Chapter 286: Useless

　　The girl before him was pretty, and her eyes were crescent moons.

　　Chu Liuyue’s eyes really resembled ‘hers,’ but upon looking closer, there was a slight difference.

　　That person was like the sun and the clouds, high and mighty—unparalleled. Just her standing there was enough for others to fear and respect her.

　　But the Chu Liuyue before him was more approachable.

　　Upon looking closer, even though Chu Liuyue’s eyes were just as clear, one would find that a lot of things were hidden in her eyes.

　　Curious, eager to please, and a little anticipatory.

　　He had seen too much of such expressions. Anyone who wanted anything from him would look at him with the same expression.

　　Perhaps it was because she was young. Even though her expression was calm, Chu Liuyue’s eyes couldn’t lie.

　　The strange feeling in Mu Qinghe’s heart gradually disappeared.

　　The same set of eyes in his mind slowly became two people.

　　“Nothing.’ Mu Qinghe suddenly lost interest; he didn’t say anything as he turned to leave.

　　Hong Yao looked at Chu Liuyue sadly before it flew after Mu Qinghe. This time, it was obedient and didn’t look back.

　　“Bye, Lieutenant Mu.” Chu Liuyue bowed respectfully.

　　The eager smile on her face only faded after the two had completely disappeared. She pursed her lips into a thin line, looking rather cold. I’ve managed to fool him today, but I have to be more careful from now on. Thankfully, Hong Yao has always been obedient. It didn’t come any closer after it sensed my thoughts.

　　Chu Liuyue dazedly stood in her spot until her neck was sore.

　　When she looked down, she saw that Tuan Zi was standing on her shoulder, looking at her with its doe-like eyes.

　　Chu Liuyue patted its head. “You feel wronged? You know, you almost got me into big trouble today.”

　　Tuan Zi fought Hong Yao in front of so many people. If Mu Qinghe had pursued the matter, she also would’ve been in deep trouble, not just Tuan Zi.

　　Tuan Zi rubbed itself against Chu Liuyue’s face to try and appease her.

　　“Hong Yao is of noble status, and it’s strong. Don’t provoke it in the future,” Chu Liuyue continued.

　　But Tuan Zi widened its eyes when it heard Chu Liuyue’s words. It looked at her indignantly. You’re actually speaking for that fellow! Who’s your fiend?!

　　Chu Liuyue raised her brow and looked at Tuan Zi. “Today is the first time you met Hong Yao, right? Why are you so hostile? It didn’t provoke you…”

　　Tuan Zi shook its head wildly. It did provoke me! It did provoke me! That fellow had the guts to run into your arms! How dare it! Plucking a few of its feathers was just to teach it a small lesson! I will teach it a real lesson if this happens again!

　　Looking at Tuan Zi’s hostile and agitated behavior, Chu Liuyue remained silent and gave up on persuading it.

　　Tuan Zi hadn’t been with her for long, but she had figured it out.

　　Since it dared to attack Hong Yao in the main hall, their conflict would only be more intense in private. There was no use trying to persuade it.

　　“Your temper is really like…” Chu Liuyue muttered softly, but she didn’t finish her sentence.

　　If it were before, she could still mediate in the middle, but things were different now!

　　Hong Yao’s status was different—it was almost unparalleled in Country Yao Chen.

　　If Tuan Zi continued to target and attack Hong Yao like this, it could get into trouble if ill-intentioned people found out.

　　Chu Liuyue tapped Tuan Zi’s nose with her slender finger. “If you’re not obedient, I won’t bring you out next time.”

　　This worked on it, and conflict flashed across Tuan Zi’s eyes. What if the other fellow takes advantage of things because I couldn’t go out with Chu Liuyue?

　　In the end, Tuan Zi nodded unwillingly.

　　Chu Liuyue sighed slowly. For some reason, she had a feeling that Hong Yao and Tuan Zi would still be fighting when they met next time. “Let’s go; there’s still quite a bit of trouble waiting for us!”

　　…

　　Pilihuala!

　　The sound of things breaking came from the room. The person’s anger was clear from the commotion.

　　All the servants stood in the yard; they fearfully glanced at the room from time to time.

　　“Are you done?” The Empress’s authoritative voice sounded as she pulled the manic Rong Zhen back to her senses.

　　Rong Zhen glanced at the Empress with red eyes, looking as if she had been wronged.

　　But the Empress didn’t console her like before. Instead, she was even more upset. “You’re indignant? Do you know what you’ve done today?! That person is the Tianling Dynasty’s envoy! He has seen all kinds of tricks, and he has already seen right through you! Who do you think you are?!”

　　Rong Zhen looked at the Empress in disbelief. Her mother had spoiled her since she was young. No matter how unreasonable she was, her mother would always help her.

　　Rong Zhen had never been lectured like this before! Her face turned pale as she faltered, seeming as though she couldn’t take such a scolding.

　　However, the Empress wasn’t done. She stepped forward—heading toward Rong Zhen—and glared at her angrily. “Do you know that not only could you have lost your life today, but you could’ve implicated other people as well! Look at your brother; wasn’t that the case? It’s fine if you threw tantrums in the past, but how dare you be insolent today!”

　　“I-I…” Rong Zhen shuddered as tears rolled down her face. “Mother, what did I do wrong? I just said something…”

　　“And was that not enough?!” The Empress raised her voice, and Rong Zhen shuddered as fear crept up her eyes.

　　How could the Empress’s heart not ache for Rong Zhen? But she was set on educating Rong Zhen today! Otherwise, her personality could get everyone in trouble!

　　“It’s fine if you get in trouble, but can you take responsibility if you implicate your brother?!”

　　The Empress was both scared and pained for Rong Jin losing his face in front of everyone today.

　　On one hand, she was worried that this would impact Rong Jin negatively. On the other hand, she was afraid that this would affect His Majesty’s views of Rong Jin.

　　If word of what happened today got out, Rong Jin’s predicament would become even more difficult to resolve.

　　Rong Zhen looked up in disbelief. Mother just said that… it is okay for me to get in trouble? Brother, brother! Haven’t I done enough for Brother since I was young!?

　　She laughed coldly. “Mother, even if I did make a mistake today, is Brother entirely innocent? He’s weak; that’s why he couldn’t compare with Chu Liuyue and was looked down on by Lieutenant Mu! He’s useless!”

　　Pak!