The emperor said again, "Now it's time to settle the score with you! I told you to find Deng Xiao for me. You know how important this matter is! Yet, as soon as you heard that Yi Qing was missing, you came back in a complete rout, scurrying back to look for her? If this were a battle between two armies, would you also desert your post? Is the country more important or Yi Qing more important?"
The emperor's eyes were deep, clearly enraged.
Xiao Tian stood up, walked to the center, lifted his robe and knelt down. "I've made a mistake. Please punish me, Your Majesty. Before I left, I had already told Lu Tianzuo and Chang Zhiyuan to continue the investigation, and I didn't bring a single soldier back. Therefore, please, Your Majesty, don't... don't take your anger out on Yi Qing."
He was willing to bear any consequences for what he had done himself. He only worried that the emperor might think Yi Qing was a femme fatale and have the intention to kill her.
He knew the emperor as well as the emperor knew him.
The emperor roared angrily, "Now you still have the heart to plead for her. Do you really think I'll let you off lightly?"
Xiao Tian said, "I'll never shirk my responsibility. But please, Your Majesty, in consideration of Yi Qing's loyalty to you and the fact that she asked me to come to the palace immediately to explain the harm of the Ruyi Ointment to you, spare her life."
With that, he kowtowed heavily.
A look of disappointment flashed across the emperor's face. With a touch of melancholy, he said, "Xiao Tian, didn't we promise each other back then that we'd be brothers for life? Are you going to drift apart from me for her sake?"
Xiao Tian didn't raise his head. Calmly, he said, "No, I'm still the Xiao Tian who is willing to do anything for Your Majesty. But now, there's a woman in my heart. I hope Your Majesty knows how important she is to me. In this life, I only recognize Your Majesty as my master and Yi Qing as the only woman for me."
Don't force him to make a choice. It was really difficult for him.
In this regard, Yi Qing was much better than the emperor.
She flirted with him and accepted him, but she never asked, nor did she force him to state whether she or the emperor was more important.
The emperor... seemed to always regard Yi Qing as a rival in his mind, which gave Xiao Tian a huge headache.
He was the emperor, with the power of life and death. After he learned of Concubine Xue's betrayal, he could even kill her with his own hands... Xiao Tian asked himself that even if Yi Qing let him down, he would never be able to do such a thing.
So he knew that the emperor was the one suitable to sit on this throne.
The emperor certainly heard the implication in his words and sneered, "Just because of what you've said, I feel like killing her."
Xiao Tian didn't say a word.
He had said everything he needed to say. The emperor must have understood his stance. Now when the emperor said harsh words, it actually meant that he had already accepted it but was just not willing to admit it.
These two people knew each other so well that it was as if they were parasites in each other's stomachs.
The emperor said again, "If I wanted to break you two up, I wouldn't have gone after her and let you resent me. Do you think your relationship can withstand the test? How about making a bet with me to see how much she really loves you?"
Xiao Tian said indifferently, "It's enough for me to know in my heart how much she loves me. Even if she doesn't love me, as long as I love her and can keep her by my side, that's enough."
"I didn't know you were such a lovesick fool. Get out!" the emperor scolded angrily.
Xiao Tian didn't leave.
"You don't even dare to bet with me, Xiao Tian. You're feeling guilty!"
"No." Xiao Tian remained calm. "Your Majesty, not everything can be used as a bet. I can't afford to lose her, so I won't bet."
The emperor narrowed his eyes and stared at him. "Don't you want to know how much weight you hold in her heart? If I were to capture you and ask her to exchange the formula of the Ruyi Ointment for you, do you think she'd agree? You're a living person, while the formula is just an inanimate thing. Do you think she'd be willing to part with it?"
Xiao Tian looked up at the emperor, and a faint smile seemed to flash in his star - like eyes.
He said, "Your Majesty, this question for Yi Qing is like asking her to choose between the common people in the world and me. If she were to ask me such a question, you'd say she was being unreasonable and willful. Then what would it be if I asked her this question?"
After a pause, he continued, "Yi Qing didn't reveal the formula of the Ruyi Ointment out of self - interest. If it were out of self - interest, she could have used it to exchange for many things. Your Majesty, in that case, you should be more afraid. After all, for many years before I found Yi Qing, she had always held this formula in her hands. She was once impoverished and starving, but she never leaked it... Just based on this, shouldn't you reward her?"
A thoughtful look appeared in the emperor's eyes.
After a while, he said irritably, "Get up! Anyway, no matter how you put it, it's all about Yi Qing's goodness."
Xiao Tian stood up, with a deep smile on his lips. "Because she is really good."
He had already answered the emperor's question in his heart.
— If he didn't hold any weight in Yi Qing's heart, it meant he hadn't done well enough. In the rest of his life, he still had a lot of time to win her heart.
When it came to loving her, Xiao Tian was confident that no one could do more or better than him.
Yi Qing had no idea that she had just been pulled back from the brink of death by Xiao Tian in front of the emperor.
She was clumsily comforting Mrs. Di, who thought she had been kidnapped and had almost cried her eyes out these days.
"I'm fine, really fine..."
"Xiao Tian, I'm going to settle the score with him!" Mrs. Di wiped her tears and said through gritted teeth.
Yi Qing was speechless. "What do you want to do with Xiao Tian? He and I aren't married, and we haven't even established a relationship."
Maybe at most they could be considered as having an illicit relationship without a matchmaker. Just thinking of this term made her want to laugh.
But actually, she still hadn't consummated the relationship. That damned emperor had really spoiled things.
Mrs. Di said, "You don't know. Xiao Tian, he..."
"You're here."
At this critical moment, Xiao Tian lifted the curtain and came in, interrupting Mrs. Di's words.
Mrs. Di glared at him fiercely, but in the end, she didn't continue to expose him.
Just then, Jushuang also came back and knelt in front of Yi Qing, crying loudly.
"Silly girl, why are you crying? Get up quickly." Yi Qing smiled and pulled her up.
After this commotion, the matter about Xiao Tian's identity was finally over.
When Xiao Tian saw Mrs. Di out, the latter said fiercely, "When on earth are you going to tell Yi Qing the truth!"
Xiao Tian said in a deep voice, "I'll tell her after this matter is over."
The sword hanging above his head would fall sooner or later. He had had enough of this nerve - wracking life.
But before the matter was over, "Cheng Yaojin", no, Deng Yaojin came to visit.
"You're done with your business?" Yi Qing sat on the couch and looked at Deng Xiao sitting on the rosewood chair in surprise.
It had only been two days, but looking at his calm expression, it was obvious that he had taken care of everything.
Xiao Tian stood beside her, exuding cold air, and his face was as gloomy as if it was about to rain.
"I'm done." Deng Xiao picked up the teacup and took a sip. "So I came to see you. I wasn't at home when you went to visit my mother yesterday, so I came to see you today."
With that, he gave Xiao Tian a provocative look.
If this man didn't have any designs on Yi Qing, he'd poke out his own eyes.