The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat

Prince Zhao soon heard that Hua Manman had brought Lin Liangyuan back.

After Hua Manman settled Lin Qingzhi in, she picked up a food container and trotted off to find Prince Zhao.

The first thing Li Ji said was...

"Why did you bring Lin Liangyuan back?"

Since they were alone in the room, Hua Manman didn’t have to hold back. She truthfully recounted what had happened when she ran into Lin Qingzhi in the kitchen.

At first, Li Ji just listened quietly, but his expression grew increasingly peculiar until he finally let out a laugh.

"Heh, you had someone send those two dishes to the Crown Prince. Weren’t you afraid you’d make him so mad he’d lose his mind and rush over here to kill you on the spot?"

Hua Manman said bashfully.

"But I have you, my Prince. You’re so powerful, you can certainly protect me, right?"

Li Ji casually retorted.

"And what if I say I can’t?"

Hua Manman instantly went into full drama-queen mode, her eyes welling with tears.

She clutched her chest and said tragically.

"Then I can only resign myself to the Crown Prince’s judgment. My life is cheap anyway, so my death would be no great loss."

"I only hope that after I’m gone, you, my Prince, will take good care of yourself. Please don’t make me worry."

With that, she began to whimper pitifully.

She looked utterly pitiful.

And yet, Li Ji could clearly hear her real thoughts—

’He can’t even protect his own woman. What a useless bastard. Ptooey!’

Li Ji had already built up a tolerance for the insult "bastard."

His expression unchanging, he said, "It seems you really do care for me?"

Hua Manman looked at him, her eyes glistening with tears.

"You, my Prince, are the man I love most in this life! Anything you want, if I have it to give, I will gladly offer it to you!"

But her inner thoughts were—

’Anything you want, if I have it to give... I’m not giving you a single thing! Hahaha!’

Li Ji: "..."

Even though he was used to this woman’s two-faced nature, her real thoughts still occasionally made him angry enough to want to hit someone.

His gaze fell on the food container and he asked.

"What’s this?"

Hua Manman wiped away her tears, opened the food container, and said eagerly.

"This is carp and tofu soup I made especially for you. Please, have a taste."

Seeing that she hadn’t forgotten him when there was good food to be had, Li Ji’s urge to hit someone subsided a little.

He tried the fish soup. It was quite good.

Hua Manman also ladled a bowl of fish soup for herself and began to eat with relish.

Li Ji put down his bowl and said to her.

"I had just taken Sang Zhong away when Lin Liangyuan came looking for you. The Crown Prince must be getting desperate."

Hua Manman asked curiously, "Have you gotten anything out of Sang Zhong?"

Li Ji said calmly.

"The man’s a tough one. He’s biting his tongue and won’t say a thing."

"But that’s fine. I have all the time in the world to wear him down."

’What Hua Manman found most curious was how Prince Zhao could be so certain that Sang Zhong was the one who cut the rope when he clearly had no clues.’

’In fact, it wasn’t just this one thing.’

’After spending so much time with Prince Zhao, she’d discovered he seemed to be an exceptional judge of character. He could tell whether a person was good or bad on the spot, with just a single glance.’

’The human heart was the most complex thing in the world, after all.’

’Not even the most brilliant psychologist could read a person’s heart with a single glance.’

’Yet Prince Zhao managed to get it right every time, without a single mistake.’

’It was completely illogical!’

But Hua Manman didn’t dare to ask.

Her intuition told her Prince Zhao wouldn’t reveal the truth, so asking would be pointless.

Why bother asking when she knew she wouldn’t get an answer?

Li Ji heard her thoughts.

’He knew that, given enough time, Hua Manman was bound to get suspicious. After all, he never made a point of hiding his Mind Reading Technique from her.’

’But he had no intention of offering an explanation.’

’There was no need.’

’For now, it was best to leave things as they were. She would find out naturally when the time was right.’

Lost in their own thoughts, the two quietly finished the fish soup, then washed up and went to bed.

They both slept soundly.

Poor Lin Qingzhi, on the other hand, was wide awake all night.

’She had failed to complete the task the Crown Prince had given her, and now she was trapped here.’

’How was she going to explain this to the Crown Prince tomorrow?’

’Would the Crown Prince think she was too incompetent?’

’Given the Crown Prince’s petty and suspicious nature, he might even suspect her of secretly colluding with Prince Zhao.’

’Otherwise, why else would she have followed Hua Manman over to Prince Zhao’s residence to spend the night?!’

’The Crown Prince was already displeased with her. Now, after this incident, his displeasure would surely be magnified.’

’How could she possibly survive by the Crown Prince’s side in the future?’

The thought of her bleak, uncertain future filled Lin Qingzhi with panic.

She tossed and turned in bed, not feeling the slightest bit sleepy.

She silently told herself.

’I’ve been reincarnated once. I absolutely cannot resign myself to this fate.’

’I can’t waste this precious opportunity that heaven has granted me!’

’I have to pull myself together.’

’Even if Hua Manman is an inhumane animal, I can’t give up!’

’Even though I failed to lure Hua Manman to the Crown Prince, I’ve now successfully gotten close to Prince Zhao.’

’As they say, proximity breeds opportunity. Maybe I can use this chance to find out where Sang Zhong is.’

’As long as I can find Sang Zhong, I can atone for my failure and win back the Crown Prince’s trust.’

’As for that little beast, Hua Manman, I’ll let her be smug for a little while longer.’

’Once the Crown Prince’s plan succeeds, she’ll lose her chastity and be trapped in a fate worse than death!’

The thought of Hua Manman’s wretched, living-hell-like state filled Lin Qingzhi with glee.

She truly couldn’t wait for that moment to arrive!

「Early the next morning.」

Hua Manman cheerfully ran to find Lin Qingzhi and invite her to breakfast.

After all her hard labor the previous night, Lin Qingzhi woke up with an aching back. Combined with a full night of insomnia, she was in a terrible state.

But in order to complete her mission, Lin Qingzhi still forced herself to rally and deal with Hua Manman.

"I don’t have an appetite. I don’t want to eat breakfast."

Hua Manman said in disbelief, "How can you not want to eat breakfast?"

Lin Qingzhi looked at her, confused.

"So what if I don’t want breakfast? How does that affect you?"

Hua Manman said, heartbroken, "If you don’t want to eat breakfast, who’s going to make it for us?!"

Lin Qingzhi: "..."

’The little beast was still the same little beast. A whole night had passed, and she hadn’t changed one bit.’

Lin Qingzhi tried to reason with her.

"There are cooks in the kitchen. You can have them do it. It doesn’t have to be me, does it?"

Hua Manman said matter-of-factly.

"But you’re living here with us, so you have to cook for us. You can’t just expect to live here for free, can you?"

Lin Qingzhi reminded her through gritted teeth.

"You were the one who insisted I stay here last night!"

Hua Manman frowned at her and said reproachfully.

"How could you say that? I brought you here out of concern for you. You can’t take my kindness for granted."

Lin Qingzhi: "..."

...