Chapter 32: The Fourteenth Princess
“Then, Mr. Chu, someone will contact you when you arrive in the capital.” Zhu Xi turned to Lu Li and smiled faintly. “Happy New Year, Young Master Lu.” With that, she stood up gracefully and left, showing no curiosity about Lu Li’s identity and no concern for Chu Xiaodong’s response.
Lu Li sat down next to Chu Xiaodong and noticed streaks of gray in his future father-in-law’s hair. The older man took a sip of hot tea with a wry smile. “Xiao Lu, do you know her?”
“I’ve seen her on TV, but she had long hair on TV.”
“That’s normal. Royal family members have stylists who design their image before they appear in public. Zhu Youcheng is seventy-two this year, and he’s practically bald, but you always see him with a full head of black hair on TV.” He took another sip of tea and sighed. “It’s all just a show for the common people. Zhu Xi’s long hair is just to create a compassionate princess image.”
Zhu Youcheng was the current emperor of Shenzhou. News about the old emperor usually revolved around him praising the food and scenery of various places, effectively becoming a “royal” spokesperson for large corporations.
The position of the Shenzhou royal family was quite awkward. Since the constitutional reform, imperial power had been diminished. After the reforms of corporate law and civil service law in 1940, members of the royal family were restricted from engaging in business or politics. Even the emperor himself had become a mascot, let alone the other members of the Zhu family. Some even called the royal family “parasites.”
In his past life, this situation continued until the New Tokyo incident, until the Poison Princess, Zhu Xi, officially stepped onto the political stage.
Chu Xiaodong took out a red envelope and handed it to Lu Li. “Our family isn’t as corrupt as the Xu family, don’t think I’m being stingy.” Seeing Lu Li lost in thought, he couldn’t help but tease, “Still thinking about the princess?”
“I felt that her attitude towards you wasn’t very respectful.”
“That’s not a secret.” Chu Xiaodong’s expression turned serious. “Most of the Zhu family’s descendants are useless, except for the Fourteenth Princess. She’s very passionate about the rights of the royal family and naturally doesn’t have much goodwill towards families like ours in the cabinet. Even her older brothers don’t dare to disobey her openly. You can imagine her status within the royal family.”
Lu Li nodded slightly. He had heard about this in his past life. The forty-two-year-old Second Prince’s sports car collided with twenty-one-year-old Zhu Xi’s car at an intersection in the capital, and the Second Prince actually knelt down and begged his younger sister for forgiveness. This incident trended online for a while, then mysteriously disappeared. The title of Poison Princess became even more infamous.
“Her visit this time was more like a threat.” Chu Xiaodong didn’t hide anything. “To ensure the smooth passage of the new marriage law and inheritance law, she even flew to Chuanhai on New Year’s Day to warn me. Tsk, if only the other princes had her courage…” He didn’t finish his sentence, but Lu Li understood what he meant.
These political struggles were too far removed from Lu Li’s life, and he instinctively disliked such topics, so he didn’t pursue the conversation. He got up to get breakfast. While pouring milk, he sent Chen Jianing a message: “Happy New Year.”
Chen Jianing replied instantly.
[Annoying Girl: You finally remembered to reply?! I sent you a message last year, and you’re only replying now? You’ve got quite the airs!]
[Lu Li: I’m sorry. Forgive me.]
[Annoying Girl: No way! Have you been busy dating lately? So busy that you don’t even reply to messages?]
Kind of. Lu Li had been enjoying his life lately, listening to Sister Yameng and An Baili bicker every day, occasionally taking them shopping. After receiving the compensation money, he bought a new pair of sneakers for his sister and a pure white dress for An Baili. The two girls also bought him a set of winter clothes. Life was simple and cozy.
[Lu Li: Yes.]
The annoying girl with the pink profile picture suddenly fell silent. Lu Li saw the “typing…” indicator at the top of the chat window for a whole minute.
[Annoying Girl: Oh.]
Just a simple “oh,” no further reply.
Just then, Secretary Long walked into the kitchen. “Xiao Lu? Perfect timing, I brought the information you asked for. I’ll give it to you later.” He took the milk jug from Lu Li and reminded him, “Let me give you a piece of advice, don’t do anything illegal just because you have someone backing you up. Don’t disappoint everyone.”
Lu Li explained, “Don’t worry, I’m not asking for that information to harm anyone, but to save someone.”
Lu Li spent an ordinary morning at the Chu family’s house, watching various officials come to pay their New Year’s greetings. Chu Xiaodong generously introduced Lu Li to them, making Lu Li’s face stiff from smiling. He even saw a few familiar faces from his past life. He had once frequented various social gatherings, trying to secure game licenses. In his past life, he had to fawn over these people, but in this life, they were the ones asking after the well-being of the seventeen-year-old Lu Li. Life was truly unpredictable.
Under Silly Goose’s reluctant gaze, Lu Li and the two girls left the Chu residence and returned to the low-rent district.
As soon as they arrived home, An Baili dramatically threw herself on the floor. “Ah, finally home! It’s so much more comfortable here, I don’t have to be so restrained~” Sister Yameng nudged her with her foot. “This is my and Little Li’s home, what do you mean ‘your home’?”
Seeing that they were about to start bickering again, Lu Li quickly changed the subject. “How much New Year’s money did you get?”
The matter of New Year’s money was quite interesting. In previous years, Lu Li and Sister Yameng would exchange red envelopes. His sister would give him ten yuan, and he would give her nine yuan back, saving the remaining one yuan in their shared piggy bank. This was the first time they received red envelopes from other people.
Sister Yameng took out the thick red envelopes and asked uneasily, “Is this too much? We received so much… Isn’t this amount excessive? I counted this morning, I received over 50,000 yuan in New Year’s money.”
An Baili also handed her red envelopes to Lu Li. “I got over 50,000 too.”
They had done nothing but have a meal at someone else’s house and received over 100,000 yuan in total, more than what he and his sister earned from part-time jobs. Sister Yameng was a simple person. Unearned gains felt more like shame than honor to her. Actually, Lu Li also had a bank card, and he conservatively estimated that it contained tens of thousands of yuan as well. He didn’t say anything, afraid of scaring his sister.
“Don’t worry, this amount is probably just a drop in the bucket for them.”
Hearing Lu Li’s words, Zou Yameng’s already gloomy expression darkened even more. She thought that her and her brother’s little world was perfect, but in the face of other girls’ “financial offensive,” she felt ashamed again. What could she offer her brother? As Lu Li grew up, she would eventually lose him, wouldn’t she?
How could Lu Li not know what his sister was thinking? Whenever Sister Yameng frowned, he knew she was feeling insecure again. He hugged her without saying a word. A firm and steady embrace was enough. The tense body in his arms gradually relaxed, and Sister Yameng let out a soft moan, her arms instinctively wrapping around Lu Li’s waist. A thought suddenly crossed her mind: Should she let Lu Li have another go before she left?
An Baili rolled around on the floor. “I want a hug too, I want a hug too~”
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