Infinite: Starting from Resident Evil

Chapter 416! Arrogant and Proud

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With a helpless sigh, Shen Ye stood up and said to the two women who were still staring at each other and Li Xingyun and the others who were watching the commotion, "Excuse me, I have something to discuss with the Empress."

Ji Ruxue didn't even bother to glare at Lu Linxuan, and quickly stood up and said, "Brother Shen, I'll go with you."

“I’ll go with you too.” Lu Linxuan stood up as well.

However, Ji Ruxue glanced at her and said, "What are you going to do? Are you very familiar with the Empress?"

Lu Linxuan's expression stiffened, but he knew that Ji Ruxue was right. He wasn't familiar with the Empress, so there seemed to be no reason for him to go.

But she quickly came up with a reason for herself and said confidently, "I am not familiar with the Empress, but I went there only to accompany Brother Shen and serve him meals."

Although she spoke with a confident tone, anyone with eyes could see that her reasoning was far-fetched.

Ji Ruxue immediately smiled disdainfully: "When it comes to serving people, I am better than you, so there is no need for you to trouble yourself, sister."

As she spoke, she stopped looking at Lu Linxuan, who was baring his teeth at her in anger, and grabbed Shen Ye's arm.

"Brother Shen, let's go."

Little did he know that Shen Ye only went to the Empress to talk to her and ease her grievances. Wouldn't it be bad if Ji Ruxue went along? She immediately shook her head and said, "Xue'er, you don't need to come. You... stay here and have a good talk with Xuan'er. They are both my women, my wings. There's no need for you to quarrel."

Ji Ruxue was naturally unwilling, but seeing Shen Ye's resolute attitude, she couldn't say anything more. She could only pout, let go of his arm, and sit down.

However, as for Shen Ye's suggestion that she have a proper talk with Lu Linxuan, that was obviously impossible. As soon as she sat down, she turned her head to the side and didn't even look at Lu Linxuan.

Lu Linxuan also turned her head to the other side, but she was secretly pleased. Although she didn't know what Shen Ye wanted to discuss with the Empress, she was at ease as long as Ji Ruxue wasn't going with them.

Shen Ye gently patted the two women on the shoulders, then clasped his hands in a fist salute to Li Xingyun and Zhang Zifan, who had been gossiping for a while, before turning and walking toward the Empress.

The Empress was originally sitting at the same table as Ji Ruxue, but now Ji Ruxue is sitting in Shen Ye's seat, while the other Holy Maidens who were with her were not qualified to sit with her. At this moment, she was sitting alone.

Seeing Shen Ye come alone, the Empress's grievances vanished, but she still turned her head away haughtily, refusing to look at him. However, her restless hands revealed her nervousness and anticipation.

Seeing the Empress's expression, Shen Ye smiled, did not sit opposite her, but sat directly to her right, then stretched out his left hand from under the table and said to her, "Give me your hand."

"What do you want to do?"

Although the Empress asked this question, she still stretched out her right hand from under the table and placed it in his palm. Feeling the heat in his palm, she couldn't help but tremble, and a shy expression appeared on her face.

Unfortunately, she was dressed in men's clothing and had androgynous makeup, so her shy expression looked somewhat abrupt, which made Shen Ye frown slightly.

Without needing to guess, the Empress knew why he frowned. Thinking that her attire was indeed unsuitable for revealing a woman's appearance, she said in a low voice, "Shen Lang, wait here for a moment. I'll go back to my room to change my clothes."

In front of the person she loves, she only wants to show him her best side.

"No need," Shen Ye shook his head. "It's too much trouble."

"As long as you like it, I don't find it troublesome."

The Empress shook her head slightly, then tried to get up, but her right hand was still being held by Shen Ye. She couldn't forcefully break free, so she could only whisper, "Let go."

"I don't want to let go." Shen Ye gently rubbed the Empress's hand with his thumb. Her skin, as smooth and delicate as warm jade, made him reluctant to let go.

Seeing that Shen Ye was unwilling to let go, the Empress had no choice but to say helplessly, "Then hold my hand and let's go back to the room together."

Upon hearing this, Shen Ye was immediately tempted, but then he thought that they still had to travel, so he shook his head and said, "Let's forget it. We still have to travel, and it won't be convenient for you to change back into women's clothes."

"On the road?" The Empress frowned slightly, then glanced at Li Xingyun from afar and asked, "Are you still going to Zhongnan Mountain with him?"

"Yes, I've already agreed to travel with Brother Li. Besides, I have nothing else to do anyway, so I might as well treat it as a trip and take the opportunity to see some new people and things—I've heard that the scenery in Zhongnan Mountain is quite nice."

Shen Ye rarely travels in real life. Although he has been to many places across the country when he went on missions in the past, most of the time he only caught a glimpse of them and never had time to properly appreciate the beautiful landscapes of his motherland. Now that he has this opportunity, he doesn't want to miss it.

"The scenery of Zhongnan Mountain is indeed beautiful, but the people there are not so great. There's an old geezer there who spoils the scenery. You'd better not go." The Empress naturally knew who was in Zhongnan Mountain. She frowned in disgust, then her beautiful eyes fell on Shen Ye, and she said with great anticipation, "Shen Lang, come back to Fengxiang with me. The place where my Huanyin Pavilion is located is also picturesque. I will accompany you to enjoy the scenery."

Seeing the Empress's expectant eyes and her suggestion, Shen Ye almost nodded in agreement. But then he thought that if he went with her, wouldn't Old Li be just like in the original story, being schemed against by Yuan Tiangang?

Thinking that he had already taken two of Old Li's women because of his arrival, it seemed a bit unfair to make him experience the pain of losing his master.

So he could only resist the temptation and shake his head: "I don't want to go to Fengxiang for the time being."

"Why?" The Empress looked displeased. Suddenly, she thought of a possibility and tentatively asked, "Shen Lang, are you following Li Xingyun because of the Longquan sword in his possession?"

Shen Ye felt that the Empress was looking down on him. Was he such a vulgar person? He immediately looked at her with displeasure: "How dare you look at me like that? Do I look like the kind of person who would become sworn brothers with someone for the sake of some so-called treasure? Is his secret worth my covetousness?"

Seeing that Shen Ye seemed angry, a hint of panic flashed in the Empress's eyes, and she quickly reassured him, "Of course not, of course it's not worth it, don't be angry!"

But Shen Ye snorted and continued, "I do know that you came here mainly for Li Xingyun, or rather for his identity and the so-called Longquan Treasure. I know what you want to do... Don't shake your head, you can't fool me. I know everything. I even had Xue'er tell you about his identity."

The Empress immediately stopped shaking her head and looked at him pitifully, saying, "Shen Lang, please stop talking."

Although it's normal for a regional military governor to have the idea of ​​using the emperor to command the other lords, she only felt embarrassed when her true intentions were exposed by her beloved.

……

(This chapter actually took me more than four hours to write...)

Chapter 417! Old Li is a pitiful man.

……

However, what she didn't know was that Shen Ye wasn't angry. He had only said those things to tease her. What Shen Ye didn't expect was that she would react so strongly.

Seeing the Empress's pitiful expression and her daughterly demeanor, Shen Ye dared not continue speaking, thinking that if he said a few more words, she would probably burst into tears right there in front of him.

"Alright, alright, I'm not angry. Don't make that face, or your subordinates will see it and it will diminish your authority." Shen Ye gently squeezed the Empress's palm and comforted her.

"Hmm!" The Empress nodded, then straightened her face, but seeing that Shen Ye was still looking at her, she softened again after a while. She knew that when she had a straight face, her unapproachable look was very scary. Every time her subordinates saw her with a straight face, they didn't even dare to breathe. She didn't want to scare her beloved, even if he wasn't scared at all.

Trying to soften her expression, the Empress said softly, "Shen Lang, since you insist on going to Zhongnan Mountain, I will go with you. Zhongnan Mountain is very close to Fengxiang. I have been there several times and know the way very well."

"Need not."

Shen Ye refused the Empress again. In any case, this trip to Hidden Weapon Valley was only part of Yuan Tiangang's plan, and they wouldn't actually get there. They would still have to return to the Sword Lodge in Yuzhou.

But the Empress didn't know that when Shen Ye refused to even travel with her, she began to think that he was still angry. Her beautiful eyes immediately welled up with tears, and she said weakly, "Do you hate me?"

Shen Ye was taken aback by these words, but then realized that the girl was probably overthinking things, so he explained helplessly, "How could I possibly dislike you?"

The Empress's voice was full of grievance: "Then why won't you come back to Fengxiang with me, and why won't you allow me to go with you?"

"Uh..." Shen Ye scratched his head, suddenly unsure of what to say, but seeing the Empress's aggrieved look, he had no choice but to speak frankly.

"Because this trip to the Hidden Soldiers Valley is only part of someone's plan, in the end we will still have to return to Yuzhou, maybe in just one or two days."

Besides, you've been traveling a long way from Fengxiang these past few days, so I hope you can rest well for a while and take good care of your health. Don't waste your energy by coming with me on unnecessary journeys.

"It's okay, I'm not tired from the car ride."

The Empress had completely forgotten what she had said to Shen Ye when she woke up that morning, and shook her head indifferently.

Then she asked curiously, "Shen Lang, you just said that this trip to Hidden Soldier Valley was part of someone's plan? Who is that person?"

Shen Ye sighed: "Who else could it be? You just mentioned him, that old codger you were talking about."

The Empress exclaimed in a low voice, "The Bad Commander?"

“It’s him.” Shen Ye nodded.

"But why would he do this? What's his plan?" the Empress asked, puzzled. She felt that Shen Ye should know the reason behind it.

However, this time Shen Ye did not say it directly, but said lightly, "He wants Li Xingyun to do something that is almost impossible to accomplish."

"Something almost impossible? Is there anything the Bad Guy Commander can't do?"

The Empress looked surprised. As the saying goes, a person's name reflects the shadow of a tree. Although she called the Bad Commander an old man behind his back, she still respected him greatly for his ability to awe the world.

However, having ruled the Qi Kingdom for over a decade and managed it well, the Empress was undoubtedly a clever woman, and she immediately thought of a possibility.

"He wants this descendant of the Li Tang dynasty to restore the kingdom?" she asked, trying to keep her voice low.

"Smart." Shen Ye nodded approvingly.

"No wonder you said it was an almost impossible thing to do. Although he is a direct descendant of the Li Tang dynasty, he has neither soldiers nor territory. How could he possibly restore the country? Just thinking about it makes you realize how difficult this path is."

As the Empress spoke, she glanced at Li Xingyun again, a look of sympathy in her eyes, as if recalling her helplessness when she took over the Qi Kingdom. Then she sighed, "He is a pitiful man."

“Yes, he was a pitiful man,” Shen Ye sighed.

However, although she sympathized with Li Xingyun's background, the Empress only sighed slightly before turning her gaze back to Shen Ye.

“Shen Lang, I have a question…” she said hesitantly.

"Why would I know these things, right?"

Shen Ye knew she would ask that question, and looked at her with a smile.

"Mmm." The Empress nodded repeatedly.

"Do you want to know?" Shen Ye asked in return.

"Of course I do."

The Empress continued to nod, her eyes filled with curiosity, but Shen Ye's next sentence made her unable to resist pinching his palm with her fingertips.

"No comment, it's a secret."

"Can't even I be told?" the Empress asked, looking displeased.