his feelings during the period of mourning and expressed my concern about the reconstruction of the Xie Mansion after the earthquake.

"I heard that you are going to get married soon?" The emperor asked with a smile, "How old are you this year, Mr. Xie?"

Xie Yunji said: "I am twenty-three this year."

The emperor seemed to have thought of something, and he looked into the void and murmured, "I'm already twenty-three...if...never mind, never mind."

"What you wrote cannot be completed in one or two years. It is a matter of perseverance like Yugong moving mountains, which will benefit future generations. There is no rush. I will put it aside for now. When I appoint a crown prince, you can take this memorial to the Zhanshi Mansion to report."

The emperor's tone was normal, but to Xie Yunji it sounded like thunder.

Is this powerful and despotic emperor finally going to appoint a crown prince?

The Zhanshi Mansion is a special institution for guiding the princes in every dynasty. Every person in the Zhanshi Mansion is carefully selected by the emperor from among the upright and respectable people to guide the future king and control the country.

This is to find loyal ministers for the future prince.

Who could the crown prince be? The Sixth Prince, who is in the limelight, or the First Prince, who is legitimate and justified?

Xie Yunji hid his secret attitude towards the selection of the crown prince in his heart, raised his eyes and said: "I obey your order."

The emperor looked at him and suddenly laughed, "Xie Qing, you are the one who should get married. You are really different now."

"Someone is popular now." The emperor said, "Go and see Le Yi, and make her give up on you, so that I can marry this girl off."

"I obey your command." He kowtowed.

After Xie Yunji left, the emperor was silent for a moment, then picked up the memorial on the table.

Coming out of the Taiji Hall, walking through the center and passing through the long corridor, Princess Le Yi was indeed waiting by the Imperial Lake.

It snowed earlier, and the air is now filled with a chill.

Le Yi was wearing a light blue cloak with a twined branches pattern and a snow-white fox fur collar. Although no cold wind could get in, she felt inexplicably sad.

He will marry someone else soon, and will be far away from her!

Xie Yunji approached, bowed to the princess, and said in a deep voice: "Thank you for your kindness in the past. I will be getting married soon. My house is simple, so I will not invite you to watch the ceremony."

Le Yi's eyes were red and she didn't say anything.

He nodded and walked past her without even glancing at her.

She couldn't help herself any longer, and couldn't figure out what was wrong with her? If it weren't for that woman, would he have fallen in love with her?

Le Yi calmed down his turbulent emotions and asked, "Master Xiao Xie, is there any official business that makes you so anxious to leave?"

Xie Yunji stopped and did not look back, saying: "I am going to the Hanlin Academy to report for leave."

Le Yi was stunned. Yes, he could only return to the palace after his mourning period was over and he was officially dismissed. I should be able to see him more often in the future...but he! He was going to be someone else's husband!

"Xie Yunji, are you happy to marry her?" Le Yi was unwilling to accept the fact and still wanted to ask clearly, "Why would you rather make a big mistake to marry her?!"

Xie Yunji did not turn around, his tone was as gentle as the wind and drizzle without any fluctuation: "I don't understand what the princess said."

After he finished speaking, he did not stop and walked towards the palace gate not far away.

Unexpectedly, Le Yi chased after him relentlessly, saying with a smile, "Why, Master Xie, did you flee in panic? I never thought that Hanlin Xie killed the officials' wives just to have a prostitute as his wife?"

Le Yi's delicate face was filled with ruthless hatred, as if she had received revenge for her unrequited love from his shocked eyes. She continued, "Maybe others will never know what you did, but you should understand that everyone is naked in front of the imperial power! As long as I want, I can know everything you don't want others to know!"

He stared at her sideways, frowned almost imperceptibly, and a smile on his handsome face was like a spring breeze, "Did the princess not get enough rest last night?"

Le Yi looked at him stubbornly, holding her head high to keep the tears from flowing. She didn't understand what kind of person he was. She only knew that his words to her were cold and distant, and that his handsome appearance couldn't hide his cold heart!

How could she have loved his gentleness and elegance, and his noble appearance?

Now I understand that these things she loved were just masks of his hypocrisy and representations of his ruthlessness towards her!

Le Yi knew that she must look terrible now, and must be comparable to those crazy women in the cold palace who were unable to get the love they wanted and were full of resentment. But she was helpless. She was tortured by him, and her heart was filled with jealousy, resentment, and anger.

She reached out and grabbed his sleeve. She didn't know why she did that, but she just didn't want him to leave the palace.

If he goes out, he will be someone else's bridegroom.

He looked at her hand coldly and said, "Please respect yourself, Princess."

She suddenly became hysterical and blurted out, "I respect myself? Do you respect yourself by marrying a prostitute? Do you respect yourself by disregarding human life for her? Don't you mind if I expose this? Do you mind if I tell this to your fiancée? Just wait and see how she will view Xie Hanlin in Yaguanjing!"

Xie Yunji's expression relaxed, and he looked embarrassed as if someone had hit a sore spot.

He didn't know how deep Le Yi had dug into the matter, but he knew that Song Nihuan couldn't know about it. She was just being nice to him, and if she knew everything, it would end in tragedy.

He was finally willing to look her in the face, took a half step closer, and whispered softly in her ear: "What do you want, Princess? Do you want to marry me as a concubine? Or do you want His Majesty to issue an imperial decree to have Xie beheaded at the Meridian Gate as a warning to the public?"

The faint sandalwood scent from Xie Yunji wafted into Le Yi's nose. She looked at him in surprise. She had thought about being so close to him many times, but she had never expected this scene to happen.

She suddenly felt sad. How did she get to this point with him? Even after this, he actually wanted her to be his concubine?

Xie Yunji was such a scheming person, seeing Le Yi's expression, he knew that she couldn't bear to see him die.

This way, he has leverage.

He said, "If the princess wanted Xie to die, she would have told His Majesty directly. The princess is telling Xie all this now, just to prevent me from marrying. But the princess understands that Xie's wedding date is approaching, and if he suddenly stops marrying and then turns to the princess, how will others feel?"

"If the princess wants a follower, Yunjing has plenty of noble sons for the princess to choose from."

Le Yi looked up, and Xie Yunji's eyes, with a faint smile on them, met her gaze.

He said, "What the princess wanted from the beginning to the end was a pure Xie Yunji." He didn't want the situation to escalate, so he coaxed, "Xie will not take a concubine, and the princess is too noble to be a concubine. When I get tired of that woman, I will marry the princess, okay?"

After hearing what he said, she calmed down a little. It seemed that the woman was just so-so. After all, how could a prostitute who used her beauty to please a man last long?

Le Yi also knew that the result of making this matter public would be completely different from what she wanted. She didn't want him to bear the stigma. He was right, all she wanted from the beginning to the end was him.

Now that he has relented, will he stop keeping his distance from her in the future?

Le Yi felt that she was humble to the core, but the pride of a noble family remained. She said, "I want to go to your house to watch the ceremony."

Xie Yunji bowed and said, "I am looking forward to seeing you, my lady."