The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat

Chapter 408: Chapter 410: It’s All His Fault

Li Ji sparred verbally with Wu Wang for a while.

This Wu Wang appeared gentle and kind, the very picture of an amiable man. In reality, he was incredibly shrewd. He spoke a great deal, but not a single word was of any use—it was all just pointless nonsense.

He was like a slippery eel, giving no one anything to grab onto.

If Li Ji didn’t have the cheat code of his Mind Reading Technique, he probably would have been fooled by Wu Wang.

But that was just a hypothetical.

In fact, using his Mind Reading Technique, Li Ji had already heard Wu Wang’s true thoughts loud and clear—

’He asked so many questions at once. He must suspect me.’

’I should have covered my tracks perfectly. How could he possibly suspect me?’

’No matter what, I can’t let him get a handle on me.’

’Later, I’ll have to find a way to eliminate this threat.’

...

Li Ji was now almost certain that Wu Wang was the mastermind who had pulled the strings and forced Prince Dongyang to rebel.

But he had no proof.

After leaving the Imperial Palace, Li Ji took a carriage back to the Prince Mansion. On the way, he made a special detour to a preserved fruit shop and bought some sweet and sour dried fruits.

In the Prince Mansion, Hua Manman was sitting under the covered walkway, cooling off.

Although it was already the end of summer, the weather was still scorching hot.

Because of her pregnancy, she wasn’t allowed to use an ice basin and could only rely on the natural breeze to cool down. But what good was a little breeze? She was still incredibly hot. She asked for iced watermelon and iced red bean paste, but was refused.

Si Yun tried to persuade her, "Those things are too cold. You’re with child now, you can’t eat them."

Hua Manman compromised. "Then I won’t have them iced. Can I just have regular watermelon and red bean paste?"

Si Yun couldn’t make the decision on her own, so she ran to ask Feihua Zhenren for help.

Feihua Zhenren said she could, but only a small amount. After all, watermelon and red bean paste were both ’cooling’ foods, and eating too much could easily cause diarrhea.

Thus, Hua Manman got a small slice of watermelon and a small bowl of red bean paste.

She got to eat what she wanted, but she couldn’t feel happy about it. She even felt a little down.

Before she was pregnant, she could eat whatever she wanted and use an ice basin whenever she wanted, without a single worry.

But now, she couldn’t use this and couldn’t eat that. Her quality of life had plummeted.

Most importantly, this was only the beginning.

For the next nine months, she would have to live like this.

Just thinking about it was depressing.

When Li Ji returned, Hua Manman was sitting under the walkway, sulking.

He reached out and mischievously poked the corner of Hua Manman’s mouth.

"Look at that pout. It’s sticking out so far you could hang an oil pot on it."

Hua Manman turned away. "Don’t touch me."

Li Ji was taken aback by her reaction.

’What’s wrong with her? Why is she so prickly?’

’She was perfectly fine this morning before I left. I was only gone for a short while, how could she turn on me the moment I got back?’

Li Ji walked around to face Hua Manman and looked into her eyes. "What are you angry about?" he asked.

Hua Manman huffed. "Just looking at you is annoying."

’If it weren’t for this damn man getting her pregnant, she wouldn’t be living such a miserable life.’

’It’s all his fault!’

In the past, she would never have dared to speak to Prince Zhao like this.

But after everything they had been through, they had developed feelings for each other and were now a true married couple. Naturally, Hua Manman no longer had the same initial restraint and guardedness toward him.

On top of that, she was stewing in frustration, so she spoke without thinking, saying whatever came to mind.

Seeing this, Si Yun, who was standing nearby, grew very worried, afraid that the Princess Consort would anger Prince Zhao.

Fortunately, Prince Zhao didn’t look annoyed.

He had heard Manman’s inner thoughts.

To be honest, he was still very confused.

’So she’s pregnant. Why is she so miserable about it?’

’Everyone in the Prince Mansion, from top to bottom, was treating Manman like a Bodhisattva to be worshiped. Even he, Prince Zhao, was treading on eggshells around her. Logically, she should be the most comfortable person in the entire household.’

’But no matter what, the most important thing right now was to coax her into a better mood.’

Li Ji took an oil-paper package from his robes.

He unfolded the paper, revealing glistening, beautifully colored preserved fruits inside.

"I bought these especially for you. Have a taste and see if you like them."

Hua Manman didn’t want to eat them at first.

However, the sweet and sour aroma wafting from the preserved fruits was too tempting.

She couldn’t help but swallow.

Li Ji took the initiative, picked up a piece of fruit, and held it to her lips.

"Just try one."

Hua Manman silently told herself that she was only doing this so the food wouldn’t go to waste. It didn’t mean she had actually forgiven this damn man, Li Ji.

So she opened her mouth and took a big bite of the fruit.

The sweet and sour flavor spread through her mouth, and her low spirits lifted just a little.

Seeing her finish one, Li Ji immediately offered a second.

Hua Manman guiltlessly enjoyed being hand-fed by Prince Zhao.

Seeing that she wasn’t as angry anymore, Li Ji asked again.

"Is the pregnancy making you feel unwell?"

Munching on the preserved fruit, Hua Manman mumbled, "I’m not unwell."

Li Ji: "Then why are you unhappy?"

Hua Manman glared at him, her cheeks puffed out. "Why do you think?"

’All she wanted was a little something cold to eat, but she couldn’t because of the pregnancy. She couldn’t even use an ice basin!’

’Her life was so miserable, yet the culprit responsible for it all was standing right in front of her, free to continue living his carefree life. Of course she was unhappy!’

Hearing her thoughts, Li Ji finally understood the reason for her sullenness.

So, when Jinxiu came forward to ask if the Prince wanted some iced refreshments to cool down...

Li Ji refused without hesitation.

Seeing this, Manman felt a tiny bit better.

But only a tiny bit.

Li Ji took the fan from Si Yun’s hand and began to fan Manman himself.

He was strong, so the breeze he created was stronger too.

The breeze felt very comfortable to Manman.

Once she felt more comfortable, her anger began to subside.

Li Ji spoke as he fanned her.

"How about we go stay at the villa outside the city for a while tomorrow? It should be cooler there. There are lots of fruit trees, so we can pick fruit to eat. We can also gather lotus pods, go fishing, and catch shrimp."

Hua Manman was so tempted by his description that she agreed without hesitation.

"Okay, okay!"

Afterward, Li Ji told her about what he had seen and heard at the palace that day.

He skipped over the part about the Fourth Prince, mentioned the rewards the Emperor had given him, and also told her about his suspicions of Wu Wang.

Hua Manman had a very clear memory of the name Wu Wang.

She remembered this guy was no simple character. After the Fourth Prince ascended the throne, Wu Wang would become the "Nine Thousand Years," overseeing all palace affairs and being heavily relied upon by the Fourth Prince.

Hua Manman couldn’t reveal the future plot to Prince Zhao.

She could only hint, "I also think there’s a big problem with this Wu Wang."

Li Ji heard her thoughts and was quite surprised to learn that Wu Wang would actually achieve such a high status in the future.

’To think that a mere, lowly servant could have such capabilities.’

But this meant he couldn’t let his guard down. He had to expose Wu Wang’s true colors as soon as possible.