Chapter 638 - 641: Conflict

Chapter 638: Chapter 641: Conflict

Yue Niang, afraid they would start arguing, quickly picked up the teapot. She refilled their cups as she tried to change the subject.

"What would you like to eat? I just saw another table order the pickled fish, and it looked delicious. Should we get some too?"

Hearing there was good food, Hua Manman’s ears perked up, but her expression remained tense.

"I’m fine with whatever."

Li Ji indicated he had no preference.

Yue Niang beckoned a waiter over and asked about the house specialties.

The waiter smoothly reeled off a long list of dishes, making Hua Manman’s mouth water.

She declared without hesitation.

"Bring us one of all your famous dishes."

’Besides, there were a lot of them, so they weren’t worried about finishing it all.’

The waiter beamed. "Right away! I’ll have the chef get started. Please wait just a moment."

While they waited for their dishes, the waiter brought them some sunflower seeds, peanuts, and house-made pickled vegetables, all complimentary.

Hua Manman focused on shelling sunflower seeds and peanuts, refusing to even glance at the damn man beside her.

The little cat, Little Flower, craned its neck, staring at her hopefully.

’Meow, I want sunflower seeds too.’

Hua Manman fed the freshly shelled kernel into its mouth.

’How could one seed be enough?’ After eating it, Little Flower just kept staring at her.

Hua Manman had no choice but to eat one herself, then shell another for the cat.

Yue Niang, worried this would keep her lady from eating, thought to take over the task of feeding Little Flower.

But just as she was about to speak, the man beside them suddenly reached out and placed a large handful of shelled sunflower seeds on the table in front of Hua Manman.

Hua Manman paused in the middle of shelling a seed.

She stared at the pile of kernels before her, fighting to keep the corners of her mouth from turning up. She feigned indifference and asked,

"What’s this for?"

Li Ji replied curtly.

"They’re for you."

’Seeing this, Yue Niang realized she had been worrying for nothing. Even when these two fought, it never escalated into anything serious. They would always make up on their own, with no need for anyone else to interfere.’

Yue Niang silently sipped her tea, enjoying the show while inwardly envying their bond.

Hua Manman pouted and said huffily,

"So I have to eat them just because you told me to? Won’t that make me lose face?"

Li Ji said, "Fine, don’t eat them."

At his words, Hua Manman’s anger flared right back up.

She was just about to push the pile of sunflower seeds back at him when she saw the damn man place a handful of freshly shelled peanuts in front of her.

’Hua Manman instantly understood the damn man’s logic—’

’He figured that if she wouldn’t eat the sunflower seeds, he’d just give her peanuts instead.’

’If one didn’t work, try another.’

’Eventually, she’d have to accept one of them.’

Hua Manman’s anger vanished, and she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’This man’s way of thinking really is simple and brutish.’

She looked down and saw Little Flower staring hopefully at the pile of sunflower seeds, so she picked one up and fed it to the cat.

Little Flower ate it with relish.

After the meal, they continued on their way. Hua Manman and Yue Niang sat chatting in the carriage while Little Flower napped in a corner.

Hua Manman asked, "The night I was abducted, what happened between the Prince and the Lord Duke?"

Yue Niang tried her best to recall the events of that night.

"When I first saw the Prince, he looked furious. But at the time, I was so anxious about what had happened to you that I didn’t have the presence of mind to wonder why."

So Yue Niang didn’t know what the conflict between Li Ji and his father was about either.

’It seems only the two people involved, Li Ji and Li Liao, know what happened,’ Hua Manman mused.

’Since Li Ji won’t talk, I’ll just have to go ask Li Liao.’

「The convoy stopped for a rest along the way.」

Hua Manman went with Yue Niang to a nearby stream to wash their hands.

With Li Ji not around, Hua Manman took the opportunity to slip away and find Li Liao.

Li Liao had clearly expected her, and he smiled faintly. "Are you here to ask about Ji?"

Hua Manman had been wondering how to begin, but he saw right through her with his first words.

She decided not to hesitate and got straight to the point.

"Ji hasn’t spoken to you for days. Is there some kind of misunderstanding between you two?"

Li Liao stroked the horse grazing beside him and spoke slowly.

"There’s no misunderstanding."

Hua Manman asked, "Then why did you argue?"

Li Liao didn’t answer her question directly. "Didn’t you always want me to have a proper talk with Ji? I did as you said. I laid everything out in the open with him."

This only confused Hua Manman more.

"If you’ve talked it all through, why are you still at odds?"

Li Liao replied, "The conflict exists precisely because he knows everything."

Hua Manman was completely lost.

"If you don’t mind my asking, what did you tell Ji?"

Li Liao hesitated for a moment but decided to tell her the truth.

"I told him the truth about his birth."

Hua Manman waited, but he said nothing more. She blinked. "That’s it?"

Now it was Li Liao’s turn to be astonished.

"You don’t seem surprised at all. Don’t tell me you already knew?"

Hua Manman rubbed her nose, smiling sheepishly. "I did."

’For a long time, rumors had circulated that Li Ji wasn’t Duke Zhen’s biological son. Add to that the Emperor’s favoritism toward Li Ji, and their somewhat similar appearances... numerous clues all pointed to one conclusion: Li Ji was very likely the Emperor’s illegitimate son.’

’Even Li Ji himself was well aware of this.’

’But then again...’

’If Li Ji already knew, why would he get angry with Li Liao over it?’

’Could there be some other misunderstanding?’

Li Liao watched her intently. "I never expected you to know such an important secret. It seems I’ve underestimated you. If you don’t mind my asking, where did you hear about this?"

’He had kept it hidden for so many years. Logically, no one but him should have known.’

’How could Hua Manman have found out?’

’Li Liao was desperate to understand where he had slipped up for the secret to get out.’

Hua Manman said, "Haven’t many people guessed it already? I only suspected it because of what I’d heard from others."

Li Liao was incredulous.

"Many people know? How is that possible?"

’If that many people knew the truth of Li Ji’s birth, wouldn’t he be in grave danger?’

Hua Manman said, "Well, there’s no concrete evidence, but Ji and the current Saint look so much alike. It’s bound to make people make certain connections."

Li Liao frowned, his expression grave.

"They’re uncle and nephew; it’s perfectly normal for them to resemble each other. But that shouldn’t lead anyone to make a connection to the former Crown Prince, should it?"

Hua Manman froze.

"Un-uncle and nephew? I thought they were father and son!"

Li Liao denied it without a second thought. "Nonsense! How could they possibly be father and son?!"

The two of them stared at each other, utterly dumbfounded.

After a brief silence, they finally realized what the problem was.