The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan
Chapter 368 - 367 Hall Master is Indeed Predictive (First Update)

Chapter 368: 367 Hall Master is Indeed Predictive (First Update)

Li Mu, after understanding the situation, headed straight to Yanfei Palace with his entourage.

Li Yumin, for having sent men to ambush Li Shaojun, was under house arrest.

Though capricious and reckless, she was not entirely mindless. Furthermore, with her noble status and considerable wealth, she had many highly skilled followers at her service.

Upon hearing the summons, Li Yumin’s heart swelled with joy. She straightened her dress, preparing to receive her visitor.

Aluo, standing beside her, offered flattery, "Your Highness, the Emperor does have you in his heart. You’ve only been confined for a short while, and His Majesty has already come to see you."

Li Yumin’s smile reached her eyes, the black mole on the right corner of her mouth growing more pronounced with her grin.

"Once this princess is out, I will certainly not spare that wretch’s family members," she declared.

Aluo voiced her concern, "Your Highness, please think thrice. It was precisely these issues that angered His Majesty. If he finds out you..."

"Fool," Li Yumin cut in, "with so many after Li Xianyun’s blood, so long as this princess executes the plan flawlessly, no harm will come my way."

As they spoke, Li Mu stepped inside.

Li Yumin advanced to meet him, her smile a gentle stream, about to greet him with a bow, when a small book was thrown at her.

She, who had never suffered such humiliation, looked at Li Mu discontentedly, "Father Emperor, what is the meaning of this?"

"What do I mean? To see the fine deeds you’ve done?!" Li Mu said furiously.

Li Yumin looked at Li Mu in confusion.

Aluo, sharp-eyed, bent down to pick up the booklet from the ground and handed it to Li Yumin with the utmost respect.

Li Yumin opened it, and after only one page, her expression underwent a multitude of changes.

She flipped through it rapidly from beginning to end. It illustrated everything that had taken place in the Chunying Pavilion.

After looking through it, she had recomposed herself, "Father King, how did such rubbish come into your hands?"

Seeing her expression and hearing her tone, it was as if the woman in the illustrations was not her at all.

"The woman depicted, don’t you find her familiar?" Li Mu said, displeasure evident in his tone.

"Certainly not. Father Emperor, do you not know of my character? Someone is trying to frame and smear me," she insisted.

"Frame you? Fine, let’s assume it is a frame-up. But how will you silence the talk of the town when this album has spread throughout the Capital City?"

Li Yumin’s face turned ashen.

The first thing that came to her mind was the matter of her marriage alliance. If Murong Ce knew she kept male consorts, how could he possibly agree to the marriage?

Li Yumin calmed down, "Father Emperor, I shall resolve this matter myself and will not trouble you with worries."

Li Mu spoke sternly, "You had better do so. This concerns your reputation. If you fail to handle it well, who then would dare to marry you in the future?"

Li Yumin remained unbothered, believing that as long as one held power and influence, there would naturally be men flocking to them.

She had seen many such men before.

Just as there were women who fantasized about rising above their station to become phoenixes, there were men who dreamed of attaching themselves to the daughters of wealthy families to enjoy a life of ease. Moreover, her status was surely incomparable to those ordinary rich daughters, wasn’t it?

However, as someone destined to marry into Houliang Imperial Palace, she naturally had to care about her reputation.

Watching Li Mu leave with his entourage, Aluo approached her, "Your Highness, what should we do now?"

"What’s there to panic about? Meet force with force, bury the trouble like dirt upon water," Li Yumin said nonchalantly. "Have you forgotten about the body double?"

Aluo’s eyes lit up instantly.

When the former Empress was still alive, Li Yumin found a body double to avoid being lectured.

The body double took Li Yumin’s place in the Empress’s Palace to receive instructions, while she herself engaged in reckless behavior in the Chunying Pavilion.

After the former Empress was decreed dead, no one lectured Li Yumin anymore, so she no longer needed the body double and kept her in the palace for emergencies.

For so long, many people had forgotten about that body double, and it was only suddenly that Li Yumin remembered her.

Aluo asked, "Your Highness, what do you plan to do?"

Li Yumin looked at Aluo and said, "Order her to enjoy herself in the Chunying Pavilion, then I will send someone to capture her. Catch her in the act, and the rumor will naturally be dispelled."

"Your Highness is wise, but if we bring the body double back into the palace again, there are no walls in the world that can keep secrets. I fear someone might leak this information, which wouldn’t bode well for Your Highness."

Li Yumin indifferently said, "Are you stupid? Someone is impersonating me and tarnishing my reputation. If I do not take swift and harsh action, how will I make those people believe?"

Seeing the chilling intent on Li Yumin’s face, Aluo felt a shiver down her spine. This was the royal way, where a single sentence could determine someone’s life or death.

At noon, Li Yumin’s body double entered the Chunying Pavilion.

Two people at the corner of the street caught the entire scene in their eyes.

One of them said, "The Hall Master is truly prescient, having anticipated that the Ninth Princess would use a body double early on."

Another person, holding a higher position than him, said, "We can move on to the next step."

"Yes."

Half an hour after the body double entered the Chunying Pavilion, Li Yumin also walked in and immediately saw the body double.

She pointed at the body double and said, "Come, someone dares to impersonate me and indulge in scandalous affairs, ruining my reputation. This is a most heinous crime. Seize her and interrogate her rigorously!!"

Immediately, guards seized the body double.

Li Yumin looked around and noticed that there were unusually many people in the Chunying Pavilion today, as if they were waiting to watch a spectacle.

Some people were desperately trying to hold back their laughter, their faces and necks turning crimson.

Aluo also noticed something was off. She saw someone covering something up, hurriedly snatched it away, and after a quick glance, her expression drastically changed. She turned pale and walked over to Li Yumin, handing over a book before her.

Li Yumin, puzzled, took the book and flipped through it. To her astonishment, it depicted the scenes of her using a body double and capturing the double, including the words she had spoken, which were almost identical to the words of the characters in the book.

It was as if a pair of eyes were closely watching her every move, knowing her inside and out.

Fear, like a venomous snake, coiled around her heart.

Li Yumin subconsciously thought of Li Xianyun. After competing with Li Xianyun for so many years, she had never won. Eventually, even her own mother was implicated and perished.

Suddenly, a thought gathered like a dark cloud in her mind—perhaps Li Xianyun was not outmatched by her; rather, she had left her to deal with Murong Ce.

Li Yumin now realized that the marriage with Khitan, which seemed forced upon Li Xianyun, was actually her own ploy to provoke action, and Li Yumin, like a fool, had been happily tricked for a long time, played like a monkey by others, which was extremely infuriating.

She clenched her fists tightly, her sharp, long nails digging into her flesh: Li Xianyun, one day I will leave you with no place for burial.

Li Yumin walked out of the Chunying Pavilion dejectedly, along with the body double. She did not kill the body double.

Whether the body double was dead or alive was no longer significant because those palm-sized books that were spreading everywhere meant that no one would believe a word she said.

Seeing Li Yumin’s flushed appearance, Aluo didn’t dare to even breathe loudly as she walked beside her.

Li Yumin suddenly stopped walking, which startled Aluo into respectfully stepping to the side.

"A gentleman is bound to seek revenge. Send a message to those fools in Khitan to spread the word that Li Xianyun is wanton."