That's why to her Tian Bingyi was nothing in her eyes since he was a man who had no ambition like Tian Muchen.
However, she couldn't be disrespect toward him either so her tone was polite when she answered,”Your Highness, this humble one does not have the qualification to be your friend but if Your Highness has thought of this one as a friend then it would be this humble one's greatest fortune!”
Hearing her textbook reply, Tian Bingyi frowned.
“You are no fun at all! Stop acting like this and act like yesterday!”
Yi Zifeng still maintained her bowing posture as she calmly responded,”Your Highness, this humble one does not dare to!”
“Want to disobey my order?” Tian Bingyi pretended to be annoyed by her so he spoke in a dissatisfied tone.
Although Yi Zifeng was annoyed inside she still retained her calm demeanor.
“This humble one has committed a grave sin, please forgive this one!”Even though she asked for forgiveness her face didn't show any fear or remorse at all it was still her usual frosty face.
Seeing that she still had that stubborn expression, the corner of his lips curled into a mischievous smile.
It has been ages since I met someone that needs to be tamed.
“As a punishment, you will be my personal servant for 3 months. At the end of today, I need to see you at my living quarter so quickly go pack your belongings.”
Let me borrow your tactic a little bit, lil brother.
Didn't expect to hear this kind of unreasonable demand, Yi Zifeng was a bit angered. Even if she was a low-rank official she was still the legitimate ‘son’ of the left prime minister so her status was not low enough to the point that others could just order her around like this.
Nonetheless, the other party was from the imperial family and also the advisor so she could only secretly grit her teeth and complied with his order.
She respectfully bowed toward him then quickly went away without looking back.
As for Tian Bingyi, his mood only got better once he saw that he finally cracked her cold face. He watched her departing back with a smile on his face then finally turned to walk away thinking that he wouldn't be bored anymore inside the palace and he also could get away from his little brother's jealousy.
A woman pretending to be a man, how amusing!
On the other side, the atmosphere was completely different from those two.
It's lunchtime and once again Lifan tasted the poison for him before Muchen moved his chopsticks to eat his foods.
All of a sudden, Muchen spoke,”You don't like them?”
So Lifan abruptly paused. He looked at him then quickly answered,”No, I like them just that I'm not that hungry.”
Muchen slightly knitted his brows together as he put down his chopsticks he lightly said,”Don't lie.”
Seeing his little one eating dispassionately he knew that he didn't like these foods so he didn't want him to endure eating them.
“Eunuch Zu, change these foods.”
Suspecting that he had angered the male lead, Lifan instantly cut in,”Your Majesty, this servant will eat these so no need to change!”
Muchen just gave him a side glance then indifferently said,”Change.”
Facing this male lead's unreasonable attitude, Lifan had the urge to smack him!
Will it hurt you to act nicely with me for even once?!
He really admired the female lead to endure and live well with this kind of male lead without dying from suffocation.
In the end, the foods were changed. While waiting for the new dishes to be served Muchen suddenly dropped a bomb catching Lifan off guard.
“Advisor Bingyi might get married this year.”
“What?!” Lifan involuntarily exclaimed from the shock.
Seeing his reaction, displeasure was written all over his face. He slightly squinted his eyes as he questioned in a serious tone,”Why are you so surprised?”
Only at this did Lifan realize his mistake thus he quickly corrected himself with a sheepish smile,”I was surprised because the advisor is already 22 years old but he hasn't taken any concubines yet so now that I heard he is going to get married, I was a bit startled.”
Don't even mention Lifan who was startled even One and Two were doubting their ears once they heard this.
How come they have never known that His Highness is going to get married?
To tell the truth, even Tian Bingyi himself doesn't know that he is going to get married ╮(╯▽╰)╭.
All in all, Muchen just threw a fake news so that Lifan would give up on his brother and he would clarify the truth later on.
But now he was seriously considering whether he should really hand down a decree for his brother to take some wives or not.
As for the reason why Lifan didn't suspect that it was actually a lie was because in the later part of the story when Tian Bingyi found out that Tian Muchen set his eyes on Yi Zifeng, he voluntarily withdrew and took a wife showing that he wouldn't compete with Tian Muchen in getting Yi Zifeng’s heart.
The plot didn't talk much about Tian Bingyi so he didn't know that his marriage was actually decided since the beginning of the story!
Calm down, there's still time before his marriage so no need to be rush.
In the worst scenario, he could just kidnap him before he was married off.
While he was thinking, Muchen decided to drop another sentence.
“He already has someone that he likes.”
It took all of his self-control to maintain his normal expression.
Lifan roared inside his head: Tian Muchen! What's wrong with you?! Why everything that you said seems like thorns to me?! Are you my nemesis?!
Lifan didn't even get why he mentioned Tian Bingyi's matter to him in the first place and what irritated him the most was that these things were actually true according to the plot!
In this world, the second male lead got closer to the female lead even before the male lead did! He also fell for the female lead even before the male lead did too!
Recalling what Tian Bingyi said to him last time, Lifan felt a chill rise inside his heart.
Without anyone telling him, he knew that the person who rejected Tian Bingyi was none other than the female lead, herself.
This means that Tian Bingyi already got his interest piqued by her!
In the previous worlds, he always met him before the female lead did so this time he didn't have the confidence to say that his lover wouldn't play his role according to the plot and didn't have any feelings toward the female lead.
Noticing that his little one actually had an uneasy look on his face, Muchen felt a bit guilty for lying to him but he didn't regret it because he didn't want to hand him to others!
The two just met yesterday so it's best if he were to distinguish whatever his little one had for his brother beforehand.
In order not to look suspicious, Muchen casually mentioned the reason why he suddenly talked about this topic.
“The matter about Mu Lei can be solved with the alliance marriage but he already has someone that he likes.” He paused a bit then casually added,”What do you think?”
With this sentence, he has already gotten rid of any suspicions and made it sounded natural.
As for Lifan, he didn't know why but he felt like Tian Muchen was playing with him.
If he didn't know that Tian Muchen didn't know what he felt toward Tian Bingyi, he would definitely think that Tian Muchen was having fun rubbing salt against his wound.
Lifan controlled his emotions then timidly replied while scratching his head,”I'm not smart so I don't know what to answer but I do feel like it is a bit unfair toward His Highness since he already has someone that he likes but still need to marry someone else...”
He didn't dare to say ‘You marry her instead of him then.’
Muchen leisurely moved his slender finger at the rim of his teacup then lightly commented, ”He can marry both of them at the same time.”
Lifan didn't back down as he softly protested,”If it were me, I didn't want the person I like to marry someone else besides me…”
In return, Muchen leisurely sipped his tea then he indifferently said,”Every man takes more than one wife. It is a tradition. It is a rare case for someone to take only one wife even advisor Bingyi will likely to take more than one wife.”
At this point, Lifan was puzzled as to why the male lead suddenly spoke a lot of words today when he normally said only a few words.
What is he getting at?
Regardless of his intention, Lifan decided to go along with him thus he innocently replied,”I'm sure that someone out there will only loyal toward me!”
To his reply, the corner of Muchen's lips slightly curved upward.
It, Is, Unbelievable, But, He, Actually, Smiled!
Although it was just a slight smile it made Muchen's face became even more beautiful!
Due to seeing this unexpected scene Lifan was put into a daze only to come back when he heard the ‘clink’ sound created by the teacup touching the surface of the table.
Muchen casually put his teacup back on the table then lifted his face to look at Lifan. His low and magnetic resounded clearly inside the study.
“That someone is me.”
His sentence fell, the silence also befell right afterward.
Lifan’s heart skip a beat, his eyes slightly widened as shock was written all over his face then he was about to say something but abruptly stopped when a certain voice rang out in his mind.
He wants me to fall for him?
Huh! Sorry, but I won't take the bait!
Lifan was momentarily stunned. What? That’s not what he has in mind…
Lifan fell into confusion thus he didn’t reply Muchen’s question which caused Muchen to worriedly ask,’’What’s wrong?’’
Hearing his voice Lifan was quickly pulled back from his thought and remembered that he was not alone.
Therefore, with an admiring smile, he praised,”Your Majesty is really a good example for others! The person who Your Majesty favors will be the luckiest person in the world!”
Seeing his dull reaction, for the first time, Muchen suspected his own charm.
He actually inferior compare to his brother?
He didn't dare to be straightforward so he could only beat around the bush wanting to see whether even if it was a little bit, he had a chance with him or not.
But to his disappointment, it seemed like his little one didn't even think of him as a man.
He wanted to develop their feelings before asking for his hand in marriage that's why he was in this dilemma despite being the Emperor who could just hand down a decree telling him to marry him.
He did say that he will tie this person to his side no matter what but in truth, he could not bear to hurt him.
Maybe, it is too early for him?
Muchen calmly analyzed and comforted himself then decided that he should let him spend more time with him slowly getting to know each other while steering his brother away from him.
In the meantime, he also needed to do some research.
In the following afternoon, Lifan stood near Muchen and occasionally helped him grind the ink from time to time. He also sneaked a peek to look at his handwriting in which every stroke was vigorous and elegant just like its owner.
Lifan did practice calligraphy in the past so he couldn't help but praise Muchen and even had the urge to ask him to write something so that he could hang it on the wall.
His art was worth collecting!
Nevertheless, it was only a pipe dream to ask the Emperor to write something for him so Lifan could only regretfully pulled his eyes away.
“You can sit down.” A male deep voice was sounded causing Lifan to look at the owner.
“No, this servant-”
“We told you to address yourself as ‘I’, didn't We?”
Lifan blinked his eyes then glanced at the head Eunuch Zu who was standing near the entrance.
Muchen knew what he meant thus he casually replied,”He is not an outsider.”
Nodding his head indicating that he understood Lifan answered,”I understand but it is my duty to serve you so I cannot be negligent and sit down.”
At this point, Muchen slowly lifted his face to look at him then spoke,”Sit.”
Having spent some time with him, Lifan already figured out that if he were to say only one word then it was a final verdict so it's best if he obediently listened to him.
‘System, you know what’s wrong with me, don’t you?’Lifan coldly asked the system, he believed that even though the system didn’t detect any abnormalities in him yesterday but he was sure that it had an idea to why he was behaving like this.
Just that why didn’t it warn him?
The system who heard his question stay silent for a bit then replied,[Actually, aren’t you curious to why you need to fulfill An Feiran’s wishes even though he doesn’t really deserve it?]
It may sound a bit unfair to An Feiran but there was nothing good with his character.
If he were to survive, he would undoubtedly become a small villain in this world.
He thought that his death was all Muchen’s fault but he didn’t even think that it was actually due to his own misgiving which led to his death.
Therefore, he wished for Muchen to live his whole life full of guilt toward him.
But, the wishes that need to be granted were limited especially toward the protagonist so the wishes adapted into a simple one instead.
‘Let Muchen regrets his actions.’
[Unfortunately for you, before entering here your luck was too good that it landed on the villain cannon fodder’s body with consciousness.]
Lifan suddenly went silent for a good while then he asked,’I recalled that I have never heard anything of this sort before so where did you get this garbage?’
The system lamented in its heart: Of course, I didn’t tell you so that you wouldn’t roar at me.
Nevertheless, since the cat is out of the bag he dutifully replied,[Actually, I did this when you were training in the system space. It was a new function to celebrate a new update or something like that so I spun the wheel since you took too long to come back and for some reason, it landed on that.]
Lifan was angered by its explanation to the point that he actually couldn’t even curse it,’’......’’
Regardless of what its host was feeling, the system guiltily continued,[That’s why I reminded you numerous of times that Muchen was your lover so that you could become clear-headed since I know that your feelings toward the male lead were influenced by An Feiran’s feelings, therefore, you unconsciously looked at him in a negative way in accordance to how An Feiran viewed Tian Muchen.]
The system warily glanced at Lifan but he did nothing besides asking another question.
‘Tell me that you can materialize yourself after the update. ’
The system gulped down its saliva,[What do you want to do with me?]
Lifan replied in a chilly tone,’Kill you.’
The system,[......] I knew it!
It knew that it was its fault thus it hastily spoke,[Wait, wait! I have something to say!]
‘Speak.’Lifan coldly said.
[Actually, I have something that could put An Feiran’s consciousness to sleep!]
Lifan paused a bit then his face turned dark,’If so, why didn’t you give it to me sooner?’
[Hey! I try my best you know?! I need to get it from my seniors since I don’t have one! Us, systems have our own system store but because you are currently on level three, I also could not access to anything that was from a higher level! It took a while because my seniors are not bound to anyone for the moment so they went to look for another system but the time difference was different that’s why it turned to months instead!]
After hearing this, Lifan was contemplating whether to forgive it or not because he felt like this system has become too messed up after its upgrade.
He really wanted to kill whoever upgrade it.
Thinking for another while, he helplessly sighed since it was no use being angry with it,’Fine but make sure that this problem won’t arise anymore, got it?’
The system hastily nodded,[Sure, boss!]
Lifan,’’......’’ Maybe it actually got hacked?
While he was conversing with the system, he made sure to lower his head to avoid others from being found out that there was something wrong with him so no one suspected a thing they just saw that he was staring at his tea.
After another while has passed, the system happily called out,[Done! You will feel like there is nothing change but you will know as you interact with Tian Muchen!]
Even though Lifan was still doubting the system’s words, he quickly composed himself to act naturally by leisurely enjoying his tea while occasionally glanced at Tian Muchen who was diligently working behind his desk.
He used to hate him but now he felt nothing while looking at him.
Seem like it really didn't lie to him.
In fact, Lifan pitied Muchen a little when he recalled his monotone life.
Since it felt like he didn't live for himself but for others. He bet that Tian Muchen has never truly enjoyed himself since young up until now.
He still thought that it was suffocating staying with him due to his cold and indifferent face which he had all years round but he understood why he was behaving this way.
Do not show your emotions, always maintaining the poker face to keep the enemies at bay.
Do not show your weakness so that the enemies could not take advantages of you.
Depend on yourself so that you can live in this moody and cruel world.
The lives of a thousand people rested on your shoulders so don’t screw things up.
These were what Tian Muchen has always been telling himself, the moment his mother passed away and his supposed father cast him aside like trash.
When others learned to hold a sword he had already taken a few lives with his very own hand.
It was already good enough that he didn't grow up with a twisted mind and walked down a ruthless path.
He knew that the man was not a bad person but he couldn't help but feel annoyed whenever he looked at him in the past. That uneasiness and the feeling of being on the edge whenever the male lead was around him made him want to even more get away from him.
This actually also happened in the last world. The irritated feelings that he had whenever he looked at Lu ZiXi but that was not a problem since it didn’t affect his way of thinking.
Although the man did beat the original to death Lifan still thinks that it was the original fault that he died so his wish in getting back at Muchen sounded like a petty revenge to him.
That's why he had no reason to hate Tian Muchen at all like he was feeling for all this time.
Out of the blue, Lifan suddenly asked the system,’About making Tian Muchen regrets his action, to what extent does it consider as a pass?’
The system dutifully responded,[Until he sincerely says sorry.]
Hearing this, Lifan went silent. He took a deep breath to calm down his agitate mood.
So it is unavoidable after all...I need to abuse him.