Arrogant and domineering because of his good looks: His Majesty always pretends to be righteous

"No, no, no... How could I possibly marry you?"

Zhao Qing was so frightened that her face turned pale, her dark eyes darting around in their sockets, and her small body trembled with fear.

Her clenched fists, with their pale nails deeply embedded in her flesh, made the surrounding skin appear even paler.

"Don't you want to come back to the palace with me?"

"Wouldn't it be good to be my concubine, a woman second only to me in status?"

The emperor's expression darkened instantly. Countless women had tried and failed to get the chance to sleep with him.

Zhao Qing's eyes were filled with tears; she didn't actually crave wealth and luxury at all.

"Silly daughter, what are you standing there for? This is such a rare and boundless imperial grace! Hurry up and thank the Emperor..."

Master Zhao winked and reminded his daughter, not wanting the duck he had almost caught to fly away.

The Emperor's bright eyes flickered slightly, and he saw the difficulty in Zhao Qing's eyes.

He glanced at the attendant beside him, who instantly understood.

He immediately took out an exquisite box made of mahogany, with a dragon and phoenix pattern on it.

Gently parting the ingot with his fingers, a golden ingot came into view, so gleaming that it made Old Master Zhao stare in disbelief.

He stroked the gleaming gold ingots with trembling hands, and instinctively picked one up and took a big bite.

"Ouch……"

In an instant, his facial expression contorted, and bitter tears welled up in his eyes.

"If you can persuade your daughter to marry me and return to the palace with me, the reward you will receive will be much greater than this."

Master Zhao nodded vigorously, clutching the gold ingot tightly to his chest as if afraid it would be snatched away...

The bright moon hangs in the sky, and all is quiet and still. A woman sits quietly by the bed, her eyes filled with sorrow. Her beautiful face is reflected in the bronze mirror, her eyes and brows showing a hint of melancholy.

"Daughter! Just agree to the Emperor's marriage proposal. This is something many girls would kill for. I don't know what you're hesitating about."

"You should know that if you go with the Emperor, you will have everything you want: fine clothes and sumptuous food. And you are so beautiful, you will surely receive even more favor from the Emperor in the future."

Zhao Qing was extremely upset, but she was also very clear that few people could disobey the Emperor's orders.

Add to that the fact that she had such a greedy and lustful father, her future was already predetermined, and no matter what, she could only grit her teeth and move forward.

Thinking of this, she felt saddened and could only silently agree to her father's request.

The next morning, Zhao Qing, dressed in a bright red dress and with exquisite makeup, walked gracefully before the Emperor.

Compared to her simple appearance yesterday, she looked exceptionally elegant today, and her every move added to her beauty.

Especially when she put on this red dress, she looked very charming.

"Your Majesty, what about the rest of my silver?"

Master Zhao spoke cautiously. Having tasted success yesterday, he was eager to make another fortune today. After all, he had raised his daughter to adulthood and couldn't afford to do a losing business.

If we need to return to the brass industry in the future, we'll probably have to rely on this girl.

The attendant next to him opened another exquisite box, inside which were stacked gold ingots, two layers deep.

"Take this, it's enough for your retirement! If your daughter becomes favored in the future, you'll get even more."

Master Zhao immediately knelt down and kowtowed violently on the ground several times.

"Thank you Lord for your grace!"

Master Zhao flaunted the gold he had obtained from selling his daughter, now that he had long since lost his wife and daughter.

He began to become increasingly unrestrained, and one day he happened to see Yang Wanqing in front of Xiuzhuang Gate on the street.

The sunlight shone on her, making her skin appear even whiter, and her thick, black hair shimmered with a luster in the sunlight.

Her crescent-shaped eyes were captivating, and her every gesture exuded charm. Dressed in a pale yellow ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), she appeared elegant and ethereal.

Mr. Zhao was immediately captivated by her graceful figure and could not extricate himself.

He walked over with a grin, his strange gaze lingering on her.

Yang Wanqing felt a chill run down her spine when she saw that gaze.

"Sir! What can I do for you? Or is there something you'd like to buy? We have a lot of embroidery here, see if there's anything you like."

"Or, if you have any designs you like, you can tell me, and I will definitely make them for you personally."

Although Yang Wanqing was very reluctant, she still forced herself to speak.

But Master Zhao seemed not to hear anything, staring intently at her. Yang Wanqing felt her scalp tingle from his lecherous gaze.

"Sir, what exactly do you need?"

Yang Wanqing immediately raised her voice, which instantly brought the old man back to his senses.

Master Zhao chuckled, still savoring the moment, his lecherous eyes narrowing into slits in an instant.

"So you're the famous Yang Wanqing. Seeing is believing, you're even more beautiful than the rumors suggest."

Master Zhao immediately took out a gleaming gold ingot from his pocket.

"Take a look and see if you like it? I've taken a liking to you. If you're willing to be with me, all these gold ingots are yours!"

"And you can have as much as you want, as long as you can name a price I can afford."

Yang Wanqing looked at the gold ingots in front of her with disdain, not taking them seriously at all.

She gave the old man a look of utter disgust and then walked past him.

"If you're here to buy something, I'll make sure you get the food ready. If not, please don't interfere with my business."

"It's getting late, I need to close up shop..."

Yang Wanqing just wanted to get out of this troublesome place as soon as possible and didn't want to waste another second with this old man.

"Pooh……"

"What are you pretending for, you ungrateful wretch?"

"Follow me, and you'll live a life of luxury, with everything you could ever want. I'll make sure you'll never lack anything for the rest of your life."

"Isn't it better to enjoy a comfortable life with me? Why do you have to show your face here?"

He said angrily, his face turning almost green with rage in an instant.

"Don't go..."

"We haven't made things clear yet."

He grabbed Yang Wanqing's sleeve with great force.

At this moment, his facial expression turned ferocious, and his dark brown eyes were filled with bloodshot veins. He looked like a hungry wolf, ready to attack at any moment.

Yang Wanqing was so frightened that her face turned pale and she almost fell to the ground as she was pulled.